This weekend is the first Sunday of Advent and at the Langley Campus one family service at 10 am (extra parking is available in our north parking lot shared with the city). Advent is a four Sunday count down to Christmas Eve, culminating in our Candlelight services at 4 pm and 5:30 pm. We begin our Christmas remembrance and celebration with our kids. It promises to be heart warming, and it will set us on the right path for the next month.
Our theme for Advent is “Receive and Believe”. In John’s Gospel he declares; “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God” (John 1:12). This Scripture will help us to explore our response to Jesus Christ this season. Over the next four Sundays we will examine the characters and stories of the nativity. To receive Jesus is a choice (will) and then with faith we can believe. We welcome God’s promises and the transformation that occurs by the power of God. In the series we’ll explore the following aspects of God’s gift in Christ Jesus.
- Week 1 (Dec 1) Receive and Believe God’s Glory, Pastor Laurel Archer
- Week 2 (Dec 8) Receive and Believe God’s Grace, Pastor Rob Bedard
- Week 3 (Dec 15) Receive and Believe God’s Love, Pastor Derrick Hamre
- Week 4 (Dec 22) Receive and Believe God’s Invitation, Pastor Avri Paul
- Christmas Eve Candlelight, Receive and Believe God’s Son, Pastor Derrick Hamre
Next weekend (Friday Dec 6 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm AND Saturday & Sunday from 4 pm to 7 pm) we will host almost 3,000 people on personal tours of the nativity, a modern Christmas story and a kid’s craft centre. There will be warm hospitality including hot chocolate, popcorn and invitations to Christmas Eve. It is a family friendly event for the whole family and although this outreach will cost CLA $25,000 … it will be free for everyone! Our community is looking for something for families that is low cost and fun. In this weekend their need gives us an opportunity to tell the original Christmas story, a narrative that many do not know, or that needs clarification. Bring your neighbours, co-workers, come along yourself. It will be a great weekend.
Kids and Youth, our next generation, are a key focus for CLA. We give more time, energy and finances to this demographic than any other. It is the future of our church. They are the most open to hearing and responding to the Gospel. Last week our Rev Youth had their “Plus One Night”, an evening when students bring students to a Tuesday night, and they hear a clear presentation about Jesus. I’m thrilled to report that last Tuesday there were 370 students plus leaders at their event. There were 123 new students as guests and 56 made a commitment to follow Jesus Christ. We continue to pray for all these students as we celebrate what God is doing among our youth.
