Dear Loved Ones,

       In many ways we have been going through a season of challenge and disruption this year. And I’m not just speaking, or even speaking mostly, about my own trials and tribulations. We have suffered loss, as a church family and in individual families this year. Beloved members of our congregation have realized the promise and hope that we all hold onto each and every day, won for us through the life, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We have seen very serious illnesses afflict us. Lives have been disrupted, and possibly changed in ways no one would wish for or could have foreseen. And yet through it all we have been challenged to respond as a faith community, rallying around one another and holding fast to our faithful and loving God to come to our aid and guide us through these challenging times.

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     And He has! In every circumstance God has provided exactly what we have needed at exactly the time we have needed it. He may not have provided for us in exactly the way we would have wanted Him to respond, but He has responded in ways that are seeing us through these challenging times and are allowing us to witness Him at work.

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        Not too long ago I was reminded of a passage from I Thessalonians 5: 18 which says:

                                give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

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      In some circumstances it is easy to give thanks, and it is important to do so. We should remember where those good circumstances come from and give glory and thanks to God for them. But I think we can agree that it is much more difficult to give thanks to God for difficult circumstances. All things being equal we would rather not experience those circumstances that challenge us or put us into times of hardship or loss. And yet, it is exactly in these circumstances that we can see the movement and providence of God firsthand in our lives. And it is in exactly these circumstances that we are given the opportunity to live out Christ’s second commandment, to love our neighbor as ourselves. (Homework: read Matthew 22: 34-40)

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       We look to God to provide deliverance in times of affliction and providence in times of need. And God is faithful to provide all that we need because He knows our needs even better than we do ourselves. But God also calls us and blesses us to be His source of deliverance and providence for others. So, whether we are experience a season of challenge and disruption, or a season of abundance and well-being, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

  +Amen,
    Pr. Miles

Dec 26th Bulletin

Dec 26th Bulletin