Pastor’s Corner
August 2026
Stages of Life
It’s that time of year again, when one phase comes to a close, and another begins. Soon, school will be session again (August 10 for WS schools). Football season will begin (in the NFL, the Panthers play in the first pre-season game, the Hall of Fame game). The weather will (sometime along) go from the heat of summer to the coolness of Autumn, and the leaves will begin to fall.
For Christians, we too go through phases in our walk of faith. When we give our life to Jesus and ask Him into our heart via the Holy Spirit, that’s called being born again-or justification. God looks at us the same way He looks at His Son-because now we are washed in His precious blood. After justification is the lifelong process called sanctification. We are separated from the world, and in the walk of faith, we try to carry our cross as we walk in footsteps of Christ, seeking His face and trying to be more like Him.
Finally there is glorification, when we receive a glorified body. This happens either after we pass or are raptured away. Then we have the same abilities Jesus showed after His resurrection. We will be able to come and go with ease in a place where there is no more pain and no more sorrow.
God has His plans in place for these stages we go through. What a blessing to know it all ends where it started-walking with our Lord and our God, our Master and Savior-Immanuel-God with us.