We are entering the season of the year that is usually the busiest for churches and individuals. Thanksgiving will be here in just a few short weeks and the Christmas season follows immediately after that. There will be numerous family gatherings, huge meals to cook, travel to plan and carry out, parties to plan and attend and shopping to do.
There will also be Thanksgiving and Christmas activities at church – music to prepare, individuals and families to care for and special opportunities for worship. This is the time of year that more people come to church and think about Jesus Christ.
These are all good things. They can be exciting. They can be productive. And they can sometimes become almost overwhelming.
Over the next few weeks, we will be completing the shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child; buying gifts for individuals from the Angel Tree and helping to provide for missionaries all around the world through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Please don’t let all these projects stress you. God calls us to experience joy through helping others and not feel burdened by the process.
The seasons of Thanksgiving and Christmas are meant to be seasons of great joy. They should fill us with gratitude to God for all the many blessings of life – the greatest of which was the incarnation that we celebrate at Christmas. This time of year reminds us that God loves us more than life itself. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving and Christmas, remind yourself that God promises us all of the strength and energy we need to serve Him. So, let’s look for ways to let God fill us with His strength.
As always, I urge you to encourage each other. Look for ways to help each other. Look for the good that God is doing at Fee Fee and not the bad that Satan is trying to do. Pray for your church leaders – your deacons, Sunday school teachers, missions and ministry leaders, support staff, worship teams and others.
I want to encourage you to find ways to show God’s love to the people in your life. There may be people in our church who will not be able to celebrate with family (for a variety of reasons). Please look for ways to include those wonderful people in your celebrations – invite someone to Thanksgiving Dinner or a Christmas gathering. No one should be alone during those times. Find ways to let God use you to breathe new life and energy into Fee Fee Baptist Church.
Blessings,
Pastor Derald