MEN'S CARE LEADERSHIP TRAINING

In a few weeks, we will kick off our first round of training for Men’s Care at Veritas. We deeply desire to see all the men and women of Veritas be known, cared for, and invested in. Jesus calls every one of his followers to make disciples by helping others follow him. Men’s and Women’s Care is one of the practical ways we do that at Veritas.

Nothing has been more formative for me in my walk with Jesus than other men who have invested in me and shown me what it looks like to follow Jesus. One of the men I worked for at a previous church took time to teach me how to love my wife, how to study the Bible, how to prepare and deliver sermons, how to care for people as a pastor, and much more. As we spent time together in the normal rhythms of life, he was intentional to show me how to follow Jesus in all these different areas of life, and when I was walking through a particularly difficult season, he was there to care for me, pray for me, and help me walk through it with my faith intact. I can say with confidence that whatever good Jesus has worked through me, I owe much of it to him and other men like him who have invested in me.

I believe that there is nothing more important than developing this sort of culture in the church, so that every man and woman who calls Veritas home might have someone who can come alongside them and say, “Follow me as I follow Jesus” (1 Corinthians 11:1). To that end, Men’s Care exists to equip men in Veritas Church to walk alongside other men who are struggling with sin, walking through suffering, or wrestling with doubt. Team Members will be trained on how to help other men follow Jesus, how to listen well and then speak gospel truth into others’ lives and situations, and how to equip men to step into their roles and responsibilities. We are expectant that Jesus will use this training to form a culture of men at Veritas who “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

The type of Team Members we are looking for are men who love Jesus and are willing to intentionally invest in the lives of other men to help them love and follow Jesus. If you are interested in being equipped, sign up at this link.

For the fame of Jesus,
Ryan Ross | Discipleship Pastor
Ryan@veritasfayetteville.com

PARTNER NIGHT - AUGUST 2021

Did you miss our most recent Partner Night? Click here to watch the full replay on YouTube, and we hope that you will join us next time!

SIKES FAMILY ADOPTION

Veritas launched an adoption fundraiser in the winter of 2019, and one Covenant Partner family who benefitted from those generous donations has finally been able to bring their kids home!

Adoption is one of the beautiful facets of the Gospel story. Because of Jesus, we have been adopted into God's family and now have an eternal inheritance from and with our heavenly father.

Meg and Ian Sikes began the adoption process in 2019, and after much prayer, time, planning, fundraising, paperwork, and travel, they are bringing home the newest additions to their family! Matias and Jean-Carlos are twin boys, very close in age to their oldest son, Oaken.

Ian, Meg and Oaken began their travels to Colombia on July 31, they finally met Jean-Carlos and Matias on August 3, spent a few weeks of appointments and hectic days in various hotels (with 3 boys aged 3 and under!)

Wednesday, August 25, they began the long journey back to their home, and the even-longer journey of parenting these boys and helping them adjust to a new home and culture!

While there is so much beauty and excitement worth celebrating, it can't be overlooked that much of this situation comes out of loss and trauma for these twin boys. Just like any area of the Christian walk in life, this will be messy and will bring the Sikes family to their knees over and over again. We pray that as their church family we will be able to love and support this family along the way; celebrate with them in the joys, and weep with them in the challenges.

Will you join us in prayer for the Sikes family as they begin their life as a family of 5? If you have any encouragements for Meg and Ian, please leave them in the comments below or email us at life@veritasfayetteville.com!

MASK UPDATE

On Thursday just before lunch, I received a text from a friend with an article attached announcing a new mask mandate for the city of Fayetteville. This mandate requires that masks be worn in indoor settings while not around those not in your immediate family. In light of this I called the other elders and as we discussed how we should respond. First, it was clear that none of us like wearing a mask and if you’d have asked us a few months ago, we thought we’d be done with all of this. But that is not the case and we cannot pretend that we are out of this quite yet.

The more we talked about this effort to help control the spread of this virus, the more we saw the mandate for masking indoors during the Sunday Gathering as a way we can serve others. We talked about Romans 13-14, Philippians 2, and the way of Jesus in serving others, putting their needs before his own.

In addition to all of this, the headmaster of FCA has since issued a statement to their staff encouraging voluntary compliance with the mask mandate for our city.

In order to love and serve FCA well, we will be encouraging the same. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we value the Sunday morning gathering of the church. Gathering for worship is an essential and irreplaceable means of discipleship, growth, and encouragement for all followers of Jesus. By choosing to wear a mask for another season, we can put the humility of Jesus on display for others by putting the needs of others above our own desires.

Church, throughout this pandemic we have been continually encouraged by your willingness to love and serve others like Christ has served us. See you all tomorrow for worship.

On behalf of the elders,
Jacob Warren | Lead Pastor

REFLECTIONS ON AFGHANISTAN FROM PSALM 63

Hey church,

I know that many of you have spent time in a foreign land at the behest of the government in the past, or are even there right now. There is also an incredible number of you that have had your close family go overseas while you manned the fort here at home. Those who have gone over and those who have stayed behind have sacrificed in many ways, almost all unseen and unknown by others to this day. There is much emotion tied to those far off lands that still sits deeply today.

When we say it is okay to not be okay, we mean that. As a result of the recent fall of Afghanistan I have found myself struggling with the same emotions of rage, hate, depression, and hopelessness that I first felt upon my return from that country more than a decade ago. I handled that return by hiding in a bottle, stuffing my emotions inside, and abandoning the faith. This time of trouble however, I have not gone to the bottle (although the temptation is strong) but to the only source of truth, and that is the Bible. No matter what the news says, or the opinions of others, it is only the words of Scripture that can be held to with utmost confidence.

In this time, I have just sat in Psalm 63 because I can tell myself these following truths when they are hard for me to see or believe right now as I wade through the returning emotions. I pray that they may be helpful to you, someone you know, or just a reminder about how awesome Jesus is.

V.1- O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. The recognition that He is not only God, but that He is MY God. He is the Transcendent God that is also interested in the lives and emotions of His creation, especially His Children. He is the only one I can run to find the satisfaction my soul needs, and the one I need to run to during hardship.

V.2- So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. While I have not seen God in His “sanctuary” I have seen the wonderous world He created. The power He has to have made the heavens and the earth is unfathomable, I can’t make anything and He made everything. And He continues to SUSTAIN His creation. While I see chaos and a waste of many things, He is still Sovereign over it all. The beauty all over His creation is just an indicator of how glorious He is.

V.3-4- Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. A reminder that His steadfast love IS better than life, because He is life and I have life in Him through Jesus. My lack of faith, or difficulty processing the events of this world does not reduce his love for me. Rather it amplifies His love because He, the creator God of the Universe, meets me where I am. Even in the midst of heartache and despair, I can and should praise Him because He is worthy. It is in and through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection that I am spiritually alive to be able to praise Him.

V.5- My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,.. I have been through the deep, dark crevasses of despair, and I know the joy of coming through the other side because of the hope that I have in Jesus. He is the only one who can satisfy the deep longings within me. Just like my physical body is perfectly satisfied with a hearty medium-rare steak, a loaded baked potato, and a glass of sweet tea, my soul is perfectly satisfied as I turn to Jesus and His word and remind myself that the gospel is not just good news unto salvation, it is also good news for believers every day.

V.6-8- …when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. I am to think back and remember time and again all the things that Jesus has done for me and how it was Him that brought me out of hard times before. Jesus is the Good Shepherd that walks through the darkest valleys with me, and His word is there to comfort me with the truth when I can’t see. It is His guiding word that reminds me that I am not alone, and I am safe trusting in Him. I can sing for joy in the midst of darkness because I know that while there is light on the other side that I look forward to, Jesus is with me here and now. He is God in the good times, and He is God in the hard times. The more I cling to Him during dark periods, the more I learn that it is Him who holds me, sustains me, and cares for me.

V.9-11- But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped. Jesus wins. I am not being hunted like David was in this psalm, but I feel as though I am in an emotional wilderness. God is sovereign and just, compassionate and merciful, and as the Sovereign of the universe He has the final say. The Bible tells us that Jesus came to conquer sin and death through his life, death, and resurrection. His ascension to be at the right hand of the father to intercede for us until His return, and the peace I have through the Holy Spirit reminds me that this world is not my home. Jesus not only wins in the future, but He has already won. I can trust wholly in Him.

If you are struggling, it does not matter whether it is the fall of Afghanistan or not, it could be depression, cancer, the loss of a baby, or any other cause for hurt. I want you to know you are not alone. There are men and women within this family that would love to come alongside you during this time, walk with you through your hurt, and help you see how the good news of the gospel of Jesus applies to your life in the midst of the hurt.

For the fame of Jesus,
Kyle McFarland | Pastor of Veritas Church