Welcome to the JCPC Daily Reflections Blog. Reflections are daily devotionals authored by JCPC pastors, staff and members and provide insight, guidance and comfort to help you make it through each day. If you’d like to receive Reflections each day via email, provide your email address.
As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
-Luke 3:4-6
As we continue our journey in Advent, we are reminded of John the Forerunner this Sunday. Also known as John the Baptist, he preached repentance and when asked about what to do specifically, he told a crowd to share. He told tax collectors to be honest in their jobs, and he told soldiers to not use threats to extol money from others and to be content with the money they received for their service. While he was only really telling people to do what was moral and right, it must’ve been an unexpected answer if they had to ask!
This past Tuesday was the deadline for gifts to be dropped off at the church for anyone who adopted an Angel for the Salvation Army Angel Tree. This wonderful ministry is a way to give children and seniors in need presents on Christmas when they might otherwise not get any gifts. Looking through some of the items that these children or seniors need, I can hardly imagine being in a situation where I couldn’t purchase sheets for my bed or socks and shoes for myself, and yet there are so many people in our communities, country, and world who cannot even afford the very basics of life that we take for granted.
John was preaching about this very thing:
And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” – Luke 1:10-11
The Angel Tree is just one way in which those of us with “two tunics” can share with those who have none. Are there other, less obvious ways to apply this to our lives? Have you ever felt called to help in some way, but then decided to wait until your finances were better or you had more time? I know I have. It’s easy to want to help others but a desire to help those in need doesn’t get the job done. As we worship this Sunday and spend another week waiting for the birth of our long-awaited Savior, take the Forerunner’s message to heart and find a way to share a “tunic” with someone in need.
Prayer for Today
Oh Great Provider, thank you for the abundance in our lives. It is by your grace alone that we are able to live as richly as we do. Open our hands so that we may share our bounty with all those in need, without expectations or return. Guide us on our Advent journey as we await the coming of your Son into our lives once again and help us to further share the hope of Christ with the world. Amen.
Suggested: Read Hebrews 11 first (the list of heroes in the faith). Then…
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
-Hebrews 12:1-3
Most of my extended family is Catholic, 3 of my 4 grandparents, in fact. I don’t know the exact statistics, but many Presbyterians are formerly from other denominations, and in my own experience, largely Baptist and Catholic. I think there’s a lot we can learn from one another’s traditions. Like our scripture suggests, honoring heroes of the faith, whether the prophets, judges, the original 12 disciples, the men and women of the first house churches, or the “saints” of the intervening hundreds of years, we can find examples that are NOT perfect, but much like us have struggled and we can find relatable.
This can be especially important to remember at this time of year. At our most secular and pessimistic, this can be a season of greed and excess and consumerism, a season of naughty and nice and what we deserve. At our best, however, it’s a reminder of the undeserved gift of grace and light in the world and our shared humanity, a call to generosity, goodness, and compassion. The person of St. Nicholas is the embodiment of those traditions. We do better as believers to honor that person and tradition more nearly than we do when we get caught up in either the magic or myth-busting of Santa and elves and naughty and nice. When we worry about the ways we “do Santa” or elves on shelves or have “the talk” with questioning kids, rather than teaching our children about heroes of the faith like St. Nick, we miss an opportunity.
There are a lot of good movies, websites, and books about the real St. Nicholas worth reading this Christmas and Advent. It’s equally important to teach our kids about real people and the good they’ve done as it is to teach them the magic and wonder of believing in what they can’t see or prove. We have to do a good job of both to instill a faith of resilience, hope, and usefulness. I encourage you to do that this year. Find ways to take awe in and to take inspiration from our history and stories.
Prayer for Today
Lord, help me to learn from our heroes of the faith and walk more closely to you as I follow in our shared hope. Amen.
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. From we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body. . .
– 1 Corinthians 12:12-13a, NIV
Paul writes about the church and its members together forming one body. It is the Spirit of Christ who brings us together and connects us. However, there are times when connections are strained. Some have shared with me that they feel like their connections to other members of the church family have been strained during this pandemic. When we have had to move away from our normal and familiar ways of gathering, it has made it more difficult to feel connected. It certainly requires effort on our parts to maintain and keep that connection.
One very practical way that we try to stay connected is by having an up-to-date church directory. Periodically, we try to update that information, particularly when someone shares with us that their information has changed. So, we need your help -- in fact we need everyone's help to update our information in our church directory so we can stay better connected.
During the month of December, we're asking everyone to update their information for the church directory. We will have an insert in the bulletin in worship every Sunday which you can fill out and place in the offering plate. We will have a way to update your information online. Just watch for the link in “Connections” and on our website. We will even provide someone to take your picture when you attend worship on Sundays, or you can send us in a digital picture that you provide. Thank you for helping us stay connected!
I also want to mention that we are having a Called Congregational Meeting to elect elders on Sunday, December 12, following the 11:00 a.m. worship service. This will be a combination in-person and zoom meeting. However, we need a quorum of church members (10%) in order to be able to elect our elders. So please click this link and sign up now.
Prayer for Today
Thank you, Lord, for connecting us through your Holy Spirit as the body of Christ. Help us to do the things that strengthen our connections with one another and with you. In the strong name of Jesus the Christ we pray. Amen.
In 2018, twelve Thai boys and their soccer coach descended into a mazelike cave, intending to enjoy an afternoon adventure.
Due to unexpected rising water that forced them deeper and deeper into the cavern, it was two-and-a-half weeks before rescuers led them out. Dive teams, thwarted by rising water, attempted the rescue as the boys sat on a small rock shelf with only six flickering flashlights. They spent hours in darkness, hoping that somehow light—and help—would break through.
The prophet Isaiah described a world of brooding darkness, one overrun by violence and greed, shattered by rebellion and anguish (Isaiah 8:22). Nothing but ruin; hope’s candle flickering and fading, sputtering before succumbing to dark nothingness. And yet, Isaiah insisted, this dim despair was not the end. Because of God’s mercy, soon “there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress” (9:1). God would never abandon His people in shadowy ruin. The prophet announced hope for his people then and pointed to the time when Jesus would come to dispel the darkness sin has caused.
Jesus has come. And now we hear Isaiah’s words with renewed meaning: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light,” Isaiah says. “On those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned” (v. 2).
No matter how dark the night, no matter how despairing our circumstances, we’re never forsaken in the dark. Jesus is here. A great Light shines.
Prayer for Today
God, there’s so much darkness. I fear sometimes that the darkness will overwhelm me. Be my great light. Shine on me with radiant love. Amen.
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and perform good works. Not neglecting to meet as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and even more as you see the day drawing near. -- Hebrews 10:24-25
Have you ever thought that the pandemic could bring some new and positive changes to our lives? It is great to be able to live stream church services, right? We know church attendance is lower now in the U.S. than it was before the pandemic.
What is so important about worship? To worship is to order the whole of one’s life toward the living God, and in doing so, to become interiorly and exteriorly rightly ordered. To worship is to signal to oneself what one’s life is finally about. Worship is not something that God needs but is very much something that we need. God wants our hearts to expand. We hear it in Jesus’ extraordinary teaching, “Ask and it will be given to you; Seek and you will find; Knock and the door will be opened to you.” The very act of asking persistently is, “accomplishing something spiritually important.”
Virtual services are good, but there are also other important ways to enhance our spiritual well-being. Our spiritual health is as important as our physical health and our mental health. In addition to worshipping online, think about joining a Bible Study group, a prayer group, or other Small Group. Perhaps you are interested in mission work, Choir, Bell Choir, helping with worship, caring for others, caring for our facilities, or teaching. There are many options to join with others in group settings within the church. Ask God to show you what may be your best option today to serve God and connect with others in person.
Prayer for Today
Lord, we pray that you would fill our hearts, minds, and souls. Transform us, Lord, and make us more like you. Help us to remember that you are always there for us -- listening with love and compassion. Eternal God, you are our Rock. You give gifts to your people for the good of the church. We ask that you continue to provide wisdom, guidance, and direction. Help us to better focus on you through your church, as everything we need is found in you. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” - Isaiah 40:1-5 NIV
This Sunday is our annual Hanging of the Greens Service. This is the first year we are having the service in our Great Hall. The message is still the same: Prepare the way for the Lord! This is about more than making the church pretty so it feels like Christmas. The paraments that were green for the last several weeks are changing to purple, the color of royalty (Christ the King), penitence, and reflection. The Advent wreath and purple and pink candles appear as we light a new candle each week and reflect on the hope we have in our Savior. Holly, ivy, poinsettias, and other greenery will adorn our Great Hall. Yes, there's a tree. It's a Chrismon tree, covered with white and gold symbols of Christ, our Savior, Lord, and King (hence the crown on the top of the tree). A nativity scene (creche) will also be placed near the tree, to help us remember that holy night.
And there will be music... music to be heard, anthems on which we can meditate, hymns to sing together in praise to our Almighty God, the author of this amazing true story. We would love to hear your voice join ours this Sunday! There will be a Hanging of the Greens Service at drive-in as well, with all the symbolic elements of the Great Hall service. And of course, we will be livestreaming the service in the Great Hall at 11:00 a.m. Join us this Sunday!!
Prepare the way, O Zion, your Christ is drawing near!
Let every hill and valley a level way appear.
Greet One who comes in glory, foretold in sacred story.
O blest is Christ who came in God's most holy name.
Fling wide your gates, O Zion; your Savior's rule embrace,
And tidings of salvation proclaim in every place.
All lands will bow rejoicing, their adoration voicing.
O blest is Christ who came in God's most holy name.
Prayer for Today
Help us to prepare our hearts to receive you, Lord. Help us to get ready for your coming. Come once again into our hearts and be Lord of our lives, as we can only begin to understand your great love for us. In our savior's holy name we pray. Amen.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
-Colossians 3:17
This is my favorite day of the year. There’s something magic about Christmas too. And Thanksgiving feels like it begins the Advent season leading to it. It’s a meal day, which I love. It’s a day to gather with family and invite friends and to be thankful for our blessings and mindful of those who are absent. It feels like a very holy activity. And I’d say it really should be.
Our scripture reminds us that whatever we do, do it in the Lord’s name AND giving thanks as we do. Even when God’s people were in exile, in the desert, in the Promised Land, under Roman rule, awaiting a Messiah, awaiting his return, in trial and tribulation, or even triumphant, in pandemics or in plenty, we are called to do and say it all in the name of the Lord and giving thanks. And so we shall. Last year, many of us couldn’t gather. Gatherings are still a little different this year. But in all things, we will share meals, serve those in need, and praise the Lord.
I hope you will find yourself at a table with those you love this day. And I hope you’ll invite others to join you. But wherever you are, I hope you’ll find time to say and do good things as God calls us to do, in the name of the Lord. I hope in the new year, we will find ourselves saying and doing many things for those in need, side by side, and that we will sit at tables together again as a family of faith.
Prayer for Today
Lord, help me to say and do the things you call me to do and in your name. Amen.
I have shared with some of you that I grew up in a church where we were encouraged to memorize scripture. We would get some equivalent of “a gold star” whenever we did. The Bible verses we memorized ranged from the shortest verse in the Bible, “Jesus wept” -- to complete psalms. In addition to memorizing the 23rd Psalm, which many people know by heart, I can also remember memorizing Psalm 100:
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Later this week, we will celebrate Thanksgiving. I remembered that Psalm 100 is often called “A song of Thanksgiving.” I wondered if there were any other Psalms that were called “A song of Thanksgiving” -- so I looked through the Psalms and found that this was the only one that has this inscription at the beginning. I think it is a wonderful song for us to remember, maybe even memorize, as we look forward to celebrating Thanksgiving later this week.
Psalm 100 reminds us to be thankful to God, to worship God, and to come before God with joyful songs. We are to remember that the Lord made us, and we belong to God. We are like sheep, and as another Psalm reminds us, God is the Good Shepherd. So, we can enter into God's presence with Thanksgiving and praise. We can remember that God is good, and that God's love endures forever. That love does not stop with us. It began in the generations before us, it continues through our generation today, and it will continue for generations to come!
Prayer for Today
We thank you, God, for your enduring love for us that extends across the ages. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.
As Emma shared how God helped her embrace her identity as His beloved child, she weaved Scripture into our conversation. I could barely figure out where the high school student stopped speaking her words and began quoting the words of God. When I commended her for being like a walking Bible, her brow furrowed. She hadn’t been intentionally reciting Scripture verses. Through daily reading of the Bible, the wisdom found in it had become a part of Emma’s everyday vocabulary. She rejoiced in God’s constant presence and enjoyed every opportunity He provided to share His truth with others. But Emma isn’t the first young person God has used to inspire others to prayerfully read, memorize, and apply Scripture.
When the apostle Paul encouraged Timothy to step into leadership, he demonstrated confidence in this young man (1 Timothy 4:11–16). Paul acknowledged that Timothy was rooted in Scripture from infancy
(2 Timothy 3:15). Like Paul, Timothy faced doubters. Still, both men lived as if they believed all Scripture was “God-breathed.” They recognized Scripture was “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (vv. 16–17).
When we hide God’s wisdom in our hearts, His truth and love can pour into our conversations naturally. We can be like walking Bibles sharing God’s eternal hope wherever we go.
Prayer for Today
Father, saturate my heart with Your wisdom so I can share You with others naturally and courageously. Amen.
Pastor Norsworthy informed Session members that after much prayer and discernment he will retire February 1st of 2022.
Atlanta Presbytery representatives – Cassandra Morrow and Steve Cashwell were on hand to explain the recommended search process toward identifying and calling a new pastor. Utilization of an Interim PastorProcess was explained as the method that has the most success. Important in the process is allowing enough time for the congregation to mourn the departure of their pastor which develops a clean slate for the incoming pastor. Such a process lessens the tendency to compare the new pastor to the last pastor which facilitates the congregation’s acceptance of the new pastor. There will be an upcoming Q&A called session meeting where current elders and our new elders elect will have an opportunity to have their questions answered. Steve Cashwell will be JCPC’s liaison during the next year as we appoint an interim pastor nominating committee and elect a pastor nominating committee. The session will keep the congregation apprised as the process unfolds.
Pastoral Care
Please keep our members, church families, and friends in your prayers. Many are dealing with end-of-life, memory, and care issues. Others are undergoing medical evaluations. And still others are in the process of healing after injury or surgery.
Meetings
There will be a called Congregational meeting on December 12th following the 11:00 AM Lessons and Carols service. This will be a combined in-person and online event. The purpose of the meeting is to elect the new slate of elders. A quorum of membership is required. Please attend this important part of our church governance.
There will be a called Session meeting on January 8th at 12:30 PM for the purpose of examining members of the new elder class. Installation of the new elders will occur at the 11:00 AM January 9th worship service.
Mission Teams
Caring- The Safe Harbor luncheon event was well received by the fifteen attendees.
Connecting- Will distribute education team prepared Advent materials with our Giving Thanks Meals.
Education- JCPC welcomes Colleen Moore as the Interim Coordinator of Christian Education. Search for a permanent director continues with planned feedback sessions. Please offer your opinions. Youth group prepared meals for men’s shelter and had a great retreat to Fort Yargo State Park.
Missions- Pumpkin Patch was a resounding success. Thanks to all who supported and participated. Almost $4,000 was raised for mission expenses. JCPC members donated 63 frozen turkey breasts to Hands for Christ.
Stewardship- The Give, GO, Live, Again campaign continues. If you have not done so, please make your 2022 pledge soon as next year’s budget is pending based on the campaign results.
Worship- Hanging of the Greens prep on Tuesday November 23rd. Poinsettias arrive December 3rd. Volunteers needed for both dates. New worship banners purchased with funds given in memory of Barbara Snelling have been received and display options are being evaluated.
Prayer for Today
And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
