At Emmanuel this year we are celebrating 160+ years of God’s Blessings on the Ridge. What a wonderful opportunity it is for us as God’s people to reflect back on the many blessings the Lord has poured out on this congregation and its members for more than a century and a half. We can with great joy look back and see how the hand of God has guided and moved this Church to carry out the ministry of spreading the Gospel, preaching and teaching the Word, and faithfully administering the sacraments. This is a testimony and a legacy to the love God has for those He has called into His family and redeemed by the blood of Christ.
It is always great to look back and remember the blessings of the past, but we must not merely live in the past dear saints in the Lord. The joys and successes of the past should be the motivation to spur us on in ministry today and into the future. We cannot live on the laurels of years gone by, while there is much work to be done this very hour. Planning for the future is also a very critical aspect of doing ministry. Jesus said, “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.” Did you get what He said? Go! Do not sit on your hands and rest on what you have done, but go, go, and keep on going!!!!!! Let us not be like so many people in the Christian Church, who believe that attending worship service once a week constitutes a faithful life. We need to be about doing the vital work Jesus has commanded (not suggested) us to do. The torch has been passed from the faithful servants of the Lord, who have gone before us, to those of us who are members of the Body of Christ in 2022. May you and I take this responsibility very seriously and let us not drop the flame of faith (the saving message of the Gospel in Jesus Christ) that has been given to us in the torch we are now holders of! Pastor McCarty