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 DECEMBER 30, 2022 Philippians 4:9 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. John 14:27 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 15:5 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. Isaiah 32:17 “The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.”   Righteousness is a biblical, theological word that at its simplest definition means right-ness, as in standing in the “right” place with God. How do we know we are standing in that right place? Simply, it’s when we have peace—Peace. Confident Peace that transcends every circumstance, every conflict, every difficult and dark place. The right place is abiding with Jesus, being Jesus followers living by His truth

 DECEMBER 29, 2022 JOHN 14:15-27 15 “If you love me, obey my commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. 18No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. 19Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. 20When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” 22Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”

 DECEMBER 28, 2022 JOHN 14:26-27 “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” When we think about the scene of Jesus’ birth, “peace” is probably not the first word that comes to mind. In Luke’s account of the story (Luke 2), we read that while Mary was pregnant, she and Joseph traveled about 80 miles on a donkey to Bethlehem, because of Caesar’s census. Upon arriving, the couple found there were no rooms available, so Mary had to give birth to the Savior of the world in a stable. To me, this scene of a journey in late pregnancy, newborn infant laid in a manger, the presence of animals, and the darkness of the night doesn’t exactly paint a picture of peace. Rather, it seems this situation results in an overwhelming and chaotic circumsta

 DECEMBER 27, 2022 John 14:27 “My Peace I Give to You.” The word peace is common in most languages. People can talk about peace treaties or times of peace; it means the absence of war. And in the Bible, the word peace can refer to the absence of conflict, but it also points to the presence of something better in its place. Two words in the Bible stand out, the Old Testament word “Shalom” and the New Testament word “Eirene” both can be translated as “peace,” but the meaning of these words suggests that the peace described in the bible is the presence of completeness and wholeness as a outcome of restoration. The core idea in the scriptures is that life is complex, full of moving parts and relationships and situations, and when any of these is out of alignment or missing, then “peace” breaks down. Life is no longer whole as God intended. It needs to be restored. So, the prophet Isaiah, in chapter 9 looked forward to a future king, a prince of Peace. And this Prince’s reign would bring ‘

 DECEMBER 26, 2022 Isaiah 9:6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Micah 5:5 “He will be our peace” LUKE 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Peace. God’s Promise of Peace. The Scriptures above emphasize that the Messiah, Jesus will bring this peace to us. Do you believe that? Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in reflecting on this promise of Peace observed in his well known Christmas hymn “I heard the Bells on Christmas Day” the following I heard the bells on Christmas day Their old familiar carols play And wild and sweet the words repeat Of peace on earth goodwill to men And later in the Hymn he writes, And in despair I bowed my head There is no peace on earth I said For hate is strong and mocks the song Of peace on earth goodwill to men Chris Rice, a Christian Songwriter in h

 DECEMBER 24, 2022 Luke 2:11  “Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” We hope you enjoyed our Jesse Tree Advent series and the glimpse of rich and relevant stories that fill the bible. It’s easy to see some common themes weaving throughout – promise and doubt, hope and waiting, faithfulness and struggle, and our God who loves and gives purpose to everyday people… and keeps his promises. Tonight’s service will welcome this  Child of Promise  as we journey to Bethlehem together. Come and join us at 6:30 pm Hot Chocolate and "goodies" 7:00 pm for carols, candlelight, and the story of Christ’s arrival!

 DECEMBER 23, 2022 Micah 5:2-5 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf. 3 The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies until the woman in labor gives birth. Then at last his fellow countrymen will return from exile to their own land. 4 And he will stand to lead his flock with the Lord’s strength, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. Then his people will live there undisturbed, for he will be highly honored around the world. 5 And he will be the source of peace. Our ears aren’t accustomed to hearing prophecies. We sure hear a lot of promises—campaign promises, wedding vows, promises from brands that buying their product will improve our quality of life. But those promises are so often broken that we start to think promises hold no real weight. And we might think the same is true

 DECEMBER 22, 2022 Jeremiah 33:14-15 “‘The day will come,’ says the LORD, ‘when I will do for Israel and Judah all the good things, I have promised them. In those days and at that time I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will do what is just and right throughout the land.’” At the time of today’s text, Jeremiah has been fighting a battle. A long, hard, uphill battle, which has now landed him in prison. All that  he has warned God’s people about is coming true. Despair is everywhere. Doom and gloom have taken up a home in the cities and villages. God’s promises seem to have come to an end. From where is their Saviour to come now? Who are they as a people? Has God abandoned them? Defeated. Exiled. Hopeless. Sagging and Tired. And into this despair God speaks: “I will fulfill the good promise I made . . . “ God gave the world his best so that we can experience the best even in the midst of our darkest. When life is demanding the best of you, lean on the

 DECEMBER 21, 2022 Isaiah 42:1-7 “Here is my servant , whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight ; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. 2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. 3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; 4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.” 5 This is what God the Lord says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: 6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captiv

  DECEMBER 20, 2022 2 Samuel 7:11b-13 “I will raise up your offspring to succeed you… and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” These words from God to David in 2 Samuel 7:12–13 is a powerful promise in the "now and not yet." We know that this promise is fulfilled in David’s son Solomon who would indeed build a house, a temple, for the dwelling of God’s glory. It was an awesome temple; it became the measure for any future temples. In 2 Samuel 7:13, God says, “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” This is not just talking about David’s kingdom or Solomon’s throne that would last throughout Solomon’s life. Davidic kings ruled in Jerusalem for more than four centuries, ending with the exiling of Zedekiah in 586 BCE. The word “forever” tells us we are talking about a throne, a kingdom that would be without end. It is a kingdom that is still going on today. During t

  DECEMBER 19, 2022 1 Samuel 16:7 "The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Here we have the account of Samuel’s search for Israel’s new king. God leads Samuel to Bethlehem where he was to invite Jesse to a sacrifice, and thereby Samuel began the interview process of Jesse’s family. Jesse presented his tall and handsome son, Abinadab, thinking he looked the part of a king. But God told Samuel to look for someone with the right heart. Jesse then presented six other sons, but Samuel asked, “Are these all your sons?” In response, Jesse then presented his youngest son, David. By outward appearances, this shepherd boy was not considered a good fit for king. Samuel took one look at him, and God spoke “This is the one; anoint him.” God had big plans for David. David would make some mistakes, big ones, but he had the heart and courage to lead God’s people. You see God calls, uses, and does great things thr

 DECEMBER 18, 2022 Ruth 1:16 “Where you go I will go, where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God” These words were spoken by Ruth, Naomi’s Moabite daughter in-law. Over the previous 10 years Naomi had experienced famine and the deaths of her husband and two sons. In addition, both her sons’ wives were barren. As she journeyed back to Judah her words were, “I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty…The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.” (v20-21) Can you empathize with Naomi? Have you ever felt abandoned or even treated unfairly by God? Well, the story of Ruth and Naomi is a story of God’s faithfulness that provides us hope for the future. By God’s hand, Naomi’s life would turn around once at home in Judah. Naomi would also play a significant role in Ruth’s redemption, ultimately helping Ruth to marry a man named Boaz, with whom Ruth would have a son. This grandson to Naomi would be a part of a powerful lineage including Jesse

 DECEMBER 17, 2022 Judges 6:15-16 “But Lord, …how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family?” The Lord answered, “I’ll be with you….” This story comes from a period is Israel’s history when it was weak – very weak. They had not been listening to God. I want to acknowledge that the damaging forces in our life are not always our fault but let’s be honest sometimes they are. In this story the destructive forces were Israel’s fault. Here is the backstory, during this time, whenever it was harvest time Israel’s neighbors  would invade and destroy its crops and cattle. For an agricultural society, this was as bad as it could get. Eventually they came to their senses. God chose Gideon, the weakest of the weak, (Gideon’s own words) and through him, God defeated the enemy so Israel could flourish again. We remember at Christmas the amazing gift of God. God himself took on the weakness of humanity to lovingly show us his way. So that we could flo

 DECEMBER 16, 2022 JOSHUA 6:16b-17 “the Lord has given you the city! The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord.” The way I see it, Joshua faced what looked like an impossible task. Yes, God had called him to lead Israel into the Promised Land. First up, they were to attack a large walled and fortified city. The battle plan was for the Israelites to approach Jericho and then wait seven days. You may recall the story, that this waiting place was an active period of waiting. God commanded them to march around the city every day, and seven times on day seven. I wonder if this plan might have seemed senseless to God's people, but Joshua God's chosen leader, followed his calling. He and the people obeyed. I love what Joshua told his people to do in this waiting period: “Love the Lord your God, walk in all his ways, keep his commandments, and hold fast to him, and serve him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Joshua 22:5). That sounds like good advice for

 DECEMBER 15, 2022 JOSHUA 2:12    "Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign.” HEBREWS 11:31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. JAMES 2:25  . . . was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? Rahab. Do you know her name and story? This is one of the great stories in the bible that displays faith, grace, and salvation. Rahab is introduced to us in the Bible as an Inn Keeper, and a prostitute living in the city of Jericho. We are told she enjoyed the protection of the king. Rahab had heard stories of the God of the Israelites and how he opened the Red Sea to save his people from the Egyptians. So, when she encounters two spies who are being hunted down by the king, she hides them in the roof of her house. Sh

 DECEMBER 14, 2022 EXODUS 19:5-6 “Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” EXODUS 20:1-2 And God spoke all these words: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery…. 1 PETER 2:9 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Most of us know them as the Ten Commandments. Yet, a far better rendering of the title may be God’s “Ten Words.” (Decalogue) These Ten Words were written by God’s own finger, not once but twice you may recall. These Ten Words in Exodus 34:28 are called “the covenant”. So important were these utterances from the Covenant God that they were among the items that were placed inside the Ark of the Covenant. The Ten Words served to point the people to the details of the entire covenan

  DECEMBER 13, 2022 Exodus 13:13-14 “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today… The lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” No sooner had the Israelites left Egypt then they faced a challenge: The Red Sea ahead and the Egyptians behind. Have you ever faced anything like that? Isn’t it interesting that in this situation of roadblocks, a fear producing experience, God tells his people I’ve got this , stand firm … be still . I don’t know what it is like for you in these situations of feeling surrounded with seemingly no way out, but “stand firm … be still, is not my go to response. Is it yours? Is it not the case that we are more likely to busy ourselves to find a way of escape, we spring into action, we practice “don’t just stand there do something.” In this case, our reading today tells us that “stand firm …. Be still” is the pathway through the trapped experience. Why? Well, it says “the Lord will fight for you.” I am bec

  DECEMBER 12, 2022 Exodus 6:6 “‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.” The Israelites had been in slavery for centuries. They were worn down. Their hope had nearly run out. But God made them a promise, "I will set you free." God then demonstrated his ability to keep that promise through unbelievable signs, that ultimately would lead to Israel’s release from Egyptian slavery. Moses was a messenger with great news. God was promising to free His people, yet hopelessness kept them from accepting that promise. The Bible says, “... they refused to listen anymore. They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery” (Exodus 6:9, NLT). Are there stretches in your life where you get so caught up in what’s happening around you, that hopelessness causes you to find it hard to believe God’s promises or God’s

 DECEMBER 11, 2022 Exodus 3: 11-12 “Moses said, ‘WHO AM I to go to the king and lead your people out of Egypt?’ God replied, ‘I WILL BE WITH YOU.’” Moses faced two questions at once “Who is God?” and the question of his own identity, “Who am I? You see God was asking Moses to be a leader of his people, who were under the stifling and oppressive rule of a harsh king. God’s intention for Moses was to lead the people out of Egypt, away from the ruthlessness of Pharaoh.  Let us admit that was no small calling. Moses response was he didn’t meet the requirements for such a task. I picture Moses with his eyes darting in all directions looking for a way to escape this divine call. Moses had recently returned from many years in exile where he had been an ordinary shepherd; he was getting up there in age; add to this that he was a foreigner. By Moses calculations and assessment of the task Pharaoh had the upper hand. God’s intention was to take Moses’ focus off his perceived inability an

 DECEMBER 10, 2022 Exodus 2:6 “She… saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. ‘This is one of the Hebrew babies,’ she said.” The Israelites are being oppressed by the Egyptians. Even so, Pharaoh, the Egyptian king, is worried that if they keep multiplying, they will overthrow him. Pharaoh tells his people to throw every baby boy born to the Israelites into the River Nile. A  baby boy is born to a certain Israelite woman, but she manages to hide him for 3 months. When she can no longer hide him, she makes a bassinet-boat, lays him in it, and puts it among the reeds at the river’s shore. Pharaoh’s daughter finds the baby in the basket among the reeds, and as he starts to cry, her heart melts, even though she recognizes him as one of the very babies that her father wants killed. That moment. That moment Pharaoh’s daughter felt something pure and good within her heart, but understood something dreadful in her mind…what was that like for her I wonder? Was she conflicted ab

 DECEMBER 9, 2022 GENESIS 50:20-21 "’You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives’ …he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.” Do you ever compare yourself to others? It’s a silly question in the age of social media, but take a moment to think about a time when you acted out in jealousy or perhaps when someone was jealous of you. Now let us think of a man named Joseph who grew up in a family with many brothers. He was favored by their father and his brothers couldn’t bear this favoritism . At the height of their sibling rivalry, Joseph’s brothers ganged up on him and sold him into slavery. Let that sink in for a minute: they sold him into slavery! After many painful years, Joseph finds himself in a position of power over his family in their time of need, and he chooses the unexpected. He chooses to extend grace and forgiveness. He chooses to give a second chance to his brothers. This beautiful Bible st

 DECEMBER 8, 2022 Genesis 28:14-15 “…All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go… I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Sometimes the consequences of choices and decisions can be a heavy weight to carry. This is clearly the case with Jacob. As he leaves home in search of a wife and to sort out his way in this world, Jacob leaves fearing his brother Esau would kill him for taking away his birthright, and his blessing. It is in a dream that Jacob hears God’s promise to include him in the covenant He made with Abraham and Isaac. God has promised Jacob a secure future and although Jacob believes his dream and declares that place to be blessed, his response is still more like a business transaction. We read that if God provides the things Jacob needs, he will follow God.  Before we are too critical of Jacob, lets consider the fact that his response is such a common human reaction to

 DECEMBER 7, 2022 Genesis 21:7 “Who would have said… that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne [Abraham] a son in his old age.” We have all gone through periods of waiting in our lives that seemed like they would never end? The Bible has many stories of people having to wait, wait to be delivered from their enemies, wait to be delivered to a new land, wait to meet the promised Messiah. Abraham and Sarah waited a long time to have a child. Are you ready for this? Sarah was 91 years old and Abraham 100 by the time they had a baby. This couple had endured decades of disappointment from their inability to have children.  This was no doubt more difficult considering God’s promise to Abraham when he called him. Do you recall in Genesis 12 the covenant that God makes with Abraham includes the promise “I will make you into a great nation.” In Genesis 17 God again says to Abraham “You will be the father of many nations. ... 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you,

 DECEMBER 6, 2022 Genesis 12:2-3 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you… and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” After 75 years of age can someone still change the world? For 75 years Abram worked the same job, in the same country, the same way his father had. He was destined to live an ordinary life and be forgotten in time. No son, no legacy, and no impact. But God had a different plan. He could have used a big powerful king to set up His great nation, but instead He chose a childless unknown man from Ur. You see when God steps in, things change. The childless couple become a nation, the unnoticed become famous, and the insignificant change the world. It feels like in the Biblical accounts that God loves choosing everyone’s last choice.  Being someone considered insignificant, who plays a minor role seems to be the very person God wants to use. That's tremendous news because that means God's blessing is not limited by our abilities, our st

 DECEMBER 5, 2022 Genesis 11:4 “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves” Do you ever worry life is out of control? It's an experience common to all of us, isn’t it? There is an old story from the Bible about some builders. This tower of Babel, which even non-Christians are probably vaguely familiar with, is often thought to be about human pride. However, there is another consideration I wonder about. In the ancient world, a world where life seemed like it might always be on the edge of chaos (floods or drought) it was thought necessary to get the gods on their side. A tower was a way of inviting a god down into a city to protect it. The Creator God, condemned this idea, and offered a different approach. Ancient people worried about life and its uncontrollable chaos, just like we do. They wanted to take control by arm-twisting the gods into attending to their needs. Our God doesn’t work like that. You ca