Dear Friends and Family!
Yes, it was another wonderful week in the Lord, Sunday, and God continues to bless our church. We were blessed with a wonderful Sunday school hour led by Gerry D, blessed with a wonderful hour of family worship which ended with communion, and blessed to have Karlee T. and Kylee C. (great granddaughters of Bill and Judy C.) serve us the symbolic body and blood of Jesus at the Lord’s Table! Some say, ‘our youth are the future,’ but I say the future is already here! Aren’t you glad you are part of a church where kids are involved? God is good regardless of your age! Amen!
God’s message Sunday came from Matthew 2:1-12 and was titled, ‘What are You Seeking?’ Google has made a business of exploiting our search! But searches take more than fingertips! As the Magi teach, if we want to draw closer to Jesus, we must do more than think; we must go on a journey.
First, the journey to draw closer to Jesus requires sacrifice. While the star that guided them was unique and new, the magi could not use Travelocity, Kayak, or Airbnb to find flights, rent a car, or book a hotel room. To travel 1,000–1,200 miles in the first century would have been required an enormous amount of time, money, and courage. They risked their very lives to worship Jesus and bring Him precious gifts. How about you? What are you risking to follow Jesus?
Second, the Magi teach us the journey to draw closer to Jesus cannot be subcontracted. While there were many distractions, the magi remained determined to bring their gifts to… who? Jesus! They didn’t give them to King Herod and have him promise to make the delivery. They didn’t give it to the chief priests or teachers of the law either. Nothing stopped them from seeking Jesus and bringing their gifts to Him and so they mounted up their Camels and off to Bethlehem they went! So how about you? What are your gifts? Who gets them? Are you heading towards Jesus to bring Him your gifts or moving away from Him to keep them for yourself? What makes you hesitate?
Finally, the Magi teach us the journey to draw closer to Jesus includes outsiders. The Magi didn’t belong at the feet of Jesus. They came from a foreign place, spoke a foreign language, ate foreign foods, and dressed in foreign clothes. What they knew about the Messiah was very little, yet they came to worship the Christ child with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Scandalous, right?
Not in God’s Kingdom! The Magi show us you’re never too far or too foreign or too weird to come worship Jesus! God loves outsiders! If you are one of them, welcome home! You belong here! My prayer is our church will always be a place where misfits, foreigners, or anyone else seeking Jesus will always be welcome! Amen? Amen! Blessings, Pastor Dan
NEWS AND EVENTS
THIRD THURSDAY CHINESE LUNCH- JANUARY 17TH
Again, at 11:30 AM, join others at Hibachi Grill off Alpine for good food and fun! If
you have any questions, feel free to contact Tracy T.
MISSIONS NIGHT – JANUARY 23
After enjoying a delicious meal at 5:30 PM, stay and learn what missionaries are doing around the world as Sherry J shares this news at 6:30 PM.
NEXT WOMEN’S RENDEZVOUS IS JANUARY 26TH
Come to the church on this Saturday at 10:30 AM and enjoy time with others in fellowship and also snacks. Bring along a craft or perhaps help Tracy make cards for people this year.
FREE ONLINE SECURITY TRAINING!
Janie’s employer has graciously given us free access to their online security training class again this year for anyone interested. From their training site:
More than ever, your users are the weak link in your network security. KnowBe4 is the world’s most popular integrated Security Awareness Training and Simulated Phishing platform with over 10,000 customers.
Our basic training modules specialize in making sure employees understand the mechanisms of spam, phishing, spear-phishing, malware and social engineering, and are able to apply this knowledge in their day-to-day job. You get high quality web-based interactive training combined with common traps, live demonstration videos, short comprehension tests and scenario-based Danger Zone exercises.
As someone who has helped clean up many viruses, this is valuable stuff! Here’s the link: https://www.knowbe4.com/homecourse Use the password: homecourse
Have questions? Contact Pastor Dan – hathdan@me.com
WEDNESDAY NIGHT DINNERS
Dinner is served from 5:30 to 6:15 pm (before Bible study). Volunteers are needed to make main dishes, side dishes, or desserts. Please contact Cherry with any questions. At 6:30 PM, Bible study for adults and kids begins.
BOOTH PERSON STILL NEEDED:
The church is looking for someone who is interested in being a sound booth technician. You will need to be able to attend music practices Sunday morning at 9 AM. Let Janie know if you are interested at 616-204-2499 or hathjan@icloud.com.
GATHER BOX TOPS FOR NAZARENE INDIAN MISSIONS!
Thank you for collecting General Mills box tops! This program has provided PA equipment, computers, and even a 15-passenger van for the Native American Christian Academy. Questions and box tops should go to Fran S. or Sherry J.
DAILY DEVOTIONS – “REFLECTING GOD” IS AVAILABLE! FREE!!
“Reflecting God” is a daily devotional guide our church makes available free to anyone interested. The devotions provide a brief truth from the Bible every day. Reflecting God also has a section for reading the Bible in a year and praying for our missionaries! Feel free to take one! You’ll find them located on the table outside the sanctuary!
GUIDELINES FOR PRAYER REQUESTS:
Remember, to keep our prayer lists current, we only place requests in the newsletter and bulletin for 3 weeks without an update. If you want to keep your prayer request in the bulletin or newsletter, just keep filling out the tear off tabs and keep us informed!
UPCOMING EVENTS
January 14 Board Meeting
January 17 Third Thursday Chinese lunch @ Hibachi Grill 11:30 AM
January 23 Missions Night @ 6:30 PM
January 26 Women’s Rendezvous at 10:30 AM at church
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