Advent & Christmas at Corona Presbyterian Church
November 29, 2022
Dear CPC Family,
The Advent and Christmas season is upon us!
Because this time of year can be so busy, I want to remind you of the opportunities for worship, fellowship, and outreach at Corona Presbyterian Church. One way to combat the busyness of the Christmas season is a gift from God that is available all year-round: remember the Lord’s Day as a day of worship, rest, and feasting. Let me urge you, for your own spiritual health, to prioritize public worship with God’s people!
One unique opportunity 2022 brings is that Christmas Day falls on a Sunday. Hopefully it’s no surprise that we will gather for worship at 9:30am on December 25th. What a privilege it is to celebrate the Lord Jesus Christ coming in the flesh on the day that is already the Lord’s Day!
We’ve heard from people whose own churches are not meeting on Christmas Day who are interested in coming to CPC. Perhaps this is an opportunity for you to invite friends and family to join us for worship and celebration.
Preaching & Worship
We’re taking a break from our Ezra/Nehemiah sermon series to focus on the incarnation of Jesus Christ. This year, our Advent and Christmas sermons will look at Bible passages that teach about Jesus Christ as the True Light. In the words of one of our OPC founding fathers, E.J. Young, “The whole work of Christ and all the blessings which He brings may be characterized by the one word ‘light.’”
Here is the schedule for Sunday morning worship and preaching:
December 4: The True Light (John 1:1-14), guest preacher Rev. Chris Hartshorn
December 11: A Light to the Nations (Isaiah 49:5-6)
December 18: Gospel Light (2 Corinthians 2:1-6)
December 25: The Bright Morning Star (Revelation 22:16)
January 1: The Everlasting Light (Isaiah 60/Revelation 21)
Fellowship & Celebration
The biggest opportunity for fellowship in December will be the CPC Christmas Party at 5pm on December 11th. If you’ve never been, you can expect lots of good food, Christmas-themed games, time to catch up with your church family, and, of course, Pastor Andrew’s Christmas Trivia Extravaganza. We are thankful to the Bray Family for hosting us this year. Be there … and bring friends and family.
Outreach
This coming Sunday evening, December 4th at 5pm, will be one of our significant outreach events of the year. It’s our 4th Annual Christmas Lessons & Carols service. This service of familiar Christmas Carols, Scripture readings, and a short gospel message is a wonderful way to kick off the Christmas season. After you read this, please pray for the Lord’s guidance in who you should invite. And make sure you and your family are there as well. You probably have a few invite cards that you could pass out, but you can also use our Christmas landing page on the CPC website.
If a service of Lessons & Carols is new to you, this article, by a pastor in the URC serving in Washington, DC, is a helpful introduction. Let’s pray that the Lord will use this service to spread the gospel and to remind us all of the Bible’s story of redemption in Christ—from Genesis to Revelation.
So buckle up for a great Advent and Christmas season with your church family! And don’t let this season pass you by without remembering the glory of the incarnation:
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” (Galatians 4:4-7)
In the Father’s Love,
Pastor Andrew