Friends, we hope that you are gearing up for a great Thanksgiving tomorrow. When we think of you, we give thanks to God.
When Paul writes to a church in Thessalonica, he opens up his letter with a an act of gratitude where he says, “We give thanks to God always for all of you as we mention you constantly in our prayers.” And what he remembers in his prayers, Paul says, is their works of faith, their labor of love, and their steadfastness of hope in Jesus Christ.
Friends, I want to tell you this. We give thanks to God for you always. We are constantly remembering you in our prayers. As a staff, ministry, leadership, we’re often sharing what we see God up to in your life, through your life. We’re bragging about the ways in which we have observed you in your faith, in your labors, in your steadfastness of hope.
I pray that you are encouraged this Thanksgiving. And as you give thanks for whatever it is in your life, remember this. We always give thanks for something, to someone. We don’t just give thanks. We give thanks to someone who has given us these things. Remember this that all things, all good and perfect gifts, come from our Father who is from above. And so let us collectively this Thanksgiving give thanks to him the giver of all good gifts.
And then after Thanksgiving, yes, there’s Black Friday. Do whatever you want. But then on Sunday we begin an intentional season called Advent. Advent just simply means the arrival. This is a season in which we as a church remember that we wait on the Lord. That Israel was waiting on the Lord’s Messiah, that Jesus Christ came at Christmas, and we as a people look back and remember his coming in humility to be crucified on a cross. And then we wait on the Lord for his second coming, which will be in glory.
And so we are going to look at a passage from Isaiah chapter 9 where it says, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of darkness, on them has light shone.” As you’ve seen in the Gospel of John, Jesus is this great light. And we know his name as Jesus. But here the prophet Isaiah says, “He is a child who is born to us. A son is given. The government shall be upon his shoulders and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, Prince of Peace.” Each one of those names will reveal a character of who God is and how we can trust him in the land of darkness. We hope that you will join us on one of our campuses this Sunday as we begin Advent together.
Thomas Milburn, Senior Pastor
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