December 7, 2020
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Messiah,
It is a strange year in so many ways! One of them is our limited snow, so far. Yes, it is mostly white outside, but not more than a couple of inches which is really unusual. I do remember the first year we moved up here, it didn’t start snowing until mid-December and then, we had the second highest snow total since moving up here. That year I thought we weren’t going to get any snow. I learned a valuable lesson that year – the snow will come.
The church is all decorated for Christmas, thanks to all that helped last week. It really looks nice! It is great singing Christmas carols and remembering Jesus’ birth. At the end of the service we sang the fourth verse of Hark the Herald Angel’s Sing. This is one of my favorite carols. I am constantly amazed at the truth that is often found in these old songs. Check out the verse that begins…come desire of nations come….
Doug and Jim are continuing to work on the technical issues we are having. It was “interesting” to watch Jim on an extension ladder working on the projector hanging from the ceiling in the sanctuary. Please pray for wisdom (and safety) for them to figure out what the problem is and get things back up and running.
Sunday’s message began a look at Jesus in the Old Testament. What were the things that were recorded before Jesus’ birth about Jesus; what information did the Jews have about the Messiah before His birth? The books of the Old Testament are divided into 3 sections by the Jews. The first five books are the Law or the Torah, then they are divided into the prophets (including major and minor) and the writings (Psalms, Proverbs, etc…) This week we looked at what the Law has to say about Jesus. Genesis 3:15 is the beginning which says the seed of the woman will crush the serpent’s head. This is a reference to Jesus’ virgin birth and how His death and resurrection will crush the power of satan. In these first five books we also see that a descendant of Abraham would be a blessing to the whole world, that a son of Judah would reign as king forever, that the spotless Passover Lamb would deliver from the bondage of sin, that the Messiah is the bread of life and the rock. Jesus is also our sabbath rest, our Great High Priest, and the glory of God. May we look to Him during this season and always!
By God’s Amazing Grace,
Pastor Kevin Hausman