Many of our Christmas traditions center around children. The Christmas story itself revolves around the birth of the infant Jesus and his dependance upon his family: Mary and Joseph. In human terms, children are meant to grow from dependence to independence. But in our relationship with God, maturity means moving from independence to dependence on Him. Jesus illustrated our dependent ways when He taught His disciples and all of us who have come to believe in Him – to pray, “Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). He was teaching a prayer of dependence. Jesus illustrates our dependence even more clearly in the metaphor of the vine and branches.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing,” (John 15:5).
It is impossible to forget that during December so many of our personal and church activities focus upon the birth of our Lord. That is as it should be. Likewise, in this time of transition and beginning of the pastor search process we need to pray for strong consistency and focus on all the present ministries of the church. Please pray that the Lord will grant great power to our interim pastors, Dr. Matt Easter and Derald Harris, as well as to our staff, leaders, and workers in all of our ministries and worship this month.
Our new Pastor Search Committee must be a continuing major focus for our prayers. As they organize and prepare themselves for the task before them, pray for deep spiritual cleansing and fullness of the Holy Spirit in each team member. Pray this for each member by name:
- Mia Baugher
- Ashley Bowman
- Betsy Brisch
- Don Jack
- Caitlin Knepper
- Brian Land
- David Pfeiffer
- James Wittig
As Jesus said in John 15:5, it is not our activity that produces fruit, it is our relationship with Him.
Merry Christmas and God Bless Fee Fee Baptist Church!
Larry Condra
Prayer Warrior