Hiatus

We'll be taking a break from regular blogging for the next few months to focus on encouraging each other in our small groups.
If you're not in a small group already, it's never too late!

(Stop by the ministry table on Sunday morning for a list of the groups going on now...there's one almost every day of the week.)

In the meantime, if you stop by here, feel free to leave a comment and share what God has been teaching you lately.

You never know who might be encouraged by your testimony!

Pastor Robbie's Wednesday Devotion: "Desiring Less"

Good morning WVBC,

I do hope your week is going well.

With only nine days until we get to celebrate our Lord's birthday, I thought I would remind you not to get sucked in at the last minute "buy" the way the world celebrates.

G.K. Chesterson once said, "There are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less." How true this is!

The Bible reminds us of this very fact...

John the Baptist said it like this:

"He must increase, but I must decrease."
(John 3:30)

David said it like this:

"One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life."
(Psalm 27:4)

And Paul, like this:

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it."
(1 Timothy 6:6-7)

So with Christmas almost here, where's your heart focused--on accumulating more or on desiring less?

Pastor Bob's Wednesday Devotion: "Keeping the Savior in Focus"

Good morning Church,

Listen to what God's messenger said to the shepherds two thousand years ago...

"But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people...a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."
Luke 2: 10-11 (NIV)

Whose birthday we will all be celebrating in 16 days? Sometimes during this time of year, we tend to lose focus. With all the shopping for gifts we can easily forget the greatest gift, given to us 2,000 years ago.

How can we stay focused on the reason for the season? Try these 3 simple steps in the next 16 days:

1. Each morning, make time to read your Christmas Daily Bread devotional.
2. Each evening, discuss and pray with your family about what each of you learned from the devotional.
3. During your family prayer time, pray for the families from whom you received Christmas cards that day.

In the next 16 days, I want to focus on the Savior who was born so long ago. He was and is "Christ the Lord."

Let's stay focused & joyful!! Amen!

Pastor Bob

Pastor Robbie's Wednesday Devotion: "CHRISTmas"

Good morning WVBC,

I hope your week is going well.

I had a chance to talk this week to a little girl, and I asked her if she knows why we celebrate Christmas. Her response was "no." How sad...to be four years old and think Christmas is just a reason to get presents. To not even know who Christ is!

How many of us don't see Christ in Christmas? Have we gotten that far from the truth?

We put up all of our pretty lights, but have we forgotten the real "LIGHT OF THE WORLD"?

We give gifts to nearly everyone we know, but have we missed the biggest gift of all?

I hope not!

There's only one way to keep Christ in Christmas, and that is to be like the angels who appeared to some shepherds that night long ago:

"...praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Hope to see you Saturday, reminding people why we celebrate Christmas.

Pastor Bob's Wednesday Devotion: "Giving Thanks"

Good morning Church,

"This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Psalm 118:24

Tomorrow we will celebrate Thanksgiving, and if you're like me, today could be a very stressful day. How we live today will probably affect how we will enjoy tomorrow. Will tomorrow be a day filled with giving thanks or a day filled with stress?

Are you ready for a challenge?

Try out these three steps and let me know how they work for your family.

Step 1: Begin today by reading and meditating on Psalm 118: 1-29

Step 2: Throughout the day, have each family member make a check list of blessings and trials you are thankful for. (James 1:2-3)

Step 3: End the day by having a family prayer time encouraging each family member to be ready to share their thanks on Thanksgiving Day.

I'm ready for the challenge. How about it? I'll share with you how it worked in my family, and I hope to hear from you too! Remember, "This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it."

"In everything give thanks,"
Pastor Bob

Pastor Robbie's Wednesday Devotion: "Seeing His Glory"

Good morning once again, WVBC. I hopy your week is being blessed.

In my devotions this week, I was reminded NOT just of who God is, but also what my heart longs for. Let me explain...

In 2 Chronicles 5, Solomon is finally done with the temple, so he sets up a day to dedicate to the Lord.

"The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions. All the Levites who were musicians--Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives--stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps, and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang:

'He is good; His love endures forever.'

Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God."

Simple Church, my prayer this week is that on Sunday morning, we too would see His glory and like the priests of that day be unable to move. But this only comes when we come together in unison, with one voice testifying to who He is in our lives. I look forward to seeing what the Lord is going to do on Sunday!

Pastor Bob's Devotional: "Sing for Joy or Sing the Blues?"

Good morning church,

It just occurred to me that we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving in 3 weeks, and in 7 weeks we'll be celebrating Christmas. The holidays are quickly approaching. Are you ready to sing for joy or sing the blues?

Every year we strive to keep those two wonderful holidays holy, but the world and our guilty consciences influence us to over eat and over spend. I suggest that this year we give thanks and give gifts that reflect the joy of our Lord.

Jesus said,

"If you keep my commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full."

John 15: 10-11

Over eating and over spending are easily remedied when we "abide in His love." When we are controlled by His spirit, we will be more like Jesus whose joy was not dependent upon temporal things like food and gifts, but upon eternal things like keeping His Father's commandments.

We'll be singing for joy if we follow the model of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray for me and I will pray for you as we sing in the new year with His joy!

For a little extra inspiration about rediscovering what Christmas is really about, check out this video.