Ironic isn’t it that as I write this article we are almost to the one holiday on the American calendar that celebrates fear, and yet we are in the midst of our series on “trusting more, and fearing less”. Believe it or not I didn’t plan it that way. God is good! I hope that you are learning to fear less, as we go through this series and that faith in God is replacing the uncertainty that these difficult times bring into our lives.
In just a few weeks our Fearless series will end, and we will have the wonderful privilege to have Randy and Marli Brown here with us on November 8th in both of our morning services. They were here for one of our senior adult gatherings a year or so ago, and are really fun to worship with. Their website is www.randyandmarli.com in case you want a preview of what is to come. Randy is awesome on the keyboards, and they do a variety of music from gospel to Jazz. Mark the date on your calendar now, and bring a friend.
Thanksgiving is right around the corner and that brings a lot of busyness into the life of our church, with the Community Thanksgiving Service…the Harvest Dinner, and the Outreach team sponsoring a community thanksgiving meal this year as well, things will be busy, but we hope that all of this will help our community to be able to share in the blessings that God has given to us, and be thankful. For details on any of these events, check your bulletin or the church calendar. In all the Activity let’s not forget what thanksgiving is really all about…Giving Thanks! This year there are many who don’t see a lot to be thankful for. Jobs are being lost, incomes cut, taxes raised, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in site. This is a great season to remember the Apostle Paul’s words from 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” No matter what happens be thankful anyway! This is not an easy charge, but it is one that leads to a deeper faith in God’s ability to provide and a closer walk with God as we trust him. It is my sincere hope that as we celebrate thanksgiving, that we will begin to worship in such a way that our praise and thanksgiving will carry us on through the Christmas holiday, and help us to recognize just how very blest we are as a people. How has God blessed you? What are you thankful for? I would love to hear some responses via email, face book, or even on my blog. Let’s allow our attitude of gratitude to reign supreme this holiday season.
You are loved,
PJ