O come O Come Emmanuel
And Ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel will come to you O Israel

Black plague, Islamic invasions into Spain, marauding bands of Viking raiders hitting the northern parts of the land. Insecurity and fear.
8th century Europe was locked in what we now refer to the Dark ages. Disease, war and death were on everyone’s horizon. Economic systems kept most people in squalid conditions in cities and towns.

In the midst of all this fear, an unknown Christian sat somewhere with a candle and pen and scribbled the well- known carol: “O Come”. Written in Latin with seven stanzas and a repeated refrain; the carol takes the worshiper through the Old Testament and all the prophecies about the coming Messiah and reassures the weary: Emmanuel will come to you O Israel!

We’ve lived through some interesting days in the past few years. Undoubtedly we have some difficult times to come.
Impotent leadership in our nation has led to international insecurity. Massive Russian armies poised on the Ukrainian frontier, Chinese expansionism lurking towards Taiwan; continuing hype about COVID, anarchy and unrest in our cities and a southern border out of control.

Things are looking pretty dark. Not to mention individual tragedies or natural disasters like what happened in Kentucky.
In the midst of all the darkness is there any hope?
It is just then that we are reminded: Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel will come to you O Israel.

No matter what difficulty or darkness may sit on your horizon today, be encouraged. Light has come!
Jesus said: “I am the light of the world”. Rest in Him and look to Him for the grace to persevere and triumph.
He will come and Ransom captive Israel. Jesus has come to save His people from their sins.

Tim Moyer
Emmanuel Bible church

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O Come Let us adore Him!!
We truly hope and pray that in these unsettled times you find peace and joy in Christ our Lord. We pray that you can enjoy time with friends and family reminiscing and remembering as well as making knew memories and traditions.
We pray that the season will be filled with joy- even if it is a time of sorrow and loss for you personally.
There is a joy and peace that transcends our circumstances- that is deeper than pain and flows slowly and steadily as the river of God’s love.

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”
Isaiah 7:14

During the desperate days of the Battle of Britain and the Second World War many people referred to the times as “dark days”. Winston Churchill recoiled from using the term- he instead called them “sterner times.”
He was referencing the fact that some times and seasons call for resiliency and fortitude- yes, they may even seem like dark times; however, the Prince of peace has entered our dark world and brought the light of life. So although these may be sterner times- they truly are not dark times- no instead let us always remember- the Light has come!!

Please have a very Merry Christmas- eat a little more than you should- laugh a little more often, stay up late with the kids and grand-kids or those you love, wear your pj’s and sit by the fire and sip a piping hot drink, drink some eggnog and eat a ginger snap- make it a joyous time.

I think our Lord likes to see the lines of laughter about our face more than the melancholy spirit that sometimes drags us down. Read the Scripture and meditate often and long. Worship and pray- Our Lord has come!!
Let us all rejoice! He has come “to save His people from their sin.”

Because of grace,
Tim

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Dear Church family:
Want to remind you all that we have a special weekend coming up at church Dec 20, 2020.
I know some of you still need to stay away because of the danger from Covid, but we hope and pray that the live-stream can continue to minister to you and make you feel as much a part as possible.
This Christmas we have to be a little more creative in how we reach out to each other, but please know you are loved and appreciated by everyone here at EBCSV.
During the Sunday school hour the kids and those involved in the worship service will be practicing in the sanctuary and tying up any loose ends.
In the multi-purpose we will have hot coffee and some discussion questions for you as you gather around the tables. Looking forward to seeing you all.

*There are sign-up sheets in the foyer for various classes we would like to offer in the Sunday school hour this winter. Please sign up so we can gauge overall commitment to the various classes.
Merry Christmas,
Pastor Tim

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At Christmas we focus on the amazing reality of God becoming man- born of a virgin, lain in a manger, snugly wrapped in swaddling clothes. We seldom think of the supernatural realities unfolding under the thin veneer of the seen world. A cosmic struggle between God and Satan was coming to an apex- God putting His foot on the neck of the snake!

In Revelation 12 the prophet records a vision that encapsulates the reality of what was going on at the birth of the Messiah:

Revelation 12:1-5

1. A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head.
2. She was pregnant and cried out in labor and agony ⌊as she was about⌋ to give birth.
3. Then another sign appeared in heaven: There was a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and 10 horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.
4. His tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she did give birth he might devour her child.
5. But she gave birth to a Son—a male who is going to shepherd all nations with an iron scepter—and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.

Even though the serpent attempted to devour the Child, His attempt proved to be in vain. Satan’s underling, Herod, was checkmated. God was victorious and in Him we too are the victors. “But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (I Cor. 15:57).

So this Christmas as we rejoice that the King has come, let us rejoice that Satan has been vanquished and is a defeated foe.

Because of grace,
Tim

The post A Cosmic Struggle appeared first on EBCSV.

“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near,
Let the wicked forsake His way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God for He will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are my ways your ways says the Lord.”
Isaiah 55:6-8I once heard an old preacher say: “Those who think they can understand God probably have too small a God.” It is indeed true that God and His ways are so above us that it is a mystery to us to even begin to imagine the Love that would set in motion the great mystery of the incarnation.
In the ancient world, the polytheism and paganism that pervaded the popular culture thought of gods as capricious, vindictive and fickle. The people lived in fear that the gods would strike them without cause and destroy their crops or ruin their lives. They lived in mortal fear of the gods they had constructed in their own image.

Today we are no better. In our sophisticated modernism, we no longer believe in the myths of the ancient world, but nevertheless most people live in dread of Mother earth and climate change, or some other man made scheme that cause men to turn from the One true Living God to idols.

However as Christians, as we celebrate Christmas- it is truly a time for joy and celebration as we fix our hope on the One who truly has set us free from sin and death and has brought rest and hope instead of dread and fear.

Because of grace,
Tim

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