Hello church! We have so many exciting events coming up in the life of our church. We have the hanging of the greens, decorating our church for the Christmas season, this Sunday after our worship service. We have the Christmas Stroll coming up on Dec. 12th where our youth choir will sing, and our Alpine Handbell Ringers will kick off the winter festivals. Of course we have our ski hill open in a few weeks, Lord send the snow!! You may have family coming in from out of town to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year. This season is full of parties, events, nostalgia, and food. But for some of us this season conjures up memories of sadness. We might lament the lack of family around us, the loss of a loved one, or expectations that never seem to be met. That was Malachi’s audience, they wanted more, they expected more from their God. Many people started to loose interest in God and instead fill their lives with strictly material gain. Sound familiar? Our culture celebrates this seasons with filling our hearts with the empty hope of more stuff, fancy parties, and beautiful decorations to try and make sense of the season. Malachi tells us to stay faithful to the One who offers real hope, real fulfillment, real healing for our broken hearts. He says this Messiah is coming, with healing and joy upon his arrival. The challenge is to remain faithful to God and His plan and timing, over our own expectations. Beware the temptation to believe God does not care about evil, suffering, loneliness, and arrogance. This Sunday, Malachi will encourage us to remain faithful to Him, to guard our hearts from the promises of the world, and to focus on the Promised One given to our world.

Ben Melli

Catch a recap of last Sunday’s service by tuning in to Pastor Ben’s podcast—just click the link below

https://sites.libsyn.com/447186