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Message From Pastor Wesley
Grace and peace to you from our Father who calls us, His Son in Whose name we
minister, and His Spirit who empowers us for His glory.
This year we pause to say thank you to the Rev. Dr. Faye S. Gunn, who served as the
Director of Christian Education. Her service to the Alfred Street Baptist Church and
the Board of Christian Education was no less than excellent. Dr. Gunn’s leadership in
Christian Education led the congregation in spiritual growth and a closer walk with
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We pray God’s continuous blessings upon her and
the Gunn family.
Here we stand, as we do every year, at the beginning of one of the most sacred and
special seasons of the Christian year—Lent. Just as the season of Advent takes us on
a journey to reflect upon the beauty of the incarnate God born in a manger, so now
does Lent takes us on a journey of reflection and repentance as we view the horror
and the glory of the cross and our crucified Savior.
This Lenten journey is one that calls and causes us to appreciate the eternal and
priceless value of our salvation and the forgiveness of our sins. It is a 40-day journey
that helps us find the balance between sacrifice and celebration, repentance and
rejoicing, so that we may learn to yield our lives as a living sacrifice that is holy and
acceptable to God.
During these 40 days, I invite and encourage you to center your daily thoughts and
devotions on the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ and how His death draws us into
the very loving presence of a forgiving God. My prayer is that these daily devotions,
penned from the heart of Christian Education board members and Alfred Street
ministers, will help you draw nearer to the Lord. As the songwriter said, “Draw me
nearer, nearer precious Lord, to the cross where thou hast died.” Collectively as a
church family, through these devotions, we will meditate and pray together so that
when Resurrection Sunday comes, like Christ, we will come out of this season with
a new glory, a deeper commitment, and a hunger to daily dwell in the presence of
God.
When the women came to the tomb to anoint what they thought would be the
dead body of Jesus, their lives were forever changed by the invitation of the angel
to “come see the place where the Lord lay” (Matthew 28:6). My prayer is that these
devotions will also fill you with an awe and appreciation for Christ’s death, and give
you the same excitement and energy of those women to go and share with the
world the good news of our Savior’s death and resurrection as together we draw
nearer to the Lord. Amen.
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