Grace, peace, and mercy be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

How many times do we hear at the beginning of a new year about starting over, starting fresh, beginning with a clean slate… To a point, these statements can indeed be helpful, yet we must always realize the consequences of the past and the lessons to be learned from the past. We here at Concordia have over 75 years of history and only God knows how much of a future to look forward to; before us today is how we will face that future. By now, you should have all received the report from the revitalization team we had here in mid December.

As a congregation we have an opportunity to continue to learn and grow not only as God’s people, but to grow closer together in Christ, as a congregation/family. We have all made a commitment to the congregation when we became members here at Concordia, we have before us a marvelous opportunity to strengthen that commitment and learn and grow together in the coming months and years as we study God’s Word and gather together regularly to pray and hear His Word. To a point, it will take effort on our part but we need to keep in mind this is His church and the efforts put forth are done so as He gives us strength and the ability to carry on in His Name. The opportunity to share in revitalization is an opportunity to grow stronger in His Word and work as we build on the strengths of Concordia’s past and grow in knowledge and wisdom from God’s Holy Spirit to be more effective as a part of God’s church in this place. We are not starting over or beginning with a clean slate, but we are going forward in the grace of God, to grow in His grace and learn to share that grace with those around us.