"praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." Acts 2:47
The Village Church of Byron is a church deeply rooted in the belief that Acts 2:42 should be a guiding verse for all of God's churches. It shows a church devoted to "the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." For us, this means we seek to be devoted to the Word of God, to the fellowship of believers, to the Lord's Supper and to prayer.
The verses that follow Acts 2:42 shows us the fruit of a church devoted to these things before the Lord. Incredibly awesome things were happening all around the church in Jerusalem at this time and the believers within the church were living in great unity and harmony.
One of the things that we see as a product of our devotion to these things is found in the verse above. Acts 2:47 says, "having favor of all the people." We have talked a lot about, as a church, maintaining a strong witness and testimony of our God before our community, our Jerusalem. And, we are thankful to God for granting us favor with all of the people.
This coming Wednesday, October 31st, is Trunk-or-Treat, from 6-8pm, and this year the Village of Byron is allowing us to close off a portion of Saginaw Street in downtown Byron for the event! I do not believe this is a result of being friends with many in the village or from our being super awesome people (which you all are!). No, I believe this is much higher than our earthly limitation can see or produce. This is the result of a church being devoted to the Lord and the Lord granting us favor with all the people.
If you haven't signed up yet, to serve, to have fun, to further our strong witness and testimony of the Lord we are devoted to, join the fun today! Don't even worry about decorating a trunk. Come park your car and hand out candy to kids passing by. Share a cup of cider with someone you just met from our community. Be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit and watch the Lord add to our number those being saved. It's an incredible opportunity for us as a church! Don't just hear about it, be a part of it!
Grace & Peace,
John
(You can reach Pastor John at jwhite@thevillagemi.com)