Tempus fugit—Latin for Time Flies!

Tempus fugit—Latin for Time Flies! It used to be on clock faces to remind all to make the most of the time God gives us. This month, June 3, marks the start of Holland Bible Church's 175th year of serving Jesus Christ as the visible church in this edge of NJ and delivering the Good News to the community!
I know 175 years seems like a long time, and in many ways it is. Events of 1848 were varied: News of gold in California; the end of the Mexican-American War; the election as U.S. president of Zachary Taylor, who'd been commanding the U.S. Army in said war; Lighting? Electric—Just kidding! Actually, whale oil, kerosene, candles; Irish Potato Famine really gets going; German Revolution; Another French Revolution; Hungarian Revolution; Revolt in Brazil; publication of Communist Manifesto, (setting the ideology in motion to fundamentally transform society, try to de-Christianize the world and eventually murder over 187 million human beings from 1900-1987); Canals are big business, trains? Not so much, but more being built; gold dental fillings suggested; Wisconsin becomes the 30th state; Oregon became a territory; it took about 2 weeks to travel from NYC to St. Louis, MO; a blacksmith in our area typically worked 60 hours per week earning $2.25/day, no commute.
Our world has changed, Holland Church has changed. The Gospel has NOT changed, but it still changes lives. The Bible is a record of what God HAS done in the world. It also makes promises about what God STILL does. Through Jesus Christ, He changes hearts and so changes attitudes & actions, He changes the eternity of those who recognize and accept Jesus as the only Savior for humanity.
Our work in our 175th year is the same as the work our predecessors had in 1848. They are Jesus' words we read in Matthew 28: “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” The Great Commission. What does that look like? To teach the young why & how to deal as Christians with what they'll face in life. To teach older folks how to live godly lives even as life and the world changes. That regardless of age, job, education, etc. that you have value and important work to do for the Kingdom of God. To find and use spiritual gifts to help proclaim the good news of salvation and to be examples of Christ’s love to the community—and your community of family & neighbors. Yes, even in an increasingly self-righteously secular, spiritually smug & silly world of anti-Christian bigots. Jurgen Moltmann wrote, “Christianity is … hope, forward looking and forward moving.” As we begin the next 175 years of this congregation, may we do our part to maintain our theological foundations in Scripture and each of us do our part to stay biblically-based and biblically knowledgeable Then we can do more than merely maintain Holland Bible Church, we can do our part to present it to Christ and the next folks who worship in these pews! Tempus Fugit. Pastor Geoff