Shippensburg First Church Of God Blog Site: The Beginning of Hope

Christmas Eve is Coming!

Let's reflect on Beginnings & Endings…

"Once Upon a Time…"

"…They Lived Happily Ever After"

At Christmas, we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus. We might think of that Bethlehem manger from over 2000 years ago as the beginning of the story, but actually the True Story of Jesus (the story of Christmas) started long before then!

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

Genesis 1:1

Beginnings are important—they help to explain why we are here. The Bible tells us that God made all things, and God called it all "Good." When God made humans, we read that we are made in the "Image of God" and God calls humanity "very good"!

The story begins with the Goodness of all things!

Among the many wonderful gifts that God gave to humanity, was free will. He lovingly gave us the ability to make our own choices. But with this gift, came the risk that when presented with the choice between right and wrong, we might choose wrong. And we did. We all do.

The Bible calls this by many different names—pride, falling short, sin. And with this, has come a whole lot of brokenness in our world—many things are no longer as "Good" as God intended.

But all along, God had a plan! The plan nears fulfillment in the New Testament with a "New Beginning."

John 1:1-5 records:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

Notice the words "in the beginning"

Now where have we heard that before? Sound familiar? It should!

John connects the story of Jesus to the beginning of all things, and also identifies Jesus as one-and-the-same with God the Father, Creator of all things!

Prior to the Baby in the Manger, Jesus was identified as the Word, the Logos, the Wisdom of God by which the whole world was made and illuminated.

Throughout Advent, we have studied various ways that people in the Old Testament looked forward with HOPE to the day when God himself would come and dwell with His people, saving them from sin and death and darkness.

I Peter 1:12 says "It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things."

This story of Hope extends through time and space! We might not grasp all the complexities off all of this, but Hebrews 13:8 summarizes it by saying—

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

That was a lot about the beginning; let's talk a bit about the ending… When we get to the end of the Bible, we find this:

Revelation 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

and

Revelation 22:13 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

Jesus Christ is both the first and the last, he is the alpha and the omega (A-Z) the beginning and the end. Jesus is the almighty God, who is and who was and who is to come!

Jesus was God's plan from before time began, and He is the completion of the plan—the End Result of God's Love for His whole creation. All of creation has been waiting in anticipation for what God has done through Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the Beginning and the End! And He is also the Center as well!

Join us on Christmas Eve as we celebrate the "Long Awaited Hope" that finds fulfillment in Jesus!

Christmas Eve Services

We want to invite you to our Christmas Eve Services Tomorrow! We will have a contemporary style, family-friendly service at 6:00pm, featuring some special music from our children's ministry kids and a children's message, and our traditional Cantata at 11:00pm, entitled "Infant Holy, Infant Lowly." Both will include candle lighting.

The Cantata will also be available online at our website and our YouTube Channel.

Invite your friends and family and let's celebrate together!

As part of our worship, after both services, we will be collecting a special offering, and everything collected will be given to the Community Cares Shelter which cares for families right here in our neighborhood. Please give as you feel led.

This Sunday -- Last Sunday of the Year

We will have one combined service at 10:00 on December 28^th (and no Sunday School). This will feature a variety of music, a children's message, and some reflections on God's Faithfulness from the longest and shortest Psalms in the Bible – Psalm 117 & 119

Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples.

For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.

--Psalm 117

Looking Ahead

There will be No Community Night this week or next due to Christmas Eve & New Years Eve, but our Wednesday Night ministries will resume on January 7th. There's something for all ages at Community Night, so consider joining us if you haven't done so before!

Next Sunday, on January 4th, we will have our monthly "Get Connected" class at 9:45, where you can learn more about our Sunday School classes and small group ministries. The New Year is a great time to consider joining something new!

On January 4th we will also begin the New Year by observing Communion together at both of our services at their regular times.

As is our custom when we have communion, we will also receive a special collection for our Beneficent fund, which is used to help meet unexpected financial needs for people within our church and our community. Please give as you feel led after the services on January 4th.

Welcome our Visitation Director, Jessie Duggan!

After a prayerful search process, we have hired a new Director of Visitation – Jessica Duggan.

Jessie comes to us from the Carlise COG, and she also serves part time with the ERC Ministry Training Institute (MTI). She herself has also recently completed this theological training program with our denomination. She brings with her years of experience with providing care to people in a variety of roles—including visiting family and working professionally in retirement facilities, volunteering with a therapeutic riding program, a food pantry, and the GriefShare ministry, and also caring for clients and running her own business for 25 years.

Jessie is looking forward to getting to know our Church family at worship times, at Community Night, and at other special events. She will be available in the Church Office every Wednesday if you would like to meet with her, and will be available for home and hospital visits throughout the week as able and as needed also, serving alongside our other visitation ministry leaders and servants. You can contact Jessie at the Church office (717-532-8421) or by sending her an email at: VisitationDirector@shipfcog.org

Be sure to welcome Jessie and her husband, Frank, as you see them around!

Retirement Celebration

The Retirement Celebration for Pastor Gary is this 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 Station), 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).

Bring some funny or thoughtful stories you'd like to share about your memories with Pastor Gary!

Handicapped Parking Spaces & Overflow Parking

As the holidays approach, church attendance often increases, so let us be mindful of how we can be considerate and hospitable in our parking lot in the following ways:

There are several handicapped parking spaces available in our parking lot located near the handicapped entrance for those with a need and proper handicapped tags. Please refrain from using the handicapped spots along E. Martin Ave. which are intended for the congregation of the Prince Street Church.

In the event of additional parking needs, overflow parking is available at our Annex building across N Prince St. and behind Orrstown Bank, just a short walk up on E. Martin Ave. There are a few spots that have been shared with us behind Weigle & Associates Law Office down S. Gettle Ave. available for Sunday parking as well.

If you are comfortable walking a longer distance, please consider utilizing one of these overflow areas to accommodate our visiting guests and those who cannot walk as far.

Thank you!

Communications Updates

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

*If you or your small groups, committees, etc., are planning special events involving the facilities, please be sure to communicate with the church office so we can best accommodate your needs and coordinate planning details between various ministries—Thank You!

The December edition of our "FYI" Newsletter is available in the Gathering Place or the center section of the Sanctuary, and January is coming soon! 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.

I am looking forward to worshipping with you in the Sanctuary or Online on Christmas Eve and on Sunday!

Pastor Rodney Bistline

Shippensburg First Church of God

seniorpastorbistline@shipfcog.org