Midweek Meetup: Week of November 6

A note from Pastor MJ:

Chris and I are leaving tonight for our trip to Hastings to visit our son Karl, so I won’t be with you on Sunday morning. I hope these few words will suffice: As we gather on Sunday, we will be gathering among fellow believers who are jubilant at the results of the election yesterday and other fellow believers who are profoundly disturbed. If your candidates and ballot issues succeeded, please be grateful but do not gloat. If your candidates and ballot issues failed, please be sad but do not let that sadness become anger towards fellow believers. We are still one body in Christ, and our command is still to love God and one another above all else. I pray that the results of this election will not divide us even more than the campaigns did. I pray that we will trust that all of us voted with virtuous intentions, even if the means by which we expressed those intentions were wildly different. We are still brothers and sisters in Christ. Christ alone is our hope for the future.

Verse of the Day~

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

Prayer~

Jesus, You could not be clearer in this command, so give us the strength to do just this: love each other. Despite our differences, after this election, in a sense of victory or deep despair, let Your love for us and our love for one another unite us. Amen. 

Meeting Jesus ~ This Sunday, we’ll welcome the Rev. Dr. Ed Black to preach and lead worship for us while MJ is with her family. Ed is a retired pastor who serves Corona Church in Denver as their Associate Pastor. He’ll be continuing our series, “Cultivating Community,” with a teaching on spiritual friendship from John 15.  We are also grateful to welcome Janell Lorenzo Romero to sing for us.

Meeting Friends ~ Our Christmas Dinner and Pageant will happen Sunday, December 15, at 5 p.m. (a change to an evening performance).  This year’s pageant is “Unfrozen: Do You Want to Meet a Savior?” and rehearsals begin today, November 6, 4:45-5:30 p.m., continuing every Wednesday (except November 27) until the performance on Sunday, December 15.   A snack will be provided for the kids.

Sharing Hope ~ Golly and hallelujah! Thank you so much for your generous giving to the Deacons Fund. We went from under $100 to almost $1400 in a single Sunday. These funds will assist households throughout our community in times of need. To God be the glory!