Today is a celebration of Pastor Dan Schoepf’s “retirement” after serving Calvary Church for 40 years and so today’s service is a little different than what we are used to. It is unusual for a pastor to serve one church community for as long as Dan has served Calvary and even more unusual still for a congregation to want him to carry on serving. His four children provide the worship music and others pay tribute to Dan’s and his wife Lea faithfully serving Our Lord with enthusiasm wrapped in humility.

Christians have many questions regarding their faith and this week Pastor Dan responds to four of the most common questions like, 1. How do I bring order to my life? 2. I still really struggle with sin. Am I a Christian? 3. The really difficult discussion with a family member who claims to be a Christian but doesn’t show it. Is he or she a Christian? Lastly we may ask in despair “Why, God? Why me? Why our neighbor? Why now?” Remember Jesus suffered on the cross so there should be no expectation that we would escape pain, suffering or despair.

A church must be place where we trust one another, and want each other to succeed, like the huddle in a football game. This is where we encourage and hold each other accountable. It also functions a a hospital, where those that are hurting are comforted and encouraged, where they can trust each other. It is not a club where one can come and go without being known. We may not like some of the programs or sermons, but remember it is Jesus’ church, not ours.

The Day of the Lord is coming and Jesus will return on that day. Before then there are going to be those that are doing Satan’s bidding asking why hasn’t He come yet as He promised? They don’t mention that God made all things, and He will decide when the time is right. God is infinitely patient, fortunately for the scoffers, He wants everyone to be saved by His grace. Then he will destroy the earth and all in it, so make good use of the time you have to live holy and Godly lives.

We believe that once you have prayed to receive Christ, you are saved and you are in God’s fold forever. The question “How can we be sure of our salvation?” can best be answered by looking at one’s life after accepting Christ as Savior. If there is evidence of a positive change in one’s lifestyle, relationships, behavior and habits etc. after praying to accept Christ, we can be sure. It is by faith we are saved and can stand on God’s promise.

Because God cannot tolerate sin, if we are to have any chance at salvation, we need a substitute, someone or something to take our place. In the Old Testament, sacrifices were offered to God as atonement for the sins of the people. God knew that we could not do it on our own, so all along His plan was to sacrifice His Son Jesus, the one who was without sin, as a substitutionary atonement for us.

This week we learn that the apostle Paul is amazed at how soon the people of Galatia are turning away from the true gospel to false teachings. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God-“ Any other teaching is false and when we pay attention to these false teachings, they are perverting the gospel and we will get confused and mislead. We cannot be saved by what we can do, only by what God has done.

The Bible is the source of truth and when read, understood and applied, is useful for many of the things we do in daily life. It gives hope, because “all scripture is God-breathed”. Therefore, it is important the church’s teaching is straight out of the bible. The moment we start adding to the scriptures or leaving out of the scriptures for political correctness as an example, we are no longer teaching God’s word. Calvary has been deliberate and conscientious and consistent in this regard.

We have been given an instruction, not a hint or a suggestion, an instruction. To “Go” and make disciples, baptize them and teach them. Not teach them to gain knowledge, but to obey everything He has commanded us. He wants us to be missionaries, but we don’t need to go to the ends of the earth to be a missionary, there are opportunities right here in our own city. For those that are not able to “Go”, Jesus provides the opportunity to “Send”, that is to support in prayer and financially those willing and able to “Go”.

Shortly before Jesus was betrayed by Judas, He and His disciples were meeting in the upper room when He began to pray. This time He prayed Himself. He prayed that God would Glorify Him so that He can Glorify the Father. He prayed also for the disciples unity, knowing that His time on earth is short, Jesus prayed that God would protect them knowing that they would encounter trials and danger. He prayed also for those who will believe through the disciples’ message.