December Newsletter

To the Church Family at Faith Baptist Church;
The holiday season is fast among us. While it may be a very sad and often times stressful season for us to go through, it is also a great time to take a few moments to reflect on God’s character and goodness.
Christmas is one of the most important holidays that we as
Christians celebrate (rivaled only by Easter). Christmas is
ultimately a display that God desires to dwell with his people and for his people to dwell with him. God has always wanted to be with his people. In the Garden, God would visit in the cool of the day to dwell with man. Then God instructed Israel to build a
temple so God could dwell with them; however, the temple also showed that the people could not fully dwell with God because of their sin. Ultimately, God the Father sends his Son into the world to dwell among us, to be with us, to restore us to himself. Born in a manger, swaddled in white linen, God became man. May this season be a time that we remember the desire that God has for us to be in an intimate relationship with him. With the business of the holidays, let’s all take a few moments every day to remind ourselves of what a joyous thing it is to have the King of Kings
 desire to be with us. Maybe one way you can do this in December is to read through the Gospel of Luke with your family. Luke is 24 chapters long, if you begin on December 1, you would go to bed finishing the gospel account of the life of Jesus.
Shortly after Christmas, we celebrate New Years. While New Years isn’t necessarily a Christian holiday, it is a time that is great to examine our lives and attempt to realign them so that we can better dwell with God. Many New Year’s resolutions aren’t accomplished and many are too big to accomplish. What if this year, you committed to reading the New Testament together as a family? If you commit to reading one chapter a day for five days a week, you can read through the New Testament in 52 weeks! As you are reading together as a family, maybe even ask these questions: (1) What does this passage say about who God is? (2) What has God done? (3) What does this passage about man? and (4) How do we live in light of that truth?
Below is a list of events we are having in December:
· End of Year Potluck: Wednesday, December 11 at 6:30
· Bring a dish as we celebrate the end of the year together!
· This will be our last Wed PM meeting. We will resume Wed PM Bible study on Jan 9.
· Christmas Eve Service:
· Come celebrate the birth of Christ at 5:00 PM.

In Christ,
Michael Copeland