Dear Church Family and Community,

 

I have found that one of the best gifts that God gives us is the blessing and privilege of helping others grow. We often think that what we learn, sometimes endure or just go through…is simply for us. Or we think that what we have been graced and blessed with is for us. It is not. God has made us for God and each other. We need God, and we need one another. And I love that God equips us to help one another grow in grace, in gifts and in ministry and service of God and one another.

The New Testament lovingly reminds us that we who believe and follow Jesus are together the Body of Christ. We are called members of one another. We are taught that everyone has a place. Everyone is gifted by God, empowered by the Spirit, and called by Jesus to make possible on earth what already exists heaven. The joy of helping others grow is that we partner with God to do his work; we also gain the added blessing and encouragement of seeing God work through us and others.

Last week we continued our Rooted Series with Week Two: Discover Your Design & Develop Your Leadership class. Pastor Woody taught on what it means to be a disciple, spiritual gifts, and how God has equipped all of us to serve in the kingdom. This week we will continue with Week Three: Doing Life Together with Others. This class is designed to give you the basis of Christ’s call to multicultural ministry in and beyond HBIC. Pastor Woody will be sharing of HBIC’s story and sharing how each participant fits into that story.

This Sunday morning, we will be finishing up Miracle: Making God Known series. It has been such a joy to learn about how our God is revealed through creation, compassion, justice, and provision. We are blessed to see and know God our Father when we see and get to know Jesus. The Holy Spirit gifts us the miracle of God being made known to us through Jesus Christ, who is the perfect manifestation of God and the one in whom God’s fullness dwells.

 

In preparation for Sunday’s service, please read and pray through John 3:1-21. In this passage, John shares about the fateful meeting between Jesus the Christ and Nicodemus the Pharisee. This story is foundational in our understanding of who Jesus is and what God sent Jesus to do. It teaches that Jesus not only fully reveals God, but also that Jesus comes to fulfill God’s plan for our world…for us. Jesus is God’s provision for us; he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and makes it possible for we, the lost, to come home again.

 

I pray that the cold outside is unmatched by the warmth of God’s love in your lives and hearts. May God’s mercy ever lead you, God’s hope ever keep you, and God’s love always cover you.

Love in Christ,

Pastor Hank (John 3:16)
P: (717) 561-2170, ext. 104
E: pastorhank@harrisburgbic.org