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God has invited all of us into His eternal family. Within
our church family, we develop that kind of relationship. God is our
Father and we are His children. Because of this, we are brothers and
sisters.
We have an expression, “Blood is
thicker than water.” We know that it means that family
relationship and ancestry call for a higher loyalty than unrelated
people through friendship does. This really does speak to the church
family. Of course, the blood that binds us together is the blood of
Christ.
I have had the privilege of visiting many
countries and being in many churches. Whether in one of the Americas,
in Europe, and now in Asia, there is an immediate family relationship.
Fellow Christians have accepted me as a member of their family wherever
I have been.
On many occasions, I have mentioned that
when I first came to Grace Baptist Church in 2007, I felt at home. Of
course, I was “with family.” The way you have received
Bobbie and me can only be explained as “being in the
family.”
It is true, now is the time for us to
return to the US. It will be hard for us to leave so many who mean so
much to us. We have said that God led us to Grace Baptist Church, and
now we believe He is leading us to return to the US.
As of today, I will cease to be your
pastor, but our love for you will continue from now on. We will pray
that the next pastor will receive all your love and support. We are
convinced that God will bless him through you, as you have been
God’s instrument to bless us.
To all of you that I have offended in any
way, please forgive me and let us move ahead in harmony and Christian
love.
For those things that have been of
spiritual benefit to you, remember that It is always God Who works to
carry out His will. To Him be all the glory and honor.
Thank you for letting us be a part of the
GBC family.
Rev.
Jim West
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Sermon Topic Information
India Mission Trip
