Weekly Update December 16

"I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree. But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found" (Psalms 37:35-36).

Sometimes it is challenging to know what to do with verses like this from Psalm 37. Psalms like this are called "imprecatory" which means they contain a prayer for evil to come upon a person.

Living a Christian life isn't easy. How we spend our time delighting in God, treasuring His Word, and living our lives by His Word will seem foolish to a culture always seeking after its passions and lusts. Orienting our lives to bring God glory often means we lack popularity, status, leisure, material means, and sometimes friendships. When we look at unbelievers who are not straining to bring their lives into conformity with God, and who seem to be spreading themselves "like a green laurel tree," it can become easy to say with the Israelites, "would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

To this, God replies: "in just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace" (Psalms 37:10-11). What a comfort it should be for God's children that they will indeed inherit the land.

This Wednesday, December 18th, we will be having a Refuge Christmas Party for children, students, volunteers, and any parents who wish to attend in the gym from 6:30-8:00pm. We will have pizza, games, crafts, and a devotional. I hope to see you there!

This Sunday we will continue our Family Sunday School Class at 10am on the bottom floor of the fellowship hall building (the gym).

There will be no Refuge Hangout this Sunday night. Instead, there will be a dress rehearsal in the sanctuary at 6:00pm for the Candlelight Service. Refuge Hangout will resume on December 29th.

On Friday, January 10th, all first-rotation Hyfi volunteers are invited to the Tucker's house at 6:00pm for dinner (117 Bluebell Ridge Ln, Weaverville). This will be a time to thank our volunteers, a time of fellowship, and also a time to reorganize and prepare for the relaunch of Hyfi on the 15th. We will continue with our rotation-one volunteers through the end of January. Beginning February 5th, we will start a new six-week rotation with the rotation-two volunteers. An updated calendar showing the exact rotations until the end of the school year can be found here. Right now the last week of Wednesday night ministries is scheduled for June 11th.

Beginning Saturday, January 18th, from 7am to 8am we will be launching a men's Bible study on the book "Home Reformation" (location tbd). Once a month for the next year we will be considering what it means to have and lead a biblical household. At our first meeting, we will be covering chapters 1-2. If you would like to attend or are interested, please let me know so that I can get you a copy of the book ahead of time.

It's time to start thinking about camp, and about registering your children for camp. We have two upcoming camps for kids and students. You can find more information about both camps in the attached document. Registration for both camps will begin on November 1st, and go through January 28th. There are limited spots for each, especially for Snowbird, so all available spots will be first come, first serve. Please see me or call me (980-219-1876) if you have questions or wish to register your children. A deposit of $50 per child is required to register and hold a spot for your child. The remaining balance of $100 will be due by January 28th (the total cost of each camp is $150). Our goal is that any child who wants to attend camp is able to attend camp. If your family is not financially able to send your kid(s) to camp, please reach out to me, so that a solution can be reached for your kid(s) to attend camp.

May the Lord bless and keep you and your family over the upcoming week,

Matt Tucker out!!!