Christmas Eve Service

December 24, 2012

8pm

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this."
Isaiah 9:6-7

"My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning."

Psalm 130:6

Holy Spirit

“The Holy Spirit can rejuvenate a tired Christian, captivate an indifferent believer, and empower a dry church.”  

~Billy Graham~

 

Today is Your Best Day!

In God we boast all day long, And praise Your name forever. Psalm 44:8 (NKJV)

Here are four reasons why today is your best day.

- Today is your best day because you are here. God has placed you in this moment of time for a purpose, and the things that happen to you today will be an unfolding of that purpose.

- What happened to you yesterday, however easy or difficult, was used by God to help prepare you for what He has for you today.

- God will use what happens today to prepare you for what He has for you in future days.

- God has used your past and worked it all together for the good, and He will use this day to add to the good that He has already worked in your behalf.

Devotional excerpt by Roy Lessin, from his new book Today is Your Best Day.

Christian Behavior

"Many friends and acquaintances look at you with avid curiosity: How does a Christian respond in this situation? What does a person who goes to church every week and has one of those fish stickers on the back of her car do when bad stuff happens to her? Often they are really asking the questions not to judge you or criticize you but because they genuinely want to know  if being a Christian makes a practical difference in your life. When you react exactly the same way they would in a crisis, they can't help but wonder, Why in the world would I need her God? We have to ask ourselves the same hard question: If being a Christian makes no difference in the way we respond to problems, what good is our faith? What have we gained by going to church every weekend, attending Bible studies, memorizing Scripture, and sending our kids to Christian school if, when trouble comes, we're just like everyone else?"

-- Kay Warren, Choose Joy: Because Happiness Isn't Enough

How does God mold us?

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

One of Consistency

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

~~Hebrews 13:8~~

Lent

Lent
noun /lent/ 
The period preceding Easter that in the Christian Church is devoted to fasting, abstinence, and penitence in commemoration of Christ's fasting in the wilderness. In the Western Church it runs from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday and so includes forty weekdays.

So what does Lent mean to you?

Hope

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

Prayer

“Do not be anxious about anything
but in every situation, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.


And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hears and your minds
in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6-7