Dear Friends and Members of Shepherd of the Hills,
Wait, wait, wait. This is a season of waiting, yet, I always feel like this season is flying by. Here we are just a week and half from Christmas. WHAT!?! I know! How odd that Advent, a season of waiting, is so busy.
That’s exactly how it should be. In Advent we spend time specifically meditating on how we are waiting for the Lord’s return. In this meditation we learn that we do not wait idly. We are active waiters. We are busy with the work and service appointed to us in our daily vocations as members of a family, a church and our community. The Lord doesn’t leave us without gifts during this season of waiting.
During our mid-week services and our Sunday morning Bible study we are unwrapping these gifts. The Lord gives us the gift of Hope this and every season. This hope is not wishful thinking, but a certainty built on the promises of God. The Lord gives us Love this and every season. This love has its origin in God himself, who is love. We learn to wait by letting this love flow through us to others. The Lord gives us peace. This peace is something the world cannot provide. It is a peace that passes all human understanding. The Lord gives us life. He is the author of your life and being. He is also the author of your eternal life secured for you through the life, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.
May these gifts bless you during this very active waiting season. May these gifts be a blessing to all you meet with. Join me in celebrating these gifts on Wednesday evenings at 6:30. Come and share those gifts with your brothers and sisters in the faith before the service at 5:30 for soup supper. Invite your friends and neighbors to join you on Christmas Eve at 6:30 for our Candle Light Service. I would love to see us have over 100 people in service on Christmas Eve as we celebrate.
We invite you to join us for a very special Christmas Eve service entitled, “The Gift of Joy,”. The good news of great joy that the angels sang of on that holy night and the joy the shepherds felt as they ran to the Babe of Bethlehem will be captured in Scripture, song, sermon and candlelight in this touching and celebratory service.
In His Love and Service,
Pastor Rust