Follow the Star in 2023

 

It’s interesting that the most famous star in history really isn’t at all about astronomy, but rather with the people who followed the star and why. The story of a group of influential political and religious men suddenly dropping everything in their daily lives and putting themselves in danger to follow an enigmatic star has intrigued people for millennia. Why such effort, expense, and risk? In their own words, the so-called Magi or Wismen said, “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 

How much these individuals understood the significance of the one born “King of the Jews” or their level of conviction, it was sufficient to compel them to take any measure necessary to find out more about this one to whom the star pointed. Isn’t that pretty good advice in 2023 for people professing to believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. 

Whether you have been a Christian for a short or long time, whether your understanding of who he is and what he has done for you is in its beginning stages or deeply embedded in your life, make the commitment of the Wisemen to find out more about him in the coming 365 days. Jesus never promised an easy or comfortable life to those who followed him. He did promise Truth and eternity. 

We stand at the threshold of a new year. Will you follow the Star in 2023? 

Weekend worship service times: Saturday: 6:00 pm – Sunday: 10:00 am 

Binge-watching

 

The technical sophistication of current Netflix and Amazon Prime mini-series makes shows of the past such as Gilligan’s Island seem like home movies. The writing and production skill has reached such levels that people will spend a day and night watching all the episodes of an entire season. We have even developed a new word for this addiction – binge-watching. Such a phenomenon is impressive given the entertainment savvy of the American people. 

It may sound counterintuitive, but the irony of our age is that our attention is consumed by stories which are of little lasting importance, and those which profoundly affect our lives, we ignore with an air of sophisticated boredom. Such is the case of Christmas. The opening words of Luke 2 can lead many to a state of drowsiness: “In those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed…” And yet, the story of God becoming a human being continues to be the one story in human history which stands as the most spectacular, profound, mysterious, exciting, and scary of all time. Try as you will, nothing comes close to it – especially when it dawns on us that our reaction to what we are reading determines the ”forever” of our lives. 

If your feeling toward the Christmas story is “been there, done that” or “same old, same old”, it might be you never really got below the surface. Join us for one of our weekend services – Christmas still is and always will be “the story of stories”. You owe it to yourself to get to the heart of it. 

Weekend worship service times: Saturday: 6:00 pm – Sunday: 10:00 am 

God Is The Promise Keeper

 

It’s easy to make promises, especially when we’re in a good mood. Someone needs help or some encouragement and so we promise to do something to resolve the issue.  Keeping promises consistently, however, is hard, extremely hard. And that is why when it comes time to actually carry through with what we said we’d do, we look for all sorts of ways to excuse ourselves from keeping the commitment. 

The consequences of not keeping promises, though, can be devastating. Promise breakers destroy trust and trust is the glue which holds relationships together. It isn’t uncommon to hear people speak bitterly of an incident which took place 20 years earlier in which someone had let them down by not doing what they had promised. There is even a saying about breaking promises that goes like this: 

“‘Promises are meant to be broken’ has broken so many hearts.”

It might sound negative to say that broken promises are always going to be a part of life, but unfortunately it is true. The reason is we live in a broken world filled with people who are very far from being perfect (including you and me)! But that sense of pessimism leads us to Christmas. While the focus of this season is on Jesus Christ and his coming into this world as our Savior, the whole story is really a “kept promise”. You see, from the moment evil entered the world, God promised someone, a human being, who would reverse the consequences of that evil. Throughout the entire Old Testament this promise was repeated and amplified. In the coming of Christ, it was perfectly fulfilled. 

If you’ve been the victim of broken promises or are dealing with the shame of being a promise breaker, join us for one of our weekend services. God is The Promise Keeper – all the time, in everything. 

Weekend worship service times: Saturday: 6:00 pm – Sunday: 10:00 am

The Doorbell

 

Fifty years ago, doorbells were certainly much simpler, but more often used. With all of our technology, personal visits in our homes are becoming rarer. For many of us, the main reason we have a doorbell is for the person delivering our packages from Amazon. 

Years ago, however, without such technology, the simple doorbell announced that someone was there. At times, the doorbell created feelings of excitement, like at Christmas. When the doorbell sounded it meant the relatives had arrived and the party would begin. At other times, the sound of the doorbell brought a sense of dread, especially if you had just broken the neighbor’s storm window with a fastball that went a little high. The old “ding dong” doorbell meant someone was there and something would happen. 

You might say that Christmas is a spiritual doorbell for the human race. The message of this time of year is startling, shocking and even confrontational. In the person of Jesus Christ, God himself enters human history to change life in ways we would never expect. For some, this spiritual doorbell brings dread. Others are apathetic to the message. But for those who have become convinced of the truthfulness of the message, Christmas is a time of exuberant joy. 

This weekend we’re going to be studying the opening verses of both Luke and John’s gospels (biographies of Jesus’ life). The two introductions are very different, but read together they create an announcement of unending hope to a world that is fast giving up on that commodity. If you’ve been ignoring your spiritual doorbell, join us for one of our weekend services. The One knocking at the door of your heart is too good, too great, too loving to be left waiting outside. 

Weekend worship service times: Saturday: 6:00 pm – Sunday: 10:00 am