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Hi everyone!  I hope you’re keeping warm and having a great week! And for those of who you are American, I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving!

Today is a big day for our friends who live south of the border. Lots of turkeys will be eaten. Lots of football will be watched. There will be wonderful family reunions, and hopefully not too much family stress. Then a weekend of Black Friday sales, leading into the Christmas season in earnest. Of course, for those of us who are Canadian, we’re a little ahead on the Thanksgiving business and perhaps a bit more oriented to Christmas now, even though we have to wait until Sunday to flip our calendars to December.

Canadian, American, or whatever our nationalities, it’s an appropriate time for us to reflect thankfully on God’s many good gifts, and to turn our thoughts to His greatest gift: the coming of our Lord Jesus. May this rapidly approaching Christmas season be a wonderful time of blessing for you all.

We’ve already started into a series of Christmas messages on Sundays. All four are designed to help us see how large patterns in the Old Testament are fulfilled in the coming of Jesus. Last week we began at the beginning—with promises of a “seed of the woman” who would save. This week we’ll think a bit about the hard process of waiting, and the faithfulness of God to keep His promises. Other themes will follow naturally.

I should give you a heads-up that when we get to December 22, the Sunday just before Christmas, we’re going to change the service style a bit. The message will be short, there will be lots of singing, and we’ll aim to finish earlier than usual. The goal is to have a Christmas-oriented service that is designed to be comfortable and enjoyable for guests who don’t usually go to church. I’m sure many of you are like Diane and me: you have neighbors, friends, and family who might think about an hour in church at Christmas when they wouldn’t come otherwise. The 22nd will be a great time to invite some of them. There won’t be any alter call or uncomfortable pressure on guests, just a time to enjoy the season, to remember that Jesus is the center, and to reflect a little on how good it is that He came into the world. So mark the date on your calendar and pray about who you might invite.

Meanwhile, we’re in “waiting” mode. Perhaps the carol that best fits the theme this week is O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

O come, O come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel

That mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan’s tyrrany.

From depths of hell Thy people save, and give them victory o’er the grave.

O come Thou Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by Thine advent here.

And drive away the shades of night, and pierce the clouds and bring us light.

O come, Thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home.

Make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

We can rejoice all the more: because He has come, and because He has come to bless all the world. May that joy be yours in full this week.

Pastor Ken