TCF Update 01/10/26

Good afternoon church family,

I hope you have found time today to rest and to reflect on the Lord’s kindness to you. Life is full of many mountains, many valleys, and by grace many long stretches of roads which run along even terrain. I often find myself thanking God for those ordinary times where things seem mundane. It is often in those times of peace and quiet, sometimes too peaceful and quiet for us, where the Lord is teaching us how to endure the next season of joy or the next season of pain that is coming our way. Life in a broken world is just that… broken. I always think God for the words of Jesus in Revelation 21, “behold, I make all things new.” May we never discount the ordinary times in our spiritual journey.

We hope that you will join us in the morning at 9:30 a.m. for prayer and Sunday School classes followed by our worship service at 10:45 a.m. Our focus Bible passage for tomorrow is Matthew 28:16-20 as we consider our great calling together. Since I was away on my anniversary retreat last week, this is sort of my New Year’s pastoral visionary sermon which I hope will prepare us to walk together into 2026 with great strength and vigor for our gospel work. It is our great desire to be firmly planted in Christ as a church that is well rooted in the Word of God, that is boldly led by the Holy Spirit, that is radically devoted to loving one another, and that is willing to leave everything behind in order to follow after Jesus Christ. We have many great things ahead of us! I hope you will all make an effort to be with us tomorrow, because I believe the Lord will help us gain a clearer picture together of our path forward.

On Sunday January 18th we will have a special guest coming to minister with us. My very good friend Dennis Cole is a wonderful man of God who has devoted his life to ministry in the local church, and now in retirement has dedicated his life to supporting churches in their gospel work all around the world. Dennis is a well-seasoned pastor and a strong supporter of other pastors who are laboring in the work of Christ along with their churches. I have greatly benefited from his friendship. As a younger pastor it has been extremely vital for me to have men who are further along on this journey who are willing to pour into me. Dennis is one of those men. His spent many years as a member of the the board of directors for Kingdom Ministries USA, a cross-denominational network of churches to which we are also a member. I know that we will be blessed in our time together with Dennis and his wonderful wife Sheila on the 18th.

On a more somber note, today we have some sad news to share. Pastor Dwight wrote the following for everyone to read and be prayerfully aware…

“Last Saturday John and Esthermarie Burke experienced the deep loss of a miscarriage. We grieve with them just like we rejoiced with them two weeks ago. We will respect their privacy and protect them from reexperiencing pain by not asking them questions or wanting to know details. What they need is our care and support.

In their hurt they declare their trust in God and that His plan is good though not understood. In fact, Esthermarie had a picture in mind of John’s grandmother who passed away this year, in heaven, holding the baby that she had longed to hold here on earth. What comfort and peace we share in the sure and present hope of the resurrection. “We shall all be changed…This corruptible body shall put on incorruptible… so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Peace be with them and us all.”

The following is from John Burke…

“While He took our Baby Bee, think of the honey bee, before we got to meet, we are still grateful for the baby He gave us & God willing, we look forward to meeting our baby when our time comes. He heard our wishes for a bigger family and answered them & for that, we are grateful & we Praise Him & thank Him.”

I know that you will be in prayer with our dear friends and family in the Lord, the Burke family. One thing our church is fantastic at is supporting people who are going through difficult seasons. We will continue to pray for them and to love them, and as their spiritual family we will be here to support them and others who are going through various trials also. There is a reason why Jesus did not save us and leave us alone but rather put us within the local church. We need one another. We need spiritual family.

I pray for you regularly as the Lord brings you to mind. I love my church! May we be seeking the Lord together, praying for one another, and supporting one another as each one has a need. See you tomorrow!

In His steps,

Pastor Nick

Romans 12:15-17 ESV — “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.”