Dear Pastor and Church,
As the new year begins, I look back at the blessings of our Lord upon our ministry and my health. During the last year I preached on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and then on some of our Articles of Faith. Such a study was a great blessing to us, and now I am preaching on the subject, “Understanding God’s Decree.” This subject puts everything in its right perspective and glorifies Almighty God and His grace and mercy to us through the Lord Jesus Christ. Although I have preached on this subject many years ago, I find myself digging a little deeper into God’s Word and finding spiritual jewels of immeasurable worth both for enjoyment now and for eternity. Understanding God’s decree, the scope of it, the depth of it, and the height of it, and although complex and beyond human comprehension, the Word of God gives some insight into such a subject. We as God’s people are indeed blessed spiritually, far beyond what we can ask or think.
I, for one, am indeed blessed by God’s grace with renewed health and strength. Who would think that after having two severe heart attacks and two installations of pacemakers that I would still be able to function and preach God’s Word. Apparently, the Lord has done such as that so that I can continue, by his grace and strength, to preach. My heart specialist has given me an excellent report and a directive to walk five thousand steps daily. Although I am not able to walk so many steps yet, I walked over one thousand steps today. My doctor said that walking is the best exercise that I can do. By the way, he claims to be a great believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and I believe his claim because of his sweet spirit that he has held toward me and Roxanne since the very beginning of his service to us.
Ministry Difficulties
I am sorry to have to report that we have lost two families who have been attending for quite some time. One who has left is Jose Bautista and his children, and the other is LaShonda Dale and her two boys. They left because of the pressures put upon them by the winning of the Republicans in the political arena. I don’t preach politics from the pulpit but in conversations outside of the pulpit all who attend know my stand on the political situation. We continue to pray for them and remain open to their return, but to no avail up until now. may the Lord deal with the hearts as He sees fit.
by His grace and in loving gratitude,
Tim and Roxanne Parrow
II Tim. 1:7