John 11: 17-37; Jesus Comforts the Sisters

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is an example of the peace that Jesus brings. This past Sunday we lit the candle of peace in our Advent wreath. And in worship we talked about how the peace that Jesus brings us to us can also be referred to as peace of mind, or comfort. Jesus, before he does anything else in this passage, spends time with Mary and Martha, comforting them in their time of need. Jesus makes them feel better about the situation. Then Jesus goes even further than that in bringing their beloved brother back to life. Jesus makes us feel better. No matter what we are going through Jesus is there to lift us up. Just as Jesus offered comfort to Mary and Martha, he offers comfort to us as well. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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John 11: 1-16; The Death of Lazarus

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus is about to give us the good news of the resurrection. Jesus knows death is not the end, and he is about to share with his disciples the good news that one day we will all be raised up and taken into the kingdom of heaven. One day we will all be given a new life through Jesus. Jesus' friend Lazarus is, as Jesus says, dead. But Jesus knows that he is only sleeping; Jesus knows Lazarus will be resurrected, just as the rest of us will be. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Baby Dedication

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

This coming Sunday, December 14, 2008, we will have a baby dedication as part of the worship service. We will be dedicating Luke Metropulos, the son of Natalie and Mark Metropulos. Please be sure to join us for this special event. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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John 10: 22-42; The Unbelief of the Jews

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus spoke to people through experience. In Jesus' time things were not written down as often as they are today. This means that the people who followed Jesus followed Jesus because they had an experience with him. They saw Jesus do something; Jesus did something for them; Jesus did something for someone they knew, etc. Jesus' followers followed him because they had an experience with him. What are some of your experiences with Jesus? Jesus has done so much for all of us; we have all experienced Jesus one way or another. I invite you to think about the times in which you have experienced Jesus in your life. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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John 10: 1-21; The Shepherd and His Flock

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

"He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." Jesus knows our name. To Jesus we are not just some strangers he came down here to save one time long ago. Jesus knows us all on an individual basis. He knows our fears, hopes, dreams, etc. Jesus knows everything there is to know about us. That is an encouraging thought. Jesus loves us enough to die for us, but he also loves us enough to get to know us. He knows us by name, and he calls us by name. We have, in Jesus, a personal savior. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Evening Worship tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

We will be having our evening worship service tonight at 7:30 p.m. For our worship tonight we will be singing Christmas songs, so if you would like to join us please stop by. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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John 9: 35-41; Spiritual Blindness

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ask God to open your eyes. That, I think, is one of the biggest concerns we have as Christians; that our eyes will be opened to see the glory of God in this world. Sometimes God's glory is hard to see. With the busyness of our lives, and the obstacles we sometimes face it is hard for us to see the glory of God. When you pray today, I encourage you to ask God to open your eyes, and to help you keep them open, that you may see God's glory in this world. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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