Pastor's Thoughts: December

Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope we are all looking forward to a wonderful Christmas season. This is a season that brings excitement and joy to many. However, I know this is a difficult time of year for some. We will remember those who are no longer with us and miss their presence, especially if they passed away during this time of year.

As we enter into the Christmas holiday season, I want all of us to remember the wonderful gift that God has given to us, His only begotten Son. God gave us the greatest of all gifts, and Jesus has brought us hope, peace, love, and joy. We remember these precious gifts as we celebrate Advent in each of our services this month.

I hope each of us will be encouraged to embrace the blessings that the Father has given us through the Son in the power of the Spirit. Let us remember what God has done for us and praise and worship God with our lives throughout this Christmas season.

On December 24, at 6:00 p.m., we will gather together for our annual Christmas Eve worship service. Our celebration of the advent of Christ throughout December will culminate on Christmas Eve when we light the Christ candle during the worship service.

The focus of the service will be on the coming of Christ and what Jesus came to accomplish. There will be a clear gospel presentation given during the service as well. This will be a great worship service to bring anyone that you know (friends, family, coworkers, etc.) who needs to hear the gospel. This will give you a great opportunity to follow up with them after service to have a gospel conversation with them about believing in Jesus.

Make plans to join us for our Christmas Eve worship service as we celebrate the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We look forward to seeing you there!

As we approach the end of 2024 and I begin to reflect on all that God has done at New Hope over the past year, I cannot express how blessed I am to be your pastor. I continue to see that God is doing great things at New Hope.

We need to take the time to reflect on how God has worked in our lives and the life of our church. This accomplishes a few things. First, it gives us a record of God’s faithfulness in our lives. As we remember all that God is doing in our lives and the life of our church, it causes us to be grateful. We must remember so that we will give thanks to the Lord our God for all that He does for us.

Second, it gives us confidence to look to the future. When we look back on all that God has done in our lives and the life of the church, it gives us great confidence that He is not done with us yet. We know that God has plans and purposes for each of us and for New Hope. Therefore, we can continue to trust Him and walk in faithfulness, knowing that God is the One who is going to work through us.

As we remember what God has done in 2024, it should cause us to look forward to 2025 with gratitude and confidence.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for being the almighty God of the universe. Thank you for your beautiful creation that we get to enjoy. Thank you for creating each of us and giving us life. Thank you for loving us so much that you sent your Son to give us new life through His death, burial, and resurrection. We praise You, Father, for you have done great things.
 
Father, we ask that Your will be done in our lives and in the life of Your church. We pray that You would use New Hope to fulfill the Great Commission and make disciples in our community and to the ends of the earth. Father, we ask that You fill each of our hearts with love for one another and for the people that we come in contact with during this Christmas season. Most of all, we pray that You will fill our hearts, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to love You above all else.

In Christ,
Pastor Ben