GBC Community Update: Reflections on Christmas

Good morning!  I hope you’re making this a great week.  Excitement mounts in the Timm house for the coming big day. I hope you have a sense of anticipation too.  Before then though, please join us for our Christmas Eve service tomorrow night at 6:30pm.
 
 
No Updates Next Week
There will be no update next week as I’m taking it off for holidays
 
 
Christmas Eve @ GBC -Four Mysteries of the Incarnation
Friday, December 24 at 6:30 p.m…In person and livestreamed
 
We look forward to seeing you on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. for our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service where we consider Four Mysteries of the Incarnation.  
Members of the GBC family will share readings which focus our attention on the Christ child:
- Eternal God yet temporal human
- Infinite yet limited to a human body
- All-knowing yet needing to learn
- All-powerful yet a helpless infant
We will worship through carols, led by gifted guest pianist Jamie Iles. We will also celebrate communion as we remember the ultimate purpose for Christ's coming into the world.
This is an incredible opportunity to invite friends and family to join with us as we gather together to reflect on the reason for the season.  See you on Christmas Eve!
 
 
Join us on Sunday in-person or on our livestream for our Christmas series-Faithful
This Sunday at 11am we continue our Christmas series: “Faithful”.  I will be looking at the key player in the Nativity, the one we’ve talked around but not really about- Jesus! I’ll be looking at Jesus as Immanuel, God with us and wrapping up our Christmas series.
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: Reflections on Christmas
There are a lot of things to distract us right now and then we throw in Omicron and all the noise and disruption it’s causing. It would be easy to despair or want to get in bed and not get out.
Yet that would be a mistake.
As we’ve been looking at Sundays in our series “Faithful”, we follow a faithful God who showed how he loved us by sending his son. Immanuel, God with us, came that night in Bethlehem. As the angels shared with the shepherds: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” 
Did the shepherds have their problems? Absolutely. They didn’t shrug it off, they went to see the Christ child and they rejoiced then spread the word of what had happened. In many ways I think this can be our template at Christmas time, especially this year. We too have received this message, through the scriptures.  So, let’s not shrug it off and hunker down but may we gaze into the nativity, be inspired and encouraged by the examples of faithful servants like these shepherds, plus Mary, Joseph and the Wise Men and may we rejoice as well. Then, lets share the Good News with our world and perhaps we will see the same transformation, given time, that the night we celebrate in two days kicked off.
So, from my family and from me, have a very Happy Christmas and blessed New Year, not matter what it holds. I can’t wait for it!
 
In His grip,
Pastor Chris