Download the full newsletter: 1-10-2012 Newsletter
I was doing some devotional reading in Revelation over the New Year holiday, and came across a passage that resonated with me as I begin to set my sights on the new year:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and
the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;…” Rev 21:3closeRevelation 21:3 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (ESV) closeRevelation 21:3closeRevelation 21:3 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (ESV) 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (ESV) NRSV
On Christmas Eve, we shared the story of the healing power of Godʼs Presence among us in the form of the Christ child. Through a powerful worship experience, we shared the story not only of the nativity, but of Godʼs continuing action among us as we witnessed the testimony of Myriam Lopez. As you remember, Myriam was diagnosed with esophageal cancer last Spring. After months of treatment, the gift of a prayer quilt from our congregation, and participation in the prayer service we held in October, Myriam has been blessed with the news that she is cancer free! She accredits her miraculous healing to Godʼs presence in her life.
A few days ago, I received a letter from Myiamʼs niece. She lives in Santiago, Chile:
Dear church congregation, through this letter I want to manifest thankfulness of my family and me, for every prayer every thought or any good wish for my aunt. The faith of each one of you was a beautiful point of contact to receive this wonderful miracle that our Lord Jesus Christ made in the life of my aunt Myriam. That is why I am so thankful to our Lord Jesus for this wonderful blessing that He gave to my aunt, and specially to our family since recently we lost our loving grandmother. To receive the terrible news of my aunt’s sickness was devastating for our family. But through this difficult test we hold fast to our God and He gave us the strength and the favor and we received a wonderful miracle of healing and we are so fortunate for this. That is why I will say millions thanks to Jesus and to this congregation, again thank you from the bottom of my heart. Merry Christmas and a beautiful new year 2012
Patricia Urbina Santiago CHILE
As we conclude the first week of 2012, I pray you would be blessed by a new awareness of Godʼs dwelling among you. I look forward to seeing you in worship this Sunday as we begin a new series that explores the coming of Godʼs kingdom among us, and what the implications of that new kingdom are for our daily life.
Happy New Year!
Pastor Jason
