WAITING...

“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14)

I don’t know about you, but I have never been very good at waiting. Whether it is waiting in those long lines at stores or waiting on a parking space in the parking lot, it often seems that the closer something is, the more difficult it is to wait for it. In fact, our impatience seems built right into our culture and society – these days, Christmas carols and decorations appear even before Halloween!

Yet, the Christian season of ADVENT (from the Latin adventus, “coming” – a reference to the “coming” of Jesus in the past, present and future) encourages us to learn the hard and difficult lesson of waiting, of watching, of anticipating, and of expecting good things still to come. It encourages us to learn to wait for God to reveal Himself in His own way and time.

In the weeks leading up to our daughter Jennifer’s birth over twenty-eight years ago, Trish and I both were very much on edge. The due date arrived, then passed, and I remember thinking constantly, “How much longer, Lord?!” I’m sure it was the same for the early Hebrews as they waited for the Messiah to be born, probably also thinking, “How much longer, Lord?!” And it’s the same for us today as we often ask of our problems, “How much longer, Lord?!” Maybe it’s God’s way of trying to remind us that some of the best things in life (including true, genuine fulfillment, contentment, and joy) often come only through long, hard waiting.

So, during this Advent season (which begins this coming Sunday, December 3rd), I invite us all to let God teach us to wait… with patience, anticipation, and joy. One tool that can help us “wait” and prepare for the coming of Christmas is through our use of what is called an “Advent Wreath” — a circle of four candles which are progressively lit during the four Sundays of Advent, culminating in the lighting of the central white (Christ) candle on Christmas Eve. CLICK HERE for an order for an Advent Wreath lighting that you can download and use each week leading up to Christmas.

Always remember that God loves you and I do, too!

Ba, Humbug Christmas?

Do your holiday preparations ever leave you feeling like “Bah Humbug!?” Does it sometimes seem like a challenge just to celebrate at all?  If this has ever been you, then join Pastor Brian and your fellow church family and friends in rediscovering the real meaning of Christmas through a holiday worship series called A ‘DICKENS’ OF A CHRISTMAS.  Offered at all of our Sunday worship services December 3 - 24, you’ll experience the power of Christmas like never before as we relate Charles Dickens’ familiar “A Christmas Carol” to the biblical Christmas story.

December 3 -- The Chains We Forge (Isaiah 61:1-3; Galatians 5:1)

Learning how to break the “chains” of our past

 December 10 -- Needing A Little Joy (Philippians 4:4-9)

   Discovering the Joy of Christmas through Music  

     (presented by our Music Ministry)

December 17 -- The ‘Business’ of Humanity (Micah 6:6-8; Luke 1:46-53)

   Remembering our task of serving the needs of humankind

December 24 -- The Person That I Was... (Isaiah 6:1-7; Matthew 2:1-18)

    Celebrating the power of Christmas to change us. 

Three Ways To Be Thankful

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night.” (Psalms 92:1-2)

Back when I was still living at my parents' home in Fayetteville, I remember hearing my pastor share a Thanksgiving sermon that was especially meaningful to me -- enough that I wrote down the main points and have kept them all these years!  As we prepare to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, I share with you these same “Three Ways To Be Thankful” in the hope that they will inspire you as they did me.

During Thanksgiving, we are challenged to have…

1) Thankful Minds - learn to become aware of all the blessings given to you by God… your family, friends, health, and for people that helps us be the best we can be.  In the words of a famous hymn, “Count your many blessings, see what God has done.”  In other words, learn to acknowledge the outward blessings of God.

2) Thankful Hearts -- Philippians 4:6 says “Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking Him with a thankful heart.” Learn to be thankful for the inner, spiritual “gifts” of God in our lives… blessings that may not be outwardly apparent, but which one can choose to see as blessings with the right perspective.  This could include things like being “thankful” for being laid off, for an illness that causes us to see our need for (and reliance on) God even more, and even learning to be thankful for the troubles and trials of life that help us grow.  In other words, learn to acknowledge the inward blessings of God.

3) Thankful Hands -- James 1:22 says that we are to “be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.”  “Hands” here represents our actions and deeds.  In other words, we are not called to keep our thankfulness of “mind” and of “heart” to ourselves.  Instead, we’re called to show thankfulness through what we do…  through our loving and caring for others, sharing their joys and sorrows, their good times and bad.

My prayer is that this Thanksgiving holiday, despite any challenges and hardships that you've faced lately, you’ll remember and enjoy God’s blessings in your life.  But more than that, I pray that you’ll also allow those blessings to inspire you to practice your thankfulness in the three ways above.  Remember, God loves you and I do, too!

Give Thanks for God's Saints

“To the church of God that is in... [Coweta County], to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, 

called to be saints...” (1 Corinthians 1:2)

“Rejoice in God’s saints, today and all days; a world without saints forgets how to praise.
Their faith in acquiring the habit of prayer, their depth of adoring, Lord, help us to share.

Some march with events to turn them God’s way; some need to withdraw, the better to pray.
Some carry the gospel through fire and through flood; our world is their parish; their purpose
is God.

Rejoice in those saints, unpraised and unknown, who bear someone’s cross or shoulder their
own. They shame our complaining, our comforts, our cares; what patience in caring, what
courage, is theirs!

Rejoice in God’s saints, today and all days, a world without saints forgets how to praise.
In loving, in living, they prove it is true: the way of self-giving, Lord, leads us to you.”

[--Fred Pratt Green, from the United Methodist Hymnal, #708]

Each November 1st is “All Saints Day” on the church calendar -- a day for God’s people to celebrate and remember the lives of all God’s “saints”: those living now who call Jesus their Savior; and those who’ve gone on to be with the Lord this past year.

I pray that you will join me this Sunday (November 5th) as we celebrate and remember the lives of all God’s “saints,” including those of our church membership who’ve gone on to be with the Lord this past year. Remember, God loves you and I do, too!