12.22.06
Posted in Church Events, All at 6:41 pm by Pastor Bill
We want to take this opportunity to thank you for visiting our website and to encourage you to be blessed this Christmas season as you worship Jesus Christ, the light of the world.
If you will be in Cincinnati during the Christmas weekend, we invite you to celebrate our Savior’s birth on Sunday with us. We will have a Christmas message at 11am and also a special Christmas Eve Candlelight service at 6 pm. We hope you will join us as we celebrate and thank our God for His grace to us.
God bless you, and Worship the King of Glory!
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12.05.06
Posted in All, Controversy, In The News... at 8:12 pm by Pastor Bill
Another Christmas season is upon us, bringing with it all the ususal commercialization and secularism we are all too familiar with. For the marketers, the hope is that this Christmas will break all sales records, resulting in record profits. For the justice system, the hope is that churches will downplay the ‘religious angle’ of this holiday, thereby sparing them from numerous legal challenges to free speech in the public forum. The general public hopes for a season of generosity and hedonism, allowing us to enjoy the materialistic aspects of the holiday in a self-gratifying indulgence.
But what does God want from this Christmas season? Probably the same thing He wants from every day of the year (although God wants and wants for nothing). I’m sure that God would be pleased if His creation took some time to acknowledge Him, and His right to be Himself…you know, Sovereign ruler of the universe. He surely wouldn’t be disappointed if we humans took the time to question our values, our importance, our destinies, by seeing what He has to say about these things in His book, the Bible. I’m sure that God would want us each to remember WHY He sent His Son into this world so long ago, and for us to respond to Jesus appropriately. What is an appropriate response to Christ, now or at any time of the year?
Perhaps we could respond to Jesus in the same manner as the Magi who came seeking Him 2000 years ago. They proclaimed to the king Herod, ” Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him”. Matthew 2:2.
What a novel thought, we could worship Jesus at Christmas instead of seeking our own pleasures! I mean, after all, isn’t that what the angels in heaven did on the day of his birth into our world? That is what we read in the book of Hebrews, chapter 1 verse 6, “And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him”.
What would a Christmas look like if people worshiped the Son of God instead of spending the holiday indulging themselves and their desires? Less shopping-more singing Christ’s praises? Less parties-more grateful prayers? Less marketing-more ministering to the poor and needy? Less commercialization-more coming together to express our gratitude to God for sending the gift of eternal life and forgiveness of sins? Less receiving-more giving…giving of ourselves and our worship to the only one who is worthy of all that we are, and all that we posssess…The Lamb of God, who brings light and life into our world!
With all the hustle and bustle of the season, it’s easy to miss the real meaning and purpose of Christmas. Take time today to reflect on God’s greatest gift to you…and help someone else to worship Him also! Recognize that Christ is still on His throne, at Christmas, and on every day of the year….and bow before the newborn King!
God bless you! Pastor Bill <><
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