What a powerful Sunday we had together! I hope you enjoyed Sunday morning as much as I did. It was exciting to see our children in pajamas enjoying train rides and hot chocolate, and it was wonderful to have Veritas help lead us in both of our worship services. We experienced another “pandemic-record” in attendance that morning, and then we welcomed hundreds of people that evening for an amazing outdoor event, Christmas Under the Stars (see recap video below). The event was filled with laughter, fun, and powerful worship that served as a public testimony to the birth of our King. I’d like to thank our entire staff and the 50+ volunteers that worked so hard to make it happen. Your efforts paid off, as I believe God used that event to bless our church and our entire community. We were honored to register over 100 new guests that evening, and we pray that we will be able to minister to them even more in the coming days.
That is what Christmas is all about! We are always called as a church family to love those that God has placed around us, but I believe that responsibility is even greater during this difficult season. Our world is filled with darkness, but we are called to shine brightly as a city on a hill (Matt 5:14). When we do so, we demonstrate to the world that Jesus’s words were true when he said “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
We have the light of life in us, and because of that, we have an opportunity to shine brightly for Him this Christmas. Our deacons shined brightly last week, as our servant-leaders were commissioned to deliver 100 poinsettias to widows and members that cannot join us in person at this time. The gift of those flowers, as well as their presence, greatly ministered to those who needed a personal touch. Our music ministry is shining brightly, as Dodie Morris and Richmond Dewan have put together an amazing online Christmas production to minister to people anywhere in the world (see trailer below). I hope you are making plans to join us online, or in person for the viewing party this Sunday at 6pm in the worship center. But more than that, I hope you make plans to share the video with someone that needs to experience the Light.
This Sunday we will all shine brightly through our generosity. This weekend is our annual mission project, “White Christmas,” and our church family will continue to provide food and relief for those who need it most this season. I encourage you to bring your goods with you to worship this Sunday, or drop them off this week at the bins located by the main entrance driveway. Your gift of mercy will bring light and hope into those homes. And lastly, we all have an opportunity to shine brightly this month as we close out our budget year. God has blessed our church and community tremendously through your continued generosity and faithfulness. Our ministries have not slowed down during this pandemic. Rather our ministries have not only pressed on, but they have even expanded! We have been able to bless others in need, extend our online reach, and continue to offer excellence in live worship, Bible study, and children’s ministry because of you. Thank you for being faithful and steadfast in a year that has been filled with storms. God is shining through this church and I am excited to see what He is going to do as we strongly close out our annual budget through year end giving.
My prayer is that God will continue to bless you and our entire church during this important season. May He continue to bless us, and keep us, and shine His face upon us. Bring your White Christmas gift with you this Sunday, and come ready to worship and meet with the Lord. The best is yet to come.
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