Today’s passage gives us a glimpse of what the early church in Jerusalem looked like. They “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayer” (Acts 2:42). I pray that our church would be devoted to the above things and would be a church that truly loves God and loves neighbor. Let us be in awe as we are reminded daily of God’s amazing grace and faithfulness, and let us praise God and bless others as we live gospel centered lives that bring glory to God.

In His Grip,
Pastor James

Q. 26. How doth Christ execute the office of a king?
A. Christ executeth the office of a king, in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies.

(http://www.opc.org/sc.html)

As the season’s change and the new year approaches, we are reminded of the passage of time. As we take a look back and reflect on this past year, a pertinent question to ask ourselves may be, “Did I live this year for God?” Life is busy. There are so many things to do. But are we so busy that Jesus isn’t even in the picture? As we look forward to a new year coming, may it be a year that is lived unto the glory of God.

From the moment we are born, we are both living and dying at the same time. Every second is a second of life, as well as, a second closer to death #paradox #perspective. As we enter into a new season of Autumn, you can physically experience the passage of time, moving from hot to cool. Pretty soon, it will be snowing, and soon after, we’ll be celebrating a new year. As the clock ticks, we’re reminded that our time here on earth is limited. Jesus Christ, the Great Shepherd, has appointed undershepherds to lead you to him. I hope and pray that as we continue to live life together as the people of God, your interactions with the undershepherds of God (pastors, elders) is not merely relegated to the corner of a shepherd. May our interactions be rich in conversation, prayer, care, forgiveness, and love.

a soon-to-be undershepherd of Christ,
Paul Jundo

Welcome to our new EC members, our 7th graders! I’m excited to see how God will grow you in the faith! You have 6 years in Youth Group, 4 in Y1, x in Y2, and the rest in FG, but all of those years will be in EC. Truly, welcome to our EC family. It may be a little nerveracking but don’t worry, our EC members love you! As you look forward to the years ahead of you, may you always hunger to know God through His Word! It is a true privilege for us as EC to witness God working in and through your lives. Thank you for being here, and welcome to EC. #ecfamily #ourfamilyjustgrew #glorytoGod

Covenantal worship was something that I preached on last week through Ephesians 6 when I touched upon parents and children. It is a biblical mandate that parents raise their children in the faith and for children to obey their parents. The reality of our church is that we are an immigrant church that has 1st and 2nd generations in separate services every Sunday. It is nearly impossible for us to follow the early church model (where parents and children spoke the same language and were in the same service) because of our language barriers. However, the beauty of our English Congregation is that we all speak the same language. It may not be perfect, but as you look around you, are there children whose parents are not in our English service that you can “adopt” to mentor, teach, and disciple to follow Christ (at least during Sunday worship)? They say “it takes a village to raise a child,” but I say it only takes our English Congregation.