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Greetings and Salutations, reader!

November hits double digits today, which means Thanksgiving is just fourteen days away. I hope you'll be able to join us for our annual Thanksgiving Worship Gathering on Nov 20. Each year, I leave our time together so thankful for God's work in you and through you, as you share during the Open Mic time all that fills your heart with gratitude.

Hopefully this week's article from our One Thought series from John 1 will help you be thankful for the person of Jesus. So read on!
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And-Full

This past Tuesday was Election Day. For most positions on the ballot, voters had two choices. They could either choose the Democratic candidate or the Republican candidate.

This seems very typical for American culture. We are a nation of "or."
  • Left or Right
  • Up or Down
  • Win or Lose
  • iPhone or Android
  • Hot or Cold
This "or" mentality bleeds into today's One Thought. As we continue through the first 18 verses of John 1 here on the blog, today we come to verses 14-17:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, This was he of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.) And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

I have noticed many people are either Grace-oriented or Truth-oriented. But according to verses 14 and 17, Jesus was not living in the "or."
Notice the Apostle John described Jesus as being full of grace AND truth. He wasn't simply on the grace side of the spectrum, showing kindness to people but downplaying the importance of truth. Nor was He on the truth side, trampling people with His knowledge of right and wrong. He was full of both Grace and Truth. He was living in the AND.
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May this thought lead you to take a moment to thank Jesus for being a man of Grace AND Truth. Then may it inspire you to ask God to help you be the same. If you are more Grace-oriented, ask God to give you a passion for the truth of the gospel. And if you are a Truth-lover, ask God to overwhelm you His heart for sinful humanity.
In this with you,
Erin_sig
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Fill a Bottle

Just over a week left to get those baby bottles filled with coins, bills, checks, or gold bullions to support Alternatives Pregnancy Center, who work to empower families to choose life and walk them through their pregnancies.
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Thanksgiving Service

We hope you can make it to our Thanksgiving Service on Nov. 20. There will be no Kids Creek (or 5th/6th grade class) so we can all worship together.
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New Arrival

Josh and Hillary Smith (our missionaries in Cambodia) gave birth to a healthy baby boy via C-section. Be praying for healing and medical bills to be met.
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Happy Veterans Day

To all veterans of all branches: Thank you for your sacrifice, your bravery, and the example you set for us all. In short, thank you for your service!
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