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My thanks to all who came out for our Fall Business Meeting. We recognized the challenges before us but also were able to praise God for the very good ministry that happened in the last six months. The budget was approved, and deacons and our slate of leaders were also approved. Our spring business meeting will have proposed constitution/by-law changes. I am looking forward to ending 2025 well and heading into a new year with confidence of God’s continued favor and blessing.

This week in my prayer and devotional time I purposefully sought out psalms of praise and thanksgiving. I spent some quality time reading and re-reading Psalms 34, 92, 100, 103, and 136. I have another 5-6 psalms lined up for next week. There is something about hearing the praise and thanksgiving of others that makes me want to praise and thank God as well. In this month of Thanksgiving, let’s saturate our conversations with praise and thanksgiving. “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1).

Last night I spoke at the Men’s Banquet at the Little Britain Presbyterian Church. I attended last year for the first time as a guest of Bill Welch, and he was remembered fondly as I interacted with others. I was surprised when I was asked back in the summer to bring the message for this year’s banquet. I wrestled in prayer about what to share with an assembly of over 100 men, but believe God led to the appropriate text to share. It was great to be a part of their event, and I put in a good word for our Men’s Banquet on March 28th. 

Our planning is coming together for Thanksgiving Eve service, Advent services, Candlelight Communion service and Christmas Eve service. The next six weeks will be extremely busy. Don’t forget that Journey to the Nativity is just one month away! Janae and I sat down this week and planned the “Believe!” series that is coming in 2026. What a tremendous all church spiritual growth program this will be as we live the story of the Bible to become like Jesus. You will hear much more about this in the coming month with the kick-off coming January 4th.

This coming week is our Roots Night and my thanks to the many volunteers who make this night of ministry so impactful. Let me encourage you though if you are not serving to participate in a great three-week Advent Bible Study from Matthew 1 & 2. It is a video series by Pastor Bob Russell (he is an outstanding Bible teacher) that will begin this Wednesday at 6:30 pm in Room 14. It will meet then again on Wednesday, December 3rd and December 10th. If you are looking for a great Bible study with Pastor Bob Russell, I invite you to join us this Wednesday as we dive into Matthew 1.

Last Sunday I shared a message from Genesis 32 about wrestling with God. Janae had some great additional insights in her column on Monday about this great passage. This Sunday we will be in Exodus 3 for Moses and the burning bush for a message entitled, “Can I Have Your Attention, Please!” Looking forward to sharing this message as well and giving you some insights into how God works to get our attention. It should be another great Sunday.

Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away now. We want to remind you of our Thanksgiving Eve service on Wednesday, November 26th at 7:00 pm. We have four individuals who will share stories of thanksgiving, and we will receive our annual thanksgiving offering in addition to our worship together. This is always a special service, and I encourage you to plan to be a part of it. I will be sharing my Thanksgiving message on Sunday, November 23rd.

Let me leave you with these great words from one of my Psalms of Thanksgiving from this week. Psalm 34:1-3 says, “I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul boasts in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.” I am looking forward to another great Lord’s Day where we can indeed exalt his name together!

Have a blessed weekend. Spend some time in those psalms of thanksgiving and prepare to come to house of Lord on Sunday as we exalt his name together. And remember, it is Friday…but Sunday’s coming!

Pastor Kevin