Israel, Relationships, & Installation
By Senior Pastor Ellis White
I have loved the beginning of our journey through the Bible in One Year with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel. Every day I am experiencing God speaking to me through His Word, encouraging, equipping and empowering me to live out my calling as a follower of Jesus. I’ve loved sharing in this with my LifeGroup as we have been texting back and forth our reflections on a regular basis.
If you haven’t joined us, it’s not too late. You can download the app and when you open it, let it know that you’ve already started this plan and you got up to day 24, and it will let you join us where we are today (Saturday, January 25) on day 25.
As we’ve been going through Matthew and Genesis in the Bible, I’ve loved consulting the maps in the back of my Bible to see where all the different places are located. This has particular interest for me, because I will be co-leading a trip to Israel with my predecessor, Mark Toone, in March 2026. This is a reschedule of a trip planned for this year, and we still have some spots open. If you want more information, please reach out to Janelle Howard.
As we continue in our Sunday series—God’s Plan for Love and Relationships—I have heard from many people about the fruitful discussions that they have been having in their LifeGroups about the sermons. If you aren’t in a LifeGroup, I’d highly encourage you to consider joining one. You can find out more on our website.
I know we have majored on marriage the last two weeks of this series, and that has been harder for those of you who are not married. But this week we are going to be talking about singleness. So often, singleness has been viewed as somehow inferior to marriage, but that cannot be so. Why? Jesus was single. And he was the most complete human being who ever lived. Tomorrow we’re going to explore what the Bible says about being single, and I know, whether you are single, or married, that the Lord will speak to you through his Word.
Also, a reminder that on the following Sunday, February 2, in our 9:00 and 10:30 am services, we will be talking about the topic of physical intimacy in relationships. This content will be applicable to anyone aged 11 or older. If you have children younger than 11, please bring them to Kids Worship at our 10:30 am service that day, as there will be certain things discussed in the sermon that may not be appropriate for them to hear.
Finally, I want to invite you to join us for a special worship service in the life of our church: The Installation of Pastor Julie as Associate Pastor. Last month we voted to promote Pastor Julie from Assistant to Associate Pastor—this is a recognition of her long-term call to Chapel Hill, and a desire of the congregation that she serve as a member of our Session. To celebrate this transition, and to properly install her, we will host a worship service on February 2 at 2:30 pm in the Neel Chapel. You are all welcome to attend, and, personally, I’m extra excited because Megan Hackman, the Pastor of Kitsap House, will be preaching.
It’s an exciting season, and I’m glad you are a part of our church at this time.
Pastor Ellis