Trinity United Church of Christ, Mt. Penn

Service of Worshio Sunday, December 13, 2020

Daily Message - Saturday, December 12 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God... John 1:11-12 Children of God. Isn’t that who we long to be? We want to be people who are loved by our God and who live with God in a close relationship. Children of God. That’s who we are, John tells us, if we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, as... God sent him to be, and if we believe in him. Very soon we are going to celebrate the coming of Jesus into our world as a tiny baby born in Bethlehem. Are our hearts ready to receive him, or are we so preoccupied by the secular preparations for Christmas that we haven’t taken the time to make room in our lives for Christ? Children of God. Let us prepare our hearts to receive that special relationship into which God invites us in this holy season.

Trinity will be holding in-person worship this Sunday and posting the service on Facebook and YouTube following the service. We ask you to be wise concerning whether you should attend in-person worship if you are in a high-risk group for the coronavirus. However you join us, we pray that your heart will be touched by the love that we celebrate on this Third Sunday of Advent. Here is the bulletin for the service:

Daily Message - Friday, December 11 From the ends of the earth I call to you. I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Psalm 61:2 There was a statement made by Sarah Young in the devotional I was reading earlier this morning. She wrote,When the world around you looks confusing and evil appears to be winning, remember this: I (meaning Jesus) am the Light that keeps on shining in all situations. And light always overcomes darkness whene...ver these two opposites meet face to face. That was a word I needed to read this morning. As I’ve read the statistics of the spread of the coronovirus and listened yesterday to Gov. Wolf’s latest mandates on society in PA, I really was thinking that evil is winning the battle. This virus has taken so much from us, and now it threatens to take away Christmas. While our family and church celebrations of Christmas might be different this year, NO ONE can take away our celebration of the birth of Christ. Not even this virus. Christ was born to give Light to our world, to bring light into the darkest places of our lives. Life right now seems to be dark, but we need to let the Light of Christ shine amidst that darkness, dispelling it. The birth of Christ happened, and we have a reason to celebrate. Let us continue to prepare for the coming of the newborn King!

Daily Message - Thursday, December 10 "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes." Psalm 37:7 Wait patiently...that's not something we do well. Life in our society moves very quickly, and we do all we can to keep pace. We have instant everything, from food to drinks to ATMs. But don't make us wait in line at the ATM! Patience is something that seems to especially wear thin a...s we approach Christmas. We have so much to do and so little time in which to do it. Anyone who gets in our way is seen as a person who has what the Psalmist calls "wicked schemes." If we really stop and think, they are just normal people like us, hurrying to do whatever needs to be done. It's at these times when our patience is running thin that we need to take time and be still before God. No, I am not crazy...this is what the Psalmist says. It's as we are still before the Lord that our spirit is calmed and our patience renewed. We don't need to spend hours in prayer and Bible Study...just enough time to connect with our God, tell our God how much we love him, and receive the strength and guidance we need for each day. Time with God is the best present that we can give to God and to ourselves. Let's put God on our schedules today.