Mark your calendars and invite some friends! worship with communion 4 PM followed by a quick pizza meal in the Fellowship Hall
Good Morning Giving Servants of the Lord Most High! Every time I think about you I praise God for calling me to such a loving, giving, encouraging flock of givers and servers! You guys rock! Thanks and keep it up! God's love and care is spreading through us! we served a ton of people with bread and Weis products and love, care and prayer. This year our Support and Finance Teams approved blessing some of those we serve through bread and . night ministries with Weis gift cards. about five of those received with great gratitude our tithes turned to blessings. We still have more to give and will do so next few weeks as God opens the door. Our evening dinner huddle will be on holiday break until Jan.
Tis the season of business. May we pause, abide in Christ and rest in Him often before stepping out to live and love like Jesus. Needs are all around. How might God be preparing you to go bless someone? Talk to Him about that. Maybe partner up with some friends and go bless God, others and be blessed back by being a blessing. We are blessed and gifted to go love well. PTL! Check out the Upper Room and abide and meditate with God about what he's saying to you and then go be a doer of His Word and a blessing to all you encounter ! I'm praying for a real sense of God's leading for each of us to go share the love, Good news and many blessings as we encourage and help others. God loves that! Amen! Be a joy bringer ! Shalom!
UR: Encourage One Another
Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. - 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)
After I retired, I worked part-time at a hardware store. But I was surprised when the boss didn’t even talk to me! He never even gave me directions or assignments. Each day, I had to guess at what I was to do. I longed for some indication of how I was doing. I was hungry for encouragement, but it never came.
Finally, after several months, I asked him if he approved of my efforts. He laughed as if I should have known what he had been thinking. “You’re fantastic!” he said. “You’ve cleaned up the place nicely. Even the regional manager has noticed. And every time the delivery truck comes, you get the product out on the shelves on time.” I swelled with pride and a sense of accomplishment. I had finally gotten encouragement, but it was sad that I had to wait so long.
As Christians, we need to encourage others. Many people are desperate for attention; they may feel lonely, neglected, or unsuccessful. They may feel unloved and unwanted.
Why do we withhold our encouraging affirmation of others? It could be apathy, ignorance, or simply a lack of love. Whatever the reason, let’s break our habit of silence and pick up the habit of offering loving encouragement to others.
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Wagner's news:
Greetings from warm and sunny Kijabe! The is shining, the grass is freshly mowed, parrots are migrating through the campus, and colobus monkeys are playing in our trees while eating the succulent leaves. In the past two weeks, we have had several vivid reminders of why we do what we do.
Student Baptisms
Just 10 days ago we had the privilege of hearing the testimonies of eight students who chose to be baptized! Each student shared their testimony and their personal, heartfelt story of discovering who God is and how much he loves them. Many had hard experiences and had to wrestle with God, ultimately surrendering to his love and redemption found only in Jesus. This is a good reminder of why we do what we what we do!
Connections with Alumni and Parents
Just a few days ago, we had lunch with a Korean couple who are retiring after 40 years of ministry in Africa. As they shared some of their story, they asked if we remembered their children. Brian had taught both of their children, who graduated in 2000 and 2002! We are the only staff members still at RVA from those years and these dear parents were so excited to connect with us. Both of their children are married and involved in ministry around the world. We’ve also recently connected with other alumni who are now serving as missionaries in East Africa. More reminders of why we do what we do!
AIM Spiritual Life Conference
As our students departed on morning, AIM missionaries from Kenya and Tanzania began arriving at RVA. We were excited that RVA was again hosting the conference, for the first time since 2017. The speaker, a Kenyan pastor at a church in Nairobi, shared from the Books of Daniel and Revelation, reminding us why we do what we do. We were challenged to be different from the world, to dwell on the sovereignty of God, and to recognize that missions is the fruit of worship. One quote that stood out was that modern Christianity often says to God, “I will follow you because you make my life better”; but biblical Christianity says, “I will follow you because YOU are better than life!”
Lots of thought-provoking questions from our speaker:
Will we choose obedience over deliverance?
Will we worship even if it kills us?
Will we weep for those facing a Christ-less eternity?
Will we keep Christ at the center of our lives?
Will we partner with God in turning rebels into worshippers?
And…we’re off!
, we are flying to the US to spend a few weeks of our school break with family. We are looking forward to seeing our three children, their spouses, and our grandchildren, along with extended family and friends. Pray for safe travels and rich times full of blessings with those we love so dearly.
You are appreciated, as you continue to support us through faithful prayer and giving. Without you, we would not have the privilege of being able todo what we do for so many years as we serve and support many families and their children from across Africa and beyond.
Thank God I'm Forgiven! Amen! So much to be grateful about! PTL!
Good Morning Forgiven Much Saints! For sure, right? Do we even know the depth of our sins? Do we not even know of some sins that have been forgiven? God is in the cleaning out, extracting and forgiving business. PTL! What made me think of that line? I'm off to have a root canal on an abscess I don't even know I have but the dentist has been watching it progress through periodic x-rays and said it's time to do something. Ugh, right? BUT GOD! He has been observing the x-rays below the surface and the sin that is brewing and expanding in our lives. Yes we are forgiven! PTL! But what needs some cleaning out or extracting from us? he knows and He is an expert. Go spend some time with our Forgiveness and helper. Ask Him to purge all evil, sin and things lurking under the surface. Then just worship with much gratitude for your forgiveness, new life and help to renew your thinking and ways. Yes be still and know and rejoice! Often times His work can be painless, but sometimes he uses the pain to wake us, transform us, and redirect us to His best. Will you invite that and surrender to His healing, delivering hands? Please do! Come Jesus come! Heal and deliver us of all sin and unrighteousness and lead us to new life and renewed thinking. Thank You! You are our salvation! Amen!
9-12 Clothing Closet. Thank God for His provision, including our volunteer servants! Pray He uses us well, provides for needs and shines His love bright and draws many to Him.
Good Morning Gifted, Activated Teammates! We are co-laborers in Christ, gathered and sent to love others, seed, water, fertilize and harvest. Do you know your part in His Good News Delivery Company? You can! Ask Him to reveal and lead you to become the person you are created to be and doing the things you are created to do . They will always include praying, abiding, listening and then living and loving like Jesus. There are no small things when offered to God. Remember He provides and guides as we follow His peace. He has given assignments to us according to the faith and gifts He has given us in alignment with His purposes for EACH OF US AND US AS HIS GATHERED AND SENT BODY. AMEN AND PTL!
As we near the end of the year I like to evaluate where I've been and what I did with what God has provided this year. We are called to evaluate with sober judgement and adjust before moving forward. Am I doing all I can with what I've been given? Are we as a Body? Is His Kingdom advancing through my and our efforts. Have I grown from one way in Christ to the next? Am I becoming more like Jesus? Am I following Him? How well am I leading like Jesus and in His ways?? Do I know my gifts and use them well? Do I know my weaknesses and find teammates to help to fill those gaps as we work to advance the Kingdom together?
I'd like to challenge all of you to consider these questions prayerfully and seek God first for His answers and plans and then find your teammates to work together, pray together, hold each other accountable, and celebrate all God is doing... together. That is one of God's plans for us for 2026. Discover and step into our gifts as a team and work to do the things God has planned for us individually and as His Body. Please pray into that! And ask God to help us maximize doing all we can with all He's provided. That's being the best stewards of all His blessings! Another thing is determining a thing or a word to work on as a corrective in '26. We did this in '23. Have you grown as you worked on that word? What's the next thing God has for you to work on and develop?
Check out the Upper Room below and contemplate with God and others what's for now and what's next as Jesus leads us forward doing what we can with what He has given. He does have great plans for you and for us to discover and step into. As we yoke to Jesus, we advance as we adjust and work on the things He has revealed for us to grow and go more like Him. Amen! Are you ready for what's next by maximizing what's now? Life in Christ is never stagnant. It moves from glory to glory as we do. Amen!
Go Live and Love Like more like Jesus--Together! Love created you for such a time as this to go incarnate Love as you live and love more and more like Jesus. He's provided what you need and that includes partners. So, worship, abide, prepare and GO make disciples that reproduce disciples in the way of Jesus. He is the Way and we are moving towards living like Him and doing His ways for His glory! We are becoming a dynamic movement of God! Rejoice! Be the real you! Go! We are His Gifted, Activated Teammates! Amen!
Upper Room: The Gift of Love
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and [Mary] gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. - Luke 2:6-7 (NIV)
As the season drew near, my recent health issues were limiting my ability to enjoy my usual seasonal activities. However, I found comfort in Luke’s narrative about the birth of Jesus, especially as I considered the innkeeper.
Nothing is written about the person who did not give Mary and Joseph a room. Regardless, much has been said about him. He has been judged harshly because he didn’t give the expecting, travel-weary couple a room. Luke 2:7 says there simply wasn’t a room to offer. But rather than turn Mary and Joseph away, the innkeeper offered them lodging in the stable. This action was creative and loving, an example of someone doing what he could with what was available to him. And when the angels appeared to the shepherds, they were told they would find the baby lying in a manger. This unusual detail likely helped them find Jesus.
So what can we do this season with what is available to us? We can share the love God has shown us through our kindness, by listening to and helping others, and by praying with and for them. Seemingly insignificant actions can demonstrate God’s love for us and others.
's devotional is available to you for free because of the generosity of our donors.
Thanks to donor support, anyone can read 's meditation without logging in for up to 7 days.
Please consider supporting our ministry. Your donation or paid subscription helps ensure that readers around the world continue to receive spiritual encouragement every day.
's Prayer
Dear God, help us to see the ways we can share your love with others. Remind us that our actions — no matter how big or small — demonstrate our love for you. Amen.
Good Morning Joyful Servants! That is a great description of our fellowship! We lovingly serve and overflow with joy as we do. And people are noticing and being drawn to God through us. PTL! Keep praying into that, even for our Bread Ministry and evening dinner huddle of the year. God is with us and loving through us and people are being drawn! PTL! What's your part as we deliver His love and Good News? Ask Him and try it! God is Love. Love lives in you and wants to love through you. Allow Him to as you flow from your abiding time to serving Him in love. I'm praying for you! It's gonna be a great day! Be Christ to a neighbor and overflow with joy! Amen!
Come and worship! God in habits our praise so PTL and come and worship with us soon! Prepare to worship in Spirit and Truth and to enter His courts with ! Yes! Come and worship!
Good Morning Preparing for the King Worshipers! begins the Advent journey to the celebration of the birth of God as man on day. God loved us so much that he sent His Son to change us and the world and to open eternity to mankind! Yes come and worship the King of Kings who is Love and created all in love to love! We are part of that! PTL! Prepare to love well and always as we gather, worship, share and go live and love like Jesus! Amen!
I began my quiet time with this calendar entry (below). God is overflowing with love and grace and has given us all we need to become Jesus in the flesh and incarnate Him, His Love and ways to the world. He is the Light of the World and we are sent to light up the darkness with Him. What an honor, joy and responsibility we have to live and love like Jesus and to become more like Him as we are are created and to do what He created us to do. We begin by filling up with worship and then pouring out His Love from the overflow. Check out the other devos below as you abide in Christ, gather to worship and then prepare to go love well. Jesus prayed for us and I'm praying for you and us as well. Come and worship, load up, then go love! Amen!
Jesus came to seek and save the lost and He is our Redeemer who has made a way and created us to be His hands and feet . Worship, adore, and go in His peace and love! He is the hope of the world an we are His hands and feet of hope, peace, love and joy! yes PTL! Amen!
Pedro became a follower of Jesus at fifty. He’d been an angry, vindictive man who hurt those around him. As he received counseling from his church, he felt remorse over his past. “I now have less years ahead of me than behind me,” he said. “I want to live them well. But how?”
Pedro found his answer in an unlikely source—a genealogy. As he read Moses’ account of Adam’s family line, he noted that one sentence was repeated to describe Adam’s descendants: “Altogether, [name] lived a total of [number] years, and then he died” (see Genesis 5:8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 27, 31). But one man was described differently.
Enoch was described as one who “walked faithfully with God” (vv. 22, 24). He drew near to God, and that’s how he spent his earthly life. Because of his faith, “he was commended as one who pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5). Enoch had a steadfast, abiding trust in who God was and what He’d do for those who sought Him (v. 6). He expressed his trust in the Almighty by acting on it and obeying Him, and his faith was such that God spared him from physical death (v. 5).
“How can I live my years well?” Pedro asked. “By walking faithfully with God.”
Our earthly life doesn’t have to be summed up in just a number. It can be summed up in our faith, which allows God to work in more ways than we can count.
By Karen Huang
REFLECT & PRAY
In your life, what would “walking faithfully with God” look like? How can you act on your trust in Him?
Dear Father, I’m not meant to walk through life on my own. Please help me walk faithfully with You.
“Walk” or “walking” is a metaphor used in the Bible to depict the life of faith as a journey. To “walk” means taking physical steps toward a desired destination. To walk with God is to have a relationship and fellowship with Him. Enoch is the first person the Bible describes as one who “walked faithfully with God” (Genesis 5:22, 24). Noah too “found favor in the eyes of the Lord” and “walked faithfully with God” (6:8-9).
The metaphor of walking continues in the New Testament. We’re to “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16), to “walk in the way of love” (Ephesians 5:2), to “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7), to “[walk] in the truth” (2 John 1:4), and to “walk in obedience to his commands” (v. 6). To walk faithfully with God, we must “live as Jesus did” (1 John 2:6), or, as the nkjv renders it, “walk just as [Jesus] walked.”
Good Morning Hope-filled, Faithful Servants of the Lord! Amen! May we choose that always Lord! Thanks for the faith You've given us and for saving us for such a time as this! Thank You for Your faithful love and our hope in Christ! May Your love and our hope come alive ! Thanks! Amen!
Thanks Sarah for a great Advent message on Hope! Thanks for the reminder that we can choose hope, even in the storms and that hope is louder than all the noise crowding in on us. We need to cling to and cultivate hope always. Hope can be contagious and it carries us through all the hard times. Our hope is in the Lord! Amen!
Our devotionals are filled with hope and Truth. Abide in Christ as you chew on and digst what God is saying though them. He is speaking to your heart, drawing you close, pirsuing you and with you faithfully as you abide in His hope an Truth. Be still and know. Reload and go to live and love like Jesus and bring His hope alive to a hopeless world that will never know our joy and hope until they receive the love of Christ. Our mission is to bring His love and our hope alive as we incarnate Jesus and His Good News wherever we tread . Blessed are the feet that carry the Good News! We all can do our part as Christ continues to grow us and build us as living stones in His wall. He is the cornerstone on which we build. keep building and keep allowing Him to help you do your part as a hope-bringer. Amen!
You are very loved, created for God's purposes and gifted and empowered to be His hands and feet, building his Church, encouraging and helping many along the way. We are shining the light of the World, our Hope, to the world. Shine baby! Shine!
TWFYT
UR: Perseverance Through Christ
You know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. - James 1:3 (NIV)
I arrived home from a 17-month deployment in the U.S. Army to an empty house. I saw a stack of papers on the bed and felt weak as I read the words Petition for the Dissolution of Marriage. I dropped to my knees, crying out to God, “Lord, why? We have been married for 12 years. Is this the thanks I get for coming home? How can I fix things? I can’t do this!”
In that moment, I nearly gave in to despair, but instead I chose to seek help. I had experienced significant spiritual growth while on active duty, and looking back, I believe that growth prepared me for this time. However, I could not have done it alone. I attended Christian counseling for four years while dealing with depression after the divorce. As I talked with my friends, my family, and my pastor, I learned to see my worth in Jesus, not in the dreams I had of marriage and family.
Some experiences devastate us and test our faith in God. But with God’s help, through prayer and the support of Christian friends, we can find our way forward.
's Prayer
Heavenly Father, give us strength to overcome our difficult experiences. May our trials mold us into the people you want us to be. Thank you for your love and comfort. Amen.
As I opened the bookshelf assembly instructions with piles of boards and tools strewn on the floor before me, I viewed a set of instructional diagrams of what to do and what not to do. One diagram—with a large X on top—depicted a person staring at a pile of boards and tools with a bemused frown not unlike mine just a few minutes prior. On the right side was drawn the “correct” way to assemble. The only difference? A second person was there. Both figures now had smiles on their faces as they worked together.
So I got my husband. “The instructions say I need your help,” I said, showing him the drawing. He laughed, and we assembled it together. I could have stubbornly tried to find a way to put it together on my own. But the manual was right; the process wasn’t meant to be done alone.
In Romans 12, Paul urges new believers not to try to do life in Jesus alone. Instead of seeing themselves as self-sufficient and thinking of themselves “more highly than [they] ought” (v. 3), they needed to see themselves as part of an interdependent body, where every member needs each other’s help (vv. 4-8).
As Jesus helps us learn how to “be devoted to one another in love” (v. 10), we can experience life “in harmony” with each other, where one another’s needs, griefs, and joys (vv. 13, 15) are never carried alone.
By Monica La Rose
REFLECT & PRAY
Why do you think we’re tempted to do life alone? What helps you rely on others?
Dear God, please help me to rely daily on Your Spirit to unite and guide me in how to share life with other believers.
After laying the theological groundwork in Romans 1-11, chapter 12 represents the beginning of Paul’s practical call to action. Previously, the apostle articulated what God did to create His family. As part of that family, believers in Jesus have many joys and blessings but also responsibilities and opportunities. For example, we’re to be “devoted to one another in love” (12:10), which is just one of many “one another” commands found in the New Testament. These instructions relate to how we interact with those in the body of Christ. Jesus, who loves perfectly, helps us love others and share in their griefs and joys.
Bill Crowder
Sarah Evans
Connection Blogs:
- Living Life in Him
The living Word of God, Jesus Christ, lives within me, and Scripture compels me to live my life in Him: “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him” (Colossians 2:6).
As rejoicing and thankfulness take root in my spirit, I will become equipped to offer my body as a living sacrifice for His sake: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2).
As I ponder this, it seems the most practical thing I can do is to humbly and earnestly call upon the indwelling Spirit of God to meet me in every moment, mundane or significant, joyful or sad, peace-filled or fearful, quiet or filled with turmoil…He is God, and He lives within me! May I truly be transformed so that His perfect will is shaped within me for the purposes of His kingdom. Here is a prayer I can offer as a pleasing sacrifice to God who lives in me:
Indwelling Spirit of God, I offer my body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to You as my true and proper worship. In every moment, I long to be continually transformed as You renew my mind and focus it upon Your good, pleasing and perfect will. Teach me to be attentive to Your voice no matter what I am doing, and help me to be fully obedient to the purposes of Your heart.
Praise God, who is a refuge for the poor and needy (Isa.25:4).
Thank him for caring about those who are in desperate circumstances.
Confess times when you have not shown compassion to the needy.
Commit yourself to serving others in new and stretching ways.
Ask God to provide those opportunities for you.
Ask God to anoint the fellowship in your congregation with the Holy Spirit. Pray that any friction between members will be addressed and healed. Pray that newcomers will find a refuge in your congregation.
Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayerleader.com. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.
Good Morning Peace Followers and Bringers! Amen! We are moving to lighting the second candle on our advent wreath. It's the peace candle as we think about the Prince of Peace, Jesus and we follow peace as we bring peace to the world around us. Shalom shalom--perfect peace can be ours as we choose it and bring it. What's God's plan for you in that in this season of hope, peace joy and love? Talk to Him about it and dwell in His peace as you follow it and bring it alive. Amen! Peace like a river can flow over and through you as living water to many. I'm praying for you and us to be a people and a place of shalom shalom. Amen!
Stop. Turn off the noise and dwell in His peace as you reload to go bring peace, hope, love and joy alive. God is with you and for you and working all things together for good. That should lead to peace and joyfully pursuing it. Who needs some peace . Bring it!
Upper Room: Stop and breathe
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” - John 14:27 (NRSVUE)
A flat tire? Not ! I had a critical appointment that morning, 90 miles away. I had only one hour to get the tire fixed and still leave on time.
The only tire shop in town was likely to be crowded, so I prayed for quick service. As I waited, my anxiety rose with every loud tick of the giant clock on the wall. Finally, I conceded, “Lord, there’s nothing I can do. It’s in your hands. Please give me peace.” Waiting there, I heard this verse: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” Suddenly I understood what that meant. God has already given us peace. We don’t have to keep asking for it, but we do have to take it in. So there in that shop that smelled of tires and popcorn, I breathed in God’s peace. My shoulders relaxed, and my anxiety lifted. With a few minutes to spare, my car was ready, and I made it to my appointment.
Circumstances still threaten to overwhelm me at times, until I remember that verse. Then I stop, breathe in God’s peace, and say to myself, “Relax, God’s got this.”
's Prayer
Lord Jesus, help us not to lose focus but to remember that you have already given us your peace. In every situation, help us to walk in your peace, trusting in your power to calm our hearts. Amen.
10 am ...Church decorating for ...help needed! Yes, Advent begins ! Come and worship!
Good Morning Valuable Servants of the Lord! Yes, that's you! PTL! Lots to discuss and God may be taking us on two tracks of thought that actually tie together. I'll let you engage with Him and your teammates to process and pray. It's time for me to get ready and get to church shortly. Check out our devos below.
The God of peace has many blessings prepared for you and everyday. Sometimes those blessings are disguised as hard times and trials. Push through as you lift praise and receive His peace as you grow in trust that comes with experiencing the faithful and good plans of God who cares and has a plan that includes you! Yes, PTL! We need each other and God has gathered us to be unified and moving together to encourage each other and build His Church. We all have a part to play! You matter! You are valuable to God and others! We get to worship and lift praise through our obedience and trust. So, gather, pray, plan and then go live and love like Jesus . Someone is being sent to you or you to someone. Ask God to fill you and use you well and just worship and adore our King of kings! Amen and shalom shalom!
Sarah Young
If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. - 1 Corinthians 12:26 (NRSVUE)
When we were newly married, my wife suffered from a painful ingrown toenail. At first, I was dismissive. Really, how much could a toe hurt? Apparently quite a lot. But after a couple of medical procedures, the issue was finally resolved.
Many years later, it was my turn to experience this malady. I can honestly say it was quite painful! With sincere humility, I apologized profusely to my wife for minimizing the pain she experienced. How could I have been so insensitive?
My lack of understanding and care also revealed that I did not recognize the value of something I deemed insignificant. I thought, It’s just a toe. But toes are important because they help the body to function well.
The apostle Paul uses this exact example to highlight the necessity of all members of the body of Christ and how we should value each one as integral to the whole. I am ashamed when I think of how often I have devalued others with my lack of awareness, care, and encouragement. From time to time I am reminded — especially when I stub my toe — that every part of the body matters.
's Prayer
Heavenly Father, forgive us for our tendency to devalue members of the body of Christ. Help us care for one another in order to strengthen them and your church. Amen.
Thank God I'm Forgiven! AMEN and PTL! Tell God what your salvation means to you and ask for help to share that with someone this weekend. Someone needs to knowmwhy we are so thankful! Go Tell!
Check out Sarah's update below!!! Don't forget decorating the church at 10 ! We need YOU! just an hour or two!
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Good Morning Gifted Givers! PTL for all he has given us and how He longs to give through us! Tis the season to bless and be blessed, to love and be loved, and to love and be loved! PTL! Who needs the gift of new life, encouragement, help? What will you do about that? God has plans He gifted and is calling you to help with! Seek first His Kingdom and all you need will be given!
Happy ! Share the love and be loved! Off we go to shop and shine! have a blessed day!
Sarah Update:
Praying that everyone is finding time to thank our awesome God for the all the blessings that
He is given to us, and is giving us in our lives.
So what are you thankful for? Let's hear it......just 'REPLY ALL' to this email and share with us what you are
grateful for. Can't wait to hear.....
Here are some heartfelt words from Lori Rohrer:
Wow, it's and this year has been an absolute whirlwind of highs and lows but amongst the chaos,
one thing was certain and that is that God and the great members of St Matthew's have had my back and
lifted me up in ways that I'm still trying to come up with the words for.
During this season of thanks, I just wanted to personally thank each and every one of you for helping me to keep the
smile on my face, and for all the support you provided during this last month of uncertainty (fingers crossed it
doesn't happen again the end of January.)
Enjoy the season, take time to celebrate all the good that still exists even though there's all kind of
negativity trying to make us not recognize all the good.
Thank you all for being a part of the good, in this world.
Many, many thanks,
Lori ☺️
Thank you Lori, for sharing.......remember we all are here for one another. Please if you need someone to talk with, have a need that we can help
with, need some guidance........please do not hesitate to reach out. We will help in any way we can.
Okay everyone, enjoy the day and food! Please share with us all what you are thankful for.
PLEASE HELP.........WE WILL BE DECORATING THE CHURCH FOR ON , AT 10:00AM.
IF YOU CAN HELP HOLD, OR DECORATE
A SIMPLE TREE, YOU ARE NEEDED. MEN, WE WOULD USE YOUR MUSCLES TO HELP CARRY AND LIFT THE LARGE WREATH
THAT HANGS AT THE FRONT OF THE CHURCH. PLEASE, CAN YOU SPARE AND HOUR OR TWO, AT 10:00, ON .
Good Morning Thankful Friends! yes rejoice and celebrate as we get to lift many thanksgivings ! PTL!
Happy from Karen and I to you and yours!
Check out these devos with as you use them to pray and praise this day! God loves you and so do we! Shalom shalom!!!
Sarah Young:
TWFYT
UR: God Is Listening
They removed the stone. Jesus looked up and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. I know you always hear me.” - John 11:41-42 (CEB)
“What’s everybody doing for ?” I asked my friends. As Americans living in Seoul, South Korea, all of us were far from home for the holiday. One by one, my friends shrugged and said, “Nothing.” None of us had time off for the holiday, but I wanted to celebrate . I longed to sit with my extended family at a feast-laden table, to smell the pumpkin-pie spices, to hear the giggles of my nieces, and to take turns saying what we were thankful for. Rituals like these mattered to me even more now that I was far from home.
I knew that Jesus understood how I felt. Jesus left his home with God to live among us, to be not only fully divine but fully human. He experienced challenging emotions like loneliness, anger, betrayal, fear, and grief. In ’s quoted scripture, Jesus knew that God was listening to him, and the attentive presence of his loving Father stirred gratitude in him.
When we are sad or homesick, we can call out to God and trust that God hears us. and every day, God is near to us. It’s a tremendous gift, which we can be thankful for right now.
's Prayer
Dear Father, when we are lonely, sad, and far from home, you are with us. Thank you for your loving presence. Amen.
ODB
A Humble
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6
One I called home to greet my parents. As we talked, I asked my mom what she was most grateful for. She exclaimed that she was most grateful that “all three of my children know how to call on the name of the Lord.” For my mother, who’d always emphasized the importance of education, there was something more valuable than her children doing well in school and taking care of themselves.
Her sentiments remind me of Proverbs 22:6: “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” While this isn’t a promise but more a wise principle, and many children do wander from God for at least a season of life, she and my father had strived to raise us to humbly, reverently love God (v. 4)—primarily through example. Now, by His grace, they were able to see us grow older and benefit from a personal relationship with Him. As verse 2 says, God is “the Maker of . . . all.” And although some children will respond to loving instruction in Christ, others might take longer perhaps to hear His voice. For those precious children, we continue to pray and rest in God’s timing.
Mom’s humble points to what’s most important in life. Reverently loving God yields spiritual riches for this life and beyond (v. 4). And while we can’t control what children will choose to do, we can rest in the hope that God will lovingly continue to work in their hearts.
By Katara Patton
REFLECT & PRAY
How have you been shown the love of God? How do you reverently love Him?
Dear God, please help me to love and disciple others well.
It’s fascinating that the man who collected or wrote most of the sayings in the book of Proverbs (King Solomon) is also believed to be the writer of Ecclesiastes. The proverbs essentially say, Do this, and get that result. Do wise things and get good results; do foolish things and pay the price. However, Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes, “With much wisdom comes much sorrow” (1:18). Yet in Proverbs he says, “Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding” (4:7). Ecclesiastes shows us the futility of life without God at the center; Proverbs instructs us how and why to live wisely. And so we live by the wisdom of the Proverbs: “A good name is more desirable than great riches” (22:1). And “humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life” (v. 4)—a truth that will see its full fruition in the next life.
Tim Gustafson
Larry Paul Update:
Hello to all of our family, friends, and partners,
The American holiday of is celebrated in November and it's a great time to remember and praise God for all that we are thankful for.
It's been almost a year since Larry suffered a heart attack last December. He changed his diet (lost about 30 pounds!), and has been taking his heart medications daily. His blood pressure has stabilized at a normal level and his cardiologist is pleased with his blood tests. Larry will most likely be on medicine for the rest of his life to regulate his heart.
Larry's Mom has moved into an independent living facility and she's settling into new routines. She's making new friends and enjoys eating dinner with them in their dining hall and the trips to local shops and malls. She also enjoys the on-site hair and nail salon for her beauty treatments. Her house is for sale and we're hoping for a quick sale so she doesn't have to pay both the mortgage and her current rent.
Larry's preparing for next year's campus projects which include adding more solar panel systems, replacing the other half of the High School building's roof, and possibly painting the Elementary and Middle School divisions' outside basketball courts. All of this work should be done between January and April to avoid the Philippines' rainy season so he's waiting for approval to start these projects. This is in addition to his "normal" tasks of running the maintenance, grounds, transportation, custodian, and security departments.
Richard is enjoying college life at Lehigh University. He's doing well in his classes and has fun hanging out with his new friends. He enjoyed his time on the volleyball club team (their season ended at the end of October) and is now playing intramural basketball. All of this while also working part-time off campus. We're thankful we can call him weekly from the Philippines and that he's able to spend and with Larry's family in PA. Fun fact: Lehigh University's football team went undefeated this year (12-0) and is ranked 5th in the FCS (formerly Division I-AA) and will host a playoff game on .
Brayden is doing well at Faith Academy. He was on the varsity volleyball team that finished its season by playing in the Asian Christian Schools Conference (ACSC) tournament at Dalat International School in Malaysia. Larry and Enol were able to join the trip to watch this tournament; unfortunately Brayden suffered 2 sprained ankles in early games and was not able to play for most of the tournament. His friend and teammate suffered a torn hamstring early in the tournament as well so was also not able to play in most of the games. Faith Academy played hard and ended up in 5th place out of eight teams. Brayden is now a starter on the Faith Academy varsity boys basketball team; so far his ankles are holding up and not giving him much trouble. He's doing OK in school, though he's doing a lot of studying and homework for his Pre-Calculus and Statistics classes to understand the material.
Enol keeps everything running smoothly at home; she still enjoys her time volunteering at Faith Academy's Pre-K classes and monitoring the playground during lunch/recess.
Praises
Larry's ongoing recovery
Richard making friends and doing well at Lehigh University
Brayden doing well at Faith Academy, recovering from ankle injuries, and enjoying basketball.
Enol volunteering at Faith Academy
God's continued provision for our needs
Prayer Requests
Larry's complete recovery from his heart condition
Finances for Richard to attend Lehigh University
Enol's sister Zeny, complete recovery from stroke, and her financial needs
Thank you again for your continued prayers and support of our ministry at Faith Academy in the Philippines.
Good Morning Thankful Friends! What are you thankful for ? For me it's God and all He has done and who He is and for my salvation and His mercy and grace that helps to renew my thinking and choices. I'm thankful for all of you! I'm thankful for how He has gathered, gifted and is using us to encourage each other and to grow His Kingdom. I'm very thankful for Karen, family (even in-laws! ) and friends! And I'm thankful what God did as over 45 gathered to worship, fellowship, commune and pray and some new people even showed up! Over half were not from our church! I'm thankful God has drawn some and is using us! What an awesome night! I'm also thankful as I pray for what He will do and . And I'm thankful that He uses a wretch like me to be His hands and feet. Thanks Daddy! I love you!
You know I've already discussed how the holidays are not always very joyful nor filled with for many who are lonely, grieving, sick and especially for those who are far from God. BUT GOD! He promises to be with the broken hearted, lonely, sick and dying, and to walk with us in those dark valleys and to restore our souls. PTL! When we get to the end of ourselves God is there and strong for us. When we grieve He promises to comfort and strengthen us. Thanks Lord! We need you! I need you! Thanks for being there always! and I visited and will visit some people on hospice and their families. I also visited some struggling physically and even prayed with some last evening. Life is hard and at times very hard. BUT GOD! He promises to shepherd us to all we need and the still refreshing waters and green pastures. Ask and receive with an open heart. Ask how He wants you to be His hands and feet the next few weeks and reach out in His love and comfort and be His shalom bringer. Choose joy as you try your best to trust and receive His help. Keep praying for the above and be still and know that He is God! Start with counting your many blessings. We sang that and it is part of Our Daily Bread devotional for . Meditate on that then spend some time with the Upper Room as you look for God showing up and even surprising you at times as you know He is with you and He is working all things together for good despite how they appear right now. And contemplate with God and your team as you engage with The Word for You 's reminder that God still heals and that miracles still happen and how He may choose to use you to bring them. Talk to Him and your team about what He's saying and where He is leading and then go and be Jesus and bring the Good News to those He is leading you to. Or be still and know He is God and reach out to someone to walk with you through this valley and be open to receive His loving, faithful presence and help and peace. Amen! I'm praying for you and for yours and for God to use us. Come Holy Spirit! Bring life and use me to bring life and love and Jesus alive and use me as your miracle worker too. Thank You for being with us always, hearing and answering our prayers and for using us--even creating us for such a time as this! Yes thanks and prepare me for and send me. Thanks! Amen!
So what are you thankful about? Who needs to hear that or be redirected to IN all things. Go! Love well! Amen!
ODB
Count Your Blessings
All the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord. Ezra 3:11
When I was a little girl, I loved the old hymn “Count Your Blessings.” The song encourages those who are “tempest-tossed” and “thinking all is lost” to “count your blessings, name them one by one.” Years later when my husband, Alan, was discouraged, he would often ask me to sing that simple song to him. Then I would help him to enumerate his blessings. Doing so took Alan’s focus off his struggles and self-doubt and centered his thoughts on God and his reasons for thankfulness.
The book of Ezra describes God’s people facing overwhelming challenges through focusing on God’s power and provision. After they’d endured decades of captivity in Babylon, King Cyrus allowed the Jewish exiles to return to Israel to rebuild the temple (Ezra 1-2). Only a fraction returned (2:64). Despite their “fear of the peoples around them” and the great task before them, they rebuilt the altar and laid the temple’s foundation (3:3, 10). Then “with praise and they sang to the Lord: ‘He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.’ And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord” (v. 11).
If you’re discouraged or facing seemingly insurmountable obstacles, turn your thoughts toward God. “Count your blessings . . . and it will surprise you what the Lord has done,” and continues to do, for those who love Him.
By Alyson Kieda
REFLECT & PRAY
How has counting your blessings helped you in a difficult situation? What are you thankful for?
Dear God, please help me to be grateful and praise You for who You are and for all You’ve done.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The celebration recorded in Ezra 3:10-11 is significant. After decades of captivity on foreign soil, God’s people were back in their homeland in fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy: “I will . . . bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you . . . and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile” (Jeremiah 29:14). Though the work ahead of them would be long and hard, the presence of the temple foundation (Ezra 3:10-13) was a visible reminder that God had kept His promise. When we’re discouraged and facing severe obstacles, we can pause and recognize what God has done. Gratitude for His faithfulness helps us gain momentum for the future.
Arthur Jackson
UR God's Surprises
I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. - Jeremiah 29:11 (NRSVUE)
Every summer, I look forward to planting a vegetable garden. My planning begins in early spring when I carefully select my seeds and plot where they will be sown. However, things don’t always grow as I anticipate. There are always plants that sprout and then wither before they can produce fruit. Often there are vegetables that flourish from seeds planted in the previous year or from seeds dropped by birds and other animals that share my yard. This year I reaped two large turnips which grew unexpectedly among my collard greens.
I’ve come to love these happy surprises. Often these rogue plants grow better and yield more at harvest time than the ones I’ve purposely planted and nurtured.
Throughout my life, I have carefully plotted and nurtured plans only to find that God has something else in store for me. After I was laid off from my long-term employment, a new career with more satisfying work emerged. After I was forced to leave the home I thought I would live in for the rest of my life, a more suitable home became available. When things don’t work out the way we plan, we can hold on to hope in God’s future for us and rejoice in God’s surprises.
's Prayer
All-knowing God, help us to follow where you lead. Together we will rejoice in the destination. Amen.
Don't forget!!!Eve Eve Pizza and Ice Cream party worship with communion.6-7:30!Be there with thankful hearts and bring someone along!
Good Morning Thankful Friends and Co-Laborers! PTL and amen!
I'm thankful for you and for how God has been uniting and transforming us int His image and for His purposes. God is Love! PTL! Love lives in us and wants to love through us! Don't fight the Holy Spirit on this but pray to go live and love more and more like jess. That is your purpose. And PTL that He has gathered us to be His Body doing life and loving well together! Yes PTL! we get to team up and help each other to grow and then go. Be you and then do what you are created to do with some friends. That is Jesus' easy yoke! Rejoice and put it onwith a thankful heart! I'm praising and praying for you and for all God has for you and us!
Check these blogs, links and devos below teaching and speaking about this. We are created to live surrendered, thankful, productive lives in Christ. Lift some praise andand team up to pray, discern, encourage, prepare and go in Christ and for His glory! Amen!
Habakkuk said, “I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” - Habakkuk 3:18 (KJV)
Just as the seasons change, we experience different seasons in our lives. My family is currently going through a difficult season. My four-year-old granddaughter has had an extensive bladder operation, and we are exhausted from time spent at her bedside in the hospital. But we are confident that God is merciful and will bring us through this season. There will come a time of rejoicing.
The prophet Habakkuk experienced a season where everything seemed to be going wrong. Still, his faith made him determined to rejoice in God and have faith (see Hab. 3:17-19). In Habakkuk 3, the prophet proclaims his confidence in God.
Maybe you are going through a dreaded season right now — one that involves sickness, financial difficulties, broken relationships, or grief — but these things will pass. In all circumstances, we can continually give thanks for God’s mercy and grace.
's Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you for being with us through the changing seasons of our lives. Amen.
Good Morning Team! GO TEAM!!! We are victorious in Christ! PTL! We are gathered and sent as His team! We all have a part to play in His Body and we all have some close teammates to journey with. PTL! Find yours and start praying, seeking, listening and then planning to go live and love like Jesus together! Amen!
A real passion and vision God has given me for the year ahead is to help you find some teammates to travel and serve and pray with. We are created to unite in Christ and to go together as His Body to transform the world. Pray into this for us. May we unite in Christ, purpose and with teammates to go produce great and lasting fruit. Amen! Start with seeking and lifting many thanksgivings for who God is, who you are in Christ and for His great plans and the fruit already picked and the new buds for what's next. Abide and remain in Christ and seek first His Kingdom and all things will be added as we pray and go serve--yes all we need to produce good fruit. We are gathered and created to be His team on mission and his dunamic movement. we all have a part and as we enter 2026 soon, watch for what God is doing and for your teammates to partner with to expand His Kingdom and multiply what he has provided as we go make disciples and as we bless each other with the fruit of the Spirit. God is for us and all things are possible for Him and become active and alive as we unite, pray and go! PTL! Really talk to God and some friends about this and ask for teammates. We are His Body being built together into His holy temple. Amen! Be thankful. Choose joy. Abide and then thrive together! That's God's will for you and us. I'm praying for that to all come alive and looking for my teammates. how about you?
Check these out as God keeps affirming that these things are His plans for us--His gathered and sent Body. We are being built together into His temple and we are sent together to change the world. Come and see!
Good Morning Worshipers! Rise and shine and give God the glory! Prepare your hearts to enter His courts with praise, His presence with . PTL that He in habits our praise and helps us to worship in Spirit and Truth! Pray for those all to come alive and for Acts 2:42 to come alive too as we gather, study, worship, fellowship, eat together and pray. Pray for our Two Peas in A Pod crew and for many neighbors to feel His love and care through us and to be drawn to Him and new life or revival of faith. Pray away any hindrances from the enemy keeping those who are being drawn from coming. PTL! for provision, protection, our gifts being used, and for His love, joy and peace as we gather and worship. Come you thankful people, come and worship! And pray we steward well all His blessings (thank Him for them) and sow sacrificially and lavishly into His Kingdom and work around us. Pray He would multiply our offerings and use them for His glory! Amen!
Check out the Upper Room's reminder that all we have is a gift from God to be used by Him through us for His purposes and glory. Pray we have His heart. mind, passion and compassion to go live and love more like Him and for that to draw many. Pray we would offer ourselves to Him out of great gratitude and as an act of worship. May we pour ourselves out as we join Him in advancing His work all around us. Pray for revival and many salvations and new and renewed lives to come alive all around and through us. Pray for His Kingdom to come and will to be done and for you to do your part in that. Pray we become a House of Prayer for the Nations and a disciple making powerhouse as Hid dynamic movement in Emmaus and the Lehigh Valley. Come and worship! Come Lord and be our shepherd . We worship and adore and thank You! Be glorified in and through us and use us to grow Your Kingdom and to do our parts. Thanks! Amen! (Note: we have a family commitment and will be unable to stay for brunch. Pray for many to rise up, welcome and fellowship with our neighbors joyfully, and for new connections!)
Upper Room: Freely Given
Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with you, and you with me. - Revelation 3:20 (NRSVUE)
I headed to the front door after hearing an abrupt knock, hoping it hadn’t woken my toddler. I wasn’t happy about the prospect of telling yet another sales representative that I didn’t want what they were offering. So imagine my surprise when I opened the door and instead saw three bouncy, smiling children! One exclaimed, “We’re selling cards!” and held up a few loose greeting cards. When I asked how much they cost, the little boy said, “No, lady, it doesn’t cost money. It’s for free!” They handed me a card, then bounded off, leaving me happy but perplexed. This well-worn and discolored greeting card made me smile, and the pleasant memory of these children knocking at my door has lasted many decades.
Frequently, I think I know who’s knocking at the door. Too often, I expect that cost will be involved. Thankfully that’s not God’s way of giving. God comes to the door with gifts in hand, and they are given freely.
God uses the simplest of gifts to make a lasting impact on our lives. When we give to others and serve God, we can help God to bless others.
's Prayer
Lord Jesus, help us to receive with gratitude the gifts that come to us. May we be willing to take time from our schedules and open the doors you knock on . Amen.
Prayer Starters
Prayer Points
Praise God, the one who is never far away from his children.
Thank him for being close to you when you feel brokenhearted or crushed in spirit (Ps. 34:18).
Confess your own unwillingness to have a God so near.
Commit yourself to drawing near to God in daily prayer and fellowship (Jas. 4:8).
Ask him to bless you by his presence throughout your life.
Intercede for the great worldwide mission effort of the church. Ask God to raise up more workers to enter the harvest around the world. Pray specifically for missionaries whom you know or support financially.
Prayer Pointer
“God does nothing on earth save in answer to believing prayer.” —John Wesley
LISTEN ONLINE
) and friends! And I'm thankful what God did 
