Happy New Year 2022!! Can you believe that another year has passed? It seems only yesterday we were planning for 2021. What will this New Year hold for us? What shall we do? This week at Harding Street we began a new series of lessons in January that will attempt to help us “Find the Joy in Christ Jesus.” The first lesson asked us to consider how we can find the joy in meeting together as Christians. Do you enjoy meeting with your fellow Christians? Many Christians just “go to church.” They find little or no joy in meeting with their Christian family. Have we forgotten what God expects from us? How can we find the joy in meeting together at every opportunity? We answered this question with the following points that will help us Find the Joy in Meeting Together…
#1 – Prepare for the Meeting
#2 – Think of Others before yourself
#3 – Plug in to the Service
#4 – Put into Practice what you hear
Lessons to follow: Finding the Joy in…the Lord’s Supper, then Finding the Joy in singing, next Finding the Joy in prayer, Finding the Joy in giving, and then finally, Finding the Joy in hearing the word of God taught and preached. Joy is a choice. Choose joy today and every day.
Over the past few days, we have suffered the loss of two of our dearest and most dedicated Christian family members: Sister Betty Blankenship and Sister Diann Hill. These two Christians were the very best of us. Whatever needed to be done for Christ, for His church, and for others, these two Christians ladies always stepped up to the challenge. And they did so with such magnificent grace and happiness. God allowed us to have them in our midst for 88 years (Betty) and 77 years (Diann). They have shown us in every way how to live the Christian life. What about us? You and I? Will we step in to fill the deep valley of faithfulness and service that has been left open? Though we will take whatever time we need to, to grieve, we must keep moving…forward, onward and upward. As much as we would like the world to just stop turning for a time; it will not. The sun rises and sets every day. Seasons change from Spring to Summer to Fall to Winter regardless of our circumstances. God has declared the truth regarding life and death in His word. God through his servant Paul in Philippians 4:12-14 spoke of knowing Christ, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do; forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” And so must we.
Sunday Evening at 5:00 we finished our series of lessons “Expecting the Impossible.” Series upcoming: B-R-A-V-E Christians are well, BRAVE! MB
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