November 10, 2011

Dear Church Family,

When I entitled the Fall sermon series “Genesis: Finding God at the Beginning,” I made it sound like we were going to seek and find God, as if we were expert treasure hunters. But the truth that we’ve seen time and time again in Genesis 1-11 is that humanity does not seek God. Romans 3:10-11 specifically tells us the same: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” We are all separated from God, and in our heart of hearts we don’t mind it that much. Luckily for us, God seeks after us because He loves us. He won’t allow us to go where our sinful hearts would like to take us. Since the fall of our first parents Adam and Eve, God has been on a rescue mission to save the world from sin. As you’ll see in our sermon this coming Sunday on Genesis 11, humans would much prefer to live for their own name and glory. This is sin and must be stopped. But there’s another story at work–God’s story. For in Genesis 12:1-4, we see God coming to a man and his barren wife and saying, “Abraham, I am going to bless your name; I am going to bring blessing to all nations through year; I am going to share My glory with you out of My grace.” God is seeking to bless those who would respond to Him in faith. Abraham believes and it is credited to Him as righteousness. How will we respond to God’s advances? Will we allow His loving pursuit to melt our hearts into belief? Or will we let our hearts be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness? To turn in faith to God is to experience abundant life; to stay turned away is to remain under judgment.

Announcements:

Operation Christmas Child, November 13: This is the last Sunday to return your Christmas boxes.

No November Ministry Community Meeting: Monday November 14th’s meeting has been cancelled. See you in December.

Guest Missionary and Preacher: On November 20th, we will be hearing a missions update from Larry and Jill Couch on their labors in Bosnia. Larry will also be teaching us from the Word.

Advent Sermon Series, John 1:1-18: Starting November 27, Pastor Matt will be giving 5 sermons on the prologue to the Gospel of John. These sermons will help us reflect and worship on the Christ Child. These sermons would also be foundation truths for non-Christians and new believers so feel free to invite friends and neighbors during Advent.

Cocoa and Carols, Wednesday December 7: Starting at 6PM, we will be visiting one or two senior centers to sing Christmas Carols and bring blessing to some dear people. A time of refreshments will follow at Jeff Olson’s home. (more details to come; mark this on your calendar)

Children’s Christmas Program, December 18: As a part of the December 18th worship service, our kids will be retelling the Christmas story and singing some of the Christmas songs we know and love. Pastor Matt will be preparing a shorter message on that Sunday, particularly geared to people not familiar with Jesus. Please pray for the kids’ preparation and the service as a whole. Kids, you will start practicing November 27th during the Flint hour.

More Christmas Details to Come…

Thanks for walking with me in this great journey,

Pastor Matt