Good Wednesday morning High Places,
First up, thanks to everyone who had a role in making Sunday such a wonderful experience, starting with the Jollay family who served the church humbly and fantastically as our hosts. I also wish everyone could have taken the Monster Cruise and listened to the work that Kady Marcotte put into each stop, as well as the incredible performances by our volunteer monsters. High Places is steeped with creative, spiritually sensitive, and gifted members across all our age groups. Despite having a really rough morning, my soul was refreshed as we enjoyed each other and God’s magnificent creation. Each of you mean so much to me and seeing you all together, loving and living in harmony, fills my soul up and inspires me to work harder and become better in my day-to-day pastoral routines. When I move among us, I am compelled with a deep desire to share the love of Christ we enjoy with the wider community and to expand His kingdom of Grace with everyone I meet.
I remain convinced that God is preparing His people in our church and beyond to restore and renew our culture through the power of the Holy Spirit. Our “koinonia” as a church family is one of the major tumblers to turn in unlocking the fullness of His purposes in us. Koinonia is the Greek word for “fellowship,” but it is much more than that. The word implies a kind of “divine intimacy” that we are able to share with each other – one that runs deeper than the simple pleasantries of being acquainted with each other because we attend the same church. It implies that we share a deeper, eternal bond and that this bond produces the fruits of unity (the believers were of one heart and one soul), generosity (the believers shared all things with each other), spiritual power, and a fullness that produced no neediness among them (all this is Acts 4:32-35). We are a spiritual family, as I hope we will see clearing in the coming weeks of messages.
Tonight’s Bible study (Wednesday) will resume as normal. For several reasons, I will be less prepared than I am in a typical week, but I still look forward to discussing the theme of family in a small group setting. We will meet at 7:00 PM in the movie room at the Grove.
During the holidays, our church typically receives double the normal benevolence requests. In addition, our September and October months were tight. Let’s all prayerfully consider giving, especially during a season of greater needs. Thanks for all you do as a church family to serve our staff, our church, and the community at large.
As we move into the holiday season, I would ask that each of us pay great attention to our families. Accentuate the good, step over anything that might be problematic. Healthy families are foundational to healthy churches. Take the holiday season to strengthen all your family bonds, even bonds that may be strained or might have broken in the past. My prayer is that the grace of God, and the peace of Christ, will fill our homes always – but most especially during this holiday season.
Much love to you all,
David
“In a world of infinite choices, choosing one thing is the revolutionary act. Imposing that restriction is actually liberating.”
― Priya Parker, The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters