The First Sunday of Advent

The First Sunday of Advent

The Prophecy Candle

Sunday, November 27

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, so the Prophecy Candle, the candle of Hope, has been lit. The Prophecy Candle symbolizes the fact that God told the people Jesus would come. Many passages in the Old Testament tell about Jesus’ coming to the earth to live at a future time. It’s exciting to realize that so many prophets who lived hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth accurately predicted that He would come, told where He would be born and what His heritage would be. The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his day’s Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness. — Jeremiah 23:5-6 Scripture Meditations for the week: Use these verses each day as you meditate on the Word of God and pray...

Sunday – The First Sunday of Advent, Isaiah 9:2-6 Monday - The Creator of Man, Genesis 1:26-31 Tuesday – The Fall of Man, Genesis 3:1-24 Wednesday – Promise of Redemption, Genesis 3:15 Thursday – A Prophet Will Come, Deuteronomy 18:15-19 Friday – A Virgin With Child, Isaiah 7:10-14 Saturday – A Righteous Judge, Isaiah 11:1-5

SO, what is the church?

The church is not just a building. The church is certainly not a store. The thought of the church being a club is nearly offensive. And the church as a cruise ship — that’s really out in left field. SO, what is the church? His Body (integrated and interdependent, individual parts of a whole)· Romans 12:4-5 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. God's Field (worked together to produce fruit) · 1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field... A Family (lovingly committed) · Ephesians 2:19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household... A Building (a work in progress, but God’s work) · 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple. (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:9) A Vine (alive by the resurrection and the life) · John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. His Flock (Under the care of the good shepherd, Jesus is our head) · John 10:14-16 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. Jesus' Bride (that means we’re Holy) · Revelation 21:2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.The church. We don’t go there, we are it. The church, all about “He,” and not about “me.” — Pastor Terry

Thanksgiving Week Services

Over Thanksgiving Week some service times will be a bit different. Thursday Night's Thru the Bible Study will be held on Wednesday night. On Thurday the 24th, Thanksgiving Day, we will be holding a special Thanksgiving service at 10:00 a.m. We look forward to seeing you all there!

God has given His Word to us(e)…

God has given His Word to us so that we might use it… in fact, when I think about Job’s perspective on the Word of God, I have to wonder if we use it enough? I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread. (Job 23:12) So many ways to benefit from Scripture… 1) Public reading · 1 Timothy 4:13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 2) Study · 2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 3) Meditation · Psalms 1:1-3 Blessed is the man whose… delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. 4) We can even benefit from the Word with the help of others · Ephesians 4:11-16 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. God’s Word — it is faithful and trustworthy! The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. (Psalms 19:7-11) May you fall in love more and more with this letter of love from the Lord to us, that you may fall all the more in love with the Lord of the letter. — Pastor Terry

Fall Cleaning

Barnyard Bash

This Saturday, 5-8 p.m. Get ready for for our annual Barnyard Bash at the Morton's Barn. Every year we see kids blessed as we minister by way of food, worship, teaching and an array of fun activities. This Saturday, bring your kids, your neighbors kids, or the whole neighborhood for an evening of fun and fellowship. For directions to the Morton's click below.

Be Careful!

Ephesians 5:15-17 Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. It has occurred to me recently just how easy it is for all of us to lose sight of our purpose in life and how easy it is to become careless about how we live. As believers we’ve been called to not be careless, but to be careful in how we live. The Lord knows that it really only takes one ungodly choice, one disobedient action to create trouble that may haunt us the rest of our lives. I’ve got a friend with whom I’ve been close to for many years. We’re not all that close now because of distance and the difference of paths that we’ve taken. But there was a time when we enjoyed each others’ fellowship deeply. He was a believer before I was; in fact God used this friend’s influence to help bring me to Jesus. Something happened to my friend over time though. As I got more serious about my relationship with Jesus, he pretty much chose to remain where he was at with the Lord which at the time wasn’t a bad place. He just wasn’t making progress in his walk with Jesus. Soon after a little time of me encouraging him to come to worship services at the church I was attending, he began to grow a little. He even began to attend services on his own. Then something happened. He began to get restless about where he was at and what he was doing. Suddenly, he came to the conclusion that he wasn’t going any where in life and needed to begin pursuing some sort of prestige to create meaning for his existence. So, just when he began to get serious about the Lord, discontent crept in and swept him away to another city where he is still pursuing a meaningful existence. The answer for meaning was right before him all along but because my friend was unwilling to wait on the Lord and understand God’s purpose for his life, he is now still chasing after wind — never reaching the Lord’s potential in his life. Along the way, because he’s not being careful, he’s making choices that go directly against what the Lord would have him do. My friend may have to reap the consequences of his choices a long time before he understands the Lord’s purpose for his life. How glad and thankful I am that my friends lengthening story of discontent and foolishness doesn’t have to be our own! We can take what Paul says in Ephesians 5 and remember to walk carefully. The days that we are living in are certainly very evil. But we don’t have to be caught away by the flood that the people in this world so often are caught in. Instead, we can be caught up with Jesus. We can be patient, along with Jesus. We can be content and hopeful in Jesus. Continue to make Jesus your purpose. That way you’ll never have to struggle with wondering what you ought to do. Doing this, you’ll understand what the Lord’s will is for whatever situation that may come your way. The Lord will make sure of it! Psalms 37:3-7 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him… May God Bless You! Pastor Graham

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