A Note from the Pastor ...
 Retired Pastor William I. Brown congratulates Mark B. Stevenson upon receiving the call from Covenant Baptist Church to be her interim pastor. |
 Interim Pastor Mark B. Stevenson with his wife Paulette |
"O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together." ~ Psalm 34:3
If I were to ask you “What is the priority of the local church?” what would your answer to that question be? Much of what is written, taught and preached today, reveals that the churches in our land are preoccupied with many things: people, ministry, growth and success, to name a few. The Word of God, however, teaches very clearly that it is God, and God alone that must occupy the supreme priority in the church. The Apostle Paul told the Colossians that in everything, Christ must have the preeminence. Therefore, when we gather together, our absolute priority must be to magnify and exalt the name of the Lord. All else that we endeavor to do, must flow from this great purpose. If the church expects to be all that it is intended to be, God must be first. If it is again to have a serious impact upon this increasingly corrupt world as salt and light, then God must be the first priority.
When we magnify the Lord, our desire should be that the thoughts of Him would occupy an ever expanding place in our own hearts and lives. Samuel Rutherford said, “Oh! That my heart were as big as heaven, that I might hold Christ in it!” Since heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Him, this great hope could never be fully satisfied, yet the ever increasing desire of the believer should be to “know Him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death.”
Our desire to magnify the Lord is also shown when our disposition is that others would do the same. What a pleasant thing it is to hear of believers encouraging one another to remember the Lord and think upon His name. Malachi tells us of such fellowship when he wrote, “they that feared the Lord spoke often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name.”
The desire that others would join with us in magnifying the Lord does not just extend to believers, but our heart’s desire is that those who are the enemies of Christ would come to love, serve and praise Him as well, that they would turn from their wicked ways, repent of their sin, and place all of their hope and confidence in the finished work of the Lord Jesus for the salvation of their souls.
We share the same vision and desire that Isaac Watts expressed so well when he wrote:
“We long to see Thy churches full, that all the chosen race
May, with one voice and heart and soul, sing Thy redeeming grace.”
For those of you who are visiting our church’s web-site from a distance, we trust that the resources found here would be used to strengthen and encourage you in your own spiritual walk. If you live here locally or are visiting the area, we would invite you to come and worship with us. If you are lost and desire to know how it is that you might be made right with God, we invite you to contact or visit us, and we would be glad to share with you the good news that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners!
Your Servant in Christ,
Mark Stevenson