FEW THOUGHTS 12-6-2019
LOS ANGELES DISTRICT
Merry Christmas 2019! 

Even though we are only a few days into this final month of the calendar year, I still want to wish all of you a very Merry CHRIST mas May the Lord shine through you each and every day this month! As for Leslie and me, we have already finished decorating our home for the advent season. The tree is up, as is the garland, lights, village scene, and all of our nativity scenes from all over the world. We have collected nativity scenes since we were first married, and we still collect them each year. In the photo above, you can see that our coffee table is flooded with manger scenes, and this is only a taste of all the scenes we have around our home. Here is one of our first manger scenes from Ecuador, a gift for our first Christmas from my folks 35 years ago. And you know how things go… once you complete the work of decorating the house, you’ve got to kick back and relax. So here I am relaxing by the fireplace enjoying the warmth!
Another one of our favorite nativity scenes is one we picked up in Bethlehem while visiting the Holy Land several years ago. This one is made of olive wood. But, on Monday night at the L.A. District Christmas Dinner you (Los Angeles District) presented a new nativity scene to us. Take a look at the globe with Joseph and Mary and Baby Jesus!
Leslie loves to decorate, so we have quite a lot of stuff around the home. Each year she makes up advent gift bags for our two daughters. We sent all the bags to Spencer who is living in Oregon so that she could open her bag each day in advent, and you can see that Aubree’s bags are all on the staircase. Then we have the village scene, along with photos with Santa since our two daughters were first born and more. This is a very special time of the year. Merry Christmas!!!
ENCOURAGEMENT: 

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  (Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV) 

I love these verses from the pen of Paul. In fact, I really cannot remember just when, but I had to memorize these verses in the KJV many years ago while attending boarding school and to this date, I can still recall these verses from memory. GRACE… It is by God’s grace that we are saved, through faith, and not by anything you or I can do. We can never work our way to heaven. We can’t receive salvation by or through works. Salvation comes to us through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus came from above, through the line of some messed up people, and He has come to us who were messed up as well. It is for this reason, I also love the very first chapter in the New Testament. I’m so glad that Matthew, the Tax Collector, thought it through to include the Genealogy of Jesus, as the Introduction to the Gospel he has written. The reason is… There is Grace in those Genes!
 
I would encourage you sometime during this advent season to spend a few moments studying Matthew Chapter 1. Go back and review the names in the line of Jesus. You will find names from various cultures, languages, nations, and people. You will find names attached with so many sins. There are thieves, haters, arrogant, adulterers, faithless, murderers and so much more. Many of these individuals repented along the way, and God’s grace was poured out on them. But, it is interesting to learn a little bit more about God’s working and coming to us as we study the line of Christ. We don’t see the name of Joseph, Jacob’s son (one of my favorite OT characters), nor do we find Moses or Joshua. Where’s Daniel or Shadrack, Meshack & Abednego? None of the OT prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Hosea. Yet, some of these names are ones we hardly know anything about. But they are there. There is grace in these genes!
 
And here we are, more than 2000 years later, after the birth of Jesus, and you & I have experienced the grace of God at work once again. That is why I love to sing about the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.  “Wonderful GRACE of Jesus, greater than all my sin…” “GRACE, GRACE, God’s GRACE, GRACE that will pardon and cleanse within…” “Silent night, Holy night, Son of God, loves pure light. Radiant beams from Thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming GRACE. Jesus, Lord at Thy birth, Jesus Lord at Thy birth.” He rules the world with Truth and GRACE…”
 
In this first week in advent I thank the Lord and praise Him for His unending GRACE!  
Church Ministries:
Santa Maria Cornerstone:  A few Sundays ago Leslie and I drove up to Santa Maria to share in a very special service with Pastor Chad & Haley Bohi, along with their staff and church. What a special day we enjoyed together! The worship was fabulous, and then we entered a time for baptisms. I believe nearly 8-10 people were baptized, followed with a wonderful dinner provided by the church. It is great to see churches like these alive and doing well. To God be the glory! 
Northridge New Life:  This past Sunday I made my way over to the Northridge Church for worship. Pastor Josh and Mary Santin were away for the Thanksgiving weekend, but the staff and leadership team did a great job filling in. I’m grateful for the variety of ministries transpiring on this campus with ministry to the Arabs, Koreans, and Spanish speaking as well as in English. God is good! 
District Ministries:
Acción de Gracias:  Tuvimos un buen tiempo juntos en el Family Life Center de la Iglesia en Newhall el día sábado, 23 de noviembre. Gracias pastores e iglesias que llegaron allí para la reunión, alabanzas, mensajes, y almuerzo! We had a great time together at NewNaz for our Spanish speaking Thanksgiving meal and service. Thank you, Pastor Vicente Cadenas for organizing the entire day. What a special time Leslie and I enjoyed with the many churches that were present! 
District Christmas Dinner:  I especially want to thank the District Staff (Shay and Vania) along with the DAB and Planning Committee for the work you did in making this evening possible! Thank you, DONORS, who provided funds for our special gathering. Thank you, NewNaz, for hosting the event! And thank you, Pastors, staff and attendees for coming! We enjoyed a very special time together and I am so thankful for all of the participants throughout the evening in music, reading, speaking and more. This is always a very special time together with the district family! And then… THANK YOU for the special gifts we received from the you, our district family. We are so blessed!  
As you know, it poured on Thanksgiving Thursday with very cold conditions throughout the southland. Snow levels were low and near record conditions.  Our desert churches were covered in snow. This hills were blanketed with snow and the Friday after Thanksgiving was beautiful… but COLD! Since it has been a tradition of mine to race on Thanksgiving morning, a group of four from our valley decided to race in the Burbank 5K no matter what the conditions would be. We met out there, and the temps were near freezing and the rain was very cold. YES, it rained on us the entire race. But, it was fun! Below is a photo of our small group after the race. I now sit and stare out my office window towards the Mount Wilson antennas, and the hills are calling for me. I’ve told the staff here in the office, that when it snows up there again, I am taking off for the top. I want to run in the snow on top of Mt. Wilson. Unfortunately, this week’ rain was too warm and melted the snow that was there. So… my question for you, I am looking for someone to join me in this run to the top next time we get some snow. Anyone?
 
I love you all and I wish you a wonderful advent and a very Merry CHRISTmas!

Experiencing God’s Grace,

Greg A. Garman
Los Angeles District Superintendent
Church of the Nazarene
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