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(c)1999 - 2010
Trinity Church
of Waltham

Our Pastor
The Reverend J. Howard Cepelak

The Reverend J. Howard Cepelak is a native of Woodbury, Connecticut. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and a Master of Divinity degree from Andover Newton Theological School in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. He did graduate work at Westminster/Cheshunt College and The Faculty of Divinity at Cambridge University, Cambridge, England. He was formerly Associate Pastor of Grace Congregational Church in Framingham, Massachusetts, and Senior Pastor at Pawtucket Congregational Church in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

February 2010
Message from the Pastor

Pastor Howard's Sermons
Archived Pastor's Page

Making the Case

The single most important part of the church's mission has historically been - and continues to be - making the case for Christ in an otherwise unbelieving world; in other words, proclaiming the Gospel. The church's first priority is, of course, worshipping Jesus Christ as the only Son of the Father and as the Father's perfect incarnation. Inherent in faithful Christian worship is the proclamation of the Word as an essential element along with praise, prayer, presenting our tithes and offerings and most importantly, the faithful celebration of the Sacraments. Out of that worship comes the divinely commanded imperative to tell His story as His disciples alive and active in this world. The sermons delivered from the pulpit on Sunday should result in further proclamation by the members of the congregation throughout the week.

As I have said on so many other occasions, we live in the epicenter of secular humanism with its elevation of man to divine status with one's self at the center of devotion. Key to the secular humanist agenda is their proclamation of spiritual relativism; the false claim that Jesus Christ is just one of many spiritual leaders, all of whom are equally worthy of discipleship. That's just not true. Jesus Christ, and He alone, is the only incarnation of the One True God. He, and He alone, is the only one who died for our sins to defeat both sin and death, and He, and He alone, rose from the dead to manifest that victory. Why? Because He, and He alone, is God's Word made flesh to dwell among us, full of grace and truth.

In the ongoing discussions among the relativists, one thing is sorely lacking - a comprehensive comparison of the candidates who compete for our devotion, their teachings, their persons, their commands and their deeds. In an honest comparative study, Jesus Christ rises so high above anyone else that any thinking person just cannot deny His superiority - if, of course, that thinking person will be intellectually honest enough to come to the discussion with a truly open mind. How ironic that those who claim open-mindedness as a high virtue are so often closed-minded to Christianity.

My point is just this. Each of us who claim Jesus Christ has a responsibility to proclaim Him to those who do not believe. With no self-righteous attitudes on our part, we can simply speak on His behalf and act according to His teachings. By doing unto others as you would have them do unto you, we can make a powerful case for Christ. By a simple kind word that honors Jesus Christ, we can change a life. By defending Him in the face of those who dishonor Him, we can open a closed mind or touch a hurting heart. It's not difficult.

Making the case for Jesus Christ will bear good fruit. It may come slowly, but it will come. It may bring with it a cost, but we can loose nothing of true value if we're faithful. You and I are so important to God's cause in this world. In a thousand little ways, we can make a big change for the better. In the process, we honor, glorify and magnify His name. That's our job and our joy-filled responsibility.

Onward and upward,
JHC

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