Shippensburg First Church Of God Blog Site: Heaven Comes Near

Sunday is Coming!

Next month, a “heavenly visitor” from outside our solar system will come near to earth. An interstellar comet labeled “3i/ATLAS” will be at its closest point to our planet on December 19th. It will not light up the sky like the Christmas Star followed by the Magi, but it is remarkable because it is an object from outside our solar system which is just passing through. This is only the 3^rd object of its type that astronomers have observed. Don’t worry, while it will come close to our planet, there is no danger of impact (and it is not an alien spacecraft).

(path of comet 3i/ATLAS through the solar system)

The physical world that God has created is a marvelous thing to study and observe, and this is a unique opportunity for scientists to study a piece of the distant “heavens” as it comes near. But even more marvelous than that, is the fact that in a spiritual sense, through Jesus, Heaven has indeed come near! We can celebrate this as we Give Thanks!

This weekend we will reflect on some signs that the Heavenly Kingdom of God has come near. According to Jesus, there is indeed a plentiful harvest, and the message that Jesus told his disciples to proclaim is this:

‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

--Luke 10:9

But in moments of uncertainty or discouragement, we might ask, how do we know that God is at work? How can we trust that the Kingdom of Heaven is advancing, as Jesus proclaimed?

There are many signs—but one thing to watch for is when God’s people are obedient to Go and serve the church and the world, as workers in the Harvest Fields.

That is Exciting News: We’ve all got a part to play in revealing the Nearness of the Kingdom of God!

As we read in Luke 10:2-3, He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.”

Look what Jesus says to his Disciples—"The harvest is plentiful…” and then he says “Go!”

How do we respond to these statements?

This weekend we will wrap up this series in which we have made some connections between the Prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament and the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament. Here’s a quick review:

In Isaiah 6:8, we find the familiar passage—

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Isaiah is a model of someone who eagerly and obediently desired to go to proclaim the Word of God—even though God told Isaiah that he will send him with a message that will not be properly heard or understood in his own lifetime.

When we fast-forward to the New Testament: In Luke 8:10, Jesus says—

“The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, “‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’”

Jesus is quoting from Isaiah here, speaking about the fulfillment of all those ancient prophesies which looked forward to the time when people would begin to understand the Word of God more clearly (more will be said about this next month during Advent!).

Jesus is revealing “the knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of God” to those who follow him! And as we have seen, Jesus sends out all of his disciples as messengers to share these secrets “to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8).

The Big Picture of the New Testament reveals that You and I have a part to play in this amazing story! We are invited to Join Jesus in proclaiming the nearness of the Kingdom of God!

We will study Luke 10 to see how we can join Jesus in his Kingdom work, and we will celebrate some signs of this in our own church family—including some updates and highlights from our own ministries at SFCOG and an exciting announcement! We will also have the opportunity as a church family to pray over some individuals who are beginning new ministry opportunities as well.

I hope you will join us as we celebrate the nearness of the kingdom of heaven!

This Sunday

8:25 Traditional Worship

We will share our welcome and announcements at 8:25, followed by a musical prelude for a time of quiet reflection before our opening prayer.

Now Thank We All Our God #788

In All Things Give Him Thanks #789

For The Beauty Of The Earth #793

All Creatures Of Our God And King #63

Oh Lord Our Lord / Give Thanks

9:45 Sunday School for all ages

Check out our Sunday School classes and other Care Group ministries on our website, or visit the welcome desk to learn more.

11:00 Contemporary Worship

Revelation Song

Christ Be Magnified

Tremble

Indescribable

Contemporary Spotify Playlist

We will have a special time of prayer commissioning for two people who are beginning new ministries.

Thanksgiving Week!

There will be no Community Night events (including AWANA, Youth Group, Adult Bible Studies) on Wednesday (11/26).
There will be a Community Thanksgiving Service at the Lutheran Church at 7:00 pm on Wednesday (11/26).

Special Events

This Weekend, we have 2 opportunities to share our facilities:

Saturday (11/22) we will be hosting the Fall Concert for the Shippensburg University Choir & Madrigal Singers. This is a special way that we can serve our community and show some Christian love and hospitality to these college students and their families. It’s always a great night of music as well, so consider attending! The Concert begins at 7:30, doors open at 7:00.

Sunday (11/23) afternoon at 2:00 we have the opportunity to host a Bible Quiz meet. Our Little League, Middle School, and High School Quiz Teams will be competing against teams from other churches to show their Bible Knowledge. Everyone is welcome to come support our children & youth and learn more about the quizzing ministry!

Prayer Updates

Continue to keep Glenda Bistline in your prayers. Her hip replacement surgery has been rescheduled for January 22.
Please keep Wade Mills (Juanita Mills' grandson and Tawnie Wingert Mills' son) in your prayers. His appendix ruptured and they have him on antibiotics to get the infection cleared up enough to operate.

Retirement Celebration

There will be a Retirement Celebration for Pastor Gary on Saturday, December 27 at 5pm. In appreciation of his years of service, we want to invite you all out for an evening of laughter & memories as we share a meal together and celebrate what God has done through the faithful service of Gary & Joyce. We are expecting a great turn out (more than we could comfortably fit in Crossroads), so we are partnering with our church family at Greenvillage Church of God to host the event (located right down Rt. 11 at 5164 Philadelphia Ave Chambersburg, PA 17202).

You will find sign-up sheets around the building, so please RSVP to help us with planning for the meal, and begin thinking of funny or thoughtful stories you’d like to share about your memories with Pastor Gary!

Christmas Activities

As the holidays approach, there will be many other special opportunities to worship and serve and celebrate together.

We’ve made a list of Christmas activities & ministries that has everything all in one convenient place for you. Pick one up in the Gathering Place—you could also take a few and share them with your friends & family!

Here are a few highlights:

December 5, 5:00-7:00 pm – Our church will be part of a Walking Tour of the historic downtown churches. Stop by our bethel for some Christmas music and visit with our neighbors, or make your way to some other nearby church buildings to take a peek at the beautiful architecture and learn a bit of Shippensburg History. Stops on the tour include:

Shippensburg First Church of God
St. Andrews Episcopal
Shippensburg Presbyterian Church
Grace United Church of Christ
Memorial Lutheran Church
Messiah United Methodist
Christ United Methodist

Map:

December 6– Community Christmas Parade & Reindeer Lodge at Crossroads Station (6:00-8:00). There will be many downtown activities surrounding the annual parade. After the tree lighting ceremony, we will be hosting some activities for children & families in Crossroads Station following the parade. Stop by for kids’ crafts, the Christmas Story, and some sweet treats!

You can also check out the November FYI Newsletter to learn more details about all of these upcoming events.

Communications Updates

*Be sure to check out our Activities Calendar and the Events page on our website to learn about more upcoming opportunities!

The November edition of our “FYI” Newsletter is available in the Gathering Place or the center section of the Sanctuary. The FYI contains information about upcoming events, care group opportunities, giving and attendance information, and more.

If you have information you would like to communicate, communication request forms are available from the church office, in the Gathering Place, or online.

Looking forward to worshipping with you in the Sanctuary or Online this Sunday!

Pastor Rodney Bistline

Shippensburg First Church of God

seniorpastorbistline@shipfcog.org