It will be wonderful to be back with you this Sunday, after a brief post-Easter time of relaxation.  Melissa and I were able to spend a long weekend in beautiful Charleston, SC.  It was great to be able to get away as a couple for the first time in well over a year, and to do so as fully vaccinated people.  We enjoyed crowded restaurants without the fear of getting Covid or spreading it, and it was a liberating feeling!  Seeing the crowds of people was such a hopeful sign.  Just think – only one year ago our whole country was in deep lock-down.   

I am so thankful for Wilson filling the pulpit so capably this past Sunday.  At FBC, our pastors work as a team, and our whole church is a team for Christ our King.  

This Sunday we will begin the last section of Isaiah, and in some ways it is the most exciting.  Chapters 56-66 reveal God’s plan to renew all things in Christ.  We will look at 56:1-8 this Sunday.  It is a classic text – one that was near to the heart of Jesus.  In fact, you’ll recognize part of it from the gospels, because Jesus quotes it.  It’s about God’s heart for all peoples, and his acceptance of all who love him from their hearts – no matter their background or their past or their race or their country of origin.  It’s about what a true love-relationship with God looks like.  The Holy Spirit has used this text to renew my heart this week, and I can’t wait for it to overflow to you on Sunday.  See you then!  

By His Grace, For His Glory, To The Nations,  

Dr. Thurman Hayes, Jr.