December 13, 2024, 10:00 AM
Greetings to you and I hope you are having a wonderful week.
It's not been the easiest of weeks for me.
Sometimes the holidays can make me aware of the friends and family who have passed away and are no longer here with us.
It makes me a little sad.
I also felt a sense of loss in another way this week.
Frisch's restaurant, a long-time fixture at 1927 Harrodsburg Road in west Lexington, closed its doors on Wednesday, December 11th.
When my area of Lexington was being developed in the late 1950s/early 1960s, Frisch's headquarters in Cincinnati saw a potential gold mine with the Harrodsburg Road location.
And it's been a good ride. Frisch's has been a great place for the booming, post-Word War II, middle-class American crowd to eat and hang out.
It's never been too fancy, but it's always a little nicer than fast food. The Big Boy Burger and the Hot Fudge Cake are classics!
Several childhood friends from the old neighborhood days and I gathered and had breakfast there on Wednesday, the restaurant's last day of business. One friend commented, "Today has been fun, but it's also kind of like a funeral. Where are we going to go now to just hang out and catch up with each other?"
God designed us to be in community with others. We need it.
I believe people are starving for real community. The church is one place where folks should find just that!
One of the things people are looking for in leadership and a church community is authenticity and sincerity. If nothing else, I've always tried to bring that to my ministries.
Sadly, many church fellowships are anything but real and genuine.
Listen to what Rick Warren recently wrote, "Unfortunately, this level of authenticity and intimacy is the exact opposite of what we find in many churches. Instead of an atmosphere of honesty and humility, we often become involved in pretending, role-playing, politicking, superficial politeness, and shallow conversation. We begin to wear masks, keep our guard up, and act as if everything is rosy in our lives. These attitudes are the death of real friendship."
Let's strive to make FCC a place of real friendship and fellowship. People aren't expecting PERFECT people just REAL, GENUINE, HUMBLE people trying to serve and love each other and the Lord.
We have a great fellowship opportunity this Sunday, December 15th at FCC.
Immediately following our 10:30 am morning worship service, we will have our annual Christmas dinner.
This year, we are opening the dinner up beyond just our church family.
We are putting a special emphasis on inviting our neighbors to join us. Two of the most obvious neighbors for FCC are students/faculty from the University of Kentucky and folks enrolled in Clean and Sober Living programs.
Who can you invite? We'd love to have as many as possible in attendance.
We will not only share a meal together but also the joy and love of Jesus and the HOPE only He brings.
May God bless and hope and pray to see you on Sunday!
In Him,
Greg H.
