This Week at Mt. Olive

Greetings, fellow redeemed!

Happy New Year! I received that same greeting from many of you this morning and want to return it to you this evening!

The new year can be a daunting prospect. After the holiday partying has worn off, after all the visits have been made, after the all the bowl games have been played (that takes longer), the new year may not be so happy. I'll be burying one of my aunts in a couple of weeks. What really brought that home was visiting our families last week. Kathy and I and the kids are faced with the very real possibility that a couple of our close relatives may have seen their last Christmas with us. Watch the news and we're reminded that our nation's economy, as well as that of the world, is not out of the tank just yet. Other possibilities loom over the horizon.

In these trying times, I'm reminded of the Lord's word in Numbers 6:
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, [23] "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

[24] The Lord bless you and keep you;
[25] the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
[26] the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

[27] "So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."

The interesting thing about the verbs in the blessing the Lord gave to Moses to give to Aaron to pronounce over the people. Some translations of these words include the word "may." There is no subjunctive, no conditional promise. Instead, they're indicatives, statements. Literally, the blessing reads: Yahweh will bless you and keep you. Yahweh will make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. Yahweh will lift up His countenance on you (smile on you, kind of) and will give you peace."

This is the blessing given by God to His people over three thousand years ago. They were pronounced over God's people in the tabernacle, and then the temple. You heard the words this morning in worship, carrying the same gracious blessing as it has been pronounced by God's servants to God's people for centuries past, and as they will continue to be proclaimed in 2010. The blessings may not be evident, but the greatest of His blessings is His gracious presence in good times and in bad.

Happy New Year!

Getting back into the swing of things, Wednesday Morning Bible Study reconvenes this week at 9:30 a.m.

Here are a few important items to put on your calendar:
Church undecorating, Saturday morning at 9 a.m. Especially needed are some guys who can take apart the tree and get the garland down.

Sunday School Teachers meeting next Sunday immediately after Late Service.

In Bible Class this morning, I presented an article from George Barna of the Barna Group that is a summary of his findings concerning American spirituality over the last year. Frankly, not much was surprising. I encourage you to read through this article and give it some thought.
http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/325-barna-studies-the-research-offers-a-year-in-review-perspective

I will be out of the office Tuesday morning and early afternoon for Circuit Conference meeting.

Prayer Requests:
Those who serve in our armed forces:
Jonathan Duhart (Christine Huck's friend being deployed to Afghanistan), John Miller's niece (in Afghanistan), Andrew Epley (Deysi Epley's husband, in Iraq), Michael Baker (returned from deployment), Richard Rhode and Edwin Rodriguez (North Carolina), Rob Vadney (Ft. Sill, OK), Ryan Radtke, John Sorensen, Dru Blanc (NAS Corpus Christi), William Worley (NAS Kingsville)

Our community's schools and teachers who return to their studies this week

Mt. Olive and our sister congregations during the time of Epiphany, historically a time of mission emphasis

Those who mourn

The unemployed and the underemployed

The homeless and indigent

God bless!
Pastor Kevin Jennings

This Week at Mt. Olive:
Monday, January 4
Girl Scouts, 6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, January 6
The Epiphany of Our Lord
School Chapel, 8:30 a.m.
Bible Study, 9:30 a.m.
Zumba Aerobics, 7 p.m.

Thursday, January 7
Cub Scouts, 6:30 p.m.