We are off to Pella, Iowa once again. I was asked by Rev. Ryan Faber to preach at the Reformation Day Service to be held at Faith Christian Reformed Church in Pella. The sermon is entitled Faith for the Long Haul. Does it seem ironic to you that I'm preaching about faith at Faith?
This visit may bring back the memories. I was last inside Faith CRC when my brother David married a Pella girl: Alicia Nugteren.
I was one of the groomsmen along with Alicia's brothers. Interestingly, our family will be staying with one of the brothers (Randy Nugteren) this weekend. Randy and his wife Brenda have hosted us once before at their house West of town. They are members of Calvary CRC, which is my potential calling congregation. At the Admiraal-Nugteren wedding, I remember reading the Adam & Eve text from the tail end of Genesis 2.
This time, the texts will be from the minor prophets and the Pauline epistles. First we'll go to the prophet Habakkuk who wrote: "the righteous will live by his faith" (Hab. 2:4). Next we'll reference the Apostle Paul who wrote: "the righteous will live by faith" (Romans 1:17). Then it's off to Martin Luther who proclaimed that a person is justified by faith alone (sola fide). Finally we arrive in 21st century Pella where a community is living by faith by initiating an ambitious church plant in a non-traditional setting. The Pella-area churches are supporting the New Life in the prison setting. The Holy Spirit is moving in the churches. What a leap of faith!
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