Today is the last day of 2013, and a new year is soon to dawn.  In fact, I have a friend who lives in New Zealand, and at this moment she is already several hours into 2014!  The future is always very nearly upon us.

At this time of year, we often look back on the year that has passed, and we consider what the upcoming year may hold.  I invite you to take a few moments to reflect on the life of Mt. Haley Church of God with me.

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We welcome the New Year 2014 as we count the BLESSINGS of 2013.  We have grown spiritually and in youth numbers as we enter the New Year and it is awesome to know how much God loves and cares for us – each and every day.   His BLESSINGS are so apparent and our appreciation of how he blesses us just continues to grow.  Thank you God, thank you parents, thank you youth and thank you Mt. Haley Church of God.  May we proclaim His Gospel!

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This Sunday was the fifth day of Christmas, a season which lasts twelve days and extends all the way to Epiphany, the next holiday in the church calendar.  On this day, Pastor David highlights “five golden rings” from Hebrews 2:10-18, a passage that explains the connection between Jesus’s birth and death.  Listen in to this message, and allow the word of God to transform your life!

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This Christmas Eve, Pastor David led us in a reflection on an ancient Christian hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” which has lyrics that date back to at least the 9th Century.  The seven stanzas of this hymn contain a powerful message that you won’t want to miss.  Listen in to this message and celebrate the great truth that Jesus Christ is indeed here with us – and that he will be here again soon!

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You can read the Latin and English lyrics by downloading this PDF file, which shows the back side of tonight’s order of worship:  VeniVeni.pdf

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2:19 NIV)

What if Mary, the mother of Jesus, had known the entire course of her son’s life at the moment of his birth?  What if she knew that his life and ministry would spark a religious conflict in Jerusalem resulting in his execution?  What if she could grasp the prophetess Anna’s words, “and a sword will pierce your own soul too” (Luke 2:35b NIV)?  What if she could see the glory of Jesus’s resurrection, the promise of eternal life, even as he lay in her arms as a newborn?

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In Isaiah 35, the prophet foretells a time when the redeemed of the Lord will walk along the pathway of holiness.  This time will be marked by profound joy and gladness.  Is this just a pipe dream for the people of God?  How does the birth of Jesus signal a tremendous change in the work of the kingdom of God?  And how can we sing for joy in our darkest hours?  Click here to listen in to Pastor David’s sermon on this third Sunday of Advent:

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Today, I read an article posted on the Church of God Ministries news website.  This article is entitled “Turning Hearts and Minds Toward God in Worship,” and it explains the approach to worship taken by one large Church of God congregation in Scottsdale, Arizona.  There are some incredible stories coming from that congregation:  many people being baptized as believers, many people engaging in mission projects in that community, worship attendance doubling over the past four years.

But what I find fascinating in this article is how they describe their approach to worship.

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This week we studied Isaiah 11:1-10 together and found something unusual:  that a plant was growing where nothing could be expected to grow!  This prophecy foretells the coming of Jesus the Messiah, the one filled with God’s Spirit, God’s justice, and God’s peace.  How can this transform our lives as we journey through this Advent season and beyond?  Listen in to Pastor David’s sermon on this passage.

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This past June, I wrote about the new movement in our identity as Church of God people:  our new General Director, Rev. Jim Lyon, is using the phrase “Jesus is the subject” as the primary rallying cry for the Church of God in this present time.  In that article, I called this phrase a “wonderful starting point.”  I still believe that to be true:  that “Jesus is the subject” is a wonderful theological truth, and that it is just the beginning of the reflections we can make on our identity as the Church of God.

In the past few weeks, many important changes have been unveiled by Church of God Ministries, our movement’s central offices in Anderson, Indiana.  I would like to discuss one of them in particular with you, the Mt. Haley Church of God family, in this article.

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