“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
Ephesians 4:15-16
Dear HBIC Family,
On this Thanksgiving Eve, I find myself grateful for so many blessings. I am grateful for a God that loves our HBIC community and the world in which we are all called to serve. I am grateful for our Lord Jesus Christ, who continues to watch over your families and mine as well. I am grateful for the Holy Spirit that continues to enlighten our minds, empower our lives, and enchant our hearts as we see God at work in us, through us, and all around us.
I have learned that this week of Thanksgiving is more than a spectacle. It is not simply about time off, fellowship with family and friends, or parades. It’s not even really about the turkey. All of those things are wonderful blessings to be held and cherished. Nevertheless, thanksgiving is not a one-week thing, and it must never be a one-time thing. We are commanded to give thanks always and in all circumstances. Our God is good and worthy of all our praise and thanks!
This Sunday, I am very excited and thankful that César García, the current General Secretary of Mennonite World Conference (MWC) will be bringing the message to us. MWC membership includes national churches from 58 countries representing 1.47 million baptized members and 10,000 congregations. César is the first leader of MWC from the Global South, and has served in this role since 2012. He last preached at HBIC in 2014, and we are looking forward to the message God will share through him, for us.
We had counted on César joining us in person, but he is unable to do so due to his current immigration status in Canada. Our hope is to welcome him in person in 2022. In response to this, César has provided his message via a video that we will be watching together during the sermon time. For those tuning in online, there won’t be much of a change. For all of us in the sanctuary, the service will be the same, and the sermon will just look a little different. César’s message is entitled Embodying Hope. To prepare for this week’s services, I would like to invite you to read and reflect on Ephesians 4:1-16. As you reflect, I would like to ask you to focus on the following questions:
What is hope and how do you hold on to it?
In what ways are you seeing hope in your life right now?
How is God embodying hope in your family and community around you?
How does Jesus’ coming into our world gift you hope today?
This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent in our Sunday Worship Services. Each year we share creatively what it means to us, as a body, a family, and a community that Christ has come. Each service, we focus on a theme of hope, peace, joy, and love to point us to the significance of Immanuel, God with us, in flesh and moved into our world. This week as we focus on hope, I would also like to invite you to think creatively about how you can bring hope to someone.
Sisters and brothers, Jesus came into our world to bring hope. In Jesus, we have hope that sin and death have been defeated. In Jesus, we have hope that we can live and love in a way that pleases God. In Jesus, we have hope that what we see isn’t all there is. In Jesus, we have hope for today and tomorrow because of what God has done yesterday, and what God is already doing. In Jesus, we have hope. Praise God for that. Praise God for the gift of hope.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Hank