Dear Grace Family: If you have not already done so, remember to sign up for our Christmas cantata, which we will offer at 11am, 2pm, and 5pm on December 20, 2020. Our music department has really worked hard on this, and you are in for a real treat! The registration process is offered on our website and Facebook page. The purpose of registration is to manage our numbers so that we are following our covid protocols. Note also that we are doing signups for Christmas Eve. Of course, all of these worship opportunities are offered online as well.
This Sunday, December 13, we continue our message series entitled “Incarnation.” Our scripture passages will be Isaiah 61: 1-4 and 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-24. The message is entitled “The Crucified God”, based upon a book by Jurgen Moltman. I will be talking about what it means to call Jesus “Immanuel”, which means “God With Us.” For God to be “with” us is more than God being present as an observer. Rather, it means that God’s heart suffers when our hearts suffer. It means that the God we worship knows what it is like to experience the most painful of human emotions. This is the only way that the One we worship can understand us and relate to us on our worst days.
Friends, thank you for your prayers for your church, your community, and your pastors. I know that I need your prayers every day because I am an imperfect follower of Jesus who needs the power of the Holy Spirit for daily guidance. As I have said before, if you love the worship opportunities at Grace, please invite friends to join us online or in-person. Share our services on your Facebook page. If you have concerns or questions, please contact me and let me know how we can be more effective. May God bless you and your families this week. All of us at Grace love and appreciate you. Pastor Steve Hart