VALLEY VINE valley presbyterian church
May 2015
Volume 60, Number 4
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." John 20:19-21
Dear friends, What was at stake in the upper room, where Jesus’ disciples were hiding behind closed doors? Unless those doors opened, there was no future for the Christian movement. If fear prevented their witness, then there would be no church, then or now. Imagine a world without any form of Christian action or witness. It would be a world without Christian influence on the rise of democracy, the creation of the university, the development of hospitals and hospices. History would have lost much of the work of Bach and Beethoven and Handel and Mozart; there would be no Chartres or Notre Dame, no Bible to influence Dante or Shakespeare; no Red Cross and no U2. All the millions of works of mercy and compassion, all the architecture and art and music, all the contributions to philosophy and literature would disappear. It is not clear that science, as we know it, would have developed in the West without the impact of Christian ideas and thinkers. What was at stake as the disciples huddled in nervous terror, afraid to engage their Greco Roman world? Everything was at stake! Everything hinged on the willingness of those first disciples to share their faith and pursue God’s kingdom.
Prayer that deepens the soul? Yes. Mission that enters into the pain and suffering and confusion of the world? Yes. A determination to make disciples and not just recruit members? Yes. Yes. Yes! But none of this works without courage. The courage of individual members to open the doors and overcome their fears. The courage to witness in 21st Century culture. The courage to make deep relationships with others, where spiritual questions and spiritual gifts and spiritual problems are discovered and addressed. The courage to allow the joy of Jesus to be the center of our thoughts and deeds and speech. The courage to deal with rejection and misunderstanding. The courage to see our workplaces and our neighborhoods and our homes as places to exercise our faith. For our church to grow, each one must have the courage and capacity to reach one. Everything in our future depends on this. Think of the power and the possibilities if all of us dealt with our barriers, discovered this courage and opened the doors of our lives. Yours faithfully,
And it still does. What will it take for Valley Presbyterian Church to grow? Preaching that honors scripture and connects to life? Yes. Music that glorifies God and moves hearts? Yes. Ministries to all the generations that teach, bless, encourage and comfort? Yes.
VALLEY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
6947 E. McDonald Drive ▪ Paradise Valley, AZ 85253-5342 Phone: 480-991-6424 ▪ Fax: 480-991-6427 Email: church@myvalleychurch.org ▪ Website: myvalleychurch.org
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