Rejoicing in the Lord’s Work

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June 24, 2019

By Steve King

This is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes!

Mae Belle recently reminded me that when Queen Elizabeth I of England was informed she was the new queen she immediately quoted Psalm 118:24: “This is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes.”

Today, I am joyfully embracing the truth of that Scripture and reviewing the story of God’s good providence, which we experienced as a church family this past Sunday. After two years of prayerfully laboring through a thorough search process, our church family strongly affirmed Tom Oostdyk as Cherrydale’s new Lead Pastor.

I believe this is the Lord’s doing because God’s Word declares that Jesus is building His church (Matthew 16:18), praying for our growth in Christlikeness (Hebrews 7:25; Romans 8:34), and working through His people to raise up the next generation of leaders (Ephesians 3:20-21; Acts 13:1-3).

I believe this is God’s doing because we were faithful to prayerfully find a lead pastor who aligns with God’s requirements for leadership in the local church: tested (1 Tim 3:10), able to teach sound doctrine (Titus 1:9), above reproach in character and conduct (1 Tim 3:1-8; Titus 1:5-8), a team-oriented shepherd (1 Peter 5:1-4), and a gospel-centered leader motivated by the love of Christ (John 21:15-23). Having known Tom for nine years and worked with him as a fellow pastor at Cherrydale for seven, I am confident he is God’s man to lead Cherrydale.

Tom will assume his new role on September 1, and on that day I will assume my new role as Senior Pastor Emeritus for the next three years. I am excited about fully supporting Tom in his leadership and anticipate many more days of seeing the Lord’s work as marvelous in our eyes.

Now is the time for all of us to fully embrace God’s call on our lives and joyfully work together to fulfill our mission of making disciples who love God and people above all else. Rejoice!