“ESCAPE.” The billboard shouts the benefits of having a hot tub installed. It gets my attention—and gets me thinking. My wife and I have talked about getting a hot tub . . . someday. It’d be like a vacation in our backyard! Except for the cleaning. And the electric bill. And . . . suddenly, the hoped-for escape starts to sound like something I might need escape from.

Still, that word entices so effectively because it promises something we want: Relief. Comfort. Security. Escape. It’s something our culture tempts and teases us with in many ways. Now, there’s nothing wrong with resting or a getaway to someplace beautiful. But there’s a difference between escaping life’s hardships and trusting God with them. 

In John 16, Jesus tells His disciples that the next chapter of their lives will test their faith. “In this world you will have trouble,” He summarizes at the end. And then He adds this promise, “But take heart! I have overcome the world” (v. 33). Jesus didn’t want His disciples to cave in to despair. Instead, He invited them to trust Him, to know the rest He provides: “I have told you these things,” he said, “so that in me you may have peace” (v. 33).



Jesus doesn’t promise us a pain-free life. But He does promise that as we trust and rest in Him, we can experience a peace that’s deeper and more satisfying than any escape the world tries to sell us.

Prayer for Today

Father, help me to trust You so that I may find peace and rest in You. Amen.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

-Matthew 7:7-8, NIV

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

-Revelation 3:20, NIV

Happy New Year and have a blessed 2022! As a life long Presbyterian, I struggled for the first two thirds of my life to believe that our God could be relational. I just could not comprehend or understand how “you have a friend in Jesus”. I also struggled with the concept of the Trinity as one God in three persons. As I entered the last third of my life with a third child, new home, new job and the departure of my Father, I found myself for the first time in my life down on my knees regularly in prayer to God. I also found myself doing daily devotions, earnestly reading scripture, praying regularly as I started to “knock” at God’s door more frequently with life’s challenges. God even sent me a Trinity prayer that I have prayed daily ever since. I was and have always been a believer, but I still was not a Jesus follower and still did not have a personal relationship with God.

The origin of the word relation is from Latin, relationem “a bringing back, restoring; a report, proposition”. Over the last nine years, by being in small groups like The Shepherds, reading and studying scripture and praying, I was restored by the Holy Spirit into a personal relationship with Jesus. While most of us know that during Christmas time, that Jesus is also called Emmanuel or “God with us”, it was in a small group that I learned that Jesus who spoke in Aramaic is Yeshua with means “Yahweh Saves”. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep”. “Sheep" means to follow someone else, and to follow someone else means you don't have the capability to lead the party. Basically meaning you're copying someone else and taking their knowledge of something and doing it the same way. By acknowledging to myself that I was a sheep, it was the key to opening up that personal relationship with Jesus. I was able to begin to model Jesus and his relationships in my life. While I “knocked” at God’s door for along time, I now find Jesus “knocking” at my door and fulfilling the scriptures. In modeling Jesus, we too are Shepherds and called to go find the lost sheep and bring them home to God.

Prayer for Today

Trinity Prayer

Good Morning Heavenly Father! Good Morning Lord Jesus! Good Morning Holy Spirit! Heavenly Father, I pray this day to please you more and more. Lord Jesus, I pray this day that I will pick up my cross and follow you, Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. God in three persons,  blessed Trinity have mercy upon me. Amen.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but

have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world

through him. -John 3:16-17

When Gray told me he wanted "Jesus Saves!" to be one of our hymns this Sunday, I had to admit I have never sung or played it before. Many of you know that I was Lutheran before I became a Presbyterian, and, well, that one just isn't in our hymnal. In fact, it's not in our Presbyterian hymnal either. Is it a Baptist hymn? Methodist? Time to do some research!! While digging through my hymnals, I found a copy of The Hymnbook (otherwise known as the 1955 Presbyterian "Red Hymnal"), with Larry Wood's name on the front, and there it is--#503!! (Larry, if you're looking for your hymnal, give me a call!)

This hymn text was written by Priscilla Owens in 1882. She lived in Baltimore all her life, taught public school for 49 years, and was a member of Union Square Methodist Episcopal Church with a special interest in Sunday School work. Every verse of this hymn is about spreading the good news:

We have heard the joyful sound-- Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Spread the tidings all around-- Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Bear the news to ev'ry land, climb the steeps and cross the waves;

Onward! 'Tis our Lord's command-- Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Give the winds a mighty voice-- Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Let the nations now rejoice-- Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Shout salvation full and free, highest hills and deepest caves;

This our song of victory-- Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

I think it's particularly fitting that we should sing about spreading the news to all nations, especially now that we are in the season of Epiphany, which began yesterday (after the twelfth day of Christmas). Israel had been waiting a long, long time for the promised Messiah, but imagine everyone's surprise when the three wise men from the East showed up... the first non-Israelites to bow down and worship the newborn king, representing the rest of the nations (including us!), the world that God so loved, that he would die to save.

Prayer for Today

God Almighty, you compelled the wise men to follow the star to find and worship the newborn king of heaven and earth. Compel us to share the news, the grace, the love with others, so that all may know you as Lord. We praise you, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Lord is near to all who call, to all who call on God in truth.

-Psalm 145:18

“Huggle!” Our boys love a good hug. Our toddler will say this when he wants affection. Even if he’s already sitting right next to us, he will whisper this and snuggle in extra close. Something in him bubbles up and he wants to be even more secure. Over and over scripture reminds us that while God is always with us, we can and should draw near to God. I often remind our youth they can do this in prayer, in studying scripture, and in worship. When we tell God we want to be close, God promises to draw nearer to us too.

Have you ever taken an extended pause from prayer or reading your Bible or worshipping by with other believers. Did you feel the deep need to draw close again? Did coming back give you a peace you’d forgotten you needed? Maybe it’s been a while now and you’ve needed that reminder.

In one of my favorite Christmas episodes of ER, a Jewish woman is injured in a car jacking. Her granddaughter was in the backseat and goes missing. She’s a survivor of the Holocaust and hasn’t prayed in years, so she asks her doctor to help her pray. He describes himself as the son of a lapsed Catholic and an agnostic Jew. But together, they draw near to God and pray for the first time in a long time. Spoiler (the show aired in the 90s), the granddaughter is returned safely. They decide her return, and theirs to faith, are miracles. And so it is for us. When we draw near to God, especially after an intermission or absence, God celebrates this miracle. I invite you to draw near to God this week. Maybe with a stranger in need. Maybe in worship at JCPC or online. Maybe in the prayer below.

Prayer for Today

Lord, draw near to me. Come close. Help me to know you are by my side in this new year. Amen.

If there is one Psalm that I would call “my” Psalm, in that it has spoken to me over the course of my life and seems to reflect so much of who I am, it is Psalm 27. I remember this Psalm first speaking to me in high school. I now think about how I have been given the privilege of “dwelling in the house of the Lord forever” as a pastor. However, that physical presence will soon change when I am no longer pastoring a church with easy access to a sanctuary or chapel. The final words of encouragement and challenge have comforted and guided me throughout my life: “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” What a great Psalm!

The Lord is my light and my salvation—

   whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life—

   of whom shall I be afraid?

 When the wicked advance against me

   to devour me,

it is my enemies and my foes

   who will stumble and fall.

 Though an army besiege me,

   my heart will not fear;

though war break out against me,

   even then I will be confident.

 One thing I ask from the Lord,

   this only do I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

   all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the Lord

   and to seek him in his temple.

 For in the day of trouble

   he will keep me safe in his dwelling;

he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent

   and set me high upon a rock.

 Then my head will be exalted

   above the enemies who surround me;

at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;

   I will sing and make music to the Lord.

 Hear my voice when I call, Lord;

   be merciful to me and answer me.

 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”

   Your face, Lord, I will seek.

 Do not hide your face from me,

   do not turn your servant away in anger;

   you have been my helper.

Do not reject me or forsake me,

   God my Savior.

 Though my father and mother forsake me,

   the Lord will receive me.

 Teach me your way, Lord;

   lead me in a straight path

   because of my oppressors.

 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,

   for false witnesses rise up against me,

   spouting malicious accusations.

 I remain confident of this:

   I will see the goodness of the Lord

   in the land of the living.

 Wait for the Lord;

   be strong and take heart

   and wait for the Lord.

Prayer for Today

Thank you, Lord, for words of scripture that comfort, encourage, and guide us throughout the days of our lives. In the strong name of Jesus the Christ we pray. Amen.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petitions, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. --Philippians 4:4-7

Thinking about our church, there is a lot we could be worried about in 2022. But God tells us not to worry. He is near. His peace will guard us in 2022. Rejoice with his presence!

With God’s guidance JCPC is entering 2022 with firm transition plans. The Interim Pastor Nominating Committee (IPNC) has been trained, has commenced its work, and has scheduled meetings with the Atlanta Presbytery consultants. The IPNC looks forward to reviewing candidate resumes by late January or early February. We are told there is strong interest in our pending Interim Pastor opportunity by those trained to perform such work.

Your Session was busy in December and set the following dates for you to be aware of. New Elder training occurs during the first week of January with Elder ordination to occur during the 11AM worship on January 9^th. A Congregational meeting will occur following the 11 AM worship on January 20^th for the purpose of requesting the Atlanta Presbytery to dissolve our pastoral relationship with Rev. Norsworthy effective January 31^st. 

In other items, the Session approved Karen Jordan to replace Pat Pearson on the personnel team. Thank you to Pat for his many years of service on the personnel team.

Rev. George Wirth, and Rev. Scott Weimer were approved for pulpit support beginning in February and March. Dates for Communion services in the new year were approved including January 30^th which will be Rev. Norsworthy’s last worship service with us.

The drive-in 9 AM worship service was discussed and will continue at least through the end of January. End of year disbursements to our mission partners were approved with only one on hold until year’s end. This month, the session’s task will be to set the budget for 2022 and to support the transition process.



Paul reminds us, “The Lord is near” and “not to be anxious”. So with such calming words and a clear path to follow we go forth into the New Year. 

Prayer for Today

Jesus, please help us develop resilient faith. Empower us to demonstrate our trust through loving obedience to You. Amen.

And behold, I am with y’all always, to the end of the age.

-Matthew 28:20b

Language is a beautiful thing. It can be used both poetically and descriptively to convey important ideas and information. Observing and explaining requires translation from what is observed to what can be said. And many times, those original observations must be translated again. Sometimes, they can be made clearer, and other times something is lost. Some languages have words others don’t. Pastor Gray reminded us this week that Greek carries four words for love, while we need adjectives to do the same job. Even within languages, dialects can lend flavor or clarification.

One of my favorite words as a southerner is “y’all” because it conveys a second person plural distinguishing you singular and you plural. While other regions of the US have terms like “you guys” and “youz guyz” and so forth, y’all is uniquely gender neutral and beautifully useful. We even have the emphatic (emphasis added) ALL Y’ALL for clarifying we mean absolutely everyone in a group and not just some or most. And it comes in handy. My Hebrew professor in seminary encouraged us to use it for our translations from Hebrew and Greek to lend specificity and deepen our meaning.

I love to translate the passage above as Jesus’ parting words to be that he will be with “y’all” till the end of the age. It reminds us he meant all of them… all of us. So when we gather at Christmas and remember the savior’s birth, we are reminded that Emmanuel is God with us. ALL of us. A love for everyone. And he will be with all of us till the end of the age. Y’all better believe it.

Prayer for Today

Lord, help me to celebrate the big y’all family we have in your son come to earth to dwell with us. Amen.

As some of you know, I really enjoy poetry. As an English major, I studied a lot of poetry. Over the years I have written poetry, and even been fortunate enough to have some of them published. I think I like poetry because of the conciseness of the language. Trying to say something well using very few words is a challenge.

One of our church members, Jamie Traylor, gave me a book a few years ago of Advent readings based on a poem for each day. It is called Haphazard by Starlight by Janet Morley. So, for today's “Reflections” blog, I want to share with you this poem that I found meaningful for Advent. It is by archbishop Rowan Williams:

Advent Calendar

He will come like last leaf's fall.

One night when the November wind

has flayed the trees to bone, and earth

wakes choking on the mould,

the soft shroud's folding.

He will come like frost.

One morning when the shrinking earth

opens on mist, to find itself

arrested in the net

of alien, sword-set beauty.

He will come like dark.

One evening when the bursting red

December sun draws up the sheet

and penny-masks its eye to yield

the star-snowed fields of sky.

He will come, will come,

will come like crying in the night,

like blood, like breaking,

as the earth writhes to toss him free.

He will come like a child.

Prayer for Today

Thank you, God, for coming to us like a child. Thank you for coming nearly two thousand years ago. Thank you for coming in our lives each day. Thank you for coming again. Amen.

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the rulers of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

-Micah 5:2-5

Our four week-long journey through Advent is almost at a close, and the long-anticipated Light is almost with us. It sure doesn’t feel that way in our modern world, though, does it? Thanksgiving is a distinctly American holiday, and as we don’t celebrate it in Japan, the commercial “Christmas” season begins on November 1, just as the Halloween merchandise is packed away. “Christmas” songs are played in every shopping center, café, and train station, complete with “Christmas” trees and “Christmas” decorations.

Why did I put quotes around every mention of Christmas? Well, for us, Christmas does not begin until sundown on December 24. We are still in the season of Advent, a time of quiet longing and anticipation as we once again await the birth of the Logos, the Word made flesh. But to the secular world, “Christmas” is just a time of hearing Mariah Carey’s famous holiday tune, shopping like crazy, and enjoying the spectacle of the decorations. Come December 26, the world is done, and ready for the next commercial push. But we are called to be different from this secular cash-grab.

We are called to step back from all that is around us today and put ourselves in the shoes of the Jewish people who waited millennia for the promised Messiah. We pause and orient ourselves with a contemplative longing for the Prince of Peace. Everyone is familiar with longing and desire, and calling on those emotions throughout Advent is key to experiencing this liturgical season as it was meant to be.

Are you anxiously awaiting our Christmas Eve services? Is it because it’s the goalpost and we’ll finally be through this Christmas madness then? Or is it because you are longing for the Christ Child who was, and is, and forever will be? What steps can you take in these final few days before His arrival to prepare your hearts to experience the birth of He who cannot be overcome by the darkness of times past and present?

Prayer for Today

God of Promises, help us to center our minds on the anticipation of the coming of our Savior. Calm our busyness, quiet our hearts, and instill in us a sense of hope and excitement for the birth that is fast approaching. And as we welcome this tiny child into our lives and hearts once again, transform us with your Light to finally become the people you want us to be. Break our habits and prejudices and foster our kindness and humility as we come to worship the great Amen. Amen.

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.  Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. -Matthew 1:18-25

An angel tells Joseph in a dream to name his son Jesus "because he will save his people from their sins."

The rightful king has returned to reclaim what's his and to let the prisoners go free. The God announced by all the prophets and patriarchs is a God of justice, and this means that he yearns to set things right. God hates the sin and violence and injustice that have rendered gloomy his beautiful world, and therefore he comes into that world as a warrior, ready to fight. But he arrives stealthily, clandestinely, sneaking as it were unnoticed behind enemy lines. The king comes as a helpless infant, born of insignificant parents in a small town of a distant outpost of the Roman Empire. He will conquer through the finally irresistible power of love, the same power with which he made the universe.

God created us in his image so I must ask you, "in what ways can you "conquer through the irresistible power of love" in the battles of your life?" How many people can you touch in a positive way each day?

Prayer for Today

Lord, as the birth of your son nears, help me to spread your love and peace. In doing so, may I help spread faith in those who doubt. Help me to spread joy each day, especially to those in despair. Beloved Christ, clothe me with yourself, identify my soul with the movements of yours. Possess me that my life may be but a radiance of yours. Amen.