The Birth of Christ.

And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. - Isaiah 11:2

Advent Reading: Isaiah 40:3-5,11:1-5 What child is this who has been born to us?

-THIS SUNDAY'S TEXT-

The Birth of Christ

This Sunday, we will begin our time in James 3:13-18. This part of the passage begins with a question – Who is wise and understanding among you? Then it continues with some answers to the question:

Verse 13 – By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.

Verse 17 – Wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy, and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

Verse 18 – And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

The story of the birth of Jesus the Christ is a story of miracles, messiness, mercy, messages, and meekness. The miracle of Mary’s pregnancy caused quite a stir. Can you imagine Joseph’s thoughts when he found out Mary was pregnant and he knew it was not because of him.

Read Matthew 1:18-25

Why would Joseph divorce Mary?

While Joseph resolved to divorce Mary, what else does the verse explain about his character?

What happened while Joseph was patiently considering these things?

What do we learn about God while reading verses 20-23?

Verses 24-25 – what was Joseph’s response?

PRAYER & THANKSGIVING Pray for Matthew and Heather Bond & the church they serve - Ekklessia

Continue to pray for Mike and Sandy Jaeger.

Ask God to bring the River Family to maturity in Christ and to unite us in Christ.

Pray for the elders as we seek the Lord regarding our Youth and Children's ministries. End of Year Giving All contributions for 2020 must be received by the church office via mail, or online giving by 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 31, 2020, or post-marked NO later than December 31, 2020. Stock transfers must be completed by December 31, 2020 as well. Any gift received or post-marked on or after January 1, 2021 will be credited to 2021. Please only mail contributions to our P.O. Box address. The River Bible Church, P.O. Box 2413, Mountain Home, AR 72654 If you have any questions regarding a year end gift please email the church office at: theriver@suddenlinkmail.com .

Sunday School & Life Group Options

We have started back up our Sunday School classes. Pray and contact one of the leaders below to ask questions and sign up for a SS Class. The following are opportunities to gather and grow in fellowship & faith in Christ:

After Service

Encouragers SS Class In Main Sanctuary contact: John Hilvert 870-405-7111

Will van der Hoeven' Class Lobby Class Room and Zoom A Study of Isaiah contact: Will van der Hoeven 512-636-3821

Wirt McKee's Class Zoom only Diving Deeper into Sermon contact: Wirt Mckee 870-404-5398

There will also be Sunday School for both children, and youth during the Sunday school hour.

contact: Eric Smeltzer 870-421-4341

Life Groups

There are two different Life Groups that meet on Monday evenings:

contact: Russel Tucker 870-350-0809 contact: Nathan Jackson 970-301-1676