SV Update
7.23.2020

Good day! I’m glad to share our SV Update with you today. I miss each of you and we, as a Staff, miss you and cannot wait until we see you.

I hope you are doing well. We had an awesome message Sunday from Dr. Curtis Woods on the Imago Dei (the Image of God). If you missed it, please go to sv.church or our Facebook or YouTube pages to watch it. You will be blessed. This next week Dr. Woods will be talking about the Missio Dei or Mission of God. You won’t want to miss it.

Everything with the COVID-19 virus changes often and every change affects every decision that we make. Your Church Council prays for you and makes decisions with your safety in mind. All of us know there has been an uptick in cases in our county and our state. Our prayer is that we will all be wise and safe in our interactions and relationships. 

Speaking of our Church Council, I want to share with you who is on the Council so that you can pray for these men as they pray for you and make decisions during these difficult times.

Here are those men who covet your prayer support:

  • Kevin Ray
  • Emmet Holley
  • Terry Cole
  • Mike Byers
  • Dr. Kay Brown
  • Matt Hess
  • Jeff Wilson 
  • Dr. Ray Hicks

Our Lead Pastor Search Team is working hard and moving forward. They are in the process of interviewing candidates and are praying for and seeking God’s will for Severns Valley Baptist Church. Please pray for this team and God’s man for this next season at Severns Valley Baptist Church. 

This COVID pandemic has affected all of us. We have been locked down, quarantined, isolated, and restricted. That is not fun at all. 

These are difficult and taxing times. Our entire church has been affected by having to stay at home and isolate. Some of us walk through all of this pretty well and do okay. Not much bothers us. But, some of us get anxious and worried. Some of us become worst-case scenario thinkers – thinking everything that can go bad will go bad. Others of us get sad and depressed. Others of us fall back into personal struggles, unhealthy behaviors, and poor choices. There are those of us who may fall back into addictive behaviors. This COVID crisis is tough on the church, its members, on believers, and everyone.

Because of all of this, we do want Celebrate Recovery to begin soon, but we must be wise in choosing the right time for Celebrate Recovery to Re-Gather. We will let you know as soon as the Staff and Church Council choose a date. We all need Celebrate Recovery. It is not just for people dealing with drugs and alcohol. We all need the support, direction, encouragement, and help that people find in Jesus at CR. Jesus is our real and only HOPE in this COVID pandemic. Only in Him can we find the HELP and the HEALING we so desperately need in these times. 

Since CR is not meeting, we want to encourage each of you, no matter what you are struggling with during this time, to visit Celebrate Recovery Etown on FacebookYouTube, or Instagram to listen to encouragement, testimonies and worship. 

When CR finally Re-Gathers on Monday evenings, we want all of you to join us. We need each other and we need Jesus now more than ever. 

One of the things some of us find difficult is praying during these times. This verse in Romans 8 should be an encouragement to all of us. 

Romans 8:26-27 (CSB) – 26 In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

When we are weak, the Spirit intercedes on our behalf. I think we can all say that we have had times of weakness during this crisis, however, THE SPIRIT INTERCEDES FOR US! That is GREAT NEWS!

As we continue to deal with this pandemic, let’s be a praying people. Let’s love one another. Let’s pray for one another. Let’s encourage one another DAILY. LET’S DENY OURSELVES AND FOLLOW HIM! Let’s live out the ONE ANOTHER’S of Scripture IN OUR LIVES. 

Your Church Staff and Church Council are praying for you. Please pray for us. If we don’t know what or how to pray, LET’S ASK THE HOLY SPIRIT TO INTERCEDE FOR US.

Please have a great rest of the week. We look forward to seeing each of you soon. 

Pastor Ray