November 25th, 2024

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
 
God, share Your blessings and grace with all of us; the blessing of family, the blessing of forgiveness of sins, the blessing of mercy and hope in times of sorrow and grief, and a whole lot more. Lead us to live out the life more fully that You gave to us. Lead us to trust in Your more and more. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son and our Savior, who lives with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, amen!
 
We are preparing for and anticipating the arrival of Jesus. We are celebrating the life that God gave to us. We are celebrating a new year, one that started on December 1st and we will celebrate the year that will start on January 1st.
 
We have a lot of activities packed into a small 31 day window. We have Advent midweek services and meals. We have school Christmas programs. We have a church Christmas program. We have a tour of homes. We have “Journey through Bethlehem.” We are collecting Christmas socks for one group in our community and beans and soup for another. Our ladies are providing seasonal greeting cards for the members and guests. We are worshiping. We are gathering. We are studying. We are serving.
 
At the same time, there is one event that tops all of the others. There is one event that ushered in an era of celebrations. There is one event that has been lived in and told for two thousand years. And It all started in a small house in a small town called Nazareth.
 
After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people. In the sixth month [of Elizabeth’s pregnancy] the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born5 will be called holy the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant6 of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:24-38)
 
It all started when Gabriel told the message from God to Mary. The salvation of the world was going to be born and Mary was going to be the “Mother of God.” From this momentous announcement came the everything that we hold dear. God gave to the human race the ultimate gift; the gift of His Son “conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary…” Because of that announcement we, who sinners by means of conception, receive our salvation and forgiveness of our sins. Because of that announcement, we live by grace through faith.
 
So, as we celebrate all that is happening here at Faith, at home, and with family and friends, remember why we celebrate along with the fact that it all started with an announcement.
 
See in all of our celebrations,
Pastor Robert