News

One of the things that is abundantly clear in light of the various reports given at the congregational meeting is that God has been very good to St. Mark. God has put money in our bank account, we’re in a position to give to mission works, and we are thankful that God has continued to provide space for us to meet at TCA. And of course, our numbers continue to increase as we demonstrate our love for one another: one of the marks God said we would be known by.

But we also ask that you continue to pray for God to bring us a better location more suited to our needs as we continue to grow. We’re on the verge of out- growing the space at TCA. And as we continue to knock on doors and look for opportunities that God might have for us, God’s answer has continued to be, “wait,” or “not yet.” It can be challenging to hear that sometimes, but we continue to trust in the Lord, who has always provided for us.

You can be praying that God will bring to us just the right opportunity. And you can be praying for our building fund to increase so that we may act when He does bring us that opportunity. And as you are able and the Lord leads, give to the building fund. Finally, if you know of locations or opportunities, be sure to let the deacons know!

The yearly talent show and pancake feast is coming up on Shrove Tuesday, March 1st, and we hope you’ll make plans to be there.

Shrove Tuesday is also sometimes referred to as “Fat Tuesday.” This comes from a French term you may have heard before: Mardi Gras. Though it may be hard to believe now given the debauchery often associated with Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday is actually a Christian Holiday and marks the last day of rich feasting before entering the Lenten season. Though we as Protestants believe that feasting can never be far off in the New Covenant, there’s certainly an appropriateness to reflect on our need for a Savior and the serious and grievous nature of our sins. That’s why Lent is considered a solemn season and not a feasting season.

And, of course, it must necessarily culminate in the celebration of Easter and the resurrection of Him who freed us from our sins.

As we approach the season, we will appropriately feast on pancakes as we share fellowship and enjoy the talents God has give to us through means of the talent show. And we feast because Jesus died to set us free from the curse of sin and death. So let us keep this feast!

This past week, I happened upon a CNN headline that made drew a chuckle, accompanied by great sadness. “Christian school asks parents to sign contract that could exclude gay and transgender students.” Imagine a Christian school holding Christian moral beliefs.

The article describes a petition to get the school to lighten up on that “hatefulness.” It also talks about “unlawful discrimination.” This article is not about events in our country, but events in Australia. Yet it has reached a point where it would not be shocking to read about this in our country. The world hates God and his “unreasonable” and “hateful” rules. By extension, the world hates us when we hold to the principles of morality God gave us. We know nothing of the persecution of the past in this present moment, but we do know at least a bit about the stress navigating all this can place on us as we see the world moving back toward a more persecuting mentality toward Christ followers. Jesus told his disciples in John 16:33b, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

That’s why we worship here this morning. We are called; we are summoned. The world does not understand why we’re not cowering in fear. But it’s because we worship the one who has overcome the world!

One thing that can often be disappointing is the saber rattling and the clamoring for war and the interventionism that both the left and right wings of this nation’s political parties engage in. What’s more disappointing is the tendency to think that, as some consolation for more liberal forces being in office, that perhaps we’ll get less war and bloodshed. That is, once again, proving to be a fools hope as the current administration weighs sending our young men — and now young women — in arms to foreign countries to partake of the bloodiness of war.

While it appears that, for now, that may not happen, the threat of such violence should send us to our knees in prayer. Pastor Thacker impressed upon us last week the need to pray for God to, “put things right.” One of the things we can pray for is peace and not bloodshed. There are such things as just, defensive wars, and it’s been a very long time since the U.S. participated in one of those. And so our present calling is to pray for peace, and the quelling of those voices that tell us that war is good and right and any war we’re involved in is a just war.

Pray that God would turn our attention homeward to the logs in our own eye, rather then the specs in other nation’s eyes. And that we would turn our hearts to Him and allow Him to set our nation’s laws and agenda, and that we would make God’s laws our laws.

The past couple weeks saw a bit of a chilly draft from the north. No, not just the weather. The law-makers in Canada have passed legislation banning “conversion therapy” making it a crime to “provide or promote services intended to change or repress a person’s sexual orientation or gender expression.”

Canada not being our country may make it seem a bit far away to worry about. Indeed, we have many issues of our own to deal with state-side. But there are 2 pressing concerns for us to be praying about. 1) brothers and sisters and faithful minister who will now come under (more) government persecution for faithfully teaching a biblical sexual ethic. And 2) the Overton Window is pushed ever away from a Godly morality and toward the immoral, perverted, and sinful desires of the flesh. Sinners hate nothing so much as being told their sin, is, in fact, sin and they will suffer eternal damnation if they do not turn away from it. And as we are witnessing broadly from a culture hell-bent (I use hell appropriately here, as in from the very pit of hell) on repressing everything Godly and good, men in the throes of sin will stop at nothing to push away the conviction of their sin.

This is our time to shine. We still enjoy the freedom to preach God’s truth on this issues, and we must do so. And we must pray for faithful Christians in Canada to stand strong!

Note on your calendars that the annual congregational meeting will take place on February 13. This meeting is really just a simple “business” meeting where the deacons and elders update you on the state of affairs of the church. These items will relate to things like finances, missions giving, where and how your tithes and offerings are being used, our ongoing search for a meeting location, and things of that nature.

While it’s not a “big deal” we do love for you all to be there to hear about various things that are going on, and to be involved in the life and health of the church. It is one of the ways the leadership of the church maintains our transparency and answerability to you, the congregation.

This meeting will follow a fellowship meal so that you don’t have to face it on an empty stomach. But rather, with full and thankful hearts, we will hear of God’s goodness and mercy to us from yet another year. And God has indeed been good to us: this past year we have witnessed both significant numerical growth and a marked improvement of our financial situation. For these and for all His blessings to us we render Him thanks!

While many of your neighbors may have taken their Christmas decorations down and their Christmas cheer may be done and gone, Christmas isn’t quite over yet. There are 12 days of Christmastide, and today is the 9th day of those twelve. So there’s more to come!

Christmas traditionally culminates in a Twelfth Night festival, which, while marking the end of the Christmas feast, also marks the coming of Epiphany.

The twelve days of Christmas were first proclaimed in 567 as a festive season. And for some, Twelfth Night can often be an opportunity for even more feasting, food, and drink. As believers, we have every reason to celebrate and make merry. Christ the Savior is born! While many don’t carry on the feast past the 26th of December, for us, one day is just not enough to celebrate the incarnation of Christ the savior!

So if you’re able, keep right on celebrating our Lord! Look through the liturgy today as we continue to offer our praise to God in Christmas carols and Christmas hymns. Sing joyfully as we proclaim the Lord has come!

Peace on earth, goodwill toward men! The meaning of these familiar words can become lost over time sometimes because we’re so familiar with them. And so it is a good and right thing to meditate on them. What does it mean that a multitude of angels proclaimed to men the goodwill of God in heaven?

Perhaps you might become more confused when you read that Jesus himself said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” To understand however, one must understand the contexts to which each of these are speaking. Jesus, when saying he does not bring peace, is speaking those who would deny Him before men and place family and earthly situation above loyalty to Christ. On the other hand, when the angels proclaimed peace on earth, they were speaking to the nature of sin and its deleterious effect on man’s relationship with God. Because of sin, man has no peace with God. God has, in fact, condemned man to death. All deserve the wrath of God, which is most certainly not peace.

But Christ was sent by God to make peace with God on our behalf. It is this which we celebrate at Christmastide. Thanks be to God for sending his son, Jesus Christ, to live sinlessly, and sacrifice Himself for our sins! This is, indeed, true peace on earth.

This week on Friday, December 24th, we’ll hold our annual Lessons and Carols service and we hope you’ll join us. The tradition of the Lessons and Carols is a later addition to tradition, but a worthy one in which we combine scripture readings and carols that tell the story of the coming of the Son of God. It is a fitting tradition for our transition from Advent to Christmastide.

Advent has been our time of preparation and expectant longing for the feast. Christmas, as the celebration of Christ’s incarnation, is the celebration of that fulfillment. And as we transition to Christmastide, we should remember that it is a 12 day celebration. Feasting, carols, and Christmas scripture readings continue to be an appropriate expression of the season. So don’t put away your Christmas decorations on December 26! Christ’s incarnation deserves more than that.

Our Christmas celebrations will culminate in Twelfth Night and the McLains plan to hold their traditional Twelfth Night feast, to which you are invited. There will be food, drink, dancing, and plenty of merriment and the McLains would be delighted to have you. Be sure to check in with Brian or Denise if you’d like to contribute to the feast!

One of the great things about this time of year is that many Christians who do not have a positive eschatology, sing as if they do. Take Joy to the World, for instance. “Let earth receive her King,” and “He rules the world,” sound very much in line with a more reformed and positive eschatology. You’ll also find similar positive sentiments in carols such as O Holy Night, God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, and many more.

This is right and proper, and a great opportunity and reminder for us. We’ve been rightly focused lately on tyranny, mask mandates, the bloodshed of abortion, and other perversions which plague our land. And we do indeed have much work we have been called to. But during Advent and Christmastide, let us not lose sight of this simple truth: Christ already won. He’s ruling and reigning right now on His throne. He calls us to work here on earth on His behalf because of that very authority which He wields. His foes (and, therefore, our foes) are being defeated before us. The very gates of hell cannot prevail against us. And why? Because, as the Sussex Carol tells us:

On Christmas night all Christians sing To hear the news the angels bring News of great joy, news of great mirth News of our merciful King’s birth

Christ was born into this world. And by doing so, He already won. He’s the triumphant King, born in a lowly stable. And because of that, whatever ills may befall us, we serve at His pleasure, and we live in blessed hope which we display to a watching world.

This past Wednesday opened the Supreme Court deliberations in the Dobbs V. Jackson case. Thomas E. Dobbs is state health officer for Mississippi, and Jackson Women’s Health Organization is an abortion provider — in fact the only abortion clinic in the state. The question is whether states can ban abortion before fetal viability.

There are obvious implications for Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Mississippi calls the decision of both of cases “egregiously wrong.”

During the deliberations, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said, “Evidence of fetal pain is not proof of life.” This is nearly saying the quiet part out loud. They see the evidence, they know it’s true, but they’re going to deny the science point blank. Haven’t we heard a lot lately about how it’s bad to deny science?

Sotomayor also tried to make the point that overturning Roe and Casey would damage the legitimacy of the Supreme Court. I suppose this means she thinks the Supreme Court infallible? But then, it shouldn’t surprise us the things people put their faith in when they place it somewhere other than Christ. But we have, for better or worse (mostly worse) this idea in our courts called “stare decisis,” which is Latin for “to stand by things decided.” You may have heard this referred to as “precedent.” And while precedent can be helpful, which we as confessional protestants can attest with our confessions, they should never have the last word. Precedent can be wrong. May the Lord open eyes and soften as these deliberations move forward.

The Advent season is here! The liturgical color for advent is purple, symbolizing the royalty of the Lord.

Advent is the beginning of the liturgical Church year, and a time of expectant and joyful waiting for Christmastide: the celebration of our Lord’s incarnation.

There are several events and items of celebration to bring to your attention. All are optional, but all are encouraged.

Advent celebrations at McLains

Each year, the McLains host advent celebrations in their home each Sunday of Advent at 6:00 PM with a time of singing, an advent liturgy, and feasting on various finger foods (which you are welcome to contribute to if you come).

Williamson County Community Chorus

The Chorus will have their annual Christmas concert on December 5th at 3:00 PM. There will be a few fun Christmas songs in the first half, and then will conclude with a beautiful and glorious Magnificat in the second half.

Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols

St. Mark will host our annual Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve at 4:00 PM at TCA. This service will include the traditional readings and carols. And, in addition, the St. Mark Men’s Choir has prepared a couple of additional pieces.