New Life Worship, Baptism, and a Touching Farewell

Sunday was another fabulous worship experience at New Life. Mike and Amy were under the weather, so as always, others stepped up and led us in praise to our Father. Lynn Bowman led worship from the piano, and two special numbers blessed us. Lynn and Denise Randall played an arrangement of “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” as a piano duet, and our ladies' ensemble, “Hearts of Praise,” closed our services with the song, “Love Covers All”.

The first song we sang is one we have performed often, “Everlasting God.” It is an upbeat number and always a great way to begin any service. One of the unique things about this song is how it ends. The very last thing is a reading of Isaiah 40:28-31 – “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” For several years now, Lynn Tuscan has recited that scripture at the end of the song, always with passion and enthusiasm. Sunday was no different. Thanks to all who made Sunday a wonderful worship experience.

I had the privilege of baptising Jose and Terry Rodriguez this past Wednesday morning. This great couple has been coming to New Life for about a year, and Terry said, “This is just something I have needed to do.” Jose echoed her sentiments. I hope that if you have not met them, you will make an effort to look them up. I am confident that they will be a great addition to the Body of Christ here at New Life.

One of the missions New Life supports is the Kerala Christian Mission (KCM) in India. It was founded by Rajan and Reni Ipe in 1978 and is one of the absolute best missions I have ever been associated with. They were planning a trip to the US, and we were looking forward to them being with us sometime in October. We were saddened last week to learn of Reni’s death. What a great loss this is to Rajan and the KCM family. Rajan sent the following to his good friend, Rhetta Morales. I wanted to share this with you because it is a commentary on the Apostle Paul’s comments about how we as Christians face death. I Thessalonians 4:13.

“Reni departed to be with her eternal bridegroom on 19 August 2025 after being in the hospital for 30 days, in and out of the ICU. She took communion on Sunday, the 17th, in the ICU. I told her, "The Lord has given you to me as my wife for 48 years. Forgive me for all the hurt that I have caused you. You also seek God's forgiveness for the hurts you might have caused. Now I am handing you over to your eternal bridegroom". She nodded and took the bread and wine. That was the greatest communion I had with the Lord and Reni in my life.