dec 1 | 10:15 am | office conference room coffee with the pastor
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to encourage you to consider making a year-end gift to help us balance the budget for 2024 . Now some thoughts on Advent … Advent is intended to be a Holy Season of waiting . As we await the coming of the Christ-child as if for the very first time , may we reflect on the One Sent by God to redeem the world . Our theme for Advent is simply , SENT ! God sent his only begotten Son as an expression of love – God loved , so God sent Jesus . Jesus is the everlasting and eternal gift that continues to reconcile us unto God . Through a relationship with Jesus Christ , we are gifted an abundant life now and an eternal life in the future .
Jesus is the embodiment of Hope , Love , Joy and Peace – the four themes we will explore during Advent . I believe that without Jesus , hope is not possible , love is not experienced , joy is not realized , and peace is not achieved . God sent his son to reign forever in our hearts . As followers of Christ , we are sent out into the world as ambassadors to share hope , love , joy and peace . We do this through our words and actions as we honor God with our very lives . We are sent as an offering to God .
Please join me in praying for our church – God continues to bring people through our doors to join our church family . They need to experience the hope , love , joy and peace of God that is present in our congregation . They come seeking God and we offer them a place to belong . We are welcoming them well as we communicate our tagline – You Belong Here ! I want to challenge you to keep your eyes open for people you encounter who could use a little hope , love , joy and peace – perhaps you could be so bold as to invite them to join us at Trinity
Church . Experts – whoever they are – say that Christmas is the time of year that folks are the most likely to accept an invitation to attend church . And through our church , they will discover a connection to God . We will have several special worship opportunities throughout the Advent Season – I hope you ’ ll invite others to participate .
The invitation extended by Jesus to his earliest disciples continues to be offered to us , “ Follow me .” We are sent to extend that invitation to others ! We may not always know where we are going , but we know whom we are following . God is faithful . Therefore , we expect great things and we are certain we will enjoy the ride !
Blessings !
Pastor Chris chris . neikirk @ trinityna . org
dec 1 | 10:15 am | office conference room coffee with the pastor
Come and connect with Pastor Chris the first Sunday of the month . Get a special brewed coffee from the Narthex and then gather in the church office conference room for a casual “ get-to-know-you ” time for new folks and old folks . Join in on the conversation !
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