THE CHRISTIAN SOLDIER -- WINTER 2025
A LETTER FROM THE PASTOR
Hello Calvary family and welcome to December! It’s hard to believe that we are in the last month of the year already, but here we are. Another year almost complete. I am sure that your year has been filled with ups and downs, but that through it all that you were able to see all of the things that you have to be thankful for. God has been so good to us!
As I reflect over this past year, I am reminded of some of the messages that God gave to us this year. Our theme has been “Lift Him Up” and I hope that it’s still our goal to do that each and every day. Bishop Dibble kicked off the year with “Start a Fire” and what a great way to start a new year! We heard these messages: "Fill Me Up", "Broken Vessels", "Moving Forward Together", "An Ordinary Stone", "A Week After Easter", "The God of Again", "I Love My Church!", "Undeserved Loved", "I’m Gonna Make It!", "The Hand of the Lord is Upon You", "New Beginnings" and "The God Who Sees". We went through The Wilderness Series and The Altar Series. We shared testimonies during our This is My Story Series as well as our great kids' services.
It’s been a great year and God spoke in powerful ways. I hope that you have been able to hear the voice of the Lord as He has tried to speak into our lives this past year. I believe that God is trying to draw us closer to Him and my prayer is that you will allow God to do the work inside you that He wants to do.
We are now in the Christmas season. It’s the time of year when we celebrate our Savior. I am so thankful that The Lord Jesus came to Earth for you and for me. As you all know, I love the message of Hope, and Christmas is a season of Hope. For the Jewish nation, they had waited and prayed for generations for their Messiah to come. Finally, He arrived, but He was different than what they had imagined, and so the majority rejected the very one that came to save them. They turned their back on hope.
For us today, He is still our hope! Let’s make room for Him this season. Let’s hold to the hope that anchors our soul, that keeps us in trying times, that encourages us to keep moving forward, in spite of difficulties. Let me make a profound statement: If we don’t lose hope, we will always have hope! My hope is not in myself, or in my ability, but my hope is in Jesus! Don’t turn your back on hope, but cling to it, not only in this Christmas season, but every day!
He’s no longer a baby in a manger, or a man walking on this Earth, nor a man hanging on a cross. He is now our Savior! In our time of trouble, we need only to turn to Him, to call His Name and He will show up. As the old Christmas hymn says: Oh come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, Oh come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord! For He alone is worthy! For He alone is worthy! For He alone is WORTHY!
May God bless you and keep you and may we all have a very Merry Christmas!
Pastor Dan