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Good day dear hearts, I love you. Here we are one week after the big Turkey Day, feeling good after a great meal. We had the privilege of serving close to 100 people on Thanksgiving Day and had a wonderful time of fellowship. While we can celebrate our good time there are many who struggled this year. The food banks were hit hard this year, many have dwindled their savings to get by, and we are told inflation is slowing down. To me, that means the price increases are going down, but overall prices are not going down.

For us the Christian, those of us who have a relationship with God, we are to be thankful for what God has blessed us with. We have homes, families we love, a country which gives us rights and freedoms. And who but God should we give our thanks to. The purpose of the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament is to provide poetry and music for the expression of praise, worship and confession to God. These Psalms were written for Israel over almost a 1,000-year period before the time Jesus was born. The authors were many. Some but not all are David, Solomon, and Moses. There are 150 Psalms in total published in the Book of Psalms.

Today I would like to share Psalm 100. As I said a moment ago there were numerous authors, some known and some not known. We don't know who wrote Psalm 100, "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of the pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."

We are told to acknowledge that the Lord is God! How can we do that? We acknowledge Him when we shout our praises, appreciate His status as our Creator, accept His authority in every detail of our life, enthusiastically agree with the guidance He gives us, and express our thanks for His unfailing love. You do most of this for your spouse, child or grandchild. Will you give your Creator such praise and thanks? For some of you, you have never done this. I want to go back to the beginning of Pastor's Corner in January, 2023. Remember our New Year Resolution was to turn to God, understand Him, become part of Him and show thanks for all He has done for you in your life.

God is our Creator; we did not create ourselves. Many people live as though they are the creator and center of their own little world. Are you one of them? This mindset leads to pride, greed, idolatry and if everything else should be taken away, a loss of hope itself. But when we realize that God created us and gives us all we have, we will want to give to others as God gave to us.

God alone is worthy of being worshipped. What's your attitude to that? Do you willingly and joyfully come into God's presence. Once you establish an intimate relationship with God, you will joyfully enter into His presence every day! This psalm tells us to remember God's goodness and dependability, and then to worship with Thanksgiving and prayer. So, as we are coming closer to the end of 2023, I hope you're still holding up your New Year resolution to give God a try.

Keep Thanksgiving in your heart as we enter the Christmas Season and in the world of the Christian Church the Advent Season, which is a four-week period. We will speak much of the coming of Jesus.

Remembering the joys, cries and fears of Mary and Joseph as they faithfully embark on this trip, doing God's work by bringing into the world and caring for God's son, Jesus until He was ready to change the world.

Christmas is a wonderful time of the year; the preparation of the holiday, the special times and events during the Christmas season we all get excited about. We can't forget about the big guy, Santa who brings joy to every kid's heart! But I ask you please keep in your mind throughout this time and remember the real reason for the season is Jesus, because His birth is the beginning of something for all of us in eternity. God Bless.

Lord watch over our community. Bless our children. Heal the sick and broken-hearted. Let your Spirit hover over our community. Amen. May God Bless you as we enter this holiday season.

Contact me anytime. Pastor Vince Chiaramonte, 570-853-3988; Susquehanna Christian Community Church 1361 Main Street; or email clearmountain2158@gmail.