HOPE was the word for the first Sunday in Advent and hope is the word for all of us whose faith and trust is in God!  Got hope?  (anyone picking up on the allusion to a popular advertising campaign) It’s yours in Christ!  

Thanksgiving being this week, I thought of one of my favorite thankfulness illustrations.  It comes from a 17^th century church reformer and author of a well-known commentary, Matthew Henry.

We certainly had the election of the week before and the events that have unfolded since on our minds when we came together on Sunday morning!  But we were reminded of some timeless truth and were encouraged by the presence of God in our services! 

Well, Sunday morning was a beautiful time together! The weather couldn’t have been better for our 8th annual outdoor service up on the parsonage lawn. Mike Cavaliere was back leading worship, some old friends of GCN showed up, a new family that drove all the way from Mexico was here, and we had the opportunity to worship, to pray for each other, to hear God’s Word out in the world he created, and to share a lunch that included the best burger I’ve had in a while! Thanks to all who made a great Sunday morning happen! As always, we pray that God is used and is using that time together to encourage you and strengthen your faith.

Thanks to Pastor Brian for what I hear was a good message on the subject of humility. Someone has said that humility is the queen of all virtues, the one virtue that allows all the others in. I Peter 5:5 says to “clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.” Might be a good verse to remember as you’re getting dressed in the morning.

We had dinner with a new neighbor last night. We had them over a couple of weeks ago, and last night they had us over. We’ve enjoyed our time with them. Reflecting back on the evening inspired a couple thoughts —