‘Tis the season… to celebrate birthdays. We are in the season of Advent, in which we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. As if that were not enough reason for me to celebrate, today (which will have passed by the time you read this) happens to be my thirty-first birthday. If you will humor me, then, I will try not to draw too strong of a comparison between the two birthday boys.
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The Birth Foretold
At our Hanging of the Greens service, Pastor David read Isaiah 53:1-6 and offered a meditation on the meaning of this passage for our celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth. Click the link below to hear this brief message.
Ready or Not, Here He Comes!
November 28 was the first Sunday of Advent. We remember to celebrate the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, but do we remember to celebrate and anticipate his return at the end of the age? Click the link below to hear Pastor David’s message on Matthew 24:36-44 – and to listen to a game of hide-and-seek in the sanctuary.
Moving Away from God
In a perfect world, I would be writing about the joys and challenges of Thanksgiving, since that is the holiday of the week. But this is not a perfect world, and I ran across an article this week that describes something quite significant for us. Are you concerned by the absence of young people from churches? Have you ever wondered why “Young Doubters Exit the Church” in great numbers today? The magazine “Christianity Today” recently published an article by Drew Dyck asking that very question.
Jesus is King!
It’s the week of Thanksgiving, and we have much for which to be thankful. Just as we should watch our physical diets, we should be careful that our spiritual intake is healthy. Click the link below to hear Pastor David’s sermon on Colossians 1:11-20, a passage about the supremacy of Jesus Christ.
Preview: Jesus is King!
It’s the last week of the church year! We will celebrate the conclusion of another year by rejoicing together in the majesty and reign of our Lord Jesus Christ. Come fellowship with us this Sunday as we worship God and study Colossians 1:11-20, a passage dedicated to honoring Jesus Christ as our only Lord.
–Pastor David
Hunting Season
As many of you know, Tara and I are new to the area, and we are just beginning to learn what mid-November is like in central Michigan. We are used to hearing gunshots in inner-city Indianapolis, but now we are hearing gunshots with a different purpose. Regardless of how you feel about hunting animals, I hope we can all agree that this use of gunpower is preferable to the alternative!
Stand Firm and Witness
Luke’s final recorded teaching of Jesus, found in Luke 21:5-19, contains some pretty strange stuff. Can we relate to this teaching at all? And what does this have to do with church life today? Click the link below to listen to Pastor David’s sermon on this passage.
Preview: Stand Firm and Witness
In the days preceding Jesus’s crucifixion, our Lord gave his disciples one final word of instruction. This teaching, though, was unlike others because it foretold future events and encouraged the disciples to be faithful through persecution. Read all about it in Luke 21:5-19, and then come worship with us on Sunday as we study the passage together!
–Pastor David
Time Changes
This past weekend, we experienced our annual blessing of an extra hour – perhaps for sleep! – as we turned our clocks back because of the end of Daylight Saving Time. It’s the yearly payback for that less pleasurable experience in the spring, when we set our clocks ahead and consequently show up an hour late for church on Sunday! But have you ever stopped to think about the significance of this time change?