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The Good News
8 In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: 11 Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This…
The Best Gift of All
Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. ~ Hebrews 9:28 As a young child, I had a very difficult time waiting for Christmas morning. How many of those presents under the tree were for me? Do they make a noise when shaken? How heavy are they? What could be wrapped in that fancy paper,…
SFNAZ Newsletter December 2024
Click here to view the weekly devotional. SFNAZ ANNOUNCEMENTS ALL-CHURCH CHRISTMAS PARTY & AUCTION | Wednesday December 11 – 6p We will be celebrating Christmas together as a SFNAZ family. A sit-down dinner, music, an auction, pastoral skit, and more! We would love to have the entire congregation join us! CHRISTMAS LOVE OFFERING If you would like to bless our pastoral staff with a Christmas Love Offering, mark your gift “Pastors’ Christmas Gifts” and place it in the offering box.…
Hang Your Harp on the Willows
Psalm 137:2 On the willows there we hung up our lyres. Imagine being a young adult, witnessing atrocities of a waring nation decimating your family, being led away from your homeland in chains, arriving in a foreign country as a slave, and being required to sing. But you’re not being asked to sing any old song but songs of deliverance and hope, so your captors could make fun of you. Sounds like a hopeless picture. In fact, if there were…
Thanksgiving – A Marginalized Holiday
As we enter into Thanksgiving week, I have been reflecting how little “thanks” there seems to be in Thanksgiving. Looking at my own life I realize that in many ways it has become the gateway between fall and Christmas. I must confess that I hung our Christmas lights in October (won’t turn them on until Thanksgiving) and made an appointment to cut down our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. Kathy has already taken down her fall decorations in anticipation…
With Intent
As we are approaching this advent season it is always a great time to take a moment to reflect on what we want to get out of advent. I know we each have traditions within our families that make the holidays so special, and Christmas never disappoints within our family. Growing up, Christmas was always a time that we spent with not only our immediate family, but our extended family as well. Driving through the night in weather that we…
Wisdom Seekers
Turn your ear toward wisdom and stretch your mind toward understanding. Call out for insight, and cry aloud for understanding. Seek it like silver; search for it like hidden treasure. Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:2-5) A Bible podcast I listened to recently has led me to reflect on the nature of God’s wisdom. Wisdom is challenging to define. One dictionary defines wisdom as “the quality of having…
SFNAZ Newsletter – November 2024
Click here to view the weekly devotional. SFNAZ ANNOUNCEMENTS Dear SFNaz family, Thank you for the kindness you extended to Cas and me and the rest of the staff this past month. The encouragement you gave through the cards and gifts lifted our hearts and blessed us. I love you all and am so grateful for the honor of being your pastor. Thank you for caring for my staff and me in all the ways you do. Blessings, Pastor Wes…
Anxious and Afraid
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4:18 (ESV) Have you noticed how prevalent fear is in our culture? We don’t always call it fear, we offer different names for it—anxiety, panic, apprehension, dread, terror, these either elevate or minimalize the presence of fear but in the end it’s all fear and fear grips all of us. So how does love allay fear? First, it’s important to put the love we’re talking…
Romans 15
This next week is one that will be full of division and hate across the nation. In Romans 15, Paul reminds us of a higher calling: to bear with one another and seek the good of our neighbors. This call to unity is not about suppressing our beliefs but about prioritizing love and understanding over division. He encourages us to bear with one another, recognizing that we all are different but that our goal is being unified by the work of…
Justice & Love
To be honest, I have struggled to write what I feel God has placed on my heart. Recently I have been reminded of the evil that is so prevalent in our culture. God is a God of Justice, and these things must break His heart. Certainly, God is grieved with the killing of innocent life. God is grieved when care is not given to the widow, the orphan, and the “least of these”. Certainly, God is grieved when Christians are…
Turkeys
I was watching this silly turkey from the deck of the parsonage. He was at the back of the church inside a fenced area and he couldn’t figure out how to get out. He started pacing back and forth for like 30 minutes. The rest of the group of turkeys went about their business looking for something to eat. Back and forth this turkey went. Finally, turkey #2 flew in to talk to turkey #1 and tell him how to…