Have you ever wondered why we say Merry Christmas? Modern day use of the word merry means festive or cheery; but hundreds of years ago, merry also meant peaceful and blessed. Thus, when you say Merry Christmas you are literally wishing someone a peaceful or blessed Mass of Christ(although Christmas can also literally mean Christ is sent). As protestants, we don't celebrate mass, but rather attend services or church. On Christmas Eve at Horizons,we usually gather for a service of carols,communion and candle lighting to celebrate and remember that Christ has been sent and we are called to remember His cradle, His cross and His crown and share that hope and light and love with others.
From our hearts to yours - Merry Christmas! And may Christ be the center of your Christmas this year.
Pastor Rich
Friday, December 24, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Preventive Maintenance
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Often times we act on need or impulse. I continue to learn this valuable lesson of preventive maintenance. We can do some things today to prevent failure, sickness, issues that come in life. I get my oil changed and I ensure that all my fluid levels are up to make sure my car is operating at high level. I take my vitamins, eat my green vegetables, exercise, all to stay healthy. It's much easier to maintain than deal with sickness.
As we begin to start the holiday season, excess become our buzz word. Hey its the holidays let's indulge in all the goodies, pile on the helpings we may say. I am not denying that human side of us that likes to let our hair down for some temporary yummies.
When it comes to our spiritual well being, that is our spiritual health; what are we doing to prevent crisis? It is incredibly important to maintain our spiritual nature. We are constantly at war with our fleshly nature, as it is in constant state of being fed. We must feed our spiritual nature. We can't live on a Sunday only meal, we must dive into the word, get into fellowship, and pray "continually". When we take these proactive steps, we can avoid many of the pitfalls in life. Not all of them, because occasionally they have purpose and we learn and grow from them and manage through the trial. Scripture encourages us to live by the Spirit.
Romans 8:13,14 "For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God"
I would encourage you to read more in Romans 8 as this is a marvelous chapter to help us sort out the spiritual nature and the power of God's love as we put to death the misdeeds of the flesh.
Life has its challenges let us all be "More than Conquerors" as we learn and grow together.
Pastor J
As we begin to start the holiday season, excess become our buzz word. Hey its the holidays let's indulge in all the goodies, pile on the helpings we may say. I am not denying that human side of us that likes to let our hair down for some temporary yummies.
When it comes to our spiritual well being, that is our spiritual health; what are we doing to prevent crisis? It is incredibly important to maintain our spiritual nature. We are constantly at war with our fleshly nature, as it is in constant state of being fed. We must feed our spiritual nature. We can't live on a Sunday only meal, we must dive into the word, get into fellowship, and pray "continually". When we take these proactive steps, we can avoid many of the pitfalls in life. Not all of them, because occasionally they have purpose and we learn and grow from them and manage through the trial. Scripture encourages us to live by the Spirit.
Romans 8:13,14 "For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God"
I would encourage you to read more in Romans 8 as this is a marvelous chapter to help us sort out the spiritual nature and the power of God's love as we put to death the misdeeds of the flesh.
Life has its challenges let us all be "More than Conquerors" as we learn and grow together.
Pastor J
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Wide Eyed Wonder
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I love the wide eyed wonder of a child when it comes to the Christmas season. I can still remember the uber joy of my kids on Christmas morning. They still get excited; but there is something special about those early years. On Sunday, our movie is Elf - a funny movie that has some great themes. One of those themes is the special innocence of the main character and his overjoyed expression about all things Christmas.
As we grow older, we lose some of that wide eyed wonder. My prayer for you this Christmas season is that you will rediscover some of that awe in the remembering of the Christ child being born in a manger; the King of Kings come in the form of a babe so that we might experience the fullness of God's grace.
I look forward to seeing you this Sunday.
Rich
As we grow older, we lose some of that wide eyed wonder. My prayer for you this Christmas season is that you will rediscover some of that awe in the remembering of the Christ child being born in a manger; the King of Kings come in the form of a babe so that we might experience the fullness of God's grace.
I look forward to seeing you this Sunday.
Rich
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