Happy New Year to our entire BCOC family near and afar! This picture was taken at our annual staff Christmas party on Friday, December 9, 2022. We gathered at Rene and Kathy Rizk’s home out in the country for an Old-Fashioned Christmas celebration. We ate delicious homemade food, played games, sang Christmas carols, laughed, talked, and enjoyed one another. We remembered those who weren’t with us this year and those who left the earth before us.
We want to say to all of you that it is an honor and joy to serve you. Each one of us on our team have different gifts that we offer to make a place for the presence of God every week. We want to say a great big thank you to all our staff, volunteers, and leaders who make great things happen. Behind the scenes we have countless people who are praying, preparing, studying, typing, writing, fixing, building, creating, learning, and meeting to give our very best.
Churches aren’t perfect because people aren’t perfect, but they will always be places where love will be found. They are places where you can come just like you are and meet a God who is thrilled that you are His son and His daughter. They are places where you can close your eyes, be still and hear from One who knows your tomorrow, knows your pain and joys from yesterday and knows the plan for you today. They are places where you can be a friend and make a new friend. They are places where faith and hope live. They are places that will stretch you and help you grow. They are places where it is okay to ask difficult questions and not always have the answers.
Last weekend during the first morning service of the New Year (January 1, 2023) when Pastor Joan finished her sermon entitled, “What will you see in 2023?” and Tim played softly on the keyboard, I heard these words in my heart:
Holy Spirit, come.
Holy Spirit, come.
Some have lost their dreams.
Others lost their song.
But I am dancing over you again.
I am standing here – over you, in you and through you
I am here.
I stand with you.
I stand over you.
When you look at Me, all will begin to see.
All you must do is, “Look”
Look only at Me.
And yes, you will be free.
It is my prayer in 2023, that if you are one who lost your dream or your song this past year, that you will come alive once again and dare to believe. It starts with remembering a simple truth: “Jesus is with me.” Let that sink in. Jesus is with me. Oh, that makes all the difference! Whatever you need, Jesus is with you.
We’re asking you, Holy Spirit, to come. Everything changes when You come. Come when we least expect it. Come when it’s convenient. Come when it’s not. Disrupt our plans. We commit to looking only at You, Lord. We love you, Amen.
Don’t ever forget your value. The Father knows every hair upon your head. It’s time to dance again.