Month: December 2016
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Announcements – December 30 2016
Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
Here at the start of another new year, we normally do what we do every year at this time. We reflect upon the twelve months that have just passed and we anticipate what is likely ahead in the coming fifty-two weeks. Sometimes this can be a rather uncomfortable thing to do, especially in light of the uncertainty regarding the future. However, every generation of believers in Christ has faced the same challenge when anticipating what is ahead. And if we take the Word of God seriously, then we know that we have been assured that both joys and sorrows await us in the new year.
The Word of God states the matter rather bluntly: “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty”–2 Timothy 3:1. Yet despite this rather unsettling assurance of future challenges and trouble, those who belong to Christ have always been a people of radiant hope and unflagging joy! And the reason for this is what Paul calls “the blessed hope,” which is “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ”–Titus 2:13.
For two millennia, believers in the Lord have found their source of unassailable hope in the certainty that the Savior will come again! And as He promised (John 14:1-3), when He appears He will take us home to be with Him forever! And the place we are going with Him is heaven, or as Revelation 21:2 says, “the holy city, new Jerusalem”!
Now, what exactly is this place, this “new Jerusalem”? Where is it? How is it related to the present (old) city of Jerusalem? And what will it be like there?
Our answers to these questions are found in Revelation 21:1-27, and what is depicted here stretches human language past its breaking point! Here is a vision of our future! And what this passage presents is a stunning description of heaven itself! This is our destiny! Our final place of rest and peace! And this is what gives us joy and hope now, even as we face the uncertainties of 2017 and beyond!
On Sunday we will explore this amazing passage of Holy Scripture. And like generations of believers before us, we too shall discover the unshakable foundation for our eternal hope and joy! Let your heart and mind soak for a while in this wonderful portion of God’s Word, and pray that the Spirit of the Living God will comfort and teach us as we gather in worship before Him on the Lord’s Day.
No Sunday School This Week
Remember that there is no Sunday School this Sunday, January 1. Our fellowship time will be at 10:00 AM, followed by Worship at 10:30 AM. Then on January 8 at 9:15 AM Sunday School will resume. Our Adults will be studying The Blessing of Humility, by Jerry Bridges. You can secure your copy here:
A New Friday Feature: Connecting With the Catechism
Beginning today I want to issue a little challenge to the Church family for 2017. Let’s start working on memorizing the 107 questions and answers of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. This will be a great opportunity for growth in our understanding of Reformed doctrine, as well as a good resource for personal and family Bible study/devotions.
Each Friday I will list two or three questions and answers along with the Scripture proofs from which the answers come. The text of the Catechism we will use is taken from The Westminster Shorter Catechism In Modern English, by Douglas Kelly and Philip Rollinson. Here is the Amazon link if you would like to purchase a copy:
Today we will start with the first three questions and answers. As you memorize the Catechism questions, be sure to study the Scripture verses that support each one.
Q1. What is man’s primary purpose?
Man’s primary purpose is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.
Ps 73:25; 1 Corinthians 10:31
Q2. What authority from God directs us how to glorify and enjoy Him?
The only authority for glorifying and enjoying Him is the Bible, which is the word of God and is made up of the Old and New Testaments.
Eph 2:20; 2 Tim 3:16; 1 John 1:3
Q3. What does the Bible primarily teach?
The Bible primarily teaches what man must believe about God and what God requires of man.
2 Tim 1:13
I love you all, and can’t wait to see you on Sunday!
Mike
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Announcements – December 23 2016
Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
It’s hard to believe, but Christmas is here! And this weekend we will have the blessed opportunity to celebrate the birth of our Savior together in two services of worship. Tomorrow on Christmas Eve, we will meet at 5:00 PM for our annual Christmas Eve Service. And then on Sunday morning, Christmas Day, we will worship together at 10:30 AM (there will be no Sunday School).
Tomorrow night, through a series of Scripture lessons and familiar Christmas carols, we will once again hear the greatest story of all—the Good News of the incarnation of Jesus, the Divine Son of God. Our service will end with a brief sermon from John 17:14-16, followed by the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Our Christmas Eve message is entitled ‘In the World, But Not Of the World.’
Then on Christmas morning, our final message from John 17—our Lord’s ‘farewell prayer’—will focus on the words of verse 24 where Jesus makes a most passionate request of His Father: “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” In these inspired words we discover the infallible Gospel-promise that, in the end, all who have believed upon the Savior will be “with” Him “where” His is forever, and forever in view of His eternal “glory”!
As we give ourselves to the worship of the Incarnate Son, we will come to know the abiding peace and joy that attended His First Advent. Despite what is going on around us, and all that shall come to pass in the days and years ahead, the truth that God has come to us in Christ changes everything! Let us pray that as we worship the King, we will be renewed in our love for Him and for the things of His eternal Kingdom. And let us discover the supernatural assurance that, as the Father has loved the Son from “before the foundation of the world,” our faithful Savior will love us and keep us safe until He Himself receives us into heaven and the perfect happiness that awaits us there!
I love you all so dearly, and rejoice every day in the honor and blessing of being your pastor and brother in the Lord.
On behalf of Carol and our entire family, we pray that your Christmas will be most merry in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Mike
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Announcement – CARE Center Bags of Blessings
Church Family,The Care Center provides weekend and holiday-break take home food bags for children not getting enough to eat on these days. The food bags are assembled once each month (twice when holiday breaks occur). The assembly/packing of the bags requires 25-30 helpers and the Care Center desires that churches/other organizations sponsor each assembly/packing event by providing the work force. The assembly/packing events normally takes place 6:00 – 7:30 PM on the last Wednesday in each month or just before a holiday break at the Care Center Pantry Facility in New Hope.CPC is considering sponsoring an assembly/packing event in March or April 2017, and the church would need to provide 25-30 workers.The purpose of this email is to see who would like to participate in this worthwhile (and enjoyable) cause: feeding hungry children.Our Senior Fellows currently help with the setup of the food for the assembly/packing events, but this event is open to all men, women, and youth in the church.If you would like to help and commit to one or two evenings of assembly/packing of Bags of Blessings in March and/or April, please respond to Norman Dean, ndeaniv@gmail.com, with your availability.When we receive enough support to move forward, we will provide more information.Thank you. -
Announcements – December 16 2016
Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
On this coming Lord’s Day, the fourth Sunday of Advent, we will return to our Lord’s high-priestly prayer in John 17 to discover more about our divine Savior who came to Bethlehem in order to redeem us from sin’s curse. And as we have traveled through these beloved words that were prayed out loud by Jesus in the hearing of the Disciples, we have learned so much about Him. It is true that this is far more than a prayer. For it is also a deliberate self-revelation of our Lord, intentionally designed to prepare the Disciples for their mission to the world. By listening in amazement as Jesus prayed for them, they were made ready for all that would transpire in the hours and years ahead of them. Here are the truths they desperately needed to embrace as they went from this blessed time of communion with Jesus into a hostile world that would soon crucify the Son of God. This Sunday morning, we will be looking at just three lines from this prayer that we find in verses 17-19.
As you read these sacred words, you may notice that there is a key term that Jesus uses three times. In the English Standard Version, the word is rendered “sanctify” twice and “consecrate” once. And this is certainly the theme of this small section of the great prayer. As Jesus makes intercession before the Farther, He now speaks of sanctification, both His sanctification and the Disciples’ sanctification. And we also perceive that these lines reach a crescendo in verse 19 when Jesus declares, “for their sake I consecrate myself . . . .”
Of course, we want to know what this means. What is implied by this important word “sanctify,” and what does it mean that Jesus, in the midst of His prayer, announces His sanctification to the Father just as He is about to go away to be crucified? And what does it mean that He also prays for the sanctification of the Disciples, and, by extension, our sanctification?
I believe there is a rich and comforting Christmas message to be discovered here! Let us pray that we will find it, and by faith enter into the true joy of this most wonderful season.
I love you all, and pray for you always!
Mike
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Announcements – December 9 2016
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
As we continue to celebrate the blessed season of Advent, we will again turn our attention to John 17 this coming Lord’s Day. We will be considering our Lord’s prayerful words as recorded in 17:11-13. Of course, these are the things for which Jesus prayed out loud in the hearing of the Disciples on the night of His betrayal. And as we ponder the specific things He said to the Father in this payer we discover an infinite well of eternal comfort and assurance.
In these verses Jesus recalls to the Father how He—the Incarnate Son of God—has faithfully discharged His duties and carried out His mission to the world with perfection. He has accomplished all of the Father’s will and, more specifically, He has protected all of His sheep and delivered eternal life to them. In verse 12 we learn that Jesus has “kept” the Disciples in the “name” of the Father. Also in verse 12, we see that the Faithful Son—the Good Shepherd—has “guarded” His sheep and “not one” of His precious elect has “been lost.”
As we contemplate these beloved truths from the lips of our Savior, we also need to remember that they apply directly to us. For as Jesus says in verse 20, His prayer is also “for those who will believe in Me through their word.” We too must find the divine source of our joy and comfort in these things: The Father has given Jesus the gift of sheep to redeem, and this includes each of us who have confessed that He is Lord. And then, Jesus has given to these very sheep the blessing of everlasting life, along with everything else that this new life includes, both nowand later. And, there’s more! For at this very moment, Jesus continues to give to those whom He has saved!
So it’s true after all. Christmas is all about giving! But it is first and foremost about God’s gift to His Son in eternity, and the Son’s gift of eternal life to us!
So come, let us adore Him once more this Lord’s Day! And may we give our lives back to Him in response to His gracious gifts and love!
Before I go, let me once again remind you of our Christmas Eve Service of Worship and Communion, Saturday evening, December 24 at 5:00 PM. We look forward to another blessed time of Scripture lessons and carols, and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. And then on Sunday morning Christmas Day, we will gather again in the Name of our Incarnate Savior for Worship! I can’t wait!!
Have blessed weekend and I’ll see you Sunday.
All my love to all of you,
Mike