New Year Preparation

 

From the Pastor:

Happy New Year!

For most, if not all of you, this mailout will arrive just before the new year begins. That’s good news because you will be ready to begin our new bible reading plan for the year and you will be able to prepare for the new sermon series starting this Sunday in the book of Romans. The Bible reading plan that we will begin this year is a two-year plan designed to slowly take the reader through the entire Bible in that time span while also reading either a Psalm or portion of Proverbs daily. This plan even has built in “catch-up” days in case you find yourself falling behind in your reading. I think this plan will be great for us to begin this year because it is slower paced than plans we have tried in the past, which allows the reader to spend time reading the Holy Scriptures at a more contemplative pace. Let me also encourage you to spend time in daily prayer either before or after you have spent time reading God’s Word. Scripture reading and prayer are two of the most important spiritual disciplines that the Christian must devote time to each and every day, and as your Pastor I want to provide you with the ability and the encouragement to accomplish these important tasks every day.

Secondly, let me encourage all of you that are able to join us this Sunday either in person or on the radio as I begin our new sermon series on Paul’s letter to the church at Roman. Romans is one of the most important books in all of the Bible because it explains to us the fullness of the doctrine of salvation in Jesus Christ by faith alone, while also providing us with the practical knowledge of how we are to live as Sons and Daughters of our Heavenly Father. Romans is a rich letter from beginning to end, and I pray that it will help us to not only grow in our knowledge of God, but also that it would aid us in growing in our worship, obedience, and discipleship as we take the time to examine this great letter of the Apostle Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of building up the body of Christ.

Lastly, I am incredibly thankful for each and every one of you and the blessing that you have been to my family and I this past year. Lord willing, come April of 2021 it will be four years since the Lord brought me here to serve as pastor of this local church body. The time has passed quickly, but the Lord has been faithful every second of every day, just like He always is. We have had the privilege of adding to our faith family in this past year through baptism as well as others joining us by letter and statement of faith. Through all of the ups and downs of 2020 I am most thankful that God has shown himself to be ever-faithful no matter what may befall us. Of course, we know this to be the case, but to see him constantly reassuring us of this reality time and time again displays how great of a Heavenly Father he truly is. May God bless us in 2021 and may He continue to grow this local body of believers in number and in faith. Sola Deo Gloria!

Anticipation

 

From the Pastor:

Luke 2:29-32

Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word;

For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,

A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.

 

Anticipation is a huge part of the Christmas season. We anticipate time with loved ones. We anticipate all the good food we will get to indulge in. We, of course, anticipate the gifts that we will receive. But there is another anticipation that Christians should also be considering during this time, and that is the anticipation of the Lord’s return and the completion of His plan of redemption which will be experienced in the culmination of God’s Kingdom here on earth. Anticipating for that joyous occasion is what Christmas is really building towards. It’s not just about remembering what Christ has done, but it is looking forward to what He will do in the future. One of my favorite texts that highpoints the anticipation we should be feeling is the statement above made by Simeon at the circumcision of Jesus.

Simeon himself had been anticipating the time in which he would lay his eyes on the Lord’s Christ because God through the Holy Spirit had promised him that he would. Now, we do not know when the Lord had made this promise to Simeon and we do not know how long he may have waited for the fulfillment of this promise, but even if it had only been one day in advance could you imagine the anticipation of such an amazing promise made to you? I will confess here that at least on one occasion, and my sisters think there were more, I vomited (not a lovely picture I know) in nervous anticipation of Christmas morning the night before. I literally was so full of nerves and excitement that I could not contain it. Even to this day I am terrible at waiting for such events. I get nervous and restless to the point where it is almost overwhelming. So, I could not imagine the level of anticipation Simeon must have felt waiting to see the Christ.

Then the time came. Whatever Simeon may have been expecting, when the moment came the Spirit filled him with such fullness that holding the eight day old Jesus in his arms overflowed in this glorious confession. Simeon was made aware that this child he was holding was the savior of the world. That the Christ, the Messiah, had come not just to redeem his kinsmen, but to even awaken the Gentiles to their need of saving grace through the Light of revelation that was accomplished through the person and work of Jesus. God used Simeon’s great anticipation to reveal to all that were there that this child was no ordinary baby. He would continue in the verses following this text and state that even through difficulty, opposition, and even heart break this Child would save His people. A people that would be from every tribe, tongue, and nation on the planet He Himself spoke into existence. A people He had created from the dirt and breathed the breath of life into. A people that had forsaken Him, but that He would not abandon.

This week as you anticipate time with family, food, presents, and all the accompaniments of the Christmas season, anticipate the fulfillment of the salvation of Christ. Look forward in hope, joy, and love to the coming of Christ. Pray that He would return quickly to establish His everlasting kingdom here on this earth, so that the joy of His first coming would be overwhelmed by the glory of His second coming. God bless you all and Merry Christmas!

Joy to the World

 

From the Pastor:

Psalm 98

A Psalm.

Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!

For He has done marvelous things;

His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.

The LORD has made known His salvation;

His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.

He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth;

Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.

Sing to the LORD with the harp,

With the harp and the sound of a psalm,

With trumpets and the sound of a horn;

Shout joyfully before the LORD, the King.

Let the sea roar, and all its fullness,

The world and those who dwell in it;

Let the rivers clap their hands;

Let the hills be joyful together before the LORD,

For He is coming to judge the earth.

With righteousness He shall judge the world,

And the peoples with equity.

 

The Psalm above was the main the text used by Isaac Watts when he penned his famous hymn, “Joy to the World.” A hymn celebrating the coming of the one true King of the nations. We mostly associate this hymn with the Christmas season, but that is not believed to be Watts’s original intent. However, the hymn certainly strikes the right tone and tenor when we think of the Christmas season and the hope, joy, and love that the coming of Christ stirs us in the hearts of those who know him to be their savior and Lord. From the very first verse of his hymn, Watts states that “Let every heart prepare Him room.” In other words, it is the duty of all men and women and everywhere to submit their hearts to the Lordship of Christ because He alone posses the authority to sit on the throne of our hearts. Christ is the one and only King, and it is the obligation of all men to receive him as such. From there Watts also follows the Psalmist in prompting us to sing with joy the amazing revelation of the coming of the King. We should indeed celebrate that Christ has come, and not only in this season, but in all seasons. That’s why the third verse of Watts’s great hymn is probably my favorite…

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found,

Far as, far as the curse is found.

Why is it that Christ should be celebrated and praised as our one true King? Because He alone has removed the curse that condemned sinners from the very moment our first parents fell in the Garden. Christ came and became a curse for us, so that the effects of the fall could be overcome, and one day the results of the curse will be totally reversed. When Christ comes again He will not only our fleshly bodies, but He will also renew the earth and everything in it. Nor more will the creation suffer from sins reign. Christ will rule and reign on the new earth as all peoples from every tribe, tongue, and nation sing praises of joy and adoration to the King.

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