A Letter from Pastor Mark - December



Dear Friends,

It doesn’t seem possible, but we have just started the final month of this year.  Soon 2014 will be history, and we will embark on the adventure of what will be the year 2015.  However, before we start celebrating the beginning of the New Year, we have the birth of Jesus to commemorate.

In Luke chapter 2 we read these words: “So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.  She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
I particularly like the way the Gospel of John talks about the coming of Jesus into the world.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that had been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it….  The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John refers to Jesus as the “Word.”  However, both Luke and John describe the coming of God’s light in the person of Jesus.  The darkness of the world was illuminated by the Son. Jesus has saved us from our sin and has given us the new life we so desperately need.  If Jesus had not entered this world as an infant, grown into a child and then into an adult, the salvation that was promised by God would never have become a reality.

So, it is good to celebrate.  A part of our celebrations should include worship.  During the four weeks of Advent the sermon series will focus on those personalities that are particularly important to the Christmas story:
November 26 & 30: Zechariah and Elizabeth
December 4 & 7: Joseph (the father of Jesus)
December 11 & 14: Mary
December 18 & 21: Innkeeper

Then on December 24th we will celebrate the birth of Jesus with four opportunities to worship:

Family Christmas Eve Service (with focus on the children) 5:30 p.m.
Contemporary candlelight Christmas Eve Service 7:00 p.m.
Contemporary candlelight Christmas Eve Service 8:30 p.m.
Traditional candlelight Christmas Eve Service with lessons and carols 11:00 p.m.
The contemporary services at 7 & 8:30 will be identical this year.  The traditional service will include a prelude of Christmas music starting at 10:30 p.m.

I encourage each of you to make worship of the King a part of your Christmas celebration this year.  I also ask each of you to consider extending an invitation to a friend, neighbor or family member to attend a Christmas Eve service with you.  Christmas is a time of the year that people are more ready to accept an invitation to church than at other times of the year.

May God bless your celebration of the coming of the King.
In Christ’s Abundant Love,
Pastor Mark

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