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Do You Hear What I Hear? Joy 11am

December 17, 2023 • Curt McFarland • Galatians 3:28—4:7

Our daughter is uber-pregnant. She and her husband are expecting their second, due Christmas day. For me there is always a measure of apprehension prior to the birth of a child … they are so fragile.


Two years ago, in early December, Kathaleen and I were waiting for the birth of our first grandchild. Soon after Hezekiah’s birth we arrived to celebrate, and to hold him for the first time. Any prior concerns gave way to Joy. I understand that is not always the case … but it is what we always pray for, leaning on God no matter the outcome.


On this third Sunday of Advent (the fourth in Advent is Christmas Eve) we celebrate the God given gift of “Joy”. How would you define Joy? How have you experienced Joy? Think of a moment when Joy overwhelmed you. Where were you? What was happening? 


Joy surprises us. Christmas surprises us. I believe God intends for there to be a close connection between Christmas and Joy. Joy sneaks up on us. In some sense God did too.


We would not have expected God to enter our world, and our lives, the way He did that first Christmas. God’s people were not there to welcome Him. Kings and queens, pastors and priests, were absent. A few shepherds made their way over to greet Him, but only after a startling, and miraculous, visit first from one angel, and then a host of angels. Visitors from the east arrived and brought gifts; but that was likely weeks, months, or years, after His birth.


We cannot earn Joy. We cannot plan for Joy. We cannot pay for Joy. It is a gift from God. When we experience Joy our response is often laughter, tears, or silence. Peace is Joy’s regular companion, along with awe and appreciation. This Christmas may we be surprised again by God’s arrival, and may we experience Joy.

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Peace At Home (11AM)

January 7, 2024 • Kathaleen McFarland • Romans 5:1–5

We live in a world that talks a lot about peace but has very little peace, if any, to offer. On the global scene, whenever two or more gather, conflict, disturbance, frustration, anger, bloodshed and war, often follow. That’s also true on the streets of our cities, in our neighborhoods, in our homes, and in our own souls. There is, at times, a lack of peace even in churches that exist to extend the peace of God.  When do you feel most at peace? Is there a particular place, a particular time, when you experience peace? Are there particular friends and relatives who, when you are with them, elevate your sense of peace? How long does that peace last? Let me also ask how you would define peace? For those who rarely, if ever, experience the kind of peace God intends, their definition of peace is reduced to a fragment of what it is meant to be. There is a temptation for all of us to settle for discounted peace. That’s understandable when the peace we look for depends on the actions of those around us, and our own choices too. Some world religions and philosophies attempt to provide a path to peace by counseling us to disconnect from all desires, and, in some instances, to disconnect from the world itself. Christian faith offers a strong voice in the opposite direction. What we need first is Peace with God. And, God made that possible. Once we begin to embrace that, our view of ourselves, others, the city and world we live in, even hostility and aggression, begins to change. Christian faith claims that until we experience Peace with God, until we surrender in our war against God, until we acknowledge Him as the Victor, as the Lord of all, as our Only hope, any peace we experience will be temporary and defined by circumstances around us, and the turmoil in us. When we embrace the peace that God offers we begin to see things differently. We discover a more profound sense of Peace. Our understanding of the frailty and fear that fuels competition, aggression and conflict grows.  Our compassion deepens. We offer grace more freely. Peace with God leads us into our troubled world, not away from it. Peace with God drives us into relationships in our community, even with those who do not like us and may even attack us.  Peace with God gives us a clearer sense of who we are and how valuable, and loved, we are. Peace, lasting peace, real peace, is a gift of God offered to us through Jesus.

Peace At Home (9AM)

January 7, 2024 • Kathaleen McFarland • Romans 5:1–5

We live in a world that talks a lot about peace but has very little peace, if any, to offer. On the global scene, whenever two or more gather, conflict, disturbance, frustration, anger, bloodshed and war, often follow. That’s also true on the streets of our cities, in our neighborhoods, in our homes, and in our own souls. There is, at times, a lack of peace even in churches that exist to extend the peace of God.  When do you feel most at peace? Is there a particular place, a particular time, when you experience peace? Are there particular friends and relatives who, when you are with them, elevate your sense of peace? How long does that peace last? Let me also ask how you would define peace? For those who rarely, if ever, experience the kind of peace God intends, their definition of peace is reduced to a fragment of what it is meant to be. There is a temptation for all of us to settle for discounted peace. That’s understandable when the peace we look for depends on the actions of those around us, and our own choices too. Some world religions and philosophies attempt to provide a path to peace by counseling us to disconnect from all desires, and, in some instances, to disconnect from the world itself. Christian faith offers a strong voice in the opposite direction. What we need first is Peace with God. And, God made that possible. Once we begin to embrace that, our view of ourselves, others, the city and world we live in, even hostility and aggression, begins to change. Christian faith claims that until we experience Peace with God, until we surrender in our war against God, until we acknowledge Him as the Victor, as the Lord of all, as our Only hope, any peace we experience will be temporary and defined by circumstances around us, and the turmoil in us. When we embrace the peace that God offers we begin to see things differently. We discover a more profound sense of Peace. Our understanding of the frailty and fear that fuels competition, aggression and conflict grows.  Our compassion deepens. We offer grace more freely. Peace with God leads us into our troubled world, not away from it. Peace with God drives us into relationships in our community, even with those who do not like us and may even attack us.  Peace with God gives us a clearer sense of who we are and how valuable, and loved, we are. Peace, lasting peace, real peace, is a gift of God offered to us through Jesus.

From Afar and Not So Far (10AM)

December 31, 2023 • Scott Klepach • Matthew 2:1–12

On this final day of 2023 we welcome our Naches friend and pastor Scott Klepach. Scott has been pastor at the Naches Presbyterian Church (Peace of Christ) for 3+ years. He, and his wife Mack (Jaclyn Mack), have deep roots in the Yakima valley (and a mutual love of Garfield and Roller Coasters). Scott has been a reporter for the Yakima Herald Republic, an English professor at CWU, an associate pastor at Wesley United Methodist, a hospital and hospice chaplain at Memorial (he was a part of my exceptional team of chaplains). He continues to serve as a hospice chaplain for Astria. While Scott preaches here, I am doing the same in Naches. At the end of each year there is a natural tendancy to reflect on the past, and consider what the months ahead will bring. Christians have a unique advantage at such times. We are able to look back with thankfulness for God’s many blessings, including His grace and forgiveness. We are not weighed down by our failures, our regrets, the times we were less Christian than we had hoped. And, as we look to the coming year, we anticipate new adventures, stronger relationships, greater confidence, and growth in our faith. God has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit to encourage us, confront us, teach us, and change us. These two verses from Paul’s letter to the Philippians sum that up … “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” He provides the power, and desire, to press on … The year on the calendar will change. By God’s grace we will too.  Others will make decisions that will impact us. Circumstances beyond our control will affect us. We keep pressing on to Jesus. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Ending one year and beginning the next, growing in our love of God and others, Pastor Curt

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