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This year as a church we are pursuing a vision which centres on the building of connections
through the gospel. These connections, in light of the rather disconnected year we experienced
in 2020, come in a variety of ways. Over the next few weeks I would like focus on each
connection point individually for this column. In so doing we may perhaps get a better sense of
not only what we would like to see accomplished in 2021 but more significantly discover what
God is accomplishing in us.


To refresh your memory (all this information is on our website www.faithoakville.ca) here are the
goals for this year under the banner of Gospel Connections;
Empowered by the Holy Spirit we will strive to build;
Connections with our God through the preaching and teaching of his Word.
Connections with our Family by developing authentic, biblical fellowship.
Connections with our Community by clearly sharing the gospel in deed and word.
Connections with our World by investing in intentionally gospel efforts.


First and foremost is our connection with God. A good place to start since God is the centrepoint of all things. As the Creator God all things come from him. As the Sovereign Lord all
things come under his control. The apostle Paul notes this reality when he writes,
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counsellor?”
“Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
- Romans 11:33-36


The scriptures highlight how the problem of being disconnected from our creator happened
when back in Genesis 3 we are told Adam sinned against God and suffered the consequences
of this disobedience - separation from God (disconnected, if you will). And yet it is also the
case that from that moment of separation onward God’s eternal plan of redemption began its
path winding through history, restoring lost souls to God and bringing us at this moment to the
point of our own need for connection. This is the goal of the gospel, and the ministry of the
church - to see those lost in sin, disconnected and dysfunctional, come to peace with their
maker.


Of course most of you who are reading this have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.
You are the children of God who though the work of the Holy Spirit have been effectually drawn
to God and now enjoy the beautiful blessings of this gospel connection. And yet it is just
possible that while connected to God by grace we also live rather disconnected lives. This is
evident in the haphazard manner of our bible reading and prayer time. It shows itself in the
ease with which we might drift into sin or distortion by the world. You get the point. In other
words, simply being a Christian does not mean that my life now is so well-tuned with God that
the connection I find find with him simply couldn’t be better.


So priority number one this year is to discover what this connection to God is all about and
how it might build up the church. Perhaps this need for connection is best displayed in our
theme verse for 2021 - Ephesians 4:15 “Speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in
every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ”.


The pathway to having this gospel connection with our God is by a renewed spirit of personal
humility and confession with a Spirit-led passion and hunger for Christ and the gospel. Of note
is that the primary means for this connection is the preaching and teaching of God’s Word, the
Bible. While there is much we could unpack on this, suffice to say that there is no way we can
truly connect with our God without his word being clearly communicated. That is why we
emphasize the preaching and teaching of it. But is also extends to your personal enjoyment of
it as well. There is no better time than now to begin to see this connection with God. Get into
his word.