Pastor Chris' Letter
Dear Trinity Family,
The Advent season is upon us. Advent is a time for us to prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of Christ. This preparation is both a celebration of Christ’s entry into this world in Bethlehem, but also a hope that Christ will come again in final victory. To help us on this Advent journey, we are centering our thoughts on Jesus, the real reason for the season, with the sermon series, “A Christmas Journey.”
To go along with this series we will be doing some things that help us to celebrate Jesus’ birth. Throughout the advent season, we will be collecting diapers for Life and Family Services. We will have a two days (December 18 and 19) for us to ring the bell for the Salvation Army (most of this money stays right here in Noble County). One of the key ways we can celebrate Jesus’ birthday is to think about what we are going to spend on Christmas. I am not suggesting that we tend toward the side of Ebenezer Scrooge, but that we really think about whether what we are spending brings honor and glory to our Lord Jesus Christ. This question may lead us to find that we need to cut back on what we spend on ourselves and to think about what is on Jesus’ wish list.
As a way to help us focus on what Jesus would like for His birthday, we are starting a fund at the church called “Operation Christmas Transformation.” This fund will be divided evenly between local and international ministries. The international ministry will help support our young adults who are travelling next spring to be a part of Mission Guatemala and the local ministry will support the church’s ministry in Kendallville. In the past, I have talked about one area we as a church can cut back in our Christmas spending is poinsettias. I want to clarify that this does not mean we will not have poinsettias. We are taking orders for poinsettias, and they cost fifteen dollars each. Instead, I encourage you to donate to “Operation Christmas Transformation”, and for every ten dollars you donate we will put up a paper poinsettia in the church. With this, I hope we all can remember that Christmas is not our birthday it is Jesus’.