Welcome To The Vandalia Church of God!

Happy August from the Vandalia Church of God! Our July 23rd sermon from God’s Word was taken from James 5: 7-11. This message from the Letter of James touched on faith in action as we remain patient and steadfast while the world around us grows more chaotic. In James’ day, the concern was the unraveling of the way of life those in Jerusalem knew while the Romans exerted authority. It was a chaotic time, but not unlike the world now. James reminds us that true faith is waiting in glad anticipation of Jesus Christ’s triumphant return. Part of our patient faith in waiting on the Lord is to be steadfast in prayer. I pray for the church and its people constantly, which is why we started a Tuesday morning (8:00 a.m.) prayer session beginning August 1st. There was an old song by Seal I quoted and paraphrased in the message yesterday: “If we’re ever, ever going to survive, we have to pray a lot.” The world may be going crazy, but God’s people continue to pray and live in eternal hope.

On Sunday, July 9th, God’s faithful gathered under tents at the Underground Railroad Days celebration. We heard messages from four different pastors and were blessed with a time of fellowship and singing. Now, you know God is at work when 150 or more people gather in a town of 300 and worship the same risen Savior Jesus Christ in unity and fervor! Different denominations, different backgrounds, different histories, but all praising and proclaiming the one Almighty God under the July sun. The local pastors from around the area welcomed me as the new “junior brother from another mother,” and we all acted as brothers and servants of Christ and we just had a blessed morning celebrating God. One of our sisters in Christ stood and called for Biblical revival in our area. What we know was happening was the working of God toward revival through one person, then another…then another. Revival starts at the grassroots level and I like to think that the little kids and their parents (and grandparents) gathered under those tents were stirred by God’s Holy Spirit toward individual revival that will spread out into the community. Call me crazy, but as I always remind my church from Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” God was working toward revival in those tents and in those kids and my faith is that He’ll continue that good work.

–Pastor Andy