Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God, said Jesus in Matthew 5:8. Purity and holiness are the genuine desires of true believers. And this must come from the heart. Two verses earlier, Jesus said, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Does that describe your heart and mine?
Being pure in heart is a daily battle, all the more in our current media-saturated, sexualized culture. It is every Christian’s battle; but it is a battle worth fighting in God’s power. Why? For they shall see God. The payoff of seeing, knowing, loving, and experiencing God in a growing way is worth the fight!
This is why we are hosting a church-wide, community-wide one day Pure in Heart conference on Saturday morning, August 24. We are excited about our Guest Speakers. Garrett Kell is Lead Pastor at Del Ray Baptist Church in Alexandria VA, married father of five, and a nationally known author and speaker. His book Pure in Heart is the best that I know on the subject. Caitlin McCaffery is a young, effective women’s speaker with Harvest, USA of Philadelphia, who especially focuses on helping women and families in the area of personal purity.
This conference is for all of us—those who currently struggle and those who wish to learn better how to help strugglers. The sessions are planned for Middle Schoolers through adults of all ages. Parents are especially encouraged to come with your teens.
Child Care will be provided for pre-school and a guest speaker for Elementary children—Wesely Rineheart, a youth pastor and Gospel illusionist.
The schedule will include a joint session of men and women hearing Pastor Kell, followed by a Chik-fil-A brunch. After brunch, Garrett will speak to the men and boys and Caitlin separately to the women and girls.
Sign up online at www.ibcwv.org/events or stop at the table in the hallway at IBC this Sunday, August 18. Don’t miss this encouraging conference and opportunity to grow and sharpen your ability to help others as well.
Please be praying for the Pure in Heart Conference. Pray that Satan will not succeed in preventing folks from attending or from receiving all that God has for us to grow in holiness and to see God at a new level.