NLC Connect December 13 2023

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13
6:00 p.m. - Elders/Trustees Mtg
6:30 p.m. - Worship Team Rehearsal - Gym
6:30 p.m. - Prayer Gathering - Room 113

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14
5:30 p.m. - Celebrate Recovery - TESTIMONY: GRACE - Small Groups - Cafe

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16
9:30 a.m. - Danny Jones' Memorial Service - Salser & Dillard Chapel, 127 E Caldwell, Visalia

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17
8:30 a.m. - GROWTH CLASSES 

• Salt & Light Class: The Book of Judges, Rooms 114-115
• WOMEN: Life's Healing Choices, Room 111

9:30 a.m. - CONNECTING POINT (Dining Room)
10:00 a.m. - WORSHIP -  NLC CREW - NLC KIDS - NURSERY

• Pastor Mark is preaching the second of three Christmas messages on FEAR NOT! This week will be about the angel's visits to Joseph.
• Bruce Smith will be leading the worship team.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 18
6:00 p.m. - CR Worship Team Rehearsal - Gym

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19
6:00 a.m. - Final Men's Bible Study until January 9th - Dining Room
6:30 p.m. - Final Healing Rooms of Dinuba until January 9th - West porch of Worship Center
Griefshare will start meeting again starting January 2nd in Rooms 114/115

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20
6:30 p.m. - Worship Team Rehearsal - Gym
No Prayer Gathering this week

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21
5:30 p.m. - Celebrate Recovery - LESSON - Small Groups - Cafe

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 23
3:00 p.m. - Christine Boucher and Brian Willems' wedding - NLC Gym and Dining Room
The NLC family has been invited to celebrate with Brian & Christine. Please RSVP here, or let Brian or Christine know.

Received Last Week (12/10): …....$    3,651
Received this year to date: .....……..$110,385
Deacon Care Fund:...................................$540
Budget to Date:..................................$115,483
Budget Goal: …………...…...…..............$400,342
Needed Weekly: …………….…….…..........$7,837

Laurie and I were able to visit Bethlehem in 2018, just a couple of months before I came to NLC as pastor. Bethlehem is the town in Israel where Jesus was born, and usually hosts hundreds of thousands of people from around the world who come to celebrate his birth at the Church of the Nativity. Bethlehem is actually located on the other side of a massive security wall built along the border of Israel and the Palestinian West Bank. Bethlehem is a Palestinian town.

The nation of Israel and the Palestinian people have been in conflict since the nation of Israel was created in 1948. Truth is, the people of Israel and the Palestinian people have been in conflict for thousands of years. The conflict is felt especially this year as the nation of Israel is in a war with Hamas, the governing authority in Palestinian Gaza. Though Gaza and the West Bank are two different places with different governing authorities, the conflict felt in Gaza is felt in the West Bank. Bethlehem is in a time of conflict.

As throughout history, war has become the tool again to resolve this current conflict. War is a violent tool that creates more conflict than it resolves. War is not the kind of tool that mends wounds or brings people together to work on shared issues. It kills, destroys, and separates people from each other. It doesn't bring justice, it doesn't bring hope, and it doesn't bring peace.

This year there will be no celebration or festivities in Bethlehem. Just tears, and prayers for peace. Was it any different when Jesus was born? Not much. The town was occupied then, too, and the ruler, King Herod, was ruthless in his use of power and violence. We might ask if Jesus made any difference. He did come as the Prince of Peace, after all.

Jesus has made all the difference. He established a new kingdom, a heavenly kingdom on earth. He did it by sacrificing himself for the sins of the world and rising to new and everlasting life. Anyone who puts their trust in Jesus finds true hope. His kingdom is made up of people who trust him, and so Jesus makes all the difference through his followers, too. We bring hope to all we meet as we live for Jesus and share his Good News. We bring his peace. We are not in this world to grasp for land or rights or vengeance. We are in this world to reconcile people to God and with each other as we love with the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Few will be able to worship or shine the light of Christ in Bethlehem this year. Thankfully we can shine his light wherever we are. So if you live amidst conflict or feel the pain of the conflict that others are facing, pray for peace. Speak peace. And work for peace by the power of the Prince of Peace living within you. And pray for peace to come to everyone living in the land of Jesus' birth.

On the balcony of a Palestinian Christian family's home overlooking the city of Bethlehem.  
Laurie is with Nicholas Mukarker and his grandson, Nicholas.
Both are named for Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of Bethlehem.