Pastor's Blog

Friday, January 03 2025

Sarah Update below

Bread Day today 10-12

Good Morning Worshiping, Thankful, Praying, Faithful, Trusting, Moving Forward, Followers of Jesus! Amen! That is us and we are working on growing into these things earnestly. We are moving from what was through what is to the new things God has in store for us in 2025. We have worked on becoming the people we are created to be and doing more of what we are created to do as we seek to have more of Christ and His ways and less of ours come alive in and through us and we are praying this all comes alive in '25! Please Lord! Your Kingdom come and will be done in, through and around me and us! Amen! So what are your thankful for from this past year and what new things does God have planned for you? Are you willing to step out in faith and trust to receive them and allow Him to bring them alive in '25? Pray into that! Surrender, receive and seek to earnestly follow Him into His perfect plans for you and us! I'm praying for me, you and all of us to seek and follow well. Thanks Lord! come! Have Your way! Amen!

Check out the flow of this through my devotionals below. God laid these out just for me and for some of you as well. Then engage with the links to the Harvest Prayer stuff as we seek to become a House of prayer for the Nations and releasing God's plans and power in prayer in the year ahead. Start with the Upper Room's reminder to be grateful and use those gratitude lists often in praise of God and all He is doing and even to refocus when times are hard or we feel distant from Him. The rest of the devos flow to knowing peace, trusting the hand of God, trusting God's plans for you as He leads to new things we are waiting to come and step into, and then the reminder that we are not in this alone but a team of servants seeking and following together--spurring each other on to the new things God has for us! What a great year we have traveled through! PTL! And PTL for the good plans He has for us as we seek to come alive in '25! Then just worship!

Maybe begin by offering yourself to God with this prayer song. This song may be helpful throughout our fast time from the 2nd to the 5th. Make Room. Open yourself. Surrender and offer all of you to Him as He leads you to his best and perfect plans for you and us--His new things! Amen! Make room: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxubPpU-iIA

Be honest, open, and willing! God has some great new things instore that will come alive in '25! PTL!

Upper Room: A Grateful New Year

Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. - Psalm 106:1 (NIV)

I keep an old coffee can on my dining room table. Every day I write something I’m thankful for on a small slip of paper and place it in the can. This discipline of gratitude has become part of my spiritual practice. Sometimes I write down how God has answered a specific prayer request. Other times I record a simple pleasure, such as a phone call with a friend. By New Year’s Eve the can is so full I can hardly stuff another piece of paper in!

On New Year’s Day I empty the can and read through all these expressions of gratitude. By the time I’ve gone through all of them, I realize how much God blessed me over the past year. I can look forward to the new year with hope, trusting that God will continue to bless me. I just need to fix my attention on “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy” (Phil. 4:8).

Today's Prayer

Gracious God, thank you for a new year and for the blessings of the year that has just passed. We thank you for this new year and trust you will be with us every day. Amen.

Sarah Young:

ODB:

The Hand of God

My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens. Isaiah 48:13

READ Isaiah 48:12-19

LISTEN ONLINE

In 1939, with the recent outbreak of war for Britain, King George VI sought in his Christmas Day radio broadcast to encourage citizens of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth to put their trust in God. Quoting a poem that his mother found precious, he said: “Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the Hand of God. / That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way.” He didn’t know what the new year would bring, but he trusted God to “guide and uphold” them in the anxious days ahead.

The image of God’s hand appears in many places in the Bible, including in the book of Isaiah. Through this prophet, God called His people to trust that He as their Creator, “the first and . . . the last” (Isaiah 48:12), would remain involved with them. As He says, “My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens” (v. 13). They should put their trust in Him and not look to those less powerful. After all, He’s their “Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel” (v. 17).

Whatever we face as we look toward the new year, we can follow the encouragement of King George and the prophet Isaiah and place our hope and trust in God. Then, for us too, our peace will be like the river, our “well-being like the waves of the sea” (v. 18).

By Amy Boucher Pye

REFLECT & PRAY

As you consider the new year, what situations or relationships could you entrust to God? How does the image of His hand speak to you?

All-powerful God, You created the heavens and the earth and yet You cherish me. I place my trust in You.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Isaiah warned that God would discipline the Israelites for their idolatrous unfaithfulness. He prophesied about one hundred years before the destruction of Jerusalem, their temple, and their seventy-year exile in Babylon (Isaiah 39:6-7; see Jeremiah 25:11-12). Isaiah also prophesied that God would bring His people back, restore them, and bless them (chs. 40-66). In Isaiah 48, the prophet affirmed that whatever God had purposed for His people, He would bring to pass. For He’s the only true, everlasting God—the almighty Creator who chose them to be His people (vv. 12-15). He’s also the “Redeemer” (v. 17) who will teach and guide them (vv. 18-19).

K. T. Sim

Chuck Swindoll

Joyce Meyer

TWFYT

Harvest's new Prayers for New Year. We are called to the new things God is doing and to step more fully into our new nature. As we consider fasting and praying form the 2nd to the 5th, maybe add some of these prayers for the newness God is leading us to! https://www.harvestprayer.com/resources/family-2/newness-of-life/

Ten New Year's Prayer Resolutions (Harvest Kim's Blog): https://www.harvestprayer.com/ten-prayer-resolutions-for-the-new-year/

Sarah Update:

Hi everyone,

We had a great day of worship on Sunday. It was so good and encouraging to so many praises that were shared by our brothers and sisters in Christ.......also hearing the ways God encouraged some of us to bring HOPE to some folks in need with the $50 we were using for our Christmas Blessing challenge.

Some of you also felt inspired to give to your money to The Kindness Project.

Many folks have been blessed by St Matthew's church family! May God continue to use us in reaching out to our community to share God's love and hope!

Here are some of the prayer needs/praises shared on Sunday:

Darlene Geiger has asked for prayer for her sister - she will be having a biopsy done and let's pray for the results to be negative.

Kay Paul - continue to keep her in prayer, for healing and strengthening. As we learn more we will let you know. Also keep her family in prayer also.

Kathy's 14 year old granddaughter has a heart condition. Her name is Sophia. We have been asked to pray for Sophia, that her medical team with be able to find ways to help her and that she will be able to physically be able to continue on with her activities that she enjoys.

Lori Rohrer - was in the ER due to being very dehydrated. She is doing better and is at home. Continued prayers for her healing and strengthening.

Kay (Karen's Mom) is asking for prayer for her friend Arlene, who is having upper respiratory problems and has been admitted to the hospital.

Gail L shared that she is praising God for how much better Houston is doing this month, compared to last month. He was able to spend some quality time with his family, during Christmas. In three weeks, they will meet with his medical team to discuss how things are coming along.

Kids Church update: Starting January 19th we are going to start the Armor of God series in Kids church. Each week, the kiddos will learn about a different part of the armor, and there will also be a craft to build the part of the armor that they learned about that week.

We want to encourage the kids to come each week so that they don't miss out on building their entire armor suit!

** ** ** ** **

Starting next week, many of our activities will start back up for the new year.

Tuesday Huddle at 10:00am starts up on January 14 - via Zoom

Coffee, Donuts, Conversations will be on January 8th from10 - 12pm

Clothing Closet will be opening back up on Saturday, January 18th from 10 - 1pm.

Our Annual Congregational Meeting will be on Sunday January 19th, following our worship service in the

sanctuary.

Our next 2 Peas in a Pod Brunch will be January 26th following worship.

Okay, I believe that's all the updates for now......hope you all have a good rest of your evening and a nice and safe New Year's Eve!

Blessings,

Sarah

Psalm 38:34 Put your HOPE in the Lord. Travel steadily along His path.

He will honor you by giving you the land.

You will see the wicked destroyed.

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