I discovered this week that as a result of Covid-19, Merriam-Webster added some new words to their dictionary in March 2020. Some of these words you will be all too familiar with like social distancing and self quarantine, but there are others you may not have heard of very much. These include 'super spreader' - that is a person who is highly contagious, and
'index case' - that is the first documented case, and 'patient zero' - that is the first person to be identified as infected, and 'contact tracing' - that is monitoring individuals who may have had contact with an infectious person. As well as all these new terms that have surfaced due to coronavirus though, we have also been amazed by the many acts of human kindness we have witnessed, and conversely, we have also been made aware of the increase in mental health issues and domestic violence, and the huge suffering in our care homes. More recently too we have been shown graphs charting the downward trend of this awful illness. But one thing that hasn't really been mentioned too much is the spiritual dimension to this pandemic. Some of the 300,000 people who have died will undoubtedly have been true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, but hundreds of thousands of others will very sadly have slipped into an eternity without Christ, and that should make us more grief stricken than the appalling death toll itself. It should also stir us to continue to be a gospel centred church, where every aspect of our life together is shaped and empowered by the gospel. It is absolutely right that during these days and always in fact, we should be like the Good Samaritan to our neighbours. God would certainly expect that of us, and it is a vital part of our witness. But Spurgeon has also reminded us to "Give the people Christ ....," and Paul reminds us to keep the gospel the MAIN thing in church life, because he said, "For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2:2.) The gospel is the centre of our faith and it is the only thing that will transform lives and take people to heaven. It is the power of God for the salvation of man, and therefore everything we do should pass through the filter of the gospel. Take a moment to thank God for the way the gospel has transformed your life, and pray that this week, God will give you at least one opportunity to share the gospel. Pastor Stephen