Calvary Connect – July 2024
Dear Calvary Family,
While there is always much to be thankful for, this week in particular has spurred deep gratitude to the Lord in my heart. Today is the 1 year anniversary of being called to Calvary as your pastor, and it has been a joy to my family and I to serve the Lord with you! The unity I’ve experienced among the elders and staff has been sweet, and shouldn’t be taken for granted. I also turned 50 today, and that also shouldn’t be taken for granted, we are not guaranteed 50 years, as my journey through cancer a few years ago brought home the truth of James 4:14-15:
“Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”
I’m also grateful as we celebrate Independence Day this week, that the Lord in his providence has given us the freedoms we so enjoy in America. As Christians we also understand freedom at a spiritual level as Jesus has freed us from the slavery of sin and death.
For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. — Galatians 5:13
My prayer for us this season is that in the midst of summer rest, vacations, beach nights, camps etc… we would enjoy the unity, life, and freedom we experience by the Holy Spirit to love, and serve each other and our Savior with a sense of deep abiding peace and joy. May the Lord grant us many more years of joyful service together for His glory in Huntington Beach!
Grace & Peace,
Lucas Parks