Thanksgiving!

I love this time of year!

We are entering into a wonderful season. Last Sunday my boys and I set up our outdoor Christmas Lights. They could barely contain their excitement! Next, we started shopping for the Thanksgiving groceries, and the oven has been running nonstop as we bake cookies, pies, and other goodies. Throughout this season we want to cherish our blessings. My kids are even looking for ways they can show generosity to others. We talk about living lives of gratitude, and I feel a certain hope in the air. 

Scientists have shown that people who live gracious lives tend to live longer, happier, and healthier. However, I do not always surround myself with this kind of hope. It is easy to be more concerned about all the things I do not have. I worry about not having enough time, money, or stuff generally. There is a constant drive to get more. 

In the Gospels Jesus tells his followers not to worry:

Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:25-34

We are called to live as people of grace. We offer love to others, because we see the love in our own lives. Today I hope we can all take a little bit of time to appreciate the love that is already here. It may be hard. I know some people are going through a season of great difficulty, but God is still present. How do you notice the love of grace of Christ? How can you share a little bit of this love with others?

Blessings!

Brian Ward

Surrender

Last week was a bit of a whirlwind here at CLC. It all started with Trunk or Treat on Thursday. This is always a super fun night, and this year was no exception. We welcomed hundreds of people from the community to our church, and everyone had a blast joining in the festivities and eating lots of candy. After 8:00pm most of the people went home, but our youth group continued the celebration with a lock-in and a trip to Disneyland! This always makes for a super long day, but I was blessed to see the abundance of God.

I saw new relationships form and children and youth find a safe place to celebrate together as a church. I saw youth deepening their relationships to one another and learning more about the love of Christ. I believe God provides opportunities for each of these blessings everyday, but we are often too wrapped up in our own world to embrace them. Sometimes we do not want to invest in a new relationship, and we can be scared of meeting someone new. However, if we surrender our preconceived notions, and we let go of our desire to make things happen our way, then Christ always brings new blessings. There may be exhausting and difficult moments, but God is there.

We are going to be starting a new sermon series this month entitled, "I surrender." This series will take a look all the ways we get in our own way. We wind up carrying too many burdens and too much pain. We often don't realize that we are being held back by all the false idols that promise to fulfill our every need. We will be asking what our lives would look like if we let go and opened ourselves to something greater. 

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28–30

Today I hope we can all take a small step toward surrender. I hope we can take a look at our burdens and start to let them go. Let's embrace a new journey with Christ!

Peace,

Brian