Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Merry "CHRIST"mas!! We are almost at the end of the Advent Season and on Sunday we will be celebrating Christmas! I wanted to write to you all and share my heart on how much I love serving you as your pastor! I want to thank you all for your prayers and support as we come to the celebration of our Savior's birth at Bethlehem! On behalf of my family and the staff I wish to thank all of you for the amazing support you give us throughout the whole year and for your gracious gifts this Christmas! From our family to yours we wish you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and wherever you are this Christmas Eve and Christmas Day may the Lord richly bless you as our whole nation pauses to celebrate the greatest gift of all time JESUS CHRIST, OUR LORD, EMMANUEL!
Please Remember:
DEC 24 Christmas Eve Candlelight Service 7:00 pm AT THE EMU Site OF CROSS AND RESURRECTION.
DEC 25 Christmas Day Service 11:00 am at EMU Site (last Service of 2011! no New Year's Eve service this year)
JAN 1 New Year's Day Service 11:00 am at EMU Site, Holy Baptism for Joseph Walter Distelzweig
LOOKING FORWARD
Please watch for the new electronic sign coming out front soon! Planning for the Dedication of the New Fellowship Hall in Feb. Exciting study on "Kingdom" coming this Epiphany Season! Continued studies for all ages and experiencing the KINGDOM Power of Healing etc... in the ministries at Cross and Resurrection EMU and ALIVE! Tecumseh in 2012!
Again a huge "THANK YOU" to all of those who have been faithful in keeping their pledges to the Building Fund, as of this week we have received all but one of the pledges and many gave even more than they pledged! We even have people who did not pledge, giving to the Fund as well! We are so grateful for the many gifts of charity given through the Agape Fund, Giving Tree, special offerings etc...Well done good and faithful servants!
I know I don't have the time to thank all of you who use your gifts as volunteer staff, Council and Elders and so many others who teach, serve and bless so many in our family BUT KNOW THAT I LOVE YOUR FAITHFULNESS AND THAT OUR LORD KNOWS HOW FAITHFUL YOU ARE IN SERVICE!
SO: I know you have gotten a lot of Christmas Cards, emails etc.. But I wanted to share with you the wonderful words fulfilled by the birth of JESUS the CHRIST born in Bethlehem so long ago:
FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN, UNTO US A SON IS GIVEN AND THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE UPON HIS SHOULDERS AND NAME SHALL BE CALLED WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, ALMIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, THE PRINCE OF PEACE! (ISAIAH 9:6)
BUT THAT IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY: "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 9:7) Praise the Lord, Alleluia! AMEN!!
Have a VERY Merry Christmas and a HAPPY BLESSED New Year!
Love in Jesus, the one who saves us,
Pastor Bryan
Friday, December 23, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
More Power! 2nd Sunday in Advent Dec 4, 2011
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Today we celebrate the truth of St. John the Baptist's words in Mark 1:1-8 specifically vs 7: "After me will come One more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie!" As we prepare for Christmas, in this Preparation season of Advent, we can be forgiven for tuning out the hype of the sales, sears: amazing one day sale, JC Penny, Kohls. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday...it is too much. I laugh at the "REGULAR" price because I wonder if things ever really cost that price? It should therefore catch our attention when someone like John, the Baptist, shows up in the second week of Advent. He is not the norm. What he eats, what he wears, what he says all stand out and his ministry is certainly "SUCCESSFUL!" Yet John understands something that also stands out: that his ministry is to prepare the way for Jesus. I think it is brilliant that Mark starts his gospel with this promise of Mal 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3 "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way 'a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" This was specifically "Elijah" or otherwise known as, "John" who understood after living, since conception, as the one who prepares the way. We remember his leaping in the womb when his mother Elizabeth was greeted by Mary in Luke 1. We remember his Ministry starting 6 months before Jesus as Numbers 4:3 states at 30 years of age. We see him serving the Lord by Baptizing him. We recognize the that even with the shock value of his clothes, eating habits, and his words, he was successful in the work of Repentance. After all it says all the people from Judea and everyone from Jerusalem.
What we learn from John is that we are all called to prepare the way for the Lord. We are called to be used to reach up, in and out in order to direct people to the Mighty One who has the Power, Love, Grace, Hope, etc... Jesus Christ. We can learn from John that as he shares in John 3:30 "He (Jesus) must become greater, I must become less!" This is consistent with the humility he showed when Jesus asked him to Baptize him, and John in Matthew 3:14 says "I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me?" He states in Mark 1:7-8 today that: “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with or in water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” When he describes his position of not being worthy to stoop down and untie his sandals, in Matthew it says "carry" them, he is helping us understand the posture for us to have as we prepare for the coming of Jesus this Christmas. If we want to experience the power that our Lord wants to pour out on us His Children we can prepare our hearts and minds by repenting of pride and humbling ourselves before the Lord. Then we will understand what it means that we celebrate the truth of the one coming with more power, to lift us up, carry us through and help us to fix our eyes on the prize of HIS SALVATION won on the cross of calvary, by His precious Blood and proven in the empty tomb! More power is always my prayer and it does not come from bettering ourselves but by humbling ourselves. That's preparation!
Love in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior,
Pastor Bryan
Today we celebrate the truth of St. John the Baptist's words in Mark 1:1-8 specifically vs 7: "After me will come One more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie!" As we prepare for Christmas, in this Preparation season of Advent, we can be forgiven for tuning out the hype of the sales, sears: amazing one day sale, JC Penny, Kohls. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday...it is too much. I laugh at the "REGULAR" price because I wonder if things ever really cost that price? It should therefore catch our attention when someone like John, the Baptist, shows up in the second week of Advent. He is not the norm. What he eats, what he wears, what he says all stand out and his ministry is certainly "SUCCESSFUL!" Yet John understands something that also stands out: that his ministry is to prepare the way for Jesus. I think it is brilliant that Mark starts his gospel with this promise of Mal 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3 "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way 'a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" This was specifically "Elijah" or otherwise known as, "John" who understood after living, since conception, as the one who prepares the way. We remember his leaping in the womb when his mother Elizabeth was greeted by Mary in Luke 1. We remember his Ministry starting 6 months before Jesus as Numbers 4:3 states at 30 years of age. We see him serving the Lord by Baptizing him. We recognize the that even with the shock value of his clothes, eating habits, and his words, he was successful in the work of Repentance. After all it says all the people from Judea and everyone from Jerusalem.
What we learn from John is that we are all called to prepare the way for the Lord. We are called to be used to reach up, in and out in order to direct people to the Mighty One who has the Power, Love, Grace, Hope, etc... Jesus Christ. We can learn from John that as he shares in John 3:30 "He (Jesus) must become greater, I must become less!" This is consistent with the humility he showed when Jesus asked him to Baptize him, and John in Matthew 3:14 says "I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me?" He states in Mark 1:7-8 today that: “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with or in water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” When he describes his position of not being worthy to stoop down and untie his sandals, in Matthew it says "carry" them, he is helping us understand the posture for us to have as we prepare for the coming of Jesus this Christmas. If we want to experience the power that our Lord wants to pour out on us His Children we can prepare our hearts and minds by repenting of pride and humbling ourselves before the Lord. Then we will understand what it means that we celebrate the truth of the one coming with more power, to lift us up, carry us through and help us to fix our eyes on the prize of HIS SALVATION won on the cross of calvary, by His precious Blood and proven in the empty tomb! More power is always my prayer and it does not come from bettering ourselves but by humbling ourselves. That's preparation!
Love in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior,
Pastor Bryan
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