A Couple Thoughts on Thanksgiving…
By David Branker
One Thanksgiving season, a family was seated around the table, looking at the annual holiday bird. From the oldest to the youngest, they were to express their praise. When they came to the 5-year-old in the family, he began by looking at the turkey and expressing his thanks to the turkey, saying although he had not tasted it he knew it would be good. After that rather novel expression of thanksgiving, he began with a more predictable line of credits, thanking his mother for cooking the turkey and his father for buying the turkey. But then he went beyond that. He joined together a whole hidden multitude of benefactors, linking them with cause and effect.
He said, “I thank the checker at the grocery store who checked out the turkey. I thank the grocery store people who put it on the shelf. I thank the farmer who made it fat. I thank the man who made the feed. I thank those who brought the turkey to the store.”
Using his sharp little mind, he traced the turkey all the way from its origin to his plate. And then at the end he solemnly said, “Did I leave anybody out?”
His 2-year-older brother, embarrassed by all those proceedings, said, “God.”
Solemnly and without being flustered at all, the 5-year-old said, “I was about to get to him.”
The reason why we gather around the dinner table is so that amidst all the turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, collared greens, and arroz con pollo tomorrow, we are sure, not only to get to Him, but to put the Lord first, as our object of Thanksgiving.
Maybe it’s been a tough year for you. It has definitely been a tough year for me.
And yet, as I come to the table tomorrow, I will also know that it has also been one of the best years of my life – all because of God’s generous grace. This year, above all things, I am forever grateful for the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Consider the following:
“Gratitude is from the same root word as “grace,” which signifies the free and boundless mercy of God. Thanksgiving is from the same root word as “think,” so that to think is to thank.” Willis P. King
So this year, let’s come to the table first thinking about God’s amazing grace…
- His unmerited favor
- His giving of what we could never earn or deserve
- His empowering of our feebleness
- And above all else, Him
And together declare, “O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” Psalm 107:1 KJV
David
Thanksgiving, Christmas & Awakening
By Linda Riddle, Awakening Coordinator
The holidays are fun and they’re full of excitement and anticipation. It’s a time of refreshing, reconnecting, and thanking God for who He is and what He has done. But for those of you who have ever participated in Awakening, you know the excitement doesn’t stop at end of the December – it’s just the beginning.
For several years now, Celebration Church has started the year off with a powerful spiritual experience. Every January, Pastor Stovall leads our church, staff and leadership through a 21 day season of prayer and fasting called Awakening. The spiritual impact is just incredible. There is something so powerful about setting aside this time right at the beginning of the year to pray, fast, seek God, and harness the power of doing it together. It’s like hitting the reset button (both physically and spiritually) and it charges our church, leadership and staff as a whole, with an intense amount of momentum as we head into the New Year.
Seeing the power that Awakening has had in our church, Awake21.org was created to inspire and equip pastors and church leaders all around the world to establish a culture of prayer and fasting in their church or ministry. Last year, close to 400 churches participated in Awakening and the impact was profound. Several pastors and church leaders asked only their staff or key leadership to participate, and because of the dynamic result, these leaders have now decided to introduce it to their entire church in 2010.
If you believe in the importance of prayer and fasting, and want to harness the power behind hundreds of churches coming together for Awakening in 2010, we invite you visit Awake21.org and register your church or ministry today. As we position ourselves to start the year off spiritually strong, we can look forward in anticipation of 2010 being a great year.
Linda Riddle
Awakening Coordinator
lriddle@celebration.org
Dream Center Launch – This Weekend!
By Guest Blogger, Jenny Huang
It’s gearing up to be an exciting weekend – this Sunday will be the grand opening service for our new Dream Center location in Springfield! We’re honored to partner with Bethesda Faith Assembly Church to open the new Dream Center, a place dedicated to restoring hopes and dreams in the community by meeting physical and spiritual needs. Everyone is invited to join in!
Rally your family and friends for the grand opening service this Sunday, Nov. 15 at 600 East Fourth Street. At 3 pm, teams will be distributing clothing, hygiene items, haircuts, bike repair, and more. The extension service will begin at 4 pm. Free food will be served immediately following the service. Come out anytime between 3-6 pm – it’s going to be incredible!
We’re also hosting an outreach at the Dream Center on Saturday, Nov. 14th, 11 am – 2 pm to finalize preparations for the grand opening. Teams will be cleaning, organizing, moving, prayer-walking, and getting the place ready to go.
Can’t wait to see you all there!
Jenny Huang
3 Day Fast / Prayer Night
By Stovall Weems
It is day 2 of our 3 day fast and I’m pumped about what God is up to. Here at Celebration Church, we encourage a life centered on prayer and fasting. Join us for worship, prayer and communion at 7:00 PM at our Midtown or Orange Park location this Friday night – November 13th. These nights are always very powerful. We’re praying and believing for God’s best in your life – hope you can make it!
What is God doing in you during this 3 day fast? Share your testimony.
See you Friday night!
Stovall
Christine Caine – This Weekend!
By Stovall Weems
We are so pumped to have Christine Caine in the house this weekend! She is a long time friend of the Celebration Church family and is visiting all the way from our friends at Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia.
She has an incredible word on her heart that is sure to impact your life.
Stovall
Be Her Freedom Run – This Saturday!
By Guest Blogger, Jenny Huang
If you’ve ever travelled through the Atlanta airport, you’ll know that it is a hub for several major airlines. Hordes of travelers arrive regularly in the city; some transfer flights to another location and others stay in Atlanta as their final destination. Greece is a similar hub for the crime of human trafficking.
According to the 2009 U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report, Greece is a transit and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Women and girls are trafficked from Bulgaria, Albania, Romania, and other parts of Eastern Europe and forced into prostitution and labor. Some are transferred to other areas of Europe; many others stay in Greece as their final destination.
1,838 women and children are sold for sex every day in Greece. This translates into one person sold every 47 seconds.
Let’s be honest – the statistics can be overwhelming. But there’s something you can do to help!
Celebration Church is honored to partner with the A21 Campaign to fight against this global injustice this Saturday, Nov. 7th through the Be Her Freedom Run. The run length is 4.7 miles and begins at 7:47 am; illustrating the staggering statistic that one person is sold for sex every 47 seconds.
All proceeds will benefit the A21 Campaign, an organization dedicated to rescuing, restoring, and rebuilding victims of injustice. Our good friends, Nick and Christine Caine from Hillsong Church Sydney, are the founders of this organization.
The run will start and finish at our Midtown campus, 10302 Deerwood Park Blvd. A one-mile run/walk is also available.
It’s still not too late to join in! Everyone is welcome to participate – you can run, walk, or cheer people on! We have a group of moms who are walking with their babies and rumor has it Christine Caine will be running too.
Registration fee is $25 if you sign up online by end of today. Entry fee will be $35 on day of the event. Sign up and find out more at www.beherfreedomrun.com.
Kick up your shoes and let’s fight against this injustice!
Jenny Huang
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