Open to God's work.

The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God."

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her. Luke 1:35-38

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."

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. Matthew 1:20-21, 24-25

We had a great time Sunday at the Christmas Fellowship. For those of you who weren’t there you really missed out. What a fun time! We had more desert than we could possibly eat and a wonderful ornament exchange. I haven’t ever seen that much stealing in a church. (Part of the game is that you can take gifts that have already been opened.) It was a wonderful time of fellowship and fun.

It is obvious that God is working at Happy Hill, if you have been here for very long I know that you feel the energy that has surrounded the church and our fellowships in the past 2-3 months. God moves in many ways in the church. Our fellowships are stronger and more fun, because more people are involved in programming, helping, and leadership. We have more people involved because God is moving and changing people’s lives around us. God is moving and changing people’s lives because we are opening ourselves up to his will and are keeping Christ the center of our church instead of our own self interests.

Mary, had to be confused and scared when the angel Gabriel gave her the news of Jesus. I can’t imagine the questions that she and Joseph must have had. But aren’t you thankful that they were both open to God’s work in their lives. Despite the fear, uncertainty, change, or un-comfort Mary and Joseph let God work in their lives. They let God Drastically change their circumstances, and the world has benefited from it.

As Charlie reminded us with his testimony Sunday night; God will always move his kingdom forward. It is far better to be where he is working than left in the aftermath, or on the outside avoiding God’s work in your life.

My prayer for our church is that we will remain open to God’s work in our lives. And we will continue to see him move in us and drastically change our circumstances so that we may be a church of influence in the community. I pray that we will be a church whose people are unified, praying, and full of God’s spirit. I pray that we will be a church so compassionate that people are drawn from impossible situations into a loving and friendly circle of hope, where answers are found in the word of God and acceptance is given in the hearts of all. I pray God work in us!

This Christmas you have a great opportunity to be a witness to your family and friends. Just ask them if you can share what Christmas means to you. You will find that when you make yourself available to be used by God he will never let you down. He will always do something great in you, or through you.