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Good Evening, Mt. Carmel Family! (At least it is the evening when I am writing this. Not sure when you will read it.) I sure did miss getting to see your smiling faces on Sunday! Those cardboard cutouts just don’t seem to get my bad jokes—no one laughed. (And by the way, did you hear that no one in Antarctica has gotten the Coronavirus? Yeah, it's true. They were already living in ice-olation.) Sorry. Not really.

So I wanted to keep you updated on what is happening at the church this week.   

ONLINE BIBLE STUDIES

I am trying to line up a Bible study each morning at 11 this week. The upcoming studies can be found on either our church Facebook page or website: www.mcrbc.org. Here is the lineup for the week:Monday: Frank Good led in a great Bible study in the Gospel of Matthew. You can watch the recording here.Tuesday: Carolyn Palmer taught from 2 Chronicles 20 on the subject “We Don’t Know What to Do.” You can watch the recording here.Wednesday: I invited Pastor Donnie Lam of Rileyville Church (and our wives) for what will hopefully be a very encouraging—and very transparent—conversation.Thursday: Pastor Micah will lead a study with a few of our teens—but, as we all know, Pastor Micah keeps things interesting for all ages!Friday: Lisa Gerrity and Paige Nichols will be discussing the topic of “Spreading the Faith.” 

WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY

At 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aaron Weakley and I will share a Bible study on the disciples of Jesus. I hope you can join us either on Facebook or the website. 

YOUTH MESSAGES

Pastor Micah has recorded two mini-messages for the teens. If you haven’t seen them, you can find them here. 

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

A special delivery (on behalf of Mt. Carmel) was made to the Luray Police Department this morning with donuts, coffee, and a basket of treats. We wanted to make sure the men and women who serve our town knew how thankful we are for their tireless service. We will be doing the same thing for the Page County Sheriff’s office later this week. John Thomas has reached out to Page One—a very important community entity to our county—and asked how our church could could help. They shared with John that they are running low on some basic goods to help families in need, cancer patients, and others who are struggling during this time. John is bringing a trailer to the church parking lot on Wednesday morning to allow our church to drop off items to be taken to Page One. If you would like to help, some of the items needed include: bread, crackers, peanut butter, granola bars, trail mix, beef jerky, and nutritional drinks (like Ensure and Boost). The trailer is set up in the parking lot, so you can drop your items off without having to come in the office.Monica Hinegardner and Pastor Micah are working on a project to put together a bag with activities, crafts, and treats for the kids who ride our vans. If you would like to be a part of this great opportunity to show these families the love of Jesus, you can help by bringing items like: snacks, crayons, coloring books, craft items, flash cards, word searches, book, card games, and board games. These, too, can be dropped off at the trailer in the church parking lot or can be brought into the office. (If you would like to help with this project—but would rather to just contribute financially, you can give online and select “Experience Bag” in the drop-down menu.) 

TITHES AND OFFERINGS

Even though we have not been able to gather in the auditorium these past two weeks, the work of the church is continuing on like always. Our mission of being a disciple-making community is more important than ever. So many people are searching for answers at a time like this, and we want to continue to point them to the Good News of the Gospel! Your pastors and church staff are committed to helping our church family and our community-at-large in any way we can. Your faithful giving to the Lord through the church allows us to have these opportunities.Also, please don’t forget that we have nearly 30 missionaries with whom we have partnered to support them prayerfully and financially. This pandemic is worldwide, so many of our missionaries are facing very different circumstances than what they used to. Please pray for their hearts to be encouraged during this time—and if you know any of our missionaries, please reach out to them personally. This would be such an uplifting act.

We also need to continue to support their work. It made be more critical now than ever before. The whole world is being faced with sickness, disease, and death—but as Christians we know the One who has defeated sickness, disease, and death! Let’s keep spreading the Good News!Some of our members have already been mailing in their offerings. Thank you so much for doing this! Others have dropped them off at the church office. You can do this as well—or you can use tithe.ly, our online giving option, both on our church website or on our church app. I know that we are all concerned about the economy, but may we be a church that shows God that our trust is in Him—not in the stock market. What Jesus gave us through His life and death can never be lost or stolen and can never decrease in value. I love the truth of 2 Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” Jesus became poor, so we could become rich through His poverty! Oh, what a Savior!

NEEDS AND ENCOURAGEMENT

Finally, if you have any needs, please do not hesitate to let the church know. We are a family, and we will care for one another as a family! We may not be able to do everything, but we can do something. May I encourage you to call, text, or reach out on social media to someone outside of your own family? Choose a friend from your Equip class or Life group and check in on them. These small group relationships are so valuable to have during a time like this. And please don’t forget to pray for one another—especially for those who are in the healthcare industry and in law enforcement. These men and women are on the front lines in this crisis. Let’s ask the Lord to protect, strengthen, and encourage them during this time! I love you all.

It is a blessing to be your servant pastor. May I leave you with this encouragement? Jesus said in John 10 that He was the Good Shepherd. In Verse 12, Jesus compared the shepherd to the hired hand. The shepherd knows the sheep, loves the sheep, and is known by the sheep. When danger comes, the hired hand runs away for his own life, because he does not truly care for the sheep—he was only doing a job for which he was paid. The shepherd, though, does not run away. The shepherd stays to defend and fight for his sheep. Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He is not—and will not—abandon us. In fact, Jesus has already told us what He has done for His sheep in Verse 15: “I lay down My life for the sheep.” How wonderful is Jesus?!?! 

Have a very blessed day! I love and miss you all. My heart longs to gather with our church family again—but until then, let’s continue to be a disciple-making community with hearts of faith moved by the promises of God contained in the Gospel!

Pastor Brian