Apart from our wives, no one does more to support us in serving you than the folks working in the office. So we wanted to take this opportunity to thank them for their behind-the-scenes roles.
We are so blessed to have such a wonderful example of humble servanthood in 
our office manager. Jeanie Ingram has such a sensitive heart and a desire to serve the church and its pastors and this is expressed in her sacrificial giving of her time and energy. Jeanie comes to work on not office days wherever we have special things needing to be done or we have extremely heavy weeks. She shows care to all of the office girls by helping them manage their responsibility and build team work. It is very evident that God has captured Jeanie’s heart and it is expressed in the way she serve us all. -James
Apart from our wives, no one does more to support us in serving you than the folks working in the office. So we wanted to take this opportunity to thank them for their behind-the-scenes roles.
This year Kathy jumped into her new role as a secretary for the KingsWay pastors on 
relatively short notice. When she started she hit the ground running, needing to learn a new job as she got it done. From day one Kathy has embraced her role with faith and joy, and she has served each day with excellence. As pastors, we could not do all that we do without Kathy’s ongoing help. Those of you who know Kathy may know that she loves to point kids to the dictionary, but now it’s her turn. In a word, Kathy has been faithful. Look it up – “full of faith”; “steadfast in affection or allegiance”; “loyal”; “firm in adherence to promises or in observance of duty”; “conscientious.” Kathy, please receive our thanks for a job well done! -Doug
Apart from our wives, no one does more to support us in serving you than the folks working in the office. So we wanted to take this opportunity to thank them for their behind-the-scenes roles.
If you’ve called or visited the office lately, you have probably been 
blessed by Jody’s warm and cheerful greeting. After serving for several years as the pastor’s secretary, she has embraced this new role with characteristic faith and joy. The care she conveys in answering the phone or welcoming a guest to KingsWay’s office has already been a blessing to many as she goes “over and above” to serve or care for those who contact us–whether a potential guest making an inquiry or a member needing information. Thanks, Jody, for expressing God’s love to callers and guests so effectively! -Gene
The Prodigal God, Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith by Timothy Keller
After reading a favorable review from a source I wouldn’t have suspected to endorse this book I was intrigued and ordered a copy to check it out for myself. When it arrived I flipped through the table of contents and found myself suddenly shuffling it to the top of my reading list. I’m so glad that I did!
I have just finished the book and found myself encouraged throughout. It is a study of the story of the familiar parable of the lost son, but Keller derives the title from the definition of prodigal: “1. Recklessly extravagant, 2. Having spent everything” and applying it to the father in the story. The insights he mines (especially regarding the father and the older son) seemed to flip on the lights of an already familiar and favorite story, adding rich layer upon rich layer to what I thought I understood. His simple and straightforward explanations made me think “why haven’t I seen this before?”
I’m grateful for a fuller understanding of this wonderful passage of Scripture and found myself convicted and encouraged several times during my reading. Because it is accessible in length and engaging in style I don’t hesitate to commend this to anyone. This is the most grace filled and broadly helpful book I have read this year.
Last Friday the pastors and staff enjoyed a Christmas lunch out together. It provided us a wonderful opportunity to thank each of the staff who serve us–and you–with such joy and excellence. We simply couldn’t fulfill our responsibilities apart from them!
In a similar way, we’d like to express our appreciation for each of you. What a privilege it is to serve you as we follow the Lord together! This Christmas, the pastors & staff pray that you will experience the joy of the Lord in a fresh way. That you will be refreshed by God’s Spirit and be increasingly amazed in the gift of our Savior who was born into the world to die for our sin. May the joy of the shepherds fill your heart and your home this Christmas season!
This is just a reminder to please invite your friends to join us tomorrow evening for a Christmas Eve candlelight service of Lessons and Carols at 7:00pm in the Auditorium. Bring a plate of cookies to share.
In today’s message, entitled “Why Celebrate?” we considered the truth that celebration is God’s idea and the privilege of every believer. We celebrate by remembering what God has done, consecrating ourselves to the Lord, and rejoicing in Him and His blessings. So how do we apply what we learned from Deuteronomy 16 to our lives today? Asking yourself the following questions might be a good way to start:
- What aspects of your day to day life distract you from what God has done or is doing?
- What habits of remembering could you incorporate into your typical day?
- How might it look for you to regularly consecrate yourself to the Lord?
- How would your Christmas look different if you consecrated your celebration to the Lord?
- God’s command in Deuteronomy 16 is “you shall rejoice.” How do you need to respond to this command?
- How can you practically anchor your joy in the gospel?
In Christ, we always have much to celebrate. May this Christmas, and everyday of our lives, be marked the joy of the Lord.
As 2008 closes and 2009 approaches, I have been considering what God has called me to and how that should look in the new year. I have been provoked by C.J. Mahaney in his “View from the cheap seats & other stuff” as he has started a series of posts on Roles, Goals and Scheduling from a Biblical perspective. This is definitely worth a careful read. Print it out. Read it. Mark it up. Spend time praying that God would help you to see your roles and how you can best serve others in 2009. May God help us all as we seek to live for him in 2009!
–Steve
Mary “laid him in a manger” (Luke 7). I’ve read this verse many times and yet as I read this today, I stopped in my tracks and re-read it. Isn’t this amazing? That Jesus, fully God, yet fully man was laid in a manger. Basically a feeding trough. A dirty container that held food for the animals. The Son of God was not born in a clean, dignified place as my 4 children were. The Son of God was born in a filthy place. Jesus took “the form of a servant” (Phil 2:7) in his birth, life and death when he stepped onto earth.
I’m amazed that God would come in such a humble way, as a lowly baby to live among sinful people then die in our place on the cross. He was born in humility and died in humility. May we be amazed as we celebrate his birth next week. May this amazement be worship of him, not just at Christmas-time, but the whole year long.
The pastors and wives community group enjoyed a gingerbread house competition on Friday night. It was guys against girls with the winning team to receive a future lunch provided and prepared by the losing team (not much of a prize for the ladies, but those were the agreed upon terms…)
Can you guess which group decorated each house?
Somehow, the ladies’ Hawaiian luau themed house won over the judges more than the guys’ West Virginia shack. Perhaps the ladies pre-planned strategy and extra supplies had something to do with it (contrasted with the guys deciding what to make a couple minutes into the 35 minute competition time.)
Hopefully the ladies like hot dogs…
