Each of us lives a life rich with events. Some more memorable than others, they remain the property of the hidden corners of our souls, and we tend to share the meaningful ones with our loved ones and in Christian circles, where together we can share all the joys and difficulties of our everyday life. On February 9 Salvation Church rejoiced with Sergey and Lyudmila Drobinko, who became parents in November. On that Sunday all those present at the service joined the prayer of blessing little Zhenya, and, of course, shared the joy that our church now has more happy families with children.

But sometimes, the scale of the events in our lives is beyond the scope of one individual, family, or community. Social and political crises in the country require urgent review of the relationship between the citizens and the government. The position that we as Christians are called to take was the topic of Valery Antonuk's sermon. In his sermon, departing from the planned study of Ephesians, he explained the biblical attitude toward authority and the civic role of the church in light of recent events in Ukraine. "In these uncertain times the church is the source of great blessing because of what it is, where it stands and what it brings ... because any crisis is the result of the spiritual impoverishment of the people," said the pastor. He also talked about the place of the Church in society and its methods for influencing society. Valery called on us to zealously uphold justice while at the same time seeking peace, respecting authority and laws, and all the time fulfilling the Great Commission. When society hesitates in choosing the right direction, we must first be guided by the Word of God. Only by changing ourselves can we have a real impact on our environment, so that the next generation can grow in up in a different, just society.

Vlada Ryabukha