New Visitation Plan in the Works

     We will be implementing a new visitation schedule in the near future to make sure all of our visitors are seen by someone from our church. This is a vital ministry of our church. I believe that when the Lord sends someone to our services, we should make every effort to follow up with them. Many come searching for a church home, others come seeking deeper meaning to their lives and turn to a church for those answers, and yet some come because someone invited them. All of these people are important to the Lord and to us.  God has entrusted these people to our care, even if it’s for just one Sunday. We want to be faithful stewards of those whom He has sent our way. We never want someone to visit Immanuel and not have them experience the love of Christ and our congregation. This love is obviously shown during their time in our services; however, it is also shown as we visit with them in their homes to see if there are any needs that we can meet or questions that can be answered about our church. 

     We will be updating you soon on the plan for our visitation ministry. We hope to implement this plan through our Sunday school classes. If this plan works the way we think, it will involve only one day per month of your time. Please consider your involvement in this great ministry. On a personal note, one of the reasons Michelle and I joined Immanuel is because someone (Danny and Amanda Allen) took their time to visit us on the same Sunday that we visited. This made a tremendous impact on us because neither of the two churches that we visited previous to Immanuel made it to our home until a few weeks after our visit to those churches.

Past Performance and Future Results

Once again I began my yearly trek through God’s Word on Friday, January 1. As I read the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1, I was struck by two observations. First, Jesus had some pretty awesome people in his ancestral line—men who shaped Israel’s history and walked with God; however, the second observation was more intriguing than the first: Jesus had some notoriously infamous people in His line as well. Some were ruthless rulers like Rehoboam and Manasseh; others were pagans, adulterers, and harlots like Ruth, Bathsheba, and Rahab (Ruth and Rahab became followers of the true God and were changed by His grace).

Most of us think (or maybe it’s just me) that to be used by God we must come from a long line of ancestors who were faithful saints. We tend to think that if our preceding familial line has any scoundrels in it, then we cannot be used of God for any good. We let our past determine our future and usefulness to the Lord and His kingdom; the investment industry attaches a disclaimer to all information regarding investments that holds true for our spiritual lives as well: past performance is no guarantee of future results. When I survey those ancestors of Jesus, it gives me hope—hope that I can be used of God even though I don’t have many Christians in my immediate family or extended family. My family line, to my knowledge, is not full of faithful followers of Jesus. I praise the Lord that He does not look at my ancestral past to determine my future usefulness and results for His kingdom. Even though Jesus had some imperfect people in His bloodline, He was still born the perfect Son of God, holy and blameless in all His ways, and faithful to the call of God on His life. 

Don’t get caught up in your past or the past of others in your family. Let the Lord Jesus live through you and in you so He can make an impact on your family and those around you.  As others long after you look back on their genealogy, may they find that you followed the Lord with all your heart. 

A Gift Worth Receiving

We’ve all received them before—socks, fruitcake, a scarf and glove set—those gifts from a friend or relative that we had just assumed not received. Isn’t it disappointing? “Didn’t they know what I wanted?” you asked.

It seems Christmas is all about giving and receiving gifts. At Immanuel, we want you to know the real reason we celebrate Christmas. God has given us a gift worth receiving—one that He knows we need and deep down in our hearts, we know we truly want.

Christmas really is all about Jesus Christ. Why is He the best gift God has ever given? Here’s why: people have chosen to reject God and live lives totally devoted to themselves; we are essentially rulers of our own lives. God’s Word says that this is sin. Romans 3:10-12, 23 says that there is none righteous, none that seek after God, and none that do good because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We are a people in rebellion to God. Our sin has separated us from God (Isaiah 59:1-3).

However, Romans 5:8 tells us that God demonstrated His love for us by sending the greatest Christmas gift ever. Jesus came as God in flesh, born in a manger, who lived to die for our sins. His death on the cross paid sin’s debt so that you and I could be brought back into a right relationship with a holy God. His payment for sin was accepted by God because God raised Jesus from the dead (1 Corinthians 15). Ephesians 2:8 tells us that His payment for our sin must be received as a gift. Can you imagine getting a gift from someone special and then having them tell you that you must pay for it? God does command us to repent (Acts 17:30). We must repent from sin and being the boss of our own lives and confess Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9-10). He has to become the Lord, or boss, of our total lives.

What will you do with Jesus this Christmas? Will you leave Him wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger; will you leave Him naked hanging and dying on a cross; or will you follow Him as the Lord of your life risen from the dead to take away your sin? The best gift really has already been given. The choice is whether or not you’ll receive this gift and experience life like you never have before. Do not refuse the best gift you’ll ever receive.

May you and your family have a blessed merry Christmas this year! 

Why Celebrate Thanksgiving?

Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving as a national holiday? Why do you and your family celebrate this day? What is so special about this day? The first "Thanksgiving" celebration in America has been a debated one for many years. Many say it was a time to thank the Indians for helping the Pilgrims survive their first year in the New World. Some argue that it was a time to celebrate a new start in a new land. However, I say thanksgiving's most basic meaning is giving thanks to the LORD God for His provisions in our lives.

The LORD has been providing since the first humans were created. After Adam and Eve sinned, God provided a sacrifice for their sin. When God decided to destroy the world with a flood, He provided for Noah by saving him and his family in an ark. After telling Abraham to sacrifice his son of promise on an altar, God provided a ram instead. Because of the Israelites' cries in captivity, God provided a deliverer named Moses to lead them to the promised land. As Haman sought to destroy all Jews, God provided a queen and her uncle to save them from this evil plot. When flanked by her enemies, God provided a king to fight against and subdue them. On and on it goes; the LORD provides for His people. Most importantly though is His provision of a Savior. When man sought to go his own way and rule his own life, God sent His only Son, Jesus, to seek those who are lost in order to save them from their sins. Aren't you thankful that God provides? This is thanksgiving's ultimate focus.

The Results Are In!

Thank you so much for filling out and turning in your Discipleship University surveys on Sunday. As I said Sunday, DU is for you, and I want to plan classes that your are eager to take. The top choices are "Defending my faith/apologetics," "Being a man/woman of God," "World religions/cults," and "Parenting." If you did not turn in a survey, you can pick up one on the table in the foyer, fill it out, and leave it on the same table, Mrs. Marion's desk, or give it to me.

Discipleship University will begin anew on August 23rd at 5pm. Since you have told me what types of classes interest you, I will plan accordingly and expect to see you in attendance. Please take advantage of these classes. Your attendance not only benefits you in your spiritual growth, but it encourages the teachers who plan and prepare all week when they actually have students to teach. The first term of DU will commence on August 23rd and conclude on September 20th.

Thank you so much for your input regarding DU. This will help me as I plan with you in mind.

Anyone interested in teaching a DU class this year should let me know!