December 2018 Newsletter

The Christmas Landing

A few days ago, NASA landed a robot on Mars. The robot is called InSight. It is just the eighth successful landing on Mars in human history, and it was no small feat. After traveling 300 million miles, for almost seven months, it hit the atmosphere going 12,300 mph. InSight then had to decelerate to just 5 mph in under 7 minutes while performing dozens of operations flawlessly in order to succeed. After it landed, it sent a signal back to Earth that it was safely on the ground and was ready to embark on its mission.

As I thought about this great achievement now just a few weeks before Christmas, I couldn’t help but draw some comparisons between the two “landings.” God sent His Son clear across the universe to touch down in a Bethlehem manger (Mic 5:2). The Christmas Landing flawlessly executed dozens of prophetic details according to a detailed plan. The alien being took the body of a human baby yet was fully divine (Isa 9:6). As designed, He was born into Abraham’s family (Gen 12:3), a son of David (Isa 11:1, Jer 23:5). His mother was a virgin (Isa 7:14), His arrival brought gifts from afar (Ps 72:10-11). And meanwhile, the entire world anticipated the results of His extraordinary mission with hope for widespread effect (Isa 9:7).

NASA calls their alien robot InSight because, on one level, the robot will give scientists “insight” into the inner nature of the red planet. But InSight is short for “Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport.” Its name reveals the details of its mission.

One could say the same about the name “Jesus.” Jesus was a common name in the first century and quite unremarkable. But the name Jesus was carefully chosen; a hint of His mission. It was revealed by the angel of the Lord to Joseph in order to reveal the details of His calling. “Jesus” is a variant of Joshua, “Yeshua” in Hebrew, which means “Yahweh is salvation.” As soon became clear, Jesus’ mission was to show the world God’s love by giving Himself for the forgiveness of their sins. Just before the Christmas Landing the angel said to Joseph, “And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins” (Matt 1:21).

There was plenty of celebration in NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California after they received confirmation that InSight touched down safely on Mars and the mission could go forward. It reminds me of the angelic jubilation at the Christmas Landing (Luke 2:13). It must have been something to behold! But, let’s not forget, the landing is only the beginning of the mission. The Christmas Landing was to give us “insight” into the Father (John 1:18) and provide a savior for our sins (Rom 5:8, 2Cor 5:21). It’s one mission we are certain can be declared a success.

Have a Merry Christmas, Pastor Richard

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Wednesday night, December 5 from 7:-00 - 8:15pm, all boys and girls are welcome  to join us for the Ultimate Christmas Party. It is free for grades 1-5.

Please mark your calendar and plan on joining us on December 24 at 7 pm for our annual Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. 

Youth Group has had a blast the last few weeks enjoying the cooler temperatures and new friends who walk in the doors. We are excited to still be meeting new faces each week as the word continues to get out. In the previous weeks we have looked at different Bible characters as well as  why we are thankful this Thanksgiving season. 

Just a few dates to be aware of in the coming weeks:

Progressive Dinner--December 14 from 6-9:30 (Meet at Faith Church!) No Youth Group--December 21 and December 28

For the progressive dinner your child will need to fill out the emergency contact and the release of liability forms which are located here and here.  You can also sign up here. We must know by December 9! 

Thank you to all who volunteered to be houses for our Progressive Dinner! We are all filled!

Our drop off center collected 2,024 boxes with an approximate 6 year total of 12,000 boxes! 

To God be the glory!

A couple of weeks ago, Pastor Richard started a new series on Acts and God's mission to bring the Gospel to all the earth. In our newsletters, we decided to highlight different leaders and their mission to bring the Gospel to our community through various ministries at FCC.  Last month, we heard from Linda Skaer about her passion for working with our kids. This month we want to highlight why kids ministry is so important from our children's perspective. Watch this video below and hear Juliet Jackson tell why she loves our Kid's Worship.

Kid's ministry is incredibly important to FCC, which is why Pastor Richard has chosen to serve during worship for the last four weeks. Working with our kids is easy and you can serve them by giving as little at 20 minutes on a Sunday morning, just like Pastor Richard has this past month. If you would be willing to serve for one month for as little as 20 minutes each Sunday, 

please contact Linda Skaer.

                           

 

There are no new events happening for the Women of Faith this month, so instead we will share a recipe for our favorite warm drink during the holidays. Here's the recipe:

           

2 quarts apple cider.

1-1/2 cups orange juice.

3/4 cup pineapple juice.

1 tablespoon brown sugar.

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice.

2 cinnamon sticks (3 inches)

Dash ground cinnamon.

Dash ground cloves.

While some FaithGroups continue to meet through the holidays, Kevin shares with us in this video what we can expect come January for all Faith Groups.