Come and hear about their work in Honduras and throughout Central America.

Sunday at 9:30 am and in the worship service at 10:45 am

We did not record the service on Christmas morning but several people commented on the message so we are posting the text for those who would like to read or share it:

http://www.brookhighlandchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/Christmas-2011-This-Baby-Disrupts-Everything.pdf

Well it is feeling like back to school. Many of us have felt the rise in activity with the new school year. Others of us have felt it largely in the amount of traffic on the roads. Many of us find those margins of our day previously set apart for prayer and reflection smaller, if not entirely filled. I was reminded yesterday of a wonderful truth. It is found in John’s Gospel where the Risen Christ greets His disciples with these words, “Peace be with you.”

What simple but wonderful words for overcome and anxious people. We have Christ’s Peace, because Christ is with us. He is with us because He is Risen. And because He is risen, everything is different. My prayer for you is that you would experience Christ’s Peace. His peace is with you- in the traffic jam, in the meeting, in the hospital, in the car rider’s line, at the bus stop, in the waiting room. We might be so overcome that we have forgotten about His peace, but that does not mean it is not present, even as Him Himself is present. “Peace be with you!”

God uses time as a means of revelation. He tells His story in the cycle of the seasons. These holy days shaped and established the identity of the Jewish people. In two thousand years of diaspora they were not bound together by language. They spoke Hebrew, Spanish, Yiddish, German, French, Portuguese, and English.  A strong unifying factor were the weekly and yearly set times of the Lord.

The Seven annual appointed times were times that the people gathered. God established these times as times of pilgrimage. Three times a year they were mandatory pilgrimages to the temple in Jerusalem. Through these times, God was telling the nation, “You have a particular history, you have a particular identity, and you have a particular destiny.”

It is now just over a week since the storms raged over our part of the country.  Many in our state have lost homes and loved ones.  The time of rebuilding has just started.  The road ahead for many of us will be long.  Our prayers, our hearts, and our hands, are the offering we can continue to give to those who have suffered loss.

Or “Is it Monday or is it Thursday?”

Well first of all, it is definitely Thursday. It was Thursday, the day that Jesus and His disciples had the Passover in the Upper Room (Matthew 26:17-19). On that night Jesus did several things that became very important to His followers ever since. One is He gave us the special sign of the New Covenant- the Bread and the Cup (Matthew 26:26-29) Also He washed His disciples feet, telling them that is how they should also take care of each other (John 13:1-17). Next He gave them a New Commandment-“…love one another, even as I have loved you…” (John 13:34) This is where the name “Maundy” comes from. It is from the Latin for “commandment”. So this night- New Commandment Thursday- is a time to especially remember Jesus’ instruction to love and care for one another, a way of life that is daily to be the sign of Christian Discipleship. Lastly this was the night that Jesus was delivered into the hands of those who would, on the next day, hang Him upon the Cross. This supreme act of love is the demonstration of His love for you. We hope that you will see this love pictured in our worship this evening and that you will join with us in following Jesus.