Dear GFC Community,
Language has its limits. This is true for all languages, but one of the limits we bump up against in English relates to the word “love.” We use the same word to describe affinity for food, affection for a friend, or unconditional devotion for a child. The Bible, however, defines love quite unambiguously…
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. – 1 John 4:10
Love, in the biblical sense, is all about action. God sending His Son, Jesus, to meet us at our point of deepest need. It’s what Christmas is all about! And, we’re called to embody this kind of active love with one another as well.
Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. – 1 John 3:18
As a church, we’ve sought to do this over the past few months by engaging unique opportunities to give, serve, and impact our local community in the name of Jesus. A few highlights:
-
48 people signed up to serve Mountain View School in an ongoing way during September!
-
We collected 250 coats for Ukraine, over 7,000 diapers for Agape Women’s Services, and over 12,000 cans of food for our MV School backpack food ministry in October!
-
More than 130 people participated in Good Samaritan food packing and distribution efforts in November!
Wow! Thank you for being a part of what God has done! So humbling to be a part of such a generous church…
Join us this coming weekend at our family-friendly Christmas Candlelight Services to reflect on the radically-generous love of God revealed in Christ. It’s a love that we never fully get our arms around, and I can’t wait for us to learn more about God’s love together.
Services are on Saturday, December 23 at 4 and 6 pm and on Sunday, December 24 at 9 and 11 am (children’s programming pre-k through kindergarten is available at all services except the 6 pm service on Saturday).
Merry Christmas!!!
Matt Murphy
Lead Pastor
