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Join Us Backstage!

For the theater-goer, the intermissions between scenes in a three-act stage play are some of the most suspenseful moments of the entire night. The curtain comes down on a scene full of turmoil and unresolved tension, on characters in crisis and distress, and on a story coming to a climax. As you sit in the dim half-light, surrounded by the hushed, excited chatter of the audience, you hear the stagehands hard at work behind the curtain. Props are being wheeled in and out, actors and actresses are scurrying to find their marks, and the director is whispering the script in the wings. When the curtain goes back up, what setting will you find for the final scene? What characters will be center stage? What kind of score will be struck up from the orchestra pit? One can hardly wait!

In the great stage play of history, there was no intermission more important or suspenseful than that provided between the Old and New Testaments. As the curtain came down on the Israelites rebuilding the walls in Jerusalem, the Lord was wheeling out the great Assyrian, Egyptian, and Babylonian empires and wheeling in the Greek and the Roman. A great and seismic scene change was underway, the world being outfitted with an entirely new setting. A cast of new characters were being positioned center stage. As the house lights went back down and the spot light put on the Savior of the world and the dawn of His kingdom here on Earth, the final act became the story of the Church. Right now, we’re offering an opportunity for everyone to take a tour backstage during this intermission. Professor Jere Vincent is teaching a class on Sunday mornings entitled Early Church History. Using videos, pictures, and vivid description, Jere is resetting the stage for us and opening our eyes to the amazing work the Lord did in preparing the world for the establishment of Christ’s kingdom. Please consider joining us Sundays at 8:30am in room #208, upstairs in the Family Life Center for this excellent look behind the curtain. Hot coffee and a delicious home-baked treat will also be served! Don’t miss it!

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That We May See

January 7, 2018

2 Kings 6:8-17

8 Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.” 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him. Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself there more than once or twice. 11 And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” 13 And he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.” It was told him, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” 14 So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city. 15 When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

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A Mysterious Bustling About

A child’s Christmas is often witness to a parent’s wonderful and mysterious bustling about. As the big day draws nearer and nearer, Mom and Dad become special agents involved in any number of top-secret, undercover, covert operations. All the whispering, the dashing, the late-night stashing and stowing – it’s all so deliciously exciting. What treasures that bedroom closet must keep! What joys will come from their glorious conspiracy! What wonderful new world will be discovered downstairs on Christmas Day!

A Christian’s Christmas is often enjoyed in much the same way. For who’s a better gift-giver than God? And who can best the Holy Spirit in the art of mysterious bustling about? No one, of course! The Lord who fixed a peculiar star in the Middle Eastern sky, who sent angels to surprise the lowly with blessings unbelievable, whose most royal of philharmonics filled the Bethlehem sky and performed a chorus of glad tidings; is the same Lord who today ensures that this Christmas season is just as pregnant for you and me as the first. Your Christmas should be filled with expectation as God continues to grant all the riches of reconciliation and revolution. What treasures your prayer closet must keep! What joys will come from this divine conspiracy! What wonderful new world will be discovered in the depths of our hearts on Christmas Day!

-Pastor John

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Is There Any Analog in Your Ambiance?

December 17, 2017

John 1:14

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

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