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| The Father of the HEAVENLY LIGHTS |
12/6/2025
Good morning church family,
 James 1:17“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the Heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
GIVING THANKS:
Thanks to Kaydene Hodge for organizing many of our recent benevolent opportunities! This Sunday is the last day for bringing something in for the Single Mom and her 4 year old daughter for the holiday. Thanks to all who donated items to make this holiday special for this family. May God be glorified!
BENEVOLENCE:
A reminder that Spooner House can use canned goods, pastas, and non-perishable foods, and thanks to all who helped bring food to them over the past few weeks. We’ve had members bake quiches and more to help these families who are in such need. The donations from Trumbull have been amazing, thank you!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
Leo Benevento is stable, although dealing with some fevers. The doctors continue daily with fungal washes to help combat fungal infections. They are waiting on MRI & CT results. Praise God he’s come this far.
Jay Repecko asked for prayers for his Uncle Skip’s family since his wife Donna passed away.
Greg Cerminara had his knee surgery yesterday, so prayers for his healing so he can continue taking care of Linda.
Anthony Katz needs prayers. He is having pain and headaches since his recent eye surgery and one of his lungs collapsed. Tina his mother (Carol and Joe’s daughter) is asking for prayers since she is the best caregiver for Anthony’s fragile condition. Below is a recent photo of Anthony. Thanks to all for your prayers!
COMING UP:
Donna Stanley will be speaking this morning for the Asian ministry at 8:45-10:15.
Tuesday Ladies bible study via zoom will be on December 9th at 9:30 am. The new study will be on Lesson 2 “Walking in Faith” Ezra 3:3. Please see Mary Lou for a book. Thanks again to Lisa Saracino and Mary Lou for leading this mid-week study.
The next Saturday Ladies bible study will be on December 13th, from 10:00-12:00 at the church building. The lesson will be on the “Fragrance of Love”.
Saturday, January 10th’s lesson will be lead by Lisa and Tori Saracino “The Fragrance of Emptiness”. This class Lord willing will be held in their home at 9 Olsen Drive, Seymour, CT. Bring a few breakfast treats to share.
The Holiday Progressive Dinner is coming up on Saturday, December 13th!
A sign-up sheet has been posted for our upcoming progressive dinner. It will surely be a fun evening of fellowship. If you are able to come, sign up for what you are comfortable bringing. The evening will go quickly and be so much fun! Thanks to all who are hosting this!
Appetizers will be at Joe and Carol Ligouri’s home at 38 Hiram Hill, Monroe, CT from 5:30 – 6:30 pm.
**NEW UPDATE**: Bob & JoAnne Discala have agreed to host the main meal which will be from 6:45-7:45 at their house on 175 Hilltop Circle, Trumbull, CT. Their home works better for parking and we thank the Kellers for offering to host initially.
Desserts will be at 8:00 pm at the church building.
Families with Young children are having a Christmas breakfast December 27th 10-12:30. Bring a toy to share and play with, (they will get to show off a toy they got for Christmas) and join us for a Christmas lesson and craft.
YOUNG ADULTS CHRISTMAS PARTY – Friday December 19th at 5:30 at the church building. Join in on the fun for an evening of fun & fellowship, pizza, devotional, games and hot chocolate. Please see Zach or Tori if you have questions.
The Christmas holiday brings lots of light! Lawns and houses are ablaze with lights of all colors. Christmas trees are strewn with white lights, multi-colored lights, blinking and twinkling lights.
More than 2.5 million people from all over the world journey to Rockefeller Center in New York City each year to see the spectacular Christmas tree topped by a 900 pound star sparkling with 3 million Swarovski crystals. The tree is donned with 50,000 multicolored LED lights strung over five miles of wire.
Rockefeller Center began it’s traditional tree-lighting tradition back in 1933 when a Christmas tree was erected in front of the RCA building and it was covered with only 700 lights.
From 700 lights, to 50,000 lights, how far we’ve come as a society. Each year, things get bigger and brighter, yet the world is blind to the most glorious of LIGHTS, the light provided by our Heavenly Father, who is The Father of Heavenly LIGHTS.
In Luke 2:8-10 we read:
“Shepherds were in the fields near Bethlehem.
They were taking turns watching their flock during the night.
An angel from the LORD suddenly appeared to them.
The glory of the Lord filled the area with light,
and they were terrified!
The angel said to them,
“Don’t be afraid!
I have good news for you, a message that will fill everyone with joy.“
Genesis 1:1-4
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Now the was formless and empty,
darkness covered the surface of the watery depths,
and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
Then God said, “Let there be light, and there was light.
God saw that the light was good
and he separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”.
And there was evening and there was morning – the first day.”
God spoke light into being, for GOD ALONE IS LIGHT.
Genesis 1:14-19
“God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate day from the night,
and let them serve as signs to mark the seasons and days in years,
and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth”.
And it was so.
God made two great lights – the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night.
He also made the stars.
God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth,
to govern the day and night,
and to separate the day and the night,
and to separate light from darkness.
And God saw that it was good.
And there was morning- the fourth day.“
God is the Ultimate Giver!
The sun, moon and stars which shine to light the sky, are all good things the FATHER OF LIGHTS created for our good.
These heavenly bodies which give us light are constantly moving and changing, but God who spoke them into existence, never changes!
God is constant.
In Job 38:7 God asked Job where he was when God laid the foundations of the earth…
God is the FATHER OF LIGHTS because HE CREATED THE LIGHT.
The sun which gives us light and life, and the moon and stars which light the sky at dusk, provide us with light which sustains us.
1 John 1:5
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you:
God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.“
Genesis 1:31
“God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.“
God has revealed Himself in scripture as the One who brings light out of darkness, order out of chaos, and goodness into the world.
God is the Giver of EVERY GOOD & PERFECT GIFT
“Good” and “perfect” gifts refer to blessings that align with God’s nature and purposes.
God is sovereign.
God is good.
God is the ultimate source of all blessings.
Jesus spoke of God the Father giving good gifts to those who ask Him.
Matthew 7:11
“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
LIGHT represents goodness, honesty, purity, wisdom, glory and love – everything that God is.
1 Timothy 6:14-16
“...God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see”
God is the author of all that is! Within Him is no darkness as there is no sin or transgression in Him.
Integrity, loyalty, honor, glory, wisdom, the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), compassion, kindness and love are all qualities of God and represent His glory and spiritual “LIGHT”.
God embodies all that is good and right.
GOD IS LOVE – 1 John 4:16 “And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God in him.“
GOD IS LIGHT 1 John 1:5
JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
John 8:12
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness.”
John 1:1-51
“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through him and without him was not any thing that was made.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it…”
Sadly, unbelievers and most of the world are unaware of God’s LIGHT.
We read in 2 Corinthians 4:4-6
“the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and our selves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”
made his light shine in our hearts
to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.“
Revelation 21:9-27 is a powerful read.
John is amazed as he witnesses the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven and descending to the earth. He hears a voice telling him that God will now forever dwell among His people, and there will be no more death, or mourning, or crying or pain. An angel then takes John to the top of a mountain where he is able to witness the full brilliance of the city for himself. John notices there is no temple in the city, for the “Lord, God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”
verse 11: “It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.”
verse 22: “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.
Nothing impure will ever enter it,
nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful,
but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
Do you know anyone whose name is not written in the book of life?
Do you know anyone who needs to see the LIGHT?
May we use every opportunity to speak of GOD’s GLORIOUS HEAVENLY LIGHT and share the Gospel message.
KEEP SINGING:
SHINE JESUS SHINE
May we deflect our focus from the twinkling lights of the season, to the eternal light and glory of GOD.
BE THE LIGHT that this dark world needs to see and point people to GOD, the Father of the heavenly LIGHTS!
To God be the glory great things He hath done!
Bruce & Paula
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