Children of living hope,
“The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”
Fear is natural, instinctive—”fight or flight.” Hope is relentless, ever pushing against fear, all the while clinging to great expectations. Our years, however many we may live, are comprised of moments of fear and moments of hope. Moments when the trials of life invade our peace and threaten to overwhelm our souls. And Moments when mighty expectations, despite all evidence to the contrary, hold back the menacing torrents threatening to undo us.
Phillips Brook’s 1886 Christmas carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” invokes cherished memories for many of us. Sung by the warm glow of hundreds of tiny white candles, the chaos of the sin-fallen world and the peace of heaven collided as the sanctuary resonated with hundreds of unaccompanied voices. In that sacred moment, hope-filled your heart and chased off all your fears.
Ah, the joy of Christmas Eve.
By what means is such joy made possible? What empowers hope to defeat fear and makes way for peace to prevail? The answer is given to us in the final stanza of this cherished hymn.
“O holy Child of Bethlehem,
descend to us, we pray,
cast out our sin and enter in,
be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
our Lord Immanuel!”
Our Lord Immanuel—God with us—abides with us. Our hopes and fears are met in Christ because Christ is with us. In all our hopes, in all our fears, he is with us. For,
“Where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in.”
Christmas Blessings,
Pastor Dan
Looking Forward
Sermon Direction
The Lion is Roaring
1 Peter 5:8-14
Link to This Sunday Worship Service
Mark Your Calendars:
The OWLS
Calling all OWLS to join together for “Love and Light,” a Christmas celebration in music, dance and drama presented by One Voice. We will meet in the church parking lot at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 18, 2022 and drive over to the Inter-Lakes Community Auditorium at Inter-Lakes Middle/High School, 1 Laker Lane, Meredith, NH. We look forward to this time of fun and fellowship
Christmas Eve and Christmas day services
Please join us for our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service it is being held Saturday December 24th at 6:00 P.M.
(There will be no nursery at this service)
Sunday Christmas day we will have one service being held at 10:00 A.M. (There will be no nursery or Kids ministry during this service)
Sunday New Year’s Day we will have one service at 10:00 A.M.
We resume to two services on January 8th, 2023
Please take note!!
There will be no live stream for Christmas Eve or Christmas day
“The Gospel & LBGT Questions” conference on January 14, 2023
Please join us on Saturday January 14th as we offer this conference led by Rachel Gilson from CRU.
Here is some information about the Rachel and the topics she will be sharing.
9:00-9:45- Theological Foundation
10:00-10:45- Our children & their peers
11:00-11:45- How to reach that community as a church
Rachel Gilson (M.Div, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) serves on the leadership team of Theological Development and Culture with Cru, and is the author of Born Again This Way: Coming Out, Coming to Faith, and What Comes Next (The Good Book Company, 2020). She is pursuing a PhD in public theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and has written for outlets such as Christianity Today, Desiring God, and the The Gospel Coalition. Rachel lives with her husband Andrew and their daughter in Massachusetts.
Also Coming in January:
Also Coming in January:
“What in the world are we doing here?” sermon series in Isaiah
“Celebration of Name Change” will be held between services on January 8
A Six-week Men’s study, led by Pastor Brian, “Essentials for Spiritual Growth”
begins on Saturday, January 21 from 8-9 a.m. Please sign up at the ministry counter.
(More details for these events will be available soon)
Announcements
Living Hope Kids
There will be no Nursery at the Christmas Eve service, also, no nursery or Kids ministry on Christmas day. Sorry for any
inconvenience.
Trajectory Rec:
Trajectory Rec will be taking a break starting December 26th through January 23rd.
Cancellation Procedure for Sunday Mornings
In the event of bad weather that would potentially impact services, the following will be taken into consideration: the current weather in Laconia, timing of the weather event, and whether roads, walkways, parking areas will be cleared. A decision will be made by 7:30 am to cancel one or both of our services. Living Hope Lakeport will notify of cancellation using the following: WMUR TV*, Church website news feed www.laconiachurch.com, Email (weekly epistle list), and Living Hope Lakeport private and public Facebook pages. *(If 1st service is cancelled, it will say “No Early Services”, if both services cancelled, it will say “No Sunday Services” on WMUR)
Reminder Deacon’s Fund
EBC has a “deacon’s fund” which is administered by the Elder’s. This fund serves our church members as well as the community with financial needs. You can donate to it by marking your envelope “Deacon’s fund” or give online choosing this fund as your option. Go to the website (laconiachurch.com) and click on “give” and proceed from there. If you have any questions, please contact the church office at 524-2277 or email office@ebclaconia.com.
Updates From our Missionaries
From Tom & Lois Jackson
Our hearts are full of thanks to God and we trust that you know how deeply appreciated you are. Your love, prayers and interest are of great and ongoing encouragement. Your sacrificial gifts precious and multiplied in many ways.
We thank God for progress here!
- The little school room at Nyamukaiwa has been re-roofed.
- The village community at nearby Chishato will soon be receiving their water tanks and watering points. We are thrilled that because of God’s gift of water and your gifts we will be able to supply a wide area at this location. The water is abundant and by placing two 10,000 liter tanks on a hill, we can gravity feed the water to several village communities. Praise the Lord! We are learning so much as we go along about finding water and then getting the systems set up that can best make use of what God supplies.
- The church building at Rengwe is nearing completion and is looking beautiful. The builders have taken such pride in their work and have worked with joy. It has been such a testimony to the many who pass by. Praise God for the way He has provided.
The government offices have been working hard to complete the process of approval for building a school. The boundaries have been informally defined by the community leaders and cover 15 hectares (37 acres) of lovely, hilly, tree-covered land. Pray as the official boundaries are marked, the site plan drawn up, and building begins.
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for the ten churches in the district to continue to be strengthened in God’s Spirit and His Word.
- Pray for God’s mighty hand to be at work in the hearts and lives of the leaders and children at the National Children’s Camp planned for December 12-16. Twenty from our district will be attending.
- Pray for God’s gracious care on the drilling team and the equipment as they carry out their work and for the successful drilling at the remaining four sites.
- Pray for the community and church leaders as they are equipped to manage their clean water systems together with their nutritional gardens.
- Pray for the government officials to complete the task of pegging the land to be demarcated for the Nyamukaiwa school.
- Pray for the national church Education Committee as they take over the next step of working with the Department of Education in mapping and setting up the school. This committee are taking on the responsibility of building and running the school as it is formally established.
- Praise and prayer for the ongoing outreach of the churches in Hurungwe alongside each of these developmental projects.