I'm pretty sure most of you have heard about the bubonic plague, the Black Plague, and the Black Death. These illnesses are all different names for the same thing. In the same way there are different congregations but all are part of a unit. This church at Rocky Point Road, we are just part of a unit of all the people that have obeyed the gospel.

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Mt. 28:18-20).

In these verses Jesus is saying, Go and teach people, reach them, baptize them, and they will go do the same.

The bubonic plague was still spreading through Europe during the Renaissance, when people were re-discovering the arts of Greece and Rome. The magnificent arts gave people hope not to die. Like the plague, the gospel spreads rapidly, and with it people will have new sorrow and tribulation. The gospel spreads like the plague, but it results in hope like the Renaissance.

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Rom. 5:3-5).

Christians have hope in all sufferings!

Now, don't you think that we should be Christ-like and want to see the magnificence of Heaven? I know several of us do, but the only way is to be baptized, to preach and to teach, and to continue to follow the beautiful masterpiece He has given us, which is the Bible.