Pastor’s Column 11/30/2025

PASTOR’S COLUMN

² “The people who walk in darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.” ⁶ For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on His shoulders. And He shall be called: Wonderful Ciunselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of His ancestor David for eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!          Isaiah 9:2;6-7, NLT

“First Sunday in Advent - Hope!”

In Scriptures as in life inevitably there is some good that emerges from conflict. It isn’t that we instinctively look to confusion or consternation to find good, but faith teaches us there is a better side; a change to come. Many might recall the deaths of four young Black girls on a Sunday morning, September 15, 1963. This sentdarkness over Birmingham Alabama and much of the nation. Birmingham and many other cities became racial time bombs. As a result, on Wednesday, September 19, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was requested to give a brief memorial for three of the girls. In the very brief eulogy of slightly over 7 minutes one sentence was especially remembered. Dr. King, while not condoning the evil act of brutally killing three young lives, said, “Somehow God will bring some good out of this evil.” It is difficult for any of us to believe this, quite frankly in a moment of loss and despair. Yet, this is part of the message of the Advent Season. Seven hundred years before Christ was born, the prophet Isaiah spoke of a “light” piercing the menacing shadows of a difficult period. God would bring rejoicing to replace the bitter sorrow of His people. Although difficult to see or perceive, Hopewould be on the horizon. Isaiah predicted the coming of Jesus, our Messiah, Liberator and King. Every leader will bow to Christ the Lord, as Messiah!