A Personal Message from Pastor Sam Troyer.

"For us at Apple Creek United Methodist Church, the Christian life is an ongoing, dynamic pilgrimage of a life of faith and good works, moving toward being made perfect in love. We strive for a balance in Christian belief and practice in our community and the world at large.  We welcome all who desire to know the Lord as we work together to put faith and love into practice. 

Faith is a word with many meanings. It carries with it such connotations as authenticity and truthfulness.  When we have faith we have absolute trust in something.  A real faith gives us hope. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”  When we have faith we feel alive and that’s good news.  Now, faith that is not alive is empty and is merely a routine of “good deeds.”  James 2:14-26 says, “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

 But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. 

Paul reminds us that faith is not something we must do to earn salvation.  We are saved by the grace of God.  If we fall into the habit of “doing” faith then faith just becomes one more item in a list of things that we “must” do.  What we do can never save us.  I may obey the law and be a good person, but that does not mean I am saved.  Galatians 2:16 says, “Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.”  So then we accept the grace of God and live a life of thanksgiving and praise that reflects the faith we have.  This faith is a gift from God that empowers us to live a life filled with hope.  Take some time and look around our website, be sure to check out our calendar and see if any of our activities interest you.  We are excited about our future and hope that you will come out and get plugged in and grow with us.  Join us this weekend for a meaningful and inspiring worship experience at the Apple Creek United Methodist Church."

Pastor Sam Troyer

Questions, revisions, additions? Dan Dalrymple, ACUMC website maintenance. Contact me at dan@applecreekumc.com .

This page last modified on April 06, 2011.