REFLECTING ON NOVEMBER
What a month of November we had! We averaged 417 in attendance. (Well, that is if you don’t count this past Sunday’s attendance of 218 due to the weather! Oh, well!) Our Thanksgiving Offering was nearly $80,000, and our pledges for the next three years were over $300,000 for our building campaign. God has blessed BCC, and we are grateful for it!
However, I am not unaware that as we grow—both personally and as a church family—we must remain alert to the spiritual battle we find ourselves in. We should not be surprised that the devil might attempt to throw a monkey wrench in the works. Paul writes these verses as reminders to us:
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
2 Corinthians 2:11… in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
Please, be praying for one another and for the elders and staff through this season. While the reality is, we are always in a spiritual battle, it tends to get ratcheted up whenever God’s people take new steps of faith. When someone becomes a new believer. When a church decides to build for outreach. When a person decides to go to the mission field or into full-time ministry. When a church is growing healthy. We must remain aware of the temptation to distraction, to growing complacent, and to resting on previous “successes.” We don’t finish this race we are running until we die or until Jesus returns. In the meantime, we are called to continue growing in our walk with him and in faithfulness to the mission he has given us to reach our community.
LOOKING TO ADVENT
As we enter the Advent season, we will be focusing on the name Emmanuel, which means, “God with us.” This is the name Isaiah prophesied would be given to the Messiah (Is. 7:14; Matt. 1:23). Jesus IS God with us. But, if we look back through the pages of Scripture, we’ll find that God has always intended to be “with us.” That was his plan ever since the beginning in the Garden of Eden, and it is the direction salvation history is ultimately leading us when we will be with Him forever (Rev. 21:1-4)! Join us this December as we look at the very nature of God as Emmanuel who longs to be with us!
Emmanuel: It’s in His Nature
December 7- “The Garden: God in Creation”
December 14- “The Fire: God in the Wilderness”
December 21- “The Word: God in Flesh”
Christmas Eve- “Heaven: God in Eternity”