November 28, 2025, 11:00 AM
Greetings in Christ! I pray you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is a time to pause from our labor and give THANKS for the many blessings God has given us.
We have many things to be thankful for - both individually and as a church family.
Paul says in Galatians 6:9: "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
We were blessed to get a "sneak peek" of that great spiritual harvest last Sunday (11.23.25) at First Christian Church.
Our Commitment Day @ FCC culminated with 8 baptisms (Trevor Halcomb, Tammy Woodson, Brittany Lunsford, Jake Metzger, Becca Metzger, Hagen Frye, Trinity Minks, and Jackson Minks) and 4 other people (Autumn Boes, Francie Graven, Zechariah Hall, and Faye Lockhart) making FCC their church home!
I encourage each of us not to give up, but keep doing good until our Lord returns. When Jesus returns, we will enjoy a great harvest time that will far surpass any Thanksgiving feast or Commitment Day we've ever known!
The day after Thanksgiving has become known as "Black Friday," one of the busiest shopping days of the year in the United States.
People get up very early and wait in line to get items on their Christmas shopping list.
There are some incredible deals on high-quality items available. I don't deny that. I enjoy nice things as much as anyone.
I've had my share. Here's something I've discovered: those nice things are just things. They don't satisfy.
The Apostle John wrote a few of our books in the New Testament.
Listen to what he says in 1 John 5:1..."Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves his child as well."
As John brings his letter to a close, he keeps Christ as the main focus, reminding us that the Christian faith is all about Jesus.
Listen to John's last line of 1 John in 1 John 5:21..."Dear children, keep yourselves from idols."
That is so timely for all of us today. It's so easy for us to make idols out of things around us.
Let's remember to keep Jesus at the forefront of our hearts and minds this Christmas season!
We will kick off the Christmas season at FCC, and I will begin a new sermon series called "The Names of Jesus" this coming Sunday (11.30.25).
Over the next few weeks, leading up to Christmas, we are going to be talking about some of the NAMES of Jesus.
I hope and pray you have a great weekend and that we'll see you at FCC this Sunday!
God Bless,
Greg H.
