On Saturday December 9th in Clarkesville, Tennessee a tornado killed three people and ripped off the roof of Sydney Moore’s home. The tornado lifted the bassinet with her four month old son inside up into the sky. In a split second, her mom instincts kicked in and she jumped on top of her 1 year old son to protect him as the walls collapsed. The mom and the 1 year old ended up under the collapsed trailer and she began digging out in search of her baby boy. She frantically ran looking for him and with every passing minute her worst fears began sinking in… 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes. “I was pretty sure he was dead and we weren’t going to find him” she said. And then after 10 minutes, she stopped and looked up and there he was in the rain up in a tree unharmed.
Joy is hope
“He’s here, and that’s by the grace of God.” —Sydney Moore
You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever. —Psalm 30:11 & 12
When all hope is gone, joy
“Joy is profound because it supersedes the fleeting offerings of happiness and sadness.” —Rev. Matt Rawle
An almost joy is a wish; an altogether joy is a
“In the same way that it is impossible to tickle yourself, joy is not something you can achieve.” —Rev. Matt Rawle
The gift of Christmas is that God is here with us, letting us know that we are not
It does not matter how long you have been away or how lost you might feel, God
There are about
“Joy ‘comes in the morning,’ even when our eyes are used to the dark.” —Rev. Matt Rawle
Joy is
The three great Christian claims about Mary’s baby Jesus is that he is Savior,
“Joy comes from knowing that God is near and salvation is offered to all.” —Rev. Matt Rawle
Joy is a byproduct of the assurance that God is with us
“This is a lesson in resilience and it’s a lesson in, you know, tenacity and sticking with it. It’s a lesson in faith and belief, you know, and hope,” —Glynn Simmons
Regardless of circumstance, it is never too
Five years ago, SongSelect listed 5,200 Christmas songs. Coming in at number 5 was “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” Written in 1739 by Charles Wesley.
Tonight we join with the angels’ chorus, on screen Mild he lays his glory by, born that we no more may die, born to raise us from the earth, born to give us second birth. Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”
Action Steps:
Say
Start 2024 with us as we celebrate “Love & Happiness” in worship the entire month of January.
“My additional notes: