A Faithful Church

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 As I was poking around in the Haselton family history, I found the following:

My grandfather determined that the Haselton family came over from Yorkshire, England, as members of a church pastored by Ezekiel Rogers. This was the year 1639, some 385 years ago. I found that the church Ezekiel founded still exists and is thriving. How is that possible? After all this time, I wondered how a church could be living for and serving Jesus. As I looked at their site for clues, I saw a full-page list of prayer concerns. It listed by name all the leaders of the nation, state, and local officials. What was listed last was the most revealing.
It was a list of five petitions concerning the local church. Here they are:
1. That the church will have God's mission -to make disciples.
2, That the church will proclaim and live the absolute truth of the Bible
3. That the church will teach and live God's design for marriage and family.
4. That the church will reject worldliness and live lives that glorify God.
5. That, we, the church, in obedience to scripture, will humble ourselves, pray, seek God's face, and turn from our wicked ways.
Reading this list makes me want to meet Ezekiel Rogers, although he left no children of his own. His spiritual family is simply huge. May we all seek to live out the vision of that church that, after 385 years, is faithful to its Lord and Savior. To allude to the book of Revelation, May their golden lampstand never be removed. Peace and blessings on your day, John

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