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In this Issue Letter from Pastor WIC Conference Report Changed Lives Monthly Events · Marriage
Conference, Feb. 9&10. · Men’s
Fellowship Group “Men of Faith,” is starting Saturday, January 13th. · Please
share your musical gifts! Contact
Nikki Wijnans for information about special music. · Sunday,
January 21st, we will hold a congregational meeting immediately following the
worship service to vote on the formal adoption of our Vision Statement. December Birthdays •
Kay Hickman, Jan. 30 •
John Wyatt Arnold, Jan 4 •
Natalie Felts, 23 •
Arwen Kurz, 4 •
Mary McCorkle, 27 |
He Is Making All Things New A
new year – a fresh start, a clean slate, opportunities abounding. Sounds great! No wonder parties are thrown and toasts are
made. But come January 2nd, most of us
are soon back into the grind of the same old thing. The new year looks remarkably like the old
one. The resolutions that seemed to
hold such hopes before now seem to mock us for our optimism. What were we thinking? The dates on the calendars have changed but
it would seem there is little else – around us or within us – that looks any
different at all. But
if we stopped with that, you might think winter’s spell really had frozen me
over. Not so. Our Lord Jesus gives us ample reason to
face the coming year with the greatest anticipation – a gospel driven
optimism. After all, what does He say
to us? The
beginning of the story begins with Creation – God making all things of
nothing. He spoke and it was. And the world was born – all things new. Everything was happening for the first time
as the divine artist filled out the canvas.
Such is creation. Then consider
God’s workings of providence – His holy, wise, and powerful preserving and
governing of all things. Jeremiah
wrote in Lamentations 3:22-23: The
steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his
mercies never come to an end; they
are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. Consider
the seasons, the changes that come – spring rain bringing forth life anew,
summer sun illuminating all, autumn foliage decorating in brilliance, winter
snow blanketing the ground with a whiteness so bright. The
coming of our Savior – promised and fulfilled – points to this newness as
well. In ways only the Lord of all
things could orchestrate, the old is not simply thrown out but is
fulfilled. Hear Isaiah 48:6-7: You
have heard; now see all this; and
will you not declare it? From
this time forth I announce to you new things,
hidden things that you have not known. They
are created now, not long ago;
before today you have never heard of them,
lest you should say, 'Behold, I knew them.' Dawn
is breaking. A sense of perfection, of
things being completed, is promised.
Jesus, the writer of Hebrews tells us, is the mediator of a “new
covenant.” This
newness breaks upon us as individuals as well. When we yield our lives to Christ and
commit ourselves to following Him, a decisive break occurs and, with it, the
promise of a transformation from within.
Paul speaks to this so beautifully in 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All
of which, despite how new it sounds, is the fulfillment of a promise really
quite old. Ezekiel had spoken of this
centuries before in Ezekiel 36:26: And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit
I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh
and give you a heart of flesh. Then,
at the end of the unfolding drama, we see something much the same (but even
better). Revelation promises a “new
Jerusalem” and “a new heavens and a new earth.” Jesus declares, “Behold, I am making all
things new.” Where
does this leave us? Well, with a
couple of things. First, it would seem
there is a whole lot in need of renewal.
And second, our God is up to the task.
He is a God of new beginnings.
And, wonder of wonders, He calls us to join Him in this work of
renewal even as we ourselves are being renewed. That should thrill and inspire us. 2007, here we come.
WIC Conference
The
International Women in the Church (WIC) Conference, September 15-17, 2006,
drew more than 4,000 participants, including nearly 1,000 who were under the
age of 35. The mix of ages was intentional, reflecting the conference
theme of “Generation to Generation,” based on Psalm 71:17-18. Women
gathered in A perspective from Gwen Rodriguez Before
the I
felt a gratitude to God for being a part of His growing Kingdom on earth. For
a weekend I felt as though I lived out the "Chief end of man: To glorify
God and enjoy Him forever." I truly experienced the joy that comes from
glorifying God as His creature, doing what I was designed to do - worshipping
the One True God. One
event that particularly impressed me was the dinner set up by the conference
in one large room. Imagine one room, with countless tables set up for 4,000.
I whispered to someone that the magnitude of this dinner was far surpassed
2,000 years ago when 5,000 were fed by Jesus. It gave me a great mental image
of that past event. Lord
willing, I will make every women's conference that comes in the future and I
look forward to taking my daughter when she is old enough.
Changed Lives
I
graduated from college with a degree in Music Education and decided to stay
close to home ( Last
spring, I knew I had to leave HCA in order to complete the requirements for
Kentucky Teacher Certification and I needed the extra income and benefits
that the public system could provide. I was offered a position in the public
school system in Well...
once I began teaching Music and Choir at a public middle school in Hoptown
last August, I quickly realized that this was not where I belonged. I could
do the job, and do it well, but I was miserable. I
couldn't wait to leave every day. I hated thinking about my work. When I got
home. I could do nothing but go to bed. My energy was sapped and so was my
creativity. I cried, I couldn't eat, I whined. I had to drop all other
activities I used to be involved in after work because of the stress. One
Friday morning in November, I decided to call HCA to see if there was any job
opening, even if it was cleaning the cafeteria. The headmaster kindly
informed me that there was nothing available and she didn't anticipate any
openings until the summer, but she would keep me in mind. That weekend, I
prayed and prayed. I prayed that God would change my mind and my heart. That
he would increase my energy and creativity in this job, or that he would
remove me either by the hand of man or the hand of God. By
Monday morning, I was content to stick it out. Monday afternoon, after
school, I received a phone call from the headmaster at Heritage saying there
was an opening. Saturday, a teacher at Heritage had decided to leave for
another position. Sunday, she had informed a new 6th grade teacher that her
job would be available and the 6th grade teacher decided to take it. This
left an open a 6th grade class of the very students I had last year. I
decided to wait and pray about it, but I couldn't get past the way God had
worked things out. After counseling with Pastor Richard, my parents,
counselors, friends and my principal, I decided to accept the new job. I
began the new year at Heritage on the first day of classes, and I'm
incredibly happy. Though the money may be smaller, I am happy, really happy.
I can teach music after school to those students who love music.
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