From Our Pastor | Merry Christmas!  I hope you are enjoying this Christmas season.  It is a wonderful time of excitement and fun.  Children (including those of us who never grew up) love this time of year.

From Our Family and Music Minister | The introduction of electricity was a major historical event in our world. Many people were stunned by its introduction and thought it intimidating, scary, and unnecessary.  Not everyone was impressed when the news got out that Edison was developing the first practical electric light bulb. A British Parliament Committee wrote that Edison’s light bulb was “good enough for our Transatlantic friends… but unworthy of the attention of practical or scientific men.” However, today, we can’t imagine life without it. Unfortunately, those who cannot benefit from it often experience life in darkness. Similarly, the birth of Jesus completely changed the course of the world. Those who accept Him as Savior can benefit from His life instead of remaining in the dark.

From Our Pastor | As we look at our nation, it is increasingly obvious that we are under God’s judgment.  For years we have been experiencing judgment by the means of the consequences of our sins.  We are now seeing God’s direct judgment upon us.  We are plagued in so many ways in so many areas.

From Our Family And Music Minister | I hope this week has been a great time for all our church family as you celebrate Thanksgiving. This is one of my favorite times of the year. It is a great time to get together with family and friends and enjoy spending time with each other. Not only am I blessed with a loving family, but I am also blessed with a great church family. I know that several of my articles in the past have dealt with my church family. However, I can never stress enough the importance of being a part of one. They are always there during the good times and the bad.

From Our Pastor | Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you have a wonderful day with family or friends.  We have so much for which to be thankful.  God has been so good to us.

From Our Family And Music Minister | A few years ago, my sister and I got a rescue dog named Bailey from the local pound. When we brought her home and gave her a bowl of food, she immediately picked it up and hid it. She was so used to not having food that it took her several weeks before she stopped guarding her food and hiding it. However, she never took it for granted; she would always eat whatever food we got her, and we didn’t have to worry about her wasting it. Fast forward a few years, and now I have a little adopted dog that came with my wife. Lulu has always had food and never had to worry about where her food comes from, including being given treats behind Saskia’s back by more than just me. If Lulu is not fond of a particular dog food, she only eats what she has to. And if we mix the food she doesn’t like with food she does, she pulls each piece out of the bowl and eats the good stuff while leaving the cheap food for the other dog. Bailey was more thankful for just having food because she had done without. As the holiday season approaches and we begin to share everything for which we are grateful, we must also remember to be thankful for the little things. We have to be on guard not to be thankless because it may be something we have always had.

From Our Pastor | What a wonderful God we have!  We can trust Him with every situation in our lives.  He promises to provide for our every need (Matthew 6:33).  He tells us not to worry about anything (Philippians 4:6-7).  He tells us to cast all our burdens upon Him (1 Peter 5:7).

From Our Family and Music Minister | I believe that one of my favorite television shows would be This Old House. I enjoyed watching the different types of workers and trades it took to bring an old house back to life. Just as those projects took people gifted in many different areas to accomplish, a church needs people with different gifts to grow God’s kingdom. In 1 Peter 4:10, we see that every believer, through God’s grace, is given at least one gift that should be used. As believers, we are called to share in God’s work by using the gifts that we have received to build up other believers and to bring honor to our Heavenly Father.

From Our Pastor | Do you spend time with God in His Word?  Don’t rob yourself!  God blesses and guides us through the Scriptures.  In Psalm 19:7-8, David was inspired to write, “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.  The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.”

From Our Family and Music Minister | One of the things that I have learned about myself over the years is that I am a giant creature of habit. In most things, I am not a fan of change. Even though I love technology, I will get in the habit of doing something one way and never change to an easier way for the simple fact I just never think to do it. A few weeks back, I had to set the maps on the car to get to the Atlanta airport. Even though I had driven right past the airport exit several hundred times when I went to school in Atlanta, the few changes they have made from transitioning to the 285 bypass from Interstate 75 are different enough that I don’t recognize them anymore. However, one thing we can count on is that there will be change.