We’re officially in Advent season! It’s a reminder that we’re in a season of waiting as we celebrate the first Advent of Jesus at His birth, and we anticipate His Return. In the meantime, we live in the tension of the now/not yet. This simply means He’s inaugurated His kingdom and will bring it to completion at His Return, and we’re living in the middle of these two events. We’re in an Advent sandwich, if you will. What are we to do with our lives during this time? How are we to live? Where do we get wisdom? We turn to Jesus, the One whom the prophet Isaiah said would be called, “Wonderful Counselor” (Is. 9:6). He’s a miraculous adviser who is wise and strategic. He knows what He’s doing, He knows what we need for living and He’s gracious to give us wisdom when we ask Him for guidance (James 1:5). He knows us very personally and the ways we try to block or avoid His insight into our lives (John 4:4-24). This Advent, let’s be sure to take time in order to quiet ourselves so that we may listen to Jesus, the heaven sent newborn placed in a manger. He gave up everything to be with us.

Blessings this Advent,
Pastor Andy

Happy Thanksgiving, Y’all! 

As a nation, we’re traveling, cooking, bringing food, gathering, and having pie as we pause to give thanks this week. Of all people, Christ’s followers have much to be thankful for this week...and eternally. 
As God’s people, giving thanks does three things (among many):

1. It honors and glorifies God as the Giver of every perfect gift (James 1:17).
2. It serves to remind us that as the Giver of every good gift, ultimately in sending Jesus for us, He works all things together for our good (Romans 8:28).
3. Being grateful for our salvation helps us fix our eyes on Jesus (Heb. 12:1-2).

What is something you can be thankful for this Thanksgiving?

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

Pastor Andy 

"This life is a journey, maybe it’s a series of little journeys or maybe [it’s that our] whole life is a journey."
-Betty Kellenberger, oldest Woman to through-hike the Appalachian Trail at age 80.

This retired Michigan teacher said she experienced God’s presence as she was hiking through the wilderness on the hiking journey of her lifetime. Jesus is inviting us to a journey of a lifetime and it’s with Him.
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He’s inviting us to embrace the calling to:

• being Beloved by Him and the Father
• know His community
• faithfulness
• ministry
• accept the invitation to peace and to love with faith (Eph. 6:21-24.)

All of these faith essentials can fall under the umbrella of Jesus inviting us to Himself, to be on the boat with Him, if you will. It was on the boat that the disciples saw His humanity when he was asleep during the initial part of the storm and they saw His divinity when he stood up and told the storm to settle down. Another time on the boat, after Jesus gave the miraculous catch of fish, it was Peter who knelt down and acknowledged his own sinfulness and Jesus as Lord. This is the journey Jesus is inviting into with Himself. It’s a journey of closeness, of seeing Him at work, and seeing more clearly who we are. Indeed, this really is a journey of faith, which impacts the rest of our lives here on earth and for eternity. 

Blessings on the journey,
Pastor Andy

Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

1. Are you on the boat with Jesus?
2. Sorting through the “hiking pack” of your life, what are the essentials of faith that you need to make sure you prioritize? What do you need to set aside?

Prayer is as necessary to our spiritual lives as breathing is to our physical body. 

It is through prayer that we can:

• can bring the needs of our lives to Jesus
• can experience His Presence
• are able to confess our sins to Him
• find His strength to stand in spiritual battle.
• In these verses, he exhorts Christ-followers to “pray in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication” and in prayer to “keep alert with all perseverance”. As we pray through the Spirit’s enabling, we grow in our communion with Christ and are filled with the Holy Spirit. 

Indeed, our lives can be filled with Him through prayer. We also have the privilege of praying for our fellow believers as they are fighting the good fight of faith. And, we can partner with our International Workers by praying for them and their families, as they seek to make the most of every opportunity in their gospel work. How are we to pray? Paul gives instructions in Eph. 6:18-20.

In these verses, he exhorts Christ-followers to “pray in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication” and in prayer to “keep alert with all perseverance”. As we pray through the Spirit’s enabling, we grow in our communion with Christ and are filled with the Holy Spirit. 
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As I close, I am including the lyrics to a hymn written by the founder of the Christian & Missionary Alliance, A.B. Simpson. It’s titled, “Breathing Out and Breathing In”. For the sake of time and space, I’ll only quote the third stanza:

I am breathing out my longings, In Thy list’ning ear,
I am breathing in Thy answers, Stilling every doubt and fear.
I am breathing every moment, Drawing all my life from Thee.
Breath by breath I live upon Thee, Blessed Spirit, breath in me. 

May we each breathe in the life of Jesus,
Pastor Andy

Questions for reflection and discussion:

1. What do you think was Simpson’s meaning when he wrote, “Drawing all my life from Thee”? What does that look like in your life?
2. What is an answer to prayer the Lord has given you recently?
3. Who are you regularly praying for?

The devil is a better theologian than any of us and is a devil still.
A.W. Tozer in the Pursuit of God

The tactics that the enemy will attempt to use in our lives will be as varied as is necessary in order for him to trip us up in our walk with Jesus. To the proud, he’ll feed their ego and tell them how important they are, to the academic, he’ll bring whispers of how they can get by on their smarts without God, to the broken he’ll affirm their sense of worthlessness, and to the athlete or musician, he’ll blind them with their abilities on the field or the concert hall. Let us not forget either, that he can come quoting Scripture to us, just as he did with our Lord. Where is God’s help in all of this? It’s found in His armor. Isaiah depicts God’s armor in multiple verses (11:5, 49:2, 52:7, 59:17). The Apostle Paul then takes His armor and applies it to Christ’s Church. We are to put on the full armor of God, given to us in Christ, that we may stand against the schemes of the evil one  (Eph.  6:13). Let it be noted that Paul tells us to be strong in the Lord (6:10) as the way to have strength to stand against such schemes. 

List of God’s Armor:

• Belt of Truth-John 8:3-32-cuts through lies of the enemy
• Breastplate of righteousness-2 Cor. 5:21, Makes our hearts right with God,
• Shoes of Gospel of Peace-Is 52:7, Phil. 4:9- His peace gives stability and settles our lives
• In all circumstances-shield of faith-Heb. 11:1,6
• Helmet of Salvation: 2 Cor. 5:17, Rom. 12:2-renews our minds, transforms us
• Sword of the Spirit-the Word of God, Heb. 4:12, helps us discern: Heb. 5:14
• Praying in the Spirit-the lifeline for standing, 6:18-to be strong in the Lord is to talk with Him and know Him personally, Matt. 7:7-9

Blessings as you stand in Jesus! 
Pastor Andy

Please read Ephesians 6:18-20 for Sunday. 

Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

• As you read through the armor, is there a piece of the armor that you feel like you need to pay better attention to or put back into place?
• What steps do you take to be strong in the Lord?

NewLife - no one likes to submit, really. There tends to be too much pride in us to want to submit to someone else. I want to remind us that submission is not about the human we are submitting to. It is about why we are submitting. Paul challenges us to submit to each other out of reverence for Christ. Christ is the motivation for our submission. Christ's righteousness and sacrifice is what we are supposed to be focused on while seeking the Spirit's guidance about submitting.

NewLife - submitting to another is an act of love and trust. In an ideal world, a child submits to his father because he trusts him. He knows that consequences happen when there is disobedience - but deeper than that - he knows his father wants what is best for him. Wives should feel the same way about their husbands.

As fathers are called to bring their children up in the training of the Lord, husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the Church, and masters are to treat people well, knowing God is the master of all.

Paul shows there are clear expectations for those who "receive submission", who are in authority over others. No one should be sitting back and demanding others submit to them blindly. Husbands, fathers, leaders- we are called to live sacrificial lives, to train others in the Lord, to recognize value in all people. Those who hold positions over others earn their submission. Do your part! Treat your wife as a respected partner and empower her to seek Christ. Teach children about the Lord and what it means to live as a Christian. Equip people to think, to learn, to grow and to work as a team.

The word submit is overwhelming to some because those in authority have abused it. People have been selfish, prideful, arrogant and sinful with that authority. Authority should be partnered with humility. Humility leads to open ears and respect, which communicates value. Stop abusing your authority. We will each be held accountable for the talents we have been given. (Matthew 25)

Talk with your spouse, your kids, and coworkers about Ephesians 5 and 6. Have an authentic and open conversation with other believers. I pray it is enlightening and life-giving.

Let's prepare for Sunday's message and read Ephesians 6:10-18.

We are not called to go into any type of spiritual battle unprepared. Paul tells us to put on . . . . the armor of God.

Blessings 
Pastor Kyle

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. Eph. 5:1-16, ESV

This careful and purposeful looking at how we walk with Jesus that Paul is encouraging here is to help us to keep our hearts aligned with Jesus. It’s for the purpose of Christ-centered living in an uncentered world. The author of Hebrews has good counsel for us on how to do this and tells us to “lay aside every weight, and sin, which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith… (Heb. 12:1-2)   
Here are four quick things Hebrews encourages us in this looking carefully:

1. Get rid of the things that hinder and distract you from Jesus and your walk with Him. You will need time to prayerfully evaluate what these things are in your life. 
2. Look at the race He has personally set before you. It’s always much better, safer, and wiser to actually run a race with your eyes open so you can navigate the course!
3. Run (much like walk) this race with endurance. We need His help and enabling Presence to have endurance to go the distance in our walk/run with Him.
4. Most of all, look closely to Jesus. He’s the Righteous One who was the forerunner for us in salvation and in all things. He’ll lead you, go with you and give you His Spirit for this race of life, for which we need to keep our eyes on Him.

When we walk in this way, we’ll be making the best use of the time. As we do so, we’ll find ourselves drawn by Him into how He wants us to walk with Him and we’ll see that He is looking back at us, with His eye upon us (Ps. 32:8).

Blessings as you walk with Him,

Pastor Andy

Points to Ponder:

• What keeps you from looking closely at Jesus in your walk with Him? Pride? Distraction? Shame? Busyness? Apathy? 
• What are ways you can personally “make the best use of the time”?
• Take some time to prayerfully examine your life this week to align yourself with Him. Read and pray through Rev. 2:1-7 to help you. 

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The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5

The true Light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
John 1:9

This Light, as we know, is Jesus. And, during His earthly ministry, He said to His followers, “You are the light of the world.” (Matt. 5:14)

 It’s interesting to note what Jesus didn’t say:

• “Go figure out how to be light”
• “You should be the light”
• “You’re almost there in being light”
• “You get extra credit if you overpower others with your light”

Rather, He said, “You are light”. He’s already made us light by the nature of our saving faith in Him. We don’t have to be “like light” but we are the light. After such a significant change in our lives, Paul challenges us to continue walking in that awakening as children of light (Eph. 5:8). This results in bearing fruit that shows the light (5:9), bearing the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).

Perhaps one of the greatest threats to our walking in this awakening is our failure to stay awake and alert, as Jesus warned in Mark 13:36. So, let’s take a moment to make sure that we’re awake to Him. 

Does anyone else hear an alarm sounding to wake us up?
Pastor Andy

Please read Ephesians 5:15-21 for Sunday.

Questions for reflection or conversation:

• Are you awake to the Presence of Jesus in your life right now and are you in step with His Spirit?
• Are you awake to the Presence of Jesus in your life currently and are you in step with His Spirit?
• Are you awake to the Presence of Jesus in your life presently and are you in step with His Spirit?

I found the story Pastor Kyle shared right before Communion to be quite funny. He shared about a time Dolly Parton entered a Dolly Parton look alike contest…and lost!

What a reminder that we live in a world that vies for our attention and that promises it’s worth following. Even in our social media, we “follow” our “friends” and get to see what’s happening in their lives. Or more realistically, we get to see an edited and polished version of their life. Everyone posts smiling family photos. Not everyone will post the first eight tries that it took to get the “perfect” photo. So, when Paul tells us to imitate God and walk in love as Jesus did, we need to pay attention because this is the real thing. We need to pay close attention to the exhortation because it reminds us we need to pray to our Father (Matt. 6:8) and keep our eyes on the Lord Jesus (Heb. 12:1-2) so we can be proper imitators. And, to clarify, this is only for God’s Beloved Children. It’s for those who are in His family that He wants to have close so we can know Him, watch Him at work, and see how to live our lives based on Him. The culture will fight for us to follow it in any number of ways, just as the cultural battle was real for the Ephesians. But we’re not of the culture or of the world anymore. We’re a new person with a new life with a new One that we’re following, while all the rest are just imitations themselves. 

Let’s Keep Walking with Jesus, the Truth,

Pastor Andy

Please read Eph. 5:6-14 for Sunday.

Questions:

• What practices help you keep your eyes on Jesus?
• What does being told by Paul, to be an imitator of God, look like in your life?
• Who is someone that is a genuine imitator of God who has had a big impact on your life? And, who are you passing this along to in your life?

Sure, we know there is power in our words and that our words will be judged by God and the world. The question is: Do you actually choose your words with that in mind? Are you discerning your words and being obedient to the Holy Spirit, allowing what comes out of your mouth to be wholesome?
I was reminded, after the service, that there is someone who speaks to us daily and we must teach this person to speak to us with truth, love and Holy Spirit approval. That person is....ourself. We can read Scripture and read about those truths ourselves, but if we are speaking hate to ourselves, if the words we say about ourselves are rotten and putrid – we are called to stop.
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As a counselor, I remember speaking to a young man who struggled with speaking lies to himself (out loud and in his mind), lies about himself. He said he was a failure, worthless, stupid . . . . I remember looking at him and telling him to stop bullying my friend. It was a strange comment for him to hear. He cared for people and treated all people with respect and better than himself. Yet, I could see this young man being told by himself – fueled by a lie of the enemy – that he deserved to be spoken to that way because it was the truth. It was what he believed about himself.

Church family, you are not the sum total of your sins. You do not deserve to be bullied by the voice in your head that says you are not enough, you are worthless, underserving and unloved. As a child of God, created out of love by God, in His image, you are seen as whole, worthy, loved and enough.  
For those of you who are your own worst critic and can be mean to yourself, please stop bullying my friend. You are a Child of God, an image bearer of God and through the blood of Jesus, worthy. My friend, you might have made mistakes in your life, but you ARE NOT a mistake. God made you and God cannot make mistakes.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, may we stop the internal putrid talk to others and to ourselves. May you choose words that are edifying to others and to yourself and may we take action . . . . Now!
Blessings,
Kyle

Please read Ephesians 5:1-5 for Sunday.