“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.” (Micah 5:2 – NASB95)
I LOVE this time of year! We just celebrated Thanksgiving and now we get to look forward to Christmas. But think about all the Jewish people from the time of Micah until the time Jesus was born. 700 years of looking forward to the first Christmas, the coming of the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One. The eternal God would become a man at a specific time so He could live the perfect life we cannot live, suffer the wrath of God for our sins, be buried, rise from the dead, ascend to heaven, sit at the right hand of the throne of God, intercede on our behalf as our High Priest, and hopefully very soon, return to rule and reign here on earth. Just thinking about all of that gives me goosebumps! Are you ready for His Coming?!?
I assume that most of you ARE ready. But are there a lot of people you know who are NOT? Are there families with children who need to understand the real story of Christmas? I want to encourage you to prayerfully reach out to your own family (children, nieces & nephews, grandchildren, great grandchildren…) and at least 5 to 10 other families and invite them to our Drive Thru Christmas coming up next Friday and Saturday, Dec. 4th – 5th, 5-8pm. They will drive thru our parking lot in an entirely Covid-19 safe way, see different stations of the Christmas story, hear glorious music, see beautiful lights, and receive some fabulous gifts (while supplies last) that each child and the whole family can enjoy. There are bilingual fliers (here) or on the church website that you can print out and give to people when you invite them.
Please don’t miss the worship service this Sunday morning as there will be a video testimony from Al Mooney. How appropriate to hear from Al on Thanksgiving weekend about how the Lord protected him and preserved his life in his battle with Covid-19. Only 14% of patients with Covid-19 to that degree have survived. We are grateful to God that we have more time with our dear brother. To God be the glory! LIVE STREAM NOTE: the pre-recorded worship service is available for you to watch any time after 4a.m. on Sunday. You don’t have to wait until 9am to watch the service. You can watch it on the church website, church app, or on YouTube.com (TBBF Church channel).
If you haven’t joined us yet on Sunday at 4pm for our in person, outdoor worship services, we are having a blast! The music has been inspiring and the studies in Psalms have been challenging and encouraging. We will finish Psalm 51 this Sunday night. We have plenty of room for social distancing. If you have concerns for your safety, we have reserved parking spaces where you can sit in your car, see the service through your windshield, and listen to it on your FM car radio (107.7FM – it only works in our church parking lot). You can get out of the house, remain Covid-19 free, see your church family, and participate in the service. If you want to say “Amen” at any time during the worship service, you can honk your horn!
The Lord Jesus came over 2000 years ago and He will come back. Let’s reach as many as possible with the Good News of Christmas!
I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen. (1 Tim. 6:13-16 – NASB95)