I have a special message planned for New Year's Day, 2012. I know that many people may not be at church on Sunday because Saturday is traditionally a late night. But there are some people who have made up their minds not to make Sunday church optional and for the committed and faithful I have a message. I am excited about this Sunday!
By the way, there will not be coffee ministry this Sunday due to some of our food supply vendors being closed for the holiday.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Christmas by John
This week I have been struck by the Christmas story in the gospel of John. Mark only mentions a little of John the Baptist ministry. Matthew gives a genealogy back to Abraham to introduce Jesus. Luke gives a genealogy back to Adam and a full description of John the Baptists birth. John however, goes even further back!
For a lot of people, the idea of Jesus being born as a baby means the same as it does for us at our birth. At conception we began to exist and at birth we emerged onto the scene of this world. But for Jesus, his conception by the Holy Spirit and his birth that followed, this was not his beginning. John says that the Son of God was present at the creation of the world and that the world was not created without his involvement!
Jesus existed long before the creation of the heavens and the earth. Jesus was not created by the Father or the Holy Spirit. The Son of God was not created in Mary's womb, but he has existed eternally. The Bible even says that the decision to have the Son of God enter the creation and die for the sins of mankind was made before the creation of the earth.
When we think about the Christmas story (the nativity or advent) in John, we are reminded of how great and powerful a treasure was encased in that tiny helpless baby in Bethlehem's manger. The eternal, all powerful, ever living, Son of God, set aside his glory and became one of us, his creation, to save us.
For a lot of people, the idea of Jesus being born as a baby means the same as it does for us at our birth. At conception we began to exist and at birth we emerged onto the scene of this world. But for Jesus, his conception by the Holy Spirit and his birth that followed, this was not his beginning. John says that the Son of God was present at the creation of the world and that the world was not created without his involvement!
Jesus existed long before the creation of the heavens and the earth. Jesus was not created by the Father or the Holy Spirit. The Son of God was not created in Mary's womb, but he has existed eternally. The Bible even says that the decision to have the Son of God enter the creation and die for the sins of mankind was made before the creation of the earth.
When we think about the Christmas story (the nativity or advent) in John, we are reminded of how great and powerful a treasure was encased in that tiny helpless baby in Bethlehem's manger. The eternal, all powerful, ever living, Son of God, set aside his glory and became one of us, his creation, to save us.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Christmas Celebrations!
We will be celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve starting at 5:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve. It will be a short service for the whole family.
On Christmas Day we have a special treat! An opportunity to worship in our Sunday services on Christmas day. We will have regular service times at 8:30 and 10:15. I will also be striving to keep the services short so that people can get to family gatherings on Christmas Day.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Short Busy Week
This week is going to be very short and busy. I took a personal day Monday to be with my brother Steve and his wife Mindy. Today I am taking my wife to an appointment in St. Louis that may require me to drive home so I have to take more time off to take good care of her.
The busy side of work is that our church secretary is off recovering from an outpatient procedure and Steph, the Pastor's Secretary may be out the rest of Tuesday. Pastor John is working on the Christmas Food baskets. I am working on the bulletin, and the new church management software that we started last week. I also need to make several trips to some stores. Our answering machine died last week, and we are out of church supplies in several areas. Usually we have other staff that make these purchases.
It will be a week of running!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Love from God
It is now 9:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. As I drove into work at 7:45 today, I was thinking about how much God loves each individual person. No matter how much you struggle with kowing God and how much you wrestle with temptation, God loves you!
Often people fall into the trap of feeling worthless. It can come from the words of people who tear us down. It can come from our own judgement of ourselves. We may also feel wothless when the devil discourages us by pointing out all our failures. When you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God loves you, you gain confidence, security, and a feeling of worth that can not be taken away from you.
Today my desire is that you know, not just have a feeling, but really know, that God loves you!
Often people fall into the trap of feeling worthless. It can come from the words of people who tear us down. It can come from our own judgement of ourselves. We may also feel wothless when the devil discourages us by pointing out all our failures. When you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God loves you, you gain confidence, security, and a feeling of worth that can not be taken away from you.
Today my desire is that you know, not just have a feeling, but really know, that God loves you!
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