Hello Village Friends and Family,

I hope your week has gone well. I hope you are making plans to join together to worship the Lord this Sunday! I am looking forward to joining together in song, in prayer, and in learning from the Word together!

As a church, we do not have a grand plan for Christmas Eve.

Yes, we are going to gather on Christmas Eve. Yes we are going to sing songs and read Scripture and hear preaching that proclaims the birth of the Savior, “who is Christ the Lord.”

You may be thinking, as you read that, “Pastor, this sounds like every other Sunday.” To which I would say, “Exactly!” And right there is the grand, no, right there is divine plan; which makes it grand!

When we gather on Christmas Eve we will do precisely what God has desired and commanded for his people to do; from Mt. Sinai, to today, and until he returns. New City Catechism Question 10 asks: “What does God require in the fourth…commandment?” The answer, “Fourth, that on the Sabbath day we spend time in public and private worship of God, rest from routine employment, serve the Lord and others, and so anticipate the eternal Sabbath.” This is a grand plan!

I wonder; has the commercialism of Christmas in our culture caused us to think that the regular, visible, utterly beautiful means of grace, known as the gathering God’s people, has to get all dressed up at Christmas and Easter? We gather and proclaim the same message Sunday after Sunday. Why not put forth the same effort every single week?

Let us see the grand, divine plan and always desire for anyone and everyone to come and hear and be reminded of the Good News announced by the angels to the shepherds so long ago; “Unto you is born a Savior who is Christ the Lord!”

I can’t wait to worship with you this Sunday! Lord willing, I’ll see you then!

Grace & Peace,
John

You can reach the elders anytime by email, call, or text at:
Jon Collins, jcollins@thevillagemi.com, (810) 869-3949
John White, jwhite@thevillagemi.com, (810) 275-4267