“And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down to worship Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”  –Matthew 2:11

 

I love the Christmas story, all of it. The obedience of Mary and the obedience of Joseph are examples for us all. The devotion of the shepherds to go and see for themselves what was declared in the fields. The offering of travel from the East by the wise men who brought with them gifts for the newborn king. There are so many things that seem to compete with the real story of Christmas, but none of them offer the greatest gift of all.

Every character of Christmas has something to teach us; from obedience to worship, from worship to sacrifice. Once a year is not enough for us to grasp the great love God has poured out for us at Christmas. Remember, as we put up our nativity and carefully wrap the characters of Christmas, we remain on display all year for the world to see what difference the Christmas story makes in our lives. Because of Christmas, we live different lives. As a result of the resurrection, Christmas matters greatly.

 

We have been blessed in 2023 and are anticipating great things for 2024. We are a year closer to the LORD’s return. There are still people who need to know about Jesus, but we can never share what we do not have.

 

In 2024, Trinity Baptist Church is being asked to journey together as we read through the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. There will be a reading schedule for each day. We will do our best to get into your hands this schedule as often as it is needed. Our prayer is that there will be a plethora of members who have journeyed together at the end of 2024.

 

We rejoice in the assembling for almost a year now of our new space. It is a blessing to see how many times and in how many ways we are sitting together and sharing with one another. New Adult education space and student space is being used and we are seeing the fruit of new people almost weekly.

 

As we begin a new year together, I am reminded of a camp song from years back. “Yes, LORD, yes, to Your will and to Your way. Yes, LORD, yes, I will trust you and obey. What the Spirit speaks to me with my whole heart I’ll agree. And my answer will be yes, LORD, yes.” I am thankful there are so many who follow the LORD and who have said, “yes” even before they know the question. May we sense God’s direction and provision as we walk together.

 

In Christ,