Dec 07

ADVENT 2: The Candle of Peace

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace
among those with whom he is pleased!” Luke 2:14

The peace of the Christian life is from a relationship.  Our relationship with God, through Jesus Christ is the basis of us having this peace.  The angels announced peace on earth to the shepherds.  There is a distinction that the Bible makes in the way the believer experiences God’s peace.

First there is “peace with God.”  Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Our rebellion and sin had caused an enmity between us and the just God.  But with the death of Jesus Christ for sinners, that enmity has been removed, and we are accepted into God’s family.

Then there is the “peace of God.”  We read of that in Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  This is the peace that goes with us in our living and serving.  As we submit to the will of God, God’s peace preserves us in every trial that we face.  We have this calmness in our living because of the presence of God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in us.

So, the challenge of God’s peace is in how we enjoy it, how we yield ourselves to the giver of this peace, and how much trust do we put in God in all our experiences.  Yes, we pray for peace between nations, but the peace God gives is more.  As we think, not only of the promise given at the birth of Christ, but the promise Jesus gives as he is facing his crucifixion. 

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).

So may the peace of Christ dwell with each of you this Advent season.

Pastor Greg

Nov 30

First Week of Advent:  Hope

Advent Candle 1 stands for hope, and specifically, the Israelites’ hope that the promised Messiah would come. They had been waiting for the Messiah for centuries, wondering what he would look like and what he would do when he arrived. When Jesus was born, that hope was finally fulfilled – “a prophet like you” (Deuteronomy 18:15) had come. How Jesus fit the prophecies the Israelites had been reading for centuries would become the critical conflict of His ministry – whether He fulfilled them and whether people had been reading them correctly.

This candle is also called the “Prophet’s Candle.”  In all their messages of judgment on the people for their sins, the prophet’s also give messages of hope.  Hope that God has no forsaken us, hope that there is a future that will be better, and hope that God’s promise to bless all nations will be fulfilled. 

 Most scholars conservatively estimate that there are over 300 Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament, some going back to Genesis. The prophecies gave specific details about the Messiah, details like:

  • He would be born to a virgin mother (Isaiah 7:14)
  • He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)
  • He would spend time in Egypt (Hosea 11:1)
  • He would come from the house (i.e., the family line) of David (Ezekiel 37:24)
  • He would start his ministry in Galilee (Isaiah 9:1-2)
  • He would be the figure that Daniel referred to as “the Son of Man” (Daniel 7:13-14)
  • He would teach “hidden things, things from of old” (Psalm 78:1-2)
  • He would be holy, a rock that would make people stumble and fall because they didn’t believe in him (Isaiah 8:14)
  • He would be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)
  • God would call him, “my son” (2 Samuel 7:14) (Psalm 2:1-9)
  • He would gather the Israelites back together (Isaiah 11:12)

The fact that the prophecies described God calling the Messiah his son and also that he would be called “mighty God,” became especially important. To be God’s son and called God himself would mean that the Messiah wasn’t just a new prophet like Elijah or an ordained warrior like David. The Messiah would be a divine figure. Since falsely claiming to be God was blasphemy, anyone claiming to be the Messiah had pretty big shoes to fill.

Pastor Greg

Nov 22

The New Covenant and Thanksgiving

Jeremiah 31:31-33

The prophecy from Jeremiah this week takes us to the Lord’s Supper.  When Jesus said of the cup, “This is the new covenant in my blood.”   When they finished the supper, they sang a hymn.  We often don’t reflect on that, other than singing “Bless Be the Tie” when we finish Communion.  Yet, they sang a specific Psalm, one of the Songs of Ascent, which are Psalms of Thanksgiving sung by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem and the Temple.

As Jesus heads to the garden and his betrayal, he sang a thanksgiving to his Father.  In our thanksgiving, we don’t ignore the challenges and the trials we are going through, but we do reflect on the presence of our God that has promised “Never to leave you or forsake you.” 

Thanksgiving as a national holiday began in 1863, in the midst of the Civil War.  In his proclamation of Thanksgiving, President Lincoln wrote:

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have
been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown
in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown.
But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which
preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us.
We have vainly imagined . . . that all these blessings were produced by some
superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success,
we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming
and preserving graced, too proud to pray to the God that made us.

Thanksgiving focuses on God and blessings we enjoy from God.  Take this as your focus this week.

Pastor Greg

Nov 14

Send Me?

Isaiah 6:1-8

In the World War II movie Fury, Shia LaBeouf’s character, appropriately nicknamed as “Bible,” because of his penchant for quoting biblical verses, sits at the gunner position of a Sherman tank during the final weeks of World War II.1

As the crew awaits near-certain death from an approaching German battalion, “Bible” quotes to the crew:

“There’s a Bible verse I think about sometimes; many times; it goes, ‘Then I heard the voice of the LORD, saying, whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ (Troubled, LaBeouf’s character pauses and clears his throat). And I said, ‘Here am I; send me.’”

The sermon’s text this week is often called the “Call of Isaiah.”  Isaiah is probably in despair and confusion.  The righteous king has died and the future does not look as good.  But instead of looking at the circumstances, God gives Isaiah a vision of his holiness from the Temple.  Then God asks who will go and speak for God.  Isaiah, with his failures and flaw volunteers to be God’s messenger.

How many times are we are so caught up in our circumstances that we can not look up and see the greatness of our God?  Yes, God wants to use us, to use you.  Even with all our lacking, we are the ones that God wants to fulfill the tasks that need to be done.  The real question is, “Are you a willing volunteer?”

The character from the movie realizes that he and his crew are the ones that are called to face the enemy and keep them from advancing.  Jesus quotes Isaiah 6 in Luke 4:17, and says his task is the call of Isaiah 6.  So, each one of us that follow Christ, must also face the call if Isaiah 6.

Pastor Greg

Stewarship time:

Last week’s Bible verse about Jonah and the Whale makes an easy lead into Stewardship Sunday. While Jonah at first refuses to follow God’s wishes, after being rescued by the Whale that God sent, he fulfills God’s wishes and warns the Ninevites to repent, which ends up saving the lives of the people – that’s a pretty big “gift”. During this time of the year, as we are coming upon the Thanksgiving season, I would like to take a moment to talk about our pledge cards. They can be found, out in the narthex, as you fill out your card it can be placed in the offering plate. The pledge cards are also available on our website. The pledge cards help us establish a sense of what our budget will look like in the coming year – we have been very diligent with all our finances so as to make the gifts given to the church stretch as far as they may. All of us know that we are a small church, but we are a mighty and wonderful church. I saw an unusual example of that just yesterday. While we were outside finishing the leaves, an entire wedding party rolled up to the church, piled out and spent about 15 minutes getting pictures outside, on the stairs – they didn’t want to come in, just using the beauty of the outside. I also wanted to take a moment to recognize all of gifts of Time and Talent that so many of you make to keep our church so wonderful. From something as simple as adjusting the timing of the tower bell and mounting the new AED devises, to all the time and effort that went into last Saturday’s SupperMarket, and of course I can forget to mention our continued serving of meals on the 4th Sunday of each month. These are just a few examples of what our small but wonderful church does. So on Stewardship Sunday, as we hopefully reflect on and commit to being more grateful and generous – grateful for all God’s gifts to us and generous in sharing those gifts with others. I’d like to close my Stewardship message with a short prayer – O Lord, Giver of Life and Source of Freedom We know that all we have is received from your hand. Gracious and loving God, you call us to be stewards of your Abundance, the caretakers of all you have entrusted to us. Help us always to use your gifts wisely and teach us to share them generously. Send the Holy Spirit to work through us, bringing your message to those we serve. May our faithful stewardship be a witness to the love of Jesus Christ in our lives. We pray with grateful hearts in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen .

Here is your 2025 Pledge Card!!

The church depends on your talents and financial help.

Please download your card
below and help with our missions.

You can turn them in via the offering plates at church
or you can mail them to us at:

First Congregational Church
9050 Church St.
Twinsburg, OH  44087

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Your support is vital to the ongoing missions for our church.

These are due into the church by 12/15/2024