the Tidings Inside this issue: Adult Education . . . 21-22 Board of Trustees . . 18-19 Care Ministries . . . . . . 6-7 Children’s Ministry . 25-27 Churchwide . . . . . . . 7-11 Finance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Generosity . . . . . . . . . . . 4 GUMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 GUWF . . . . . . . . . . 23-24 Hospitality . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Membership . . . . . . .12-13 Message from Pastors Tim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Scott . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Mimi . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Missions . . . . . . . . . .15-17 Music . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-14 Older Adults. . . . . . 20-21 OLEC . . . . . . . . . . . 29-31 Youth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
DECEMBER 2024
Expecting the Lord Advent is a season of Expectation leading to Christmas. In the Gospel of Luke is a story of Mary and Joseph coming to the Temple with the infant Jesus. While at the Temple, they meet Simeon, who is a perfect example of one who lived in expectation of the Lord’s coming. Mary and Joseph went to the Temple to fulfill the law, which called for the firstborn to be dedicated to the Lord and required a woman to offer a sacrifice of purification following childbirth. They offered two turtledoves at the Temple, an offering allowed for persons who were poor.
Tim Carpenter Senior Pastor
They arrived at the Temple only to be greeted by a stranger to them named Simeon. Simeon was righteous and devout, obedient to the law, and he treated others with justice and mercy. Such are the ones that tend to be prepared, who make every day a day to serve the Lord. God had prepared Simeon for this moment, promising Simeon that he would see the Savior before he died. When Simeon saw the infant Jesus, Simeon followed the leading of the Spirit, and holding the child, he sang: “Master, now you are dismissing your servant* in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation.” This was a risky thing for an old man to be singing in the Temple at that time. Next to the Temple was a Roman fort, and Roman soldiers, loyal to Caesar and Herod, were stationed in the outer Temple precincts. Herod’s palace was quite visible across the city. And yet Simeon publicly sang that he had seen God’s salvation, not in political or military means, not in Caesar or in Herod, but in Christ. This is the central tenet of the Christian faith. Christ is not just the bringer of salvation, but Christ is salvation personified. We still hold the hope of Christ as our salvation, peace, and light to show us the way. Each year, we are drawn to the innocence of the Christ child, the faith of Mary and Joseph, the wonder of the shepherds, and to the joy of an old man with tears in his eyes, praising God for a child who would be salvation for the world. This Christmas, like Simeon, may we live in expectation of Christ’s return, declaring him to be our salvation.