Weekend Sermon -- My Hope For The New Year

         Thank you for taking the time to read the sermon this week. I hope that everyone is healthy and enjoying a happy holiday season. 

     For the last message of this year, I want to write briefly about what some of my hopes are for the year that will soon be upon us. First of all, I definitely hope that 2022 brings an end to the coronavirus pandemic. There have been many who have been infected, and thousands have died as a result of this pandemic. I hope that people all over the world will be able to get the vaccine and the boosters needed. I pray that coronavirus will cease to be a major problem in 2022. 

     Another thing that I am hoping for in 2022 is that those who are Christians will take more time to practice important spiritual disciplines. I am definitely including myself in this. I challenge all of us who know Jesus as Savior and Lord to spend more time with Him in prayer each day. If you are not praying once daily, I encourage you to begin a prayer practice. If you are praying daily, I hope that you will consider praying twice a day. The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. This means that we are ready to bring our needs and the needs of others to the Lord at any moment. We are praying throughout the day. 

     I also hope that we will give thanks to the Lord more in 2022. Often, we ask things of the Lord, and then when He blesses us, we don't say thank you. Let each of us make a concerted effort to give thanks to the Lord for all that He has done.

    Reading and studying the Bible is another important spiritual discipline that I hope we will do more of in 2022. I hope that you are reading the Bible at least once a day. I know that I want to spend more time with in depth study of the Word of God in 2022. 

    I hope that all of us who follow Jesus as Lord will make the commitment in 2022 to work as hard as we can to tell others about the love of Jesus. Jesus told all of us to go into the world and make disciples. In 2022, let each of us strive to tell our friends, neighbors and family members what Jesus has done for us, and what He can do in their lives if they will call upon His name. 

     My great hope for the year to come is that Jesus will return in power and great glory. He may come before 2022 even roles around. The world is filled with violence and evil. I long for Jesus to come and restore all things. He promised that He would come and establish His kingdom that will have no end. I hope that 2022 will not go too far without Jesus coming. I'm not trying to set a date or make a prediction. I am just saying that I hope that Jesus will come soon. 

     Finally, I hope that in this next year that the Lord will give me the messages that I need to post here on the blog. I hope that you will continue to read the messages, and that they will be meaningful to you. Thank you for joining me on the blog this year. We went through the book of James, and we spent 31 days in the book of Proverbs, among other things. I hope that we will learn a lot more about the Lord and His Word in 2022. Happy New Year. Amen

Prayer Requests

     I have something that I would like you to pray about. My area is supposed to have a major winter storm this Friday night into Saturday. Please pray that it won't be bad. Please pray that there won't be much if any freezing rain. Thank you. 

     Please continue to pray for those suffering from the effects of natural disasters in this world. Pray that they will receive the aid that they need. 

     Let us all pray for peace in this world. Afghanistan, Myanmar, Ethiopia and Yemen really need our prayers. 

     For our prayer focus countries, let us pray for those in the nations of Albania and Azerbaijan. Pray that many will come to know about the love of Jesus. 

     Next week, I will post the verses on Monday. I will try to post a review midweek. I hope to post more reviews this year. On Friday, I will post the message. We will begin a new series starting next week. May God bless you all. 

Animal Book Of The Year

      If you've followed the blog for awhile, you know that most years I review a lot of dog, cat and animal books. I then give a yearly award to the best book in each category. This year, I didn't do many reviews, so there will be just one award. My Animal Book Of The Year Award goes to "The Speckled Beauty" written by Rick Bragg. It is a great book about a dog and the people who care about him. It is a story about how a dog helps a man and a man helps a dog. Rick Bragg is a great writer. The book is well worth your time. 

Verses For The Week

 II Corinthians 5:17 -- "Therefore if anyone is Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here."

Micah 7:7 -- "But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord. I wait for God my Savior, my God will hear me. "

Weekend Sermon -- Why Christmas?

     Welcome to this week's sermon. I hope that you are all safe and well and enjoying the Christmas season. I am doing fairly well, and I am looking forward to a day of rest on December 25. I thank the Lord for the opportunity that the Lord has given me to post this message. 

     Christmas is a wonderful time of the year. There are lights, presents, and many of us have the chance to get together for times of fun with our friends and family. During this time, our main focus should be on the reason for the season, and that is the birth of Jesus Christ. 

     We know that Jesus was born on Christmas Day to the Virgin Mary. But why did Jesus have to come to this earth in the first place? 

     When God first created the universe, everything was perfect and everything was good. After God had created everything else, He created man in His own image. He placed the man and the woman in the Garden of Eden, and He gave them but one commandment. This was to test to see if they would be obedient to Him and serve Him. God told them that they could eat from any tree in the Garden of Eden except for the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. 

     One day, the serpent tempted Eve to eat from the fruit of this tree. She told the serpent that if they ate from the tree they would die. But the serpent told her that she wouldn't die. The serpent told her she would be like God. Eve disobeyed God, and she ate of the fruit. She then gave some of the fruit to Adam, and he freely ate of the fruit disobeying God as well. This is when sin entered into the world and spoiled what God had made. 

     God punished Adam and Eve and cast them out of the Garden. From that day, they began the process of ageing leading to death. Adam's sin nature was then passed on to all of his descendants. We see this in Romans 5:12 that tells us that sin entered into the world through one man, and death then passed upon all people because everyone has sinned and rebelled against God. 

      One thing that we need to know. God did not cast out Adam and Eve and leave them with no hope for eternity. In Genesis 3:15, we have the first proclamation of the Gospel. This verse says, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heal."

      This is the first of the prophecies that told people that a redeemer was coming. God would make a way of redemption so that they were not left in the hands of the evil one. 

     In order to fulfill His attributes of justice, mercy and love, God had to provide a way for the redemption of the universe. He did this by sending Jesus to be the Second Adam. Jesus would be the one who succeeded in every point where Adam failed. Jesus was born among us. He lived a life without sin so that He could be the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. 

     Romans 3:23-26 sums up what I've been saying. This passage states, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed, for the demonstration I say of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."

     We also turn to John 3:16 to tell us why Jesus came on Christmas Day. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but will have everlasting life."

     Jesus came to us on Christmas in order to bring about the restoration of all things. He came to show us how to live a life that is pleasing to God. He came to die as the atoning sacrifice for our sins so that we might be forgiven and live eternally with the Lord. Jesus came to rise from the grave to conquer the consequences of sin. He is now making intercession for us as our great High Priest until that day when He comes again to restore what existed in the universe before sin entered into it. 

     Jesus was born into the world to save the universe. He came to save you and me from our sins. If you will turn to Him for forgiveness and accept Him as Savior and Lord, He will forgive you of your sins and give you eternal life with Him forever. He will never leave you, nor will He forsake you. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

I am still not feeling the best. Please pray that I will recover from this lingering illness. Thank you. 

Coronavirus is bad all over the world right now. Pray that it will go away. Pray that the sick will recover. 

Continue to pray for peace in the world. Let us continue to focus our prayers on Yemen, Syria and Ethiopia. 

Please pray for those who are suffering as a result of storms. Pray that they will receive the aid that they need. 

For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Comoros and Maldives. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

Next week, I will have a sermon for the new year. I will post the verses on Monday, and I will post a review midweek. May God bless you all.  

Christmas Eve With Toby And The BBC

      My friend Toby had many health problems throughout the course of his life. He was like me in that regard. When he was 12, Toby was diagnosed with cancer of the liver, and I didn't think that the two of us were going to be with each other in this world for much longer. I prayed and asked the Lord to help him, and Toby kept going long after the veterinarians said that he would. Six months later when Christmas time rolled around, Toby wasn't doing well, and I once again felt that this was the end. 

     Even though I was expecting the worse, Toby started to make a recovery, and when Christmas Eve came, I knew that he was once again out of the woods. That Christmas Eve, I decided to stay at home with my friend and not go to a party. I didn't know how many more days we would have together, and I wanted us to spend time together as much as possible. 

     That Christmas Eve, the two of us had a nice meal and we listened to some of our favorite music. We both liked classical and jazz. Toby didn't like Jazz that was too avant garde or free form. 

     As the evening wore on, I decided to break out my shortwave radio and see if we could find a Christmas Eve service on the BBC. We were in luck. There was a service being broadcast from one of the large cathedrals. The dean of the cathedral was about to begin his message. His message was about caring about those who God has brought into your life. It was about thanking God for the good things that you had in your life. He told us to remember God's good gifts to us during the Christmas season. 

     At the end of the message, the minister asked us to place our hands on someone we loved and pray a prayer of thanksgiving to God for them. Without me calling him, Toby came right over to where I was and sat down right next to me. I placed my hands on him, and I thanked the Lord that the two of us were together for another Christmas season. 

     No matter how hard I try, I can't remember the cathedral or the name of the minister who brought that message that night. I will never forget that it was a special message at a special time when I needed to hear it the most. 

     

Movie Review -- The Truffle Hunters

        In this post, I would like to review a movie I watched recently called "The Truffle Hunters".  You might be wondering why I am reviewing a movie with this title since my reviews are usually only on dog, cat, animal and theology books and films. Well, this documentary is about men who have a passion for hunting truffles, and it is about the dogs who help them. 

      "The Truffle Hunters" is set in the Italian Alps region. It follows various truffle hunters and a couple of truffle buyers. The men featured in this documentary are all older, but they have a lot of energy. They have a great love for the dogs who make their truffle hunting possible. In one scene, you will see a man who takes a bath with his favorite dog. This is a very humorous scene. One man has a wife who desperately wants him to stop going out with his dog at night to hunt truffles, but the man goes out anyway. The local priest even says a blessing for the man and his dog. In another scene, the priest tells him that since he is such a great truffle hunter, God will let him hunt truffles in the world to come. 

     The part of the documentary that I enjoyed the most was when the focus was on a truffle hunter who had a dog named Birba. He really loved this dog. He knew that he was getting older, and he told Birba that he was going to find a woman to marry so that when he died Birba would be taken care of. Later in the film, he tells Birba that he doesn't need a woman, he has Birba. He has birthday parties for Birba and lets her eat out of her own bowl on top of the kitchen table. 

     I highly recommend this movie. It is interesting on two levels. The information about truffle hunting is great, but the friendship displayed between man and dog is what I enjoyed the most. 

    There is one thing I need to let some of you know. There is a part of the film were one man uses several profanities. If that would bother you, skip over that part. Otherwise, watch this film and enjoy it. It is one of the best man and dog friendship films I've ever watched. 

A Christmas With The Stars

      This week here on the blog, I am going to post a few different things during the week. Today, I want to tell you about one of my favorite Christmas memories with my friend Toby. 

     I have had a great love for astronomy for many years. When I was in college, one of my very favorite classes was the astronomy class the I had the good fortune to take. The course had a great professor, and he made the class both fun and informative. One of the activities that we did during the course of the class was observing sessions. The professor set up three or four large telescopes on the roof of the science building, and we were able to see the moons of Jupiter, sunspots, nearby galaxies, and close up views of the moon. 

     I wanted to have a reflecting telescope for many years, and one year, my Mom bought me a Newtonian reflector for Christmas. I still have that telescope all these years later. The telescope had to be assembled, and my friend Toby was always a willing assembly partner. Whether it came to setting up the Christmas tree or setting up my new computer in my office when I started writing, Toby was always there. 

     After Toby finished pushing around the pieces with his nose and sitting on the directions, I was able to finish setting up the telescope. It was time to take the telescope outside and view the stars in the heavens. My folks were going to a Christmas Eve party, so it was just me and Toby out underneath the clear night sky. 

     Even though it was a smaller telescope, I was able to see a lot with it. As I was out there with Toby looking at the stars, the thought came to me of how small the two of us were among the vastness of the universe. Even though the universe is so vast, and God is so powerful that He created all things by the world of His power, He stills cared about a man living in the middle of nowhere in Kansas along with the small dog that was the man's best and truest friend. 

     That night, with my friend by my side, I thanked the Lord that He loved me and cared about me. I thanked Him that in the vastness of the world, He allowed Toby and myself to find each other and become friends. I still thank God and praise Him for His power. I thank Him for all the wonderful things that He has done. 

     This Christmas season, remember to thank God for caring about us enough to send His Son to be with us so that we might be with Him in His eternal Kingdom that is to come. 

Verses For The Week

Some Messianic Prophecies

Hosea 11:1 -- "When Israel was a child I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my Son."

Isaiah 11:10 -- "In that day the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious."

Zechariah 9:9 -- "Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

Isaiah 22:22 -- "I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David, what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts, no one can open."

Weekend Sermon -- The Incarnation And Peace

     This has been a very difficult week in my part of the world. We had an extreme wind storm that caused many people to lose power. I was without power for a day, but thank the Lord, the power has been restored. Please pray for those who still need to get their power back on. There is a lot of wind damage through out the Midwest and Upper Midwest.  I am sorry that I haven't been able to do reviews for a little while, but I hope to remedy that this week, Lord willing. 

     Today, I would like to focus on the theme of how the birth of Jesus brings peace into the world. One of the titles that Isaiah gave to the coming Messiah is the Prince of Peace. How did the birth of Jesus bring peace to this troubled world? 

     There are three points that I want to focus on. First of all, the birth of Jesus allowed Him to enter into this world in order to fulfill His mission of redemption. Jesus came to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He came to bring a restoration of all that existed before sin entered into this world. Jesus lived a holy and sinless life as our perfect example. He then bore our sins in His body on the cross that we might be redeemed from our sins. He rose bodily from the grave conquering death and hell. The birth of Jesus was the beginning of this. 

     Those who call on Jesus and believe in Him trusting Him as Savior and Lord will have the peace in their hearts that only a personal relationship with Jesus Christ can bring. Jesus brings peace to those who are troubled by sin and by guilt. Those who are in Christ have the peace of knowing that He is with us no matter what we are going through at any time. 

     Jesus coming into this world brings about peace in another way in this temporal world. But this relies on people following His commandments and teachings. If people would follow the teachings of Jesus, peace could come to the world now. Jesus taught us to love one another. He told us to do to others as we would have done to us. He taught the way of non-violence, and He taught us not to retaliate. He told us to love and enemies. If we would all practice the Golden Rule that Jesus set forth, there could and would be peace in our interpersonal relationships and in the relationships between nations. However, people do not want to follow the teachings of Jesus. As Isaiah said, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have all turned to our own way. The way of peace does exist through the example of Jesus. We can have peace if we keep our eyes fixed on Him. 

     The ultimate peace of Jesus will be obtained when He returns in power and great glory at His Second Advent. At His first coming, Jesus was born in the manager. He was born in humility. When He comes the second time, He will descend from heaven with a shout, and the trumpet of the archangel will blow. Jesus will defeat the forces of evil, and He will rule and reign in righteousness. He will establish a kingdom of peace and justice that will have no end. The Bible says that every person will sit under their own vine, and no won shall make them afraid. All will be well throughout the entire created order. 

     As we can see, Jesus is truly the Prince of Peace. As we focus on the birth of Jesus, remember that His way brings peace. Let us follow Him on His way, and let us look forward to His reign of peace that is to come. If you have never trusted Jesus as the Lord of your life, you can let His peace fill your heart today. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please pray for those who experienced damage due to the wind storm. Pray that people will get their power back on quickly. 

     Please pray for an end to the coronavirus pandemic. Things don't always look good, but Jesus told us to keep praying and to not lose heart. Pray that the sick would recover.

     Pray for those in Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee who are still dealing with the tornado outbreak aftermath. Pray that they will get that assistance that they need. 

    Continue to pray for peace in the trouble areas of this world. Let us focus our prayers this week on the nations of Ethiopia, Yemen and Libya. Pray for peace in any troubled area that you know about. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those who live in the nations of Algeria and Sri Lanka. Pray that many will come to know about the love of Jesus. 

     Next week, I will post the verses on Monday. I will do my best to have a review midweek. I will post the sermon next Friday or Saturday, and we will wrap up our Advent focus. May God bless you all. 

Verses For The Week And A Couple Of Prayer Requests

 I have two prayer requests. Please pray in regard to my health. I am not feeling well again. I really need to get over this. Also, the weather forecasters are predicting very high winds for my area on Wednesday. Please pray that the winds won't be too intense, and that there will not be damage. Thank you. 

Here are the verses:

Romans 1:6 -- "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew then to the Gentile."

John 13:35 -- "By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another."

Weekend Sermon -- The Light Has Come

      Thank you for taking the time to read the sermon today. I have been having a difficult time getting over this sickness that I've had for the past weeks. I've been tested twice for Covid, and I am negative. I am grateful for that. I feel better for a couple of days, then I feel bad for a couple of days. Please pray that I can shake this off and get back to normal. I am thankful to the Lord for the opportunity to post this message today. 

     Today, we begin our messages for the Advent season. Today, I want us to focus our attention on John 1:5. This verse states, "The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. That is from the NIV. I like the way the New Living Translation put it, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it."

    What is this light that is being referred to. The light that has come into the world is the Lord Jesus. This verse is part of a larger passage that tells us about Jesus coming into the world. We know that Jesus is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. John 1 refers to Him as the Word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The divine Second Person of the Trinity became a human being. He was born of the Virgin Mary on Christmas Day to bring the light of salvation and the light of God's love into this world that was gripped with the darkness of sin and despair. 

     During this Christmas season, we see a lot of lights. People have lights shining on the Christmas tree, and many homes have beautiful Christmas lights decorating the exterior. These lights are a reminder that the light of Jesus has come into the world to drive out the darkness. 

     The light of Jesus lets people know that they can be forgiven of their sins. If a person will turn to Jesus in repentance and faith, Jesus will forgive that person of their sins. That person will have a relationship with Jesus, and Jesus will save them both for now and for eternity. They will not walk in darkness again. 

     The light that Jesus brings is the light of love and salvation, but it is also the light of hope. Because Jesus has brought His light into this world, this world can never be the same again. All things are becoming new. Jesus came into the world and showed us how that we can live a life that is pleasing to God. He showed us that if we follow His teachings and commandments, that the world can be the kind of place that the Lord intended it to be. 

     The forces of hate, sin and evil still try to wage a war against the light. However, the darkness can never extinguish the light and the life of Jesus Christ. When Jesus rose bodily from the grave on Easter morning, the forces of darkness were once and for all defeated. They still try to war against the light right now. However, the ultimate final victory will come when Jesus returns at His Second Advent. 

     Those of us who are followers of the Lord Jesus must help to show forth His light in this world. We need to shine the light in the darkness. That means that we need to let people know that a Savior has come. Jesus brings salvation, love and forgiveness that is available to whosoever will come unto Him. Those of us who know Jesus must shine forth the light of His teachings so that we can do all that we can to make this world a better and a more peaceful place until the day that Jesus comes and every ounce of darkness is removed from the entire universe forever. Amen.

Prayer Requests

     Please pray that I will get all the way better from my illness. Thank you. 

     Let us all pray for those who are being persecuted in China. 

     Last night, there were many tornadoes in the US. Several people were killed, and many have been left homeless. Pray for those who grieve. Pray that any who might be trapped in the debris will be rescued. Pray that the injured will recover, and pray that people will get the aid that they need. 

     Continue to pray for an end to the coronavirus. Pray that those who are sick will recover. 

     Pray for peace on earth. Let us focus our prayers this week on praying for peace in Yemen, Ethiopia and Syria.

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Uzbekistan and Gambia. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

    Next week, we will continue with our Advent messages. I will post the message on Friday or Saturday. I will post the verses on Monday. Lord willing, I will post a review midweek. May God bless you all. I hope that everyone is doing well, and I pray for you every day. 

     

Update

      I just wanted to let you know that the sermon is going to be posted on Saturday this week instead of Friday. Thank you. 

Verses For The Week

 Psalm 100:2 -- "Worship the Lord with gladness, come before Him with joyful songs."

John 15:11 -- "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."

Psalm 107:1 -- "Give thanks to the Lord. for He is good, His love endures forever."

Weekend Sermon -- John 3:16 and Philippians 2:6-8

      I want to say that I am thankful to the Lord that I have the opportunity to post the message this week. For the past several days, I've been ill. I thought that I might have Covid-19, but I tested negative. I've been on prednisone and antibiotics for several days, and I think that I am finally turning the corner with this illness. Thank you for your prayers in the this matter. 

     If you remember, we were in a brief series looking at some of the passages of Scripture that have had a major impact on my life. I have one more sermon that I would like to share regarding this, and then we will concentrate on Advent for the remainder of the year. After that, I have another sermon series planned. 

     John 3:16 is one of the more familiar verses in the Bible. It states, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

     This verse tells me how much God loves me. God is a holy God and a just God. For that reason, He had to punish sin. However, even though He is holy and just, He is also filled with love for all that He has made. This includes human beings and all that God has created throughout the entire universe. 

     God wanted to make sure that this world was brought back to the way that it was when He first created it. The universe was created good and free from sin and disorder. When people rebelled against God, sin entered into the universe. God intends to bring everything back to the Edenic state. He chose to bring about this restoration and bring redemption to humanity by sending His Son into the world to redeem this world from sin. 

     Jesus existed from all eternity as the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. John chapter 1 tells us that He was the Logos of God or the Word of God. The Word became flesh and dwelled among. He is the only begotten of the Father. 

     Philippians chapter 2 lets us know that Jesus humbled Himself and emptied Himself. He left His home in Heaven and took upon Himself humanity. He became the divine God-Man. He was born as a baby on Christmas Day. Jesus lived a holy and sinless life. Because He did not sin, He was able to be the spotless Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. Jesus lived His life to show us how we are supposed to live in this world. 

     Jesus then became obedient unto death. He went to the cross where He bore our sins in His body. Those who place their faith and trust in what Jesus did for them on the cross will have eternal life. Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved the Bible says. 

      Because Jesus was willing to sacrifice Himself and humble Himself on the cross, God the Father has highly exalted Him. One day, Jesus will return to this earth in power and great glory. He will rule and reign in righteous. Everything in all of the created order throughout the universe will be returned to the Edenic state, and this will result in the consummation of the salvific process. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. 

      The Lord Jesus wants you to come to Him so that you might be redeemed and live with Him forever in the new world that He is going to usher in. You can come to Jesus today. He will forgive you of your sins, and He will dwell within your heart forever. 

     These verses for today mean so much to me. I know that I am greatly loved by the Lord. I know that I have eternal life in Christ. I look forward to the day when Jesus comes and all is made new. That gives me hope even in the darkest times. You can have that hope, too. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please continue to pray that I will make a full recovery from the illness that I've been dealing with. 

     Continue to pray for peace in the many troubled areas of the world. Syria, Yemen, Ethiopia, Libya and Afghanistan all need our prayers for peace. 

     The coronavirus pandemic is still going, and now we have a new variant to be concerned about. Please pray for an end to the pandemic. Pray that vaccines will be made available to all, and pray that new treatments will become available. Pray that those who are sick will recover. 

     During this Christmas season, pray that people will not lose sight of the true meaning of the holiday. Pray that people will remember that Christmas is about the coming of the Messiah the Lord Jesus Christ. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those living in the nations of  Mongolia and Turkey. Pray that many will come to faith in Jesus Christ. 

     Next week, we will have a sermon for the Advent season. I will post the verses on Monday, and I hope to have a midweek post. May God bless you all.