Respond to God Joyfully

Prepare to Respond to God Joyfully! This issue of the Beacon arrives at the

very beginning of the Advent Christmas season. Advent means arrival (I’m

sure you knew that) and the season of Advent is a time dedicated to

remembering the arrival of Jesus in His Incarnation and to looking forward to

His, hopefully, soon return. Advent is radically Jesus centered. He came. He

served. He suffered. He redeemed. He resurrected. He’s coming again!

What is our role in this Advent season? How do we respond to this reminder

of the Good News of the Christ’s arrival? WE PREPARE. Most great events

require preparation. Our role in Advent is to prepare our hearts to joyfully

receive the arrival of Jesus. The busyness of this season can overwhelm us,

or creep in and rob our joy. Religious familiarity of the season can dull our

joy as well.

RESIST! I would like to suggest that we be purposeful, not passive.

Intentional, not accidental. Let’s prepare to respond to JESUS, joyfully, this

Advent season. Let’s raise our expectations and expect to encounter HIM in

His fullness. As we gather around our tables let’s make sure that those who

gather with us are reminded of “The Reason for the Season”. Prepare to

Respond to God Joyfully!

Pastor Brian

Let It Be

“As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and

precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to

be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus

Christ.”

1 Peter 2:4-5 NIV

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with

God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the

apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the

whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And

in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by

his Spirit.”

Ephesians 2:19-22 NIV

As you read these verses, you might notice that both Peter and Paul reference the

fact that you and I, as Christ followers, are part of something much bigger than

ourselves. We are living stones being joined together by Christ. We have been

brought together for a purpose. Part of that coming together involves worship and

Peter states clearly that as we worship, we are fulfilling the role of priests and he

introduces the idea of the priesthood of the believer. You and I don’t need someone

to present us to the Father or to pray for us so that our sins might be forgiven. In

Jesus we have gained access to God the Father and can boldly approach the Throne

of Grace. In realizing this we are exhorted to worship with thanksgiving and praise. I

received a note from my mother recently which said “Sometimes emotions take you

places you don’t want to go. Hesitate, Think, and Pray. Life and sorrow don’t

match.” She ended her note with Psalm 13:5-6 –

“But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation, I will sing to

the Lord, for He has been good to me.”

Paul and Peter also describe our community as a Spiritual house, a dwelling in which

God lives by His Spirit. This suggests to me that we, individually and collectively,

are a place of peace and sanctuary and can be a comfort to the troubled souls all

around us. What happens when you walk into the room? Are you an ambassador of

peace or drama? Yield to peace. Claim your inheritance. Embrace His in failing love.

LET IT BE

Pastor Brian

Junk Drawers

Many of us have a drawer, we call it the junk drawer. Everything

goes in there and often can be found. Sometimes that drawer

becomes a closet, and for some that closet becomes a room. In

another church, I occasionally took a lady home after a meeting.

She never let me into her home. When she died, we discovered that

her room had become an apartment. She didn’t let me in because

she hoarded and there was no room for me. It cost $2000 to empty

and clean her rooms. Dr. Henry a former preacher mentor of mine

compared our lives to a house of many rooms that, had become

storage rooms for our past. He said that for the most part we keep

those rooms clean, but for some we hold on to one room or closet or

drawer to put our junk in. God wants the whole house. Jesus is

knocking at the door, let Him in. He’s a great house cleaner. He’ll

invite you to join Him and when the job is done, He’ll redecorate or

maybe do some restoration. Whatever the case the final product will

be more that you could imagine! Let’s join Him.

FYI the restoration of the Parsonage is moving forward at a rapid

pace. As of September 15, we have received $51,545.08 towards the

project! Thank you for your generosity. This morning, I was handed

a check for $2000!

Pastor B