December-Branches-Blank_Production-Master

More documents

Recommendations

Info

1000 Carl T. Jones Drive | Huntsville, Alabama 35802 (256) 882-3085 | www.southwood.org Christine Betts Assistant Director, Youth/Families Robert Blevins Director, Community Development Daniel Brown Print & Digital Media Specialist Niña Cash Director, Nursery Shannon Clark Administrative Assistant Ron Clegg Associate Pastor, Discipleship Ty Commons Youth & Family Intern Janice Crowson Director, Facilities/Finance Kim Delchamps Administrative Assistant Terri Good Accountant/Bookkeeper Derrick Harris Assistant Pastor, Shepherding & Young Families James Parker Chief Musician Peter Render Assistant Pastor, Youth/Families Wyketa Shipman Executive Assistant Angela Sierk Director, Children's Ministry Will Spink Senior Pastor Contents 3 4 6 7 Pastor's Note To Us a Child Is Born Advent Devotionals from Classic Christmas Passages Welcome to the Southwood Family Southwood Global Missions Upcoming Events Dec. 1 Behold the Lamb of God Contributors Ron Clegg Will Spink Photos Daniel Brown Will Spink Feedback! We want to hear from you! Please send your suggestions and comments to branches@southwood.org Dec. 6 Dec. 24 Jan. 25–26 Christmas Caroling Christmas Eve Services Express Grace Conference Illustrations YA-Design Cover Photo Christmas Tree in Kids Explore Room CHURCHWIDE FAMILY EVENT Christmas Caroling The Southwood Lodge Friday, December 6, 2019 at 5:30PM Learn more about upcoming events and give easily on the Southwood app. Contact kim.delchamps@southwood.org by Dec. 3 and RSVP.
Pastor’s Note Praying for a Christmas Miracle These past few weeks in the Minor Prophets have been hard but good for me. They have hurt in a healing way. God has called my heart out and called my heart home. The list of idols He has shown me in my life has grown (I had to get a bigger notepad), and so has the assurance of his unending love and patience with me (I get to pray more!). The bottom line as the prophets trumpet “Repent” over and over is that God is calling me into deeper relationship with Him – to knowing Him more, to valuing Him above all else, to seeing my life with Him as that which flows into every other area of life. I’m thankful that God is working in my heart, and I’m thankful He’s working in similar ways in many of yours, too. Thanks to so many of you who have shared that with me and are praying for me. God is calling us together to know Him more and to be satisfied and fulfilled in Him. And then December comes. … Christmas parties, long car trips, Christmas music, family traditions, gifts to purchase, Christmas concerts, food to bake, Christmas concerts, semester-ending school stuff, Christmas cards to mail, planning for 2020, people to serve … all in 24 or so days? Are we serious? Where in all of this am I supposed to know God more? Won’t that be one relationship that can wait until next year to get my attention? From where I sit in late November, it will be a Christmas miracle if I am awake on December 25! That’s what I mean when I say I’m praying for a Christmas miracle, because I am – the miracle that God would meet busy people like you and me this Christmas and take us deeper in our relationship with Him. I don’t want his work to stop for me to busy myself with celebrating his birth. Ha! I laughed as I wrote that, but isn’t it true? Don’t I avoid Him even by throwing Him a birthday party, so to speak? Is my heart not so skilled at keeping God at arms’ length from me? Father, forgive me. Jesus, have mercy on us. Holy Spirit, come help us! See, the miracle of Christmas is that God actually enters into our crazy, busy mess himself – that’s exactly where He shows up in a stable in Bethlehem. He comes to tired shepherds, to distracted religious leaders, to people just trying to get through the day and make it to the end of another year. And his very purpose in coming is that we might see the Word made flesh, God become man, and know the glory of God. His desire is not merely to do something for us but – miracle of miracles – have God and sinners be reconciled, give hungry people a taste of his heavenly provision. So, please celebrate Christmas with gusto – meditate on the music, worship with your church family, share the joy with kids, friends, and neighbors. But would you also join me in praying that God would make us mindful of that incredible reality of his love this Christmas season? Would you pray that God would remind us that He was born that we might truly know Him – and that in the midst of all the agendas we have this December, He maintains his agenda of fostering relationship with us? Would you pray that we would truly experience Him, not merely learn some more things about Him? He comes to topple idols in my heart that try to enslave me to sin. He comes to make his blessings flow in the cursed world I live in. He comes to turn self-focused, distracted eyes to heaven – just as He did 2,000 years ago. What a miracle! He will do it again this year! Will Spink Senior Pastor If you would like to contact Will, use the following: will.spink@southwood.org
Page 1: To Us a Child Is Born Advent Devoti
Page 5 and 6: Advent Devotionals from Classic Chr
Page 7 and 8: Southwood Global Missions by Ron Cl

December-Branches-Blank_Production-Master

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?