Abundant Blessings
Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)
This month we will focus on Abundant Blessings in worship until Thanksgiving, then, we will switch over to Advent and the mystery and gift of the coming of Christ in Bethlehem as well as his promised return. I wanted to help you prepare for these worship services for heartfelt gratitude not just on Thanksgiving Day but every day.
On November 6 we will celebrate the Abundant Blessings of those who have been Washed in the Blood of Jesus—the saints who have gone before us and those who still live among us. Our scripture reading will be Revelation 7:9-17. This passage in the vision God gave to John of Patmos looks to the time when the great multitude from every nation will see God on the throne and worship.
On November 13 our attention will move to the Abundant Blessings of the New Creation. Our texts that day will be 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 and John 10:1-10. The first reading is Paul’s description of new life in Christ and the passage from John contains Jesus’ assurance that he came that his sheep might have abundant life.
The Abundant Blessings of Sharing Christ is next in our series. On November 20 we will have a guest speaker, Lisa Nordstrom, who comes to us from Bishop Hill. She has been to Honduras as part of our conference partnership with the United Methodist Church in Honduras. She will bring slides and stories about sharing Christ with the people there and how their faith stories have shaped her.
Our final Abundant Blessings service will be on Wednesday, November 20 (Thanksgiving Eve) at 7:00 p.m. We will celebrate the Harvest in word and music. The scriptures that night will be Philippians 4:4-9 and Psalm 100.
Come join us in these celebrations of the Abundant Blessings given to us as gifts from God. Invite your friends and family as we learn to give thanks.