Your Voice

Thanks for giving, pastor says

As many of you know, I turned 50 years old this summer. I decided to do something that expresses the heart of Expedition Church in Livingston, Montana, toward this community we love so much.

So I asked people to give $50 for my 50th birthday to Expedition Church. We would take that money and put every dollar towards blessing individual families and organizations that we believe in.

The result was overwhelming. This past week we received our last (I guess) $50. That check put our total at $71,900.03!

B.A. Winans Elementary School, The Way Christian School, Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch, Operation Christmas Caring, ASPEN (Abuse Support & Prevention Education Network), Livingston Food Resource Center, Kingdom Camp, the Gardiner Fire Relief Fund, Corrine Couch’s Crochet, local businesses, car repairs for a single mom, some funds for a support dog for a little girl with autism and individuals with various needs have been the recipients. I estimate that over 1,000 individual families were helped in some way through this effort.

We are so blessed to have so many friends and churches across the country that believe in our ministry here and want to bless this awesome community. I tell people all the time that no one loves Livingston like Jesus does, and the church should reflect that love.

Thanks to each person that made this birthday the best I’ve ever had. #50for50 #ExpeditionLiving #GospelLife

Pastor Darryl Brunson
Expedition Church

EDITOR’S NOTE — Read more about Expedition Church and other church planting efforts in Montana at tabonline.org/montana.

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O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine Advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight!
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
“O Come, O Come,
Emmanuel”

Come, thou long expected Jesus;
Born to set thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in thee.
“Come, Thou Long
Expected Jesus”

Joy has dawned upon the world,
Promised from creation —
God’s salvation now unfurled,
Hope for ev’ry nation.
Not with fanfares from above,
Not with scenes of glory,
But a humble gift of love —
Jesus born of Mary.
“Joy Has Dawned”

With the angels let us sing
Alleluia! to our King;
Christ the Savior is born.
“Silent Night”

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Letters to the Editor

TAB is an outstanding gem for Alabama Baptists and beyond. Thanks for a most informative tool.

Darryl Wood
Vincent, Ala.

I enjoyed seeing the “Find a Word” puzzle included in the Nov. 26 issue of The Alabama Baptist. After opening TAB to the page, I had to stay with the puzzle until I finished.

I still read the Sunday School lessons each week, as well as much of the paper. The puzzle was an extra treat for me. Thank you for your work.

Colleen Davis
Jackson’s Gap, Ala.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Be sure to check out the Christmas word search on page 13 of this week’s issue and let us know what you think.

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I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.

Charles Dickens
“A Christmas Carol”

Rescuing a climber trapped on the face of a towering cliff. Descending to a diver in trouble on the floor of the ocean. Digging out a child covered in the rubble of an earthquake.

Stories of heroic rescues rivet our attention because deep in our souls all of us sense we are trapped and helpless, caught in the chaos around us and the rubble inside us.

Christmas is the ultimate rescue. We were caught in the grip of unbreakable darkness with no power to bring ourselves to the light. But God, right on time, came to our rescue!

He did the unbelievable, the unthinkable. He sent Himself in the form of His Son out of the glory of heaven and into the pit of our darkness. Through His own death and resurrection, the Son tore a gaping, forever hole in the darkness, vaporized the darkness with the light of His glory. He then invited us to fall into His arms and allow Him to carry us through that great opening in the darkness into life and light in the Father’s love and presence.

This is the true Christmas story. Let us worship with joy and reverence.

Bob Adams
Retired pastor

In sharp contrast to the angelic announcement, the simplicity of the nativity scene would have been unremarkable. In some ways, He appeared to be like any other newborn of the time.

And yet, this baby was different. What other baby received such angelic fanfare? What other child was proclaimed by prophets, angels and shepherds?

Once the shepherds found the baby, they proclaimed to everyone what they had seen and heard about this child. They were, in fact, the first witnesses to testify of the newborn Christ.

Douglas Wilson
Sunday School lesson commentary

Evangelism is not just sharing a recitation of the old, old story; it is sharing the reality of the old, old story.

Franklin L. Kirksey
Robertsdale, Ala.

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From the Twitterverse

@Blackwell_Kevin
In light of the Advent, John Stott reminds of why we are called to evangelism, “And now He calls us to enter other people’s worlds, as He entered ours. All authentic mission is incarnational mission.”

@PaulTripp
The gospel will require you to look at what in yourself you would like to deny, so that you will seek what you didn’t know you needed.

@drtonyevans
In order to live by a biblical standard, you have to know what the biblical standard is. That’s where so much of our society has gone wrong. We have gotten too far away from God’s word.

@SamAllberry
Come all ye faithless, joyless and defeated! Christmas is for the weary, for the messed-up and for the broken. If your life isn’t Instagrammable, Christmas is for you. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”

@timkellernyc
Christian faith is not a negotiation but a surrender. It means to take your hands off your life.
— from “Hidden Christmas”

@macbrunson
If I am distressed. it is because of a concern for pastors who are struggling, distressed and depressed themselves. Many teeter on walking away — to what they do not know. My heart breaks for them. My plea is stay connected and stay at the task.

@challies
“Jesus is for life, not just for Christmas. He’s not just the reason for the season; He’s the meaning of everything. He’s not just the point of Christmas; He’s the purpose of life.” — Tim Chester

@DL_Staples
What would the world look like if Christians looked like this: “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart and a humble mind” (1 Pet. 3:8).

@OfGlibal
What does the Great Commission look like?

A church that sends the gospel, through a messenger of the gospel,

To a place without the gospel, so people can receive the gospel,

And gather in the name of the gospel, to send out the gospel.

#fullcircle