Last week we entered 2025. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day celebrations are a part of our secular culture. Some (not me) stay up to welcome the new year and all the possibilities it may bring.

Although we can’t predict what may come, I pray it is a good year for you and our church family.

Although most of the world uses the Gregorian calendar (us included) and celebrate the new year on January 1^st (thanks to Julius Ceasar) did you know new year celebrations predate our current calendar?

Our Jewish brothers and sisters have been celebrating Rosh Hashanah longer than western world!

Rosh Hashanah means “head of the year.” As early as the book of Numbers (from the Time of Moses) we hear the instruction from God to the people of Israel.

On the first day of the seventh month hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. It is a day for you to sound the trumpets. As an aroma pleasing to the Lord, prepare a burnt offering of one young bull, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect. Numbers 29:1-2

Although there is no mention of it being “New Year’s Day” in the Bible, this is where the holiday finds its beginning. A day of noise! The sounding of trumpets! It is also a day of sacrifice to receive forgiveness from God.

The blowing of the shofar (ram’s horn) is a call to action! A call to wake up from a person’s spiritual slumber and be ready for God! Rosh Hashanah is a moment to look back on the year that has passed, to seek forgiveness for any wrongdoings, and to focus on how to better oneself in the year to come.

According to Jewish tradition, on this day, God sits in judgment over the world, reviewing each person’s deeds over the past year and determining their fate for the year ahead. That might cause some to fear but for most it is a day for joy.

This new year’s celebration begins 10 days of introspection that culminates on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). This is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

If you have read this far, you might be wondering why I am writing about the Jewish New Year? Because there are things we can learn from our Jewish brothers and sisters as we enter 2025.

As Christian’s we too can approach the new year as a time to reflect on the previous year and even let go of attitudes and behaviors that don’t correspond to our walk with Jesus.

We too can use the New Year to shake off the spiritual malaise and laziness of our lives and recommit ourselves to the purposes of Christ and His will!

This coming year (like every year) will be what we make of it as individuals, families and the church. If we depend upon others and positive events to make a year good, we will be disappointed. We are the ones who will make 2025 great!

Happy New Year and may God bless your lives, your mindsets and your actions!

Pr. Ben

As Christmas approaches, let me encourage you to be like Jesus by taking the first step towards another person.

What do I mean by this? Let me explain…

We understand that God took a step towards us when he came down to us (from heaven) in the person of Jesus. We call that the “incarnation.” God became human and took a step toward us to show us that we are loved.

Later, Jesus told the women at the tomb on Easter morning  to “go and tell” the disciples he had risen. After that, Jesus to the disciples to “go” and be witnesses to the love of Jesus.

Yet, we hesitate to “go” to others and show that love. Even at church.

Why?

In my sermon last week, I talked about the fact that we in the United States live in a “service-based economy.” In other words, we are accustomed to people catering to our wants and needs. We expect people to take care of us. From wait staff, to salespeople, to the person who rings up our groceries.

We are so used to people catering to us, we are surprised that doesn’t automatically happen at church. Suddenly, the church is labeled unfriendly because someone wasn’t treated like royalty.

Don’t get me wrong, hospitality is important, and it is something we value in our core value of “welcome.” The issue is not just welcoming others, the issue is “one sided hospitality.”

When an individual expects other people to do all the work but does not extend the same courtesy, it all falls apart.

We all should take a step toward each other. We all should take the time to greet and welcome people we don’t know. We have all the opportunity and choice to be like Jesus this Christmas and take a step towards others.

Oh and smile!

Merry Christmas and God bless you,

Pastor Ben

Yes, we are now in the unknown season of Advent. Most of the world is already in the season of Christmas but not us!

Most of the mainline Protestant churches and the Roman Catholic Church get ready for Christmas by entering into the season of Advent.

Advent literally means the “arrival of an important person or event.”

This is the time to prepare ourselves for the return of our King. We acknowledge in our creeds that Jesus will return one day. Advent is the time to prepare ourselves spiritually for Christ’s return.

We “practice waiting” for Christ’s return by preparing for Christmas.

As we await for the arrival (the advent) of Jesus, what else are you waiting for?

Beyond more money in your bank account, I would guess that you might be waiting for more: hope, peace, joy and love in your life.

I know it may be hard to believe, but you don’t have to wait for those things! They are available to you right now.

The issue might be where you are looking for those very things. If you are looking for hope, peace, joy and love in the world, you might come to the conclusion that those things are nowhere to be found. Maybe you are looking in the wrong place. Would you go to McDonalds for a ribeye steak dinner? Probably not.

What we are looking for is found in Christ. Hope, peace, joy and love are given by the Holy Spirit and available to you right now. Maybe it’s time to stop looking for these things externally and start looking upward (towards heaven) and inward (our souls).

Surround yourself with people who want the same thing and walk away from the negativity of others and even the media. In other words, draw close to Jesus and other faithful people as we await his return.

The next time you are in worship, take a moment to look at the Advent wreath in the chapel or sanctuary. The entire wreath has meaning.

• The circular shape: Represents eternity and God’s infinite love .

• The greenery: Symbolizes everlasting life and hope. 
• The candles: Represent the themes of hope, peace, joy, and love.
• The wreath as a whole: Reminds us of the immortality of our souls and God’s promise of everlasting life.

God bless you,
Pastor Ben