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Preparing To Go Home

Isaiah 35:1-2 - Communion Sunday

September 6, 2020 • Bill Williamson • Isaiah 35:1–2

This Sunday we are celebrating Communion. Have your bread and juice ready as we prepare to rejoice and celebrate as we remember what Christ did for us on the cross. By His death, we have been given the gift of redemption and reconciliation with God and one another. The Lord's Supper invites us to remember that we all have access to come before God, to come to His alter, to receive mercy in our time of need.

As we head into Fall, it is hard to believe that we are still in a pandemic. Yet, I continue to lean on Jeremiah 29.11: "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future.'" God's plans for us are for us to have life, abundantly here on earth, and eternally in His Kingdom. He is preparing a "Homecoming" for all of us, but the celebration goes on even here on earth. Even now, a there is a "homecoming" celebration going on in heaven. As Jesus told the disciples, "there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” There was a "homecoming" celebration in heaven when you gave your life to Christ.

This fall we will be looking at various "homecomings". Be a part of the celebration. Worship with us, join a Community Life Group, go on Prayer Walks, serve our children and youth. Let the party begin.

Because of Christ, and in His Grace,
Pastor Bill

Lost And Found

October 4, 2020 • Bill Williamson • Luke 15:11–12

This week we begin to look at the Parable of the Prodigal, or Lost Son. As we will see this week, in Luke 15 Jesus tells three different parables about something or someone that was lost, but then is found, and once found there is a celebration. We have probably all experienced losing something, or probably more accurately, forgetting where we placed something. There is a moment of panic, then a frantic search for the item, and hopefully most times, what was lost, or misplaced, is found and there is such great relief. You almost feel like throwing a party. With the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son, there was indeed a party that was thrown. But, that's not the point of the stories. Jesus makes it clear that each of those stories is about how lost people were found by God, and that when anyone who is lost is found by Christ, there is a party going on in heaven. Perhaps you can remember such a time, a day, or a gradual experience when Christ became your Lord and Savior. You were lost, but eventually, by the pursuit of God through the Holy Spirit, you were found. A party was thrown in your honor. You were lost, far from God, far from home, but now you are found, you have been redeemed and reconciled to your Heavenly Father. As we look into the story of the Lost Son, and as you may participate in reading the AHA book on your own or in a group, may God continue to bring you closer to Himself and to others, as we journey together to our eventual homecoming celebration.

Highway Of Holiness

September 27, 2020 • Dennis Whitcher • Isaiah 35:8–10

In our series, "The Homecoming" we have learned about preparing to go home; strength for the journey; and a vision for 2020 and beyond. This Sunday we will learn about the highway that will get us home. The Highway of Holiness. This Highway of Holiness runs from a manger in Bethlehem to a cross on Calvary’s Hill, to the tomb in the garden, to the resurrection, and to the right hand of God the Father Almighty. This is the only path that leads through the wilderness of life to eternal life. What road are you walking today? Are you on the King's Highway? Has he lifted you out of the miry clay of this world and set your feet on His path? If so, you ought to praise Him for it. Or are there adjustments that need to be made in the road you are on? In Christ, Dennis Whitcher

2020 Vision

September 20, 2020 • Bill Williamson • Isaiah 35:5–7

This Sunday we begin our Homecoming Celebration when we come together Sunday morning at 10am in our parking lot to worship together - following our 6 months of quarantine. The service will be live streamed to YouTube at 10am (search for Yakima Grace) and will posted a bit later to our website, app and Facebook. If you want to join us at church on Sunday, you can reserve your spot online at http://yakimagrace.com/sept20. Space is limited. Pastor Bill will bring the message from Isaiah - who was used by God to bring both good news and bad news to the Israelites. The bad news is that God was going to judge His people because of their rebellious hearts. The good news is sewn into the pages with the pronouncement of the coming of Christ in those famous words in Isaiah 9: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders." That would be good news for the Israelites, as well as for us. Jesus, while here on earth proclaimed: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And, as Jesus ascended into heaven, He passed on the Mission to go and make disciples of all nations. You and I have the Spirit of the Lord upon us, in order that we too can share the Good News of Christ to the world. We are now, like Isaiah, God's mouthpiece of Good News in a world that is often so filled with bad news.