WEEKLY UPDATES

January 1, 2025

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year!

This Sunday, I’ll be preaching on Esther 4:9-19 and reflecting on this young woman of remarkable courage. While you don’t need to have read ahead of time, I think if you take the time to do it, you’ll find this short biblical book to be a fascinating read. It has all the twists and turns, intrigue and suspense of any good novel.

Thinking about the year ahead…

Psalm 90 prays: “Teach me to count my days that I may gain a wise heart.”

What is it about counting our days that gives us a wise heart? Well let’s think about the other side of that for a moment. What if we went through life, living as though we have forever?

We’d put stuff off. We’d hold grudges. We’d get caught up in the trivial and lose sight of what truly gives meaning.  In our younger years, often we are too “busy” to spend time with the ones we care about.  We’re often too “busy” to spend time with friends. We miss precious moments with our children. Sometimes it's only years later we look back and wish we could get it back.

The writer Brian Koppelman makes the point that: “If you look at the great expanse of time, we’re not even a dot.…And if you walk through life with the knowledge that one day, everything we love will be here no more, for me, it makes me love harder… more fiercely. And it makes me want to be more expansive, more giving and more connected. It makes me aware of how fortunate I am to be present in this moment…”

As we sit on the edge of the new year, let us pray with the psalmist:

Teach us to count my days, that our perspective might be restored… Teach us to count my days, that we might be reminded again of those things that bring deeper richer meaning to life. Teach us to count my days that we might remember who we are - and who’s we are - in the grand scope of eternity. Teach us to count our days that we might be more truly grateful for the gift of the time we have left.  Teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.  May it be so.

Grace and Peace, 
       Joe

WEEKLY ACTIVITIES

• Kid's Choir - Sundays following worship in the Sanctuary

• Chancel Choir Rehearsals - Tuesdays at 7:00 pm in Sanctuary

• Bell Rehearsal - Wednesdays at 9:30 am in Sanctuary

• Prayer Meeting - Wednesdays at 1 pm in Pastor Joe's Study

• Quilting Class - 1st and 3rd Saturdays at 9 am in the Fellowship Hall