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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
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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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