God with us

Do you know God is with you this December? What are the challenges, uncertainties or questions you face as the year ends and we move into 2025? 

As we approach Christmas, I pray that you will be reminded that God is with you. Matthew 1:23 sums us the Christmas story “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).  We sing this in carols and hear it in nativity stories. But do we know it to be true? 

Christmas can be a difficult time of the year. There are extra financial pressures, spending time with family can be stressful, we miss loved ones who are not with us. We easily forget that Jesus is Immanuel. Jesus is God with us.

Last year I felt we were facing so many challenges as a church. Our finances were struggling, some key team members moved overseas and we were trying to figure out how to be a church and a Life Centre. Looking back over 2024 I have been so humbled and encouraged by the ways I have seen "God with us" in different ways at CHS. 

The Life Centre building has been completed and is bursting at the seams with "life", people are coming to know Jesus for the first time, local communities are being impacted, physical needs are being met, we have been able to financially bless other ministries and churches in need, people are being set free from addiction, find new jobs and children and young people are growing in faith.  Thank you Lord for the ways you have been with us this year!

May you know Jesus present with you this Christmas. He is at your side whether you are lying exhausted on the floor or jumping for joy. He is Immanuel - God with us.  "May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us." 1 Kings 8:57