GBC Community Update: At Christmas its go, not come

​Good morning. I hope you’re making this a great week. It’s hard to believe we are at December 1st already. November seemed to fly by.  As we enter more fully into the Christmas season do try to take some time to slow down and reflect on the meaning of the season.
 
 
Prayer for Transition, Provision, and Mission
We will again be hosting prayer for thirty minutes before the service this Sunday through to December 18 at 10 am in the Adult Ministry Room.  Prayer will be in-person and online.  There will be a time of praying for pastoral transition, raising funds for the next year, and gospel fruitfulness leading up to Christmas.  Coffee and donuts will be available for those who need fuel before prayer :) 
 
See link for Zoom below and the phone numbers for those who wish to join in online or by phone.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/21216757733?pwd=Z1JkN3dEeE9nTkhXY0tldlhEcWZFQT09

Meeting ID: 212 1675 7733                    Passcode: 733870
Dial by your location:    +1 647 558 0588 Canada or   +1 778 907 2071 Canada
 
 
Our annual Kid’s Church and Youth Group Christmas Presentation and lunch is next Sunday
Our always-popular Christmas service featuring our Kid’s Church and Youth Group is next Sunday, the 11th.  Friends and family are heartily invited to come out and join in this look at Christmas through some different perspectives.
Also, back is the post-event lunch.  Enjoy the presentations and message for the morning then stay and enjoy lunch as we build community.
 
 
Join us on Sunday in-person or on our livestream as continue our Christmas series: “Preparing for the King”
Are you ready for the coming of the king?  Have you ever thought of Christmas in those terms?  We are continuing our Christmas series this Sunday. Jacob will be continuing to look at the idea of Jesus as King.
Remember, you can join us as we gather in-person or you can connect through our website www.guelphbiblechapel.ca  our YouTube channel as well as Facebook LIVE.
 
 
Thought for the day: At Christmas, it’s go, not come!
One of my favorite Christmas carols is ‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’. That invitation to the messiah, the savior to the world, is a cry from the heart.  But he HAS come (and is coming again!) so we find in this message a call to go, as in go out and share this good news.
The tendency during the Christmas season is to focus on inviting people to come, rather than going to them. We plan events and parties, inviting people to come to them. And often they do come. More people attend church at Christmas than any other time of the year. These events have an impact, no doubt. After Christmas though, many never return. So here’s where we see a need for balance in activities.
We invite people to programs, like our carol sing, or program next week. That’s great, but its only the starting point.  It’s also not the same as making disciples. Could Christmas become more about disciple-making and not only about inviting people to church?
If we’re honest, sometimes its easier to invite someone to come to something rather than to go to them where they’re at and stay with them on their journey.
What if we went and shared the Good News of the birth of Immanuel, God with us, with our friends, neighbors, and relatives? What if we went even further and offered to do a study or something similar with them?  I know…I know…I’m getting carried away…but what if?
 
In His grip,
Pastor Chris