Weekly Greeting - November 10th, 2023
Dear Bethlehem Family,
Rebecca Little’s message during worship this past week reminded me of four phrases that have been used to describe the story of the Bible:
I love you
I am with you
Don’t be afraid
You can come home
John 3:16 tells us God loves us and sent Jesus to earth from heaven so that we might have everlasting life. Isaiah 41:10 tells us not to be afraid because God is with us. The story of the prodigal son recorded in Luke 15 portrays God as a loving father always eager to welcome us back home.
No matter what is going on in our lives we can take comfort in God’s love and presence with us. We don’t have to be afraid, but are always welcome to be part of God’s family. I am so grateful to be a part of a congregation committed to proclaiming God’s love for all people. I look forward to our Charge Conference this Saturday at 12:30 and our Share the Feast project at 8:00 a.m. It will be an exciting day of service to those in need as we celebrate an exciting year of ministry and begin to plan for the coming year.
We have good news to share and meaningful work to do as we celebrate God’s ongoing presence with us. God is good, all the time!
Blessings,
Craig
We are continuing our new series, Good Grief: Facing Loss with Resurrection Hope this week. Our text is from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 as we celebrate the good news of Jesus’ promise to come again and restore all heaven and earth.
We are people who understand the reality of death, but have been given the promise and hope of eternal life through Jesus’ death and resurrection for us. As the Apostle Paul makes clear in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18:
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.
See you Sunday!