Indescribable Gifts: A Thanksgiving and Christmas Meditation

The phone rang.  The believer on the other line asked "If I was busy the rest of the afternoon?"  I explained that I had just come home after our men's leadership class and an outdoor work party at church, but that I was now free.  They invited me to meet them in thirty or so minutes. 

Upon arriving at the designated meeting place my family and I received an over the top gift that simultaneously met a pressing need.  It was one of those presents that you are at a loss for words as to how to express your appreciation.  In moments like this all you can say is, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"  As the words come out of your mouth you realize that human words do not do justice for such gospel generosity! 

This real life story serves as a great illustration of 2 Corinthians 9:15 where Paul writes, "But thanks be to God for His indescribable gift."  Other translations say, "But thanks be to God for His inexpressible, unspeakable, too wonderful for words" gift! 

The greatest gift of gifts is the Lord Jesus Christ.  "For God so loved the big bad world that He gave His one of a kind Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).  The eternal Son left the glories of heaven to give His perfect life as a substitutionary  sacrifice for sin (2 Cor. 5:21).  In coming, living, dying, and rising again the Son of God met our greatest need (Romans 3-5).  He paid off our debts.  He satisfied the wrath of God (1 John 4:10).  He brought us near again (Eph. 2:13).

Paul is not exaggerating when He labels this an "indescribable gift." 

Lake Country Bible Church: Personal Reflections on Our First Year

In twelve years of full-time pastoral ministry my first twelve plus weeks at Lake Country Bible Church have been the most rewarding months of my life (and some of the fullest).  For this, Andrea and I praise and thank the Lord!

Lake Country Bible Church

After nine challenging years of church revitalization, God (still) owed me nothing; for pastoral ministry is always a mercy.   Having said that, the difficult places and low valleys in pastoral ministry often help one to more fully appreciate the 'good times' and mountain peaks.  This is certainly true of our recent experience at Lake Country Bible Church.

Though Lake Country Bible Church is not the largest congregation in the area it is one of most hungry, welcoming, loving, and passionate ministries we have ever served in.  Evidence to support this statement abound:  From intentional acts of congregational kindness (1 Thess. 5:12-13); to active ministry involvement (Eph. 4:12; at Lake Country Bible 80% of the church serves in a variety of ministries); to an intense hunger for the pure Word (1 Pet. 2:2; when I accidentally preached for 60 minutes a few months ago I didn’t hear a single word of complaint minus my own); to a gracious compensation package (1 Tim. 5:17-18); to responsive hearts to biblical leadership (2 Tim. 2:2; 1 Cor. 11:1; Prov. 27:17; almost every single adult male signed up for an intense men’s leadership ministry that was recently started); to stirring congregational worship (Psalm 150).  With each passing week our praise list continues to grow!

Every time I speak with my predecessor (and founding pastor) Sal Massa I thank him for the privilege of succeeding him at such a special place. LCBC is not a perfect church (there is no such thing this side of eternity) but it’s certainly a very special church! This is not to suggest that there have not been any trials (for example our home in Illinois remains unsold), but these challenges have been small in comparison with the recent blessings. Andrea and I have repeatedly pinched ourselves when reflecting upon the Lord’s kindness in bringing us to Lake Country.