Weekly Uplook - December 17
Dear Saints,
It is the last week of the Advent season with us soon celebrating the First Advent of our Lord Jesus. As Christians we never tire of rehearsing the wonder of this season and yet the wonder much larger than just a baby being born in a manger. Interestingly, it is even larger than the magnanimous story of how the great God of the universe chose to enter into the world as a human being. We call this the Incarnation but I suspect most of us use words to describe it like amazing, incredible, inconceivable , unbelievable, and even impossible to comprehend. The wonder of this season is not just that Jesus…a baby born in Bethlehem and raised in the backwater town of Nazareth in the Middle East, lived a sinless life full of wisdom, love, and grace.
At Easter the wonder is extended when we consider this same Jesus was the Jewish Messiah whom the Greeks referred to as “the Christ” and offered his life as ransom payment for the sins of all humanity, but even that in it's enormity is not the bounds of the wonder. This same Jesus was miraculously resurrected from the dead three days later and after a few weeks ascended back to sit at God the Father’s right hand interceding for us. And finally, the wonder comes to full fruition in what the Apostle Paul terms a great mystery…
Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Colossians 1:26–27
I believe the greatest wonder for me during this season is this mystery. That God has made known to us the riches of the glory of this mystery baffles me and what’s more that He would send His only son, Christ Jesus not just to deliver us from sin but to set up his tent in our neighborhood and literally to make his home within our human hearts, now that is truly a wonder. Is it surprising Isaiah used those magnificent words, “Wonderful Counselor”…
Housekeeping notes: Our service schedule through the end of the year is as follows:
12/18 9:45 am Sunday School for all ages
11 am Sunday Morning service with special music
5 pm Sunday Evening “Carols and Candles” featuring the Junior SS class
No Bible Study on 12/21 OR 12/28
12/25 11 am Christmas Morning Service Only
1/1/22 11 am New Years Day Sunday Morning Service Only
Year end donations/contributions: For donations to be included in your 2022 tax letter, they need to be made prior to the end of the year. This means cash must be received BEFORE 1/1/23, checks must be dated BEFORE 1/1/23 and received within the first two weeks of the new year, and online donations must be made BEFORE 1/1/2023. We anticipate tax letters will be sent the third week of January after our return from the Philippines.
God bless you all as you enter afresh into the wonder and mystery of the season,
BB
Rev. William E. McKibben
Senior Pastor
It is the last week of the Advent season with us soon celebrating the First Advent of our Lord Jesus. As Christians we never tire of rehearsing the wonder of this season and yet the wonder much larger than just a baby being born in a manger. Interestingly, it is even larger than the magnanimous story of how the great God of the universe chose to enter into the world as a human being. We call this the Incarnation but I suspect most of us use words to describe it like amazing, incredible, inconceivable , unbelievable, and even impossible to comprehend. The wonder of this season is not just that Jesus…a baby born in Bethlehem and raised in the backwater town of Nazareth in the Middle East, lived a sinless life full of wisdom, love, and grace.
At Easter the wonder is extended when we consider this same Jesus was the Jewish Messiah whom the Greeks referred to as “the Christ” and offered his life as ransom payment for the sins of all humanity, but even that in it's enormity is not the bounds of the wonder. This same Jesus was miraculously resurrected from the dead three days later and after a few weeks ascended back to sit at God the Father’s right hand interceding for us. And finally, the wonder comes to full fruition in what the Apostle Paul terms a great mystery…
Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Colossians 1:26–27
I believe the greatest wonder for me during this season is this mystery. That God has made known to us the riches of the glory of this mystery baffles me and what’s more that He would send His only son, Christ Jesus not just to deliver us from sin but to set up his tent in our neighborhood and literally to make his home within our human hearts, now that is truly a wonder. Is it surprising Isaiah used those magnificent words, “Wonderful Counselor”…
Housekeeping notes: Our service schedule through the end of the year is as follows:
12/18 9:45 am Sunday School for all ages
11 am Sunday Morning service with special music
5 pm Sunday Evening “Carols and Candles” featuring the Junior SS class
No Bible Study on 12/21 OR 12/28
12/25 11 am Christmas Morning Service Only
1/1/22 11 am New Years Day Sunday Morning Service Only
Year end donations/contributions: For donations to be included in your 2022 tax letter, they need to be made prior to the end of the year. This means cash must be received BEFORE 1/1/23, checks must be dated BEFORE 1/1/23 and received within the first two weeks of the new year, and online donations must be made BEFORE 1/1/2023. We anticipate tax letters will be sent the third week of January after our return from the Philippines.
God bless you all as you enter afresh into the wonder and mystery of the season,
BB
Rev. William E. McKibben
Senior Pastor
Recent
Archive
2024
January
February
March
2023
January
February
April
September
October
November
2022
June
August
September