Pastor’s Page by Rev. Jim Barnes
Pulpit Ponderings- December
I am excited about this Advent/Christmas season.
I am excited because our area has so much to offer in terms of activities and opportunities. I am excited because most of the stores at which we will do our Christmas shopping are only 10-15 minutes away and thus should take less time and fewer gallons of gas.
I am excited because of the joy of helping to decorate the church and the joy of preaching in the decorated church. I am exited too by the joy of decorating the parsonage and living in the decorated parsonage. And I am excited about spending our first Advent/Christmas with you.
But most of all I am excited because this is a season of hope. And hope is God’s great gift to a congregation which has experienced some challenging years and to a pastor now serving such a congregation.
That is a gift that you and I need to embrace, and which we must allow to lead us forward in our service and devotion to Christ.
I need this gift because, as much as I love it here and as well as I have been treated by this congregation, I admit to some discouragement during my first four and a half months here.
You see, in my previous appointments, the churches got stronger quickly and then continued to grow in numbers, in giving, and, most importantly, in faith, spirit, and service. However, by the time we reached mid November, I had not seen evidence of similar growth here. Thus, my discouragement and self doubt.
But then came mid- November when God started giving “pre-Advent” signs of hope.
Hope blasted away much of my discouragement on Sunday, November 15 when I realized that the children had brought forward 67 Christmas Child shoeboxes. Having exceeded the goal of 65 which I had arbitrarily and unilaterally set, I pumped my right arm into the air with unbridled and barely contained excitement. That moment wiped away so much self doubt that it was hard for me to keep my composure.
But God was not done giving us more signs of hope in November.
On Thanksgiving we had 30 people here to worship at 9:00. And rather than complain that “having to be at church at that hour on a holiday was unfair,” those present embraced the idea of worship as an essential and meaningful part of the holiday celebration.
A few days later, the formal Advent season opened with an explosion of hopeful signs, including the highest worship attendance since my arrival. It touched my heart, restored my self confidence, and lit my path every bit as brightly as the star which led the Magi to the Christ child.
Having been recharged with hope while just barely into Advent, I cannot help but be excited about where hope will lead us by the time the season is over!
I pray that you have a wonderful Christmas and a New Year filled with the hope that we are experiencing this season.
Jim
Pulpit Ponderings- December
I am excited about this Advent/Christmas season.
I am excited because our area has so much to offer in terms of activities and opportunities. I am excited because most of the stores at which we will do our Christmas shopping are only 10-15 minutes away and thus should take less time and fewer gallons of gas.
I am excited because of the joy of helping to decorate the church and the joy of preaching in the decorated church. I am exited too by the joy of decorating the parsonage and living in the decorated parsonage. And I am excited about spending our first Advent/Christmas with you.
But most of all I am excited because this is a season of hope. And hope is God’s great gift to a congregation which has experienced some challenging years and to a pastor now serving such a congregation.
That is a gift that you and I need to embrace, and which we must allow to lead us forward in our service and devotion to Christ.
I need this gift because, as much as I love it here and as well as I have been treated by this congregation, I admit to some discouragement during my first four and a half months here.
You see, in my previous appointments, the churches got stronger quickly and then continued to grow in numbers, in giving, and, most importantly, in faith, spirit, and service. However, by the time we reached mid November, I had not seen evidence of similar growth here. Thus, my discouragement and self doubt.
But then came mid- November when God started giving “pre-Advent” signs of hope.
Hope blasted away much of my discouragement on Sunday, November 15 when I realized that the children had brought forward 67 Christmas Child shoeboxes. Having exceeded the goal of 65 which I had arbitrarily and unilaterally set, I pumped my right arm into the air with unbridled and barely contained excitement. That moment wiped away so much self doubt that it was hard for me to keep my composure.
But God was not done giving us more signs of hope in November.
On Thanksgiving we had 30 people here to worship at 9:00. And rather than complain that “having to be at church at that hour on a holiday was unfair,” those present embraced the idea of worship as an essential and meaningful part of the holiday celebration.
A few days later, the formal Advent season opened with an explosion of hopeful signs, including the highest worship attendance since my arrival. It touched my heart, restored my self confidence, and lit my path every bit as brightly as the star which led the Magi to the Christ child.
Having been recharged with hope while just barely into Advent, I cannot help but be excited about where hope will lead us by the time the season is over!
I pray that you have a wonderful Christmas and a New Year filled with the hope that we are experiencing this season.
Jim