Concord Chronicle

It is crazy how fast this year seems to be going by! This week holds Thanksgiving Day. It is an American national holiday. In short, this is how this holiday came about:

In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

https://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving

The English separatists seeking religious freedom, now called Pilgrims, endured many hardships in their crossing. Only half of the party survived their first winter. The local natives taught them how to live off the land. They learned new skills as they adapted to their new habitats. When they had their first successful crop of corn, they celebrated with a feast.

As you gather with family and/or friends on this day, I pray that you will be grateful for the people who have helped you get through difficult times, taught you new things, and helped you "succeed" in life. And of course, remember what God has done in your life, acknowledge what He is doing now, and praise God for what He will do in the future!

May you find encouragement in David's psalm of thanksgiving:

8 Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
9 Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
10 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
11 Look to the Lord and his strength;
seek his face always.

12 Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
13 you his servants, the descendants of Israel,
his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.
14 He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.

15 He remembers[c] his covenant forever,
the promise he made, for a thousand generations,
16 the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.

(1 Chronicles 16:8-16, NIV)

I hope that you will be able to join us for our Thanksgiving Luncheon tomorrow after church.

Major AnnMarguerite Jones

In English, the Hebrew Scriptures in our Bible have conventionally been known as “The Old Testament”. This gives rise to some unfortunate connotations as we tend to think of things that are “old” as being outdated, ineffective, or worn out. “Testament” was (and still is) just another way of saying “covenant”.

However, we should rather think of old as being used in the same way as we might describe the historic part of a city as “old town”. It’s the part that existed before any of the more modern parts grew up around it. It is central to the area even if it only has become a tourist attraction! It still has relevance and gives context to understanding the history of the rest of the area. It would make things a little less obscure if we were to refer to the 37 books of the Old Testament as “The First Covenants” or “The Foundational Covenants” since they lay the foundation of how God lays out His plan of redemption.

We have already explored the covenants God made with Noah, Abraham, and Moses. Each of those covenants builds on and expands our understanding of the great arc in time as God reveals more and more of how His plan of salvation would unfold. (I was tempted to write “arc of the covenants”, but that’s a pun that only works in English!). Of course, the Old Testament contains more than just the covenants, they form the backbone of the narrative giving context to the history of the people God used as object lessons for the rest of mankind.

As we explore these covenants in the Hebrew Scripture we cannot help but be struck by a salient fact — God is always faithful to His word, in spite of the faults and failings of the people with whom He was dealing.

Last time we left the Israelites at Mount Sinai and despite the miraculous happenings and their fervent promises to be faithful, we already see them losing sight of the part they are supposed to play in the Mosaic covenant.

Under the leadership of Moses’ successor, Joshua (in Hebrew “Yeshua”, or in English “Jesus”!), God’s people enter Canaan (the promised land) and eventually demand a king, stoking their desire to be like other nations, even although God deliberately wants them to be different than the nations around them. It is obvious in hindsight that God foresaw this eventuality and would work through it to reveal what real kingship would mean.

Saul was anointed as Israel’s first king, but he fails to obey God and is rejected.

God then chooses David as king over Israel. David becomes a successful leader, overcoming Israel’s enemies and restoring order, and he wants to build a temple for God to dwell with his people again. God responds to this desire by making a covenant with David, promising to make his name great and raise up a descendant from David’s line, whose throne and kingdom will last forever:

“Now go and say to my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth! And I will provide a homeland for my people Israel, planting them in a secure place where they will never be disturbed. Evil nations won’t oppress them as they’ve done in the past, starting from the time I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies.

“‘Furthermore, the Lord declares that he will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings! For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the rod, like any father would do. But my favor will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from your sight. Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.’” 2 Samuel 7:8-16 NLT

We now know that David’s son, Solomon, would be the one to build the glorious Temple David had envisaged, but the descendant of David who would rule in his “house” forever would not become apparent for several more centuries.

David and his descendants are commanded to remain faithful to God, following the covenantal laws. However, despite David and his sons’ failures, God still keeps his promise to provide a faithful descendant of David to reign forever.

All of these covenants thematically build on one another. After God’s covenant with David, we are left eagerly waiting for the great deliverer, the Messiah from David’s line, who will make right the fractured relationship that began in the garden of Eden. But, for that we will have to have a “New Testament” or a “Fulfilled Covenant”.

Next time we will look at the climax and fulfillment of all these covenants not just in a promise but in a person.

Blessings on you and yours,

Jim Black

SUNDAY

• 9:00 AM - Praise Team Rehearsal - Chapel
• 10:00 AM - Adult Sunday School - Library
• 10:00 AM - Sunday School - Classroom 3
• 10:00 AM - Corps Cadets - Classroom 2
• 10:15 AM - Time of Prayer - Prayer Room
• 11:00 AM - Worship Service - Chapel
• 12:30 PM - Thanksgiving Luncheon - Fireside Room

MONDAY

• 10:30 AM - Corps Christmas Decorating

TUESDAY

• 10:30 AM - Corps Christmas Decorating (if not finished)
• 6:00 PM - Men's Bible Study - Fireside Room
• 6:00 PM - Rooted: Small Discipleship Group - Library and Zoom
• 7:00 PM - Songsters Rehearsal - Chapel
• 8:00 PM - Senior Band Rehearsal - Chapel

WEDNESDAY (No CAMEO this week.)

THURSDAY (Office Closed - Thanksgiving Day

• A small team will be preparing and boxing meals for Homeless Veterans Services (Thank you for your selfless service.)

Imagine a December spent savoring the true joy and awe of Christmas.

Dreamy, right?

This 28-day journey is for families interested in a simple, meaningful celebration (even if you’ve never observed Advent before).

It will help your family take an unhurried approach to the season by:

• Diving deeper into understanding the true wonder, mystery, and excitement of God sending his only Son, Jesus, to the world.

• Connecting the celebration of today with the promises of Scripture.

• Unwrapping the true gift that Christmas brings to each one of us.

• Making more of the reality of who Jesus is as our source of hope, peace, joy, and love.

• Setting aside time to look forward to his arrival with increasing expectations.

• Doing good together.

• Creating meaningful memories with your family this season.

Along the way, we'll send you a simple, daily email to help guide you through this Advent journey, starting the First Sunday of Advent, Nov. 27.

To sign up, click here:

https://learn.caringmagazine.org/TLWC-Advent-Landing-Page?r_done=1

Important dates, rules, deadlines, links & ideas

Traditional Kettles

• The challenge will take place on either Friday, December 2nd or Saturday, December 3rd.
• Challengers may include Western territory officers, soldiers, employees, advisory organization members, Echelon members, volunteers, and local celebrities/media personalities.
• Any four consecutive hour shift is allowed on the two challenge dates.
• Sign up by close of business (local time) on Monday, November 28th.
• The challenger must ring the bell for the entire four hours at one kettle location.
• Shifts must be tagged #TCKettleChallenge22 in Kettle-Web.
• All donations must be made in person at the kettle. (no pre- or post-stuffing)
• Post ‘day of’ photos and/or videos to your personal and corps social media pages and the Kettle Academy Facebook Group page.
• Report #TCKettleChallenge22 income in Kettle-Web by close of business (local time) on Monday, December 5th.

How to sign up for the TC’s Kettle Challenge (Traditional Kettles)
Because we’ll be tracking registration and reporting via Kettle-Web, the Corps Officer or Corps Kettle Coordinator will be responsible for ensuring that all challengers’ shifts are properly tagged with #TCKettleChallenge22 in Kettle-Web.

If you're ready to accept the TC's Kettle Challenge...

• Volunteers may sign up for the TC’s Kettle Challenge via the Volunteer Opportunities site at https://volunteer.usawest.org
• For more information about Volunteer sign-in, click this link.
• For more information about Volunteer registration for a kettle shift & participation in the TC’s Kettle Challenge, click here.

Note: When a volunteer registers for a shift and enters “Please sign me up for the #TCKettleChallenge22” in the Additional Information step of the process, the person in charge of the opportunity will automatically receive an email notification. The person in charge of the opportunity will need to properly tag the shift with #TCKettleChallenge22 in Kettle-Web.

If you're managing kettles and need to tag TC Kettle Challenge shifts...

• To add the #TCKettleChallenge22 to existing income entries in Kettle-Web, click here for a link.
• To add the #TCKettleChallenge22 to new income entries in Kettle-Web, click right here.

Online Kettle

• Set up your Online Kettle/peer-to-peer fundraising campaign at this link.
• The campaign starts November 1st and ends at midnight December 31st, so set up your kettle now so you can get started!
• Results will be tracked automatically and announced by January 6, 2023.

The TC is planning to sweep all three competitions! But he wants to acknowledge and recognize our top efforts.

1st Place (for each of the three categories)

• Three-day getaway for two out of San Pedro
• A 70” TV for the corps/unit represented

2nd Place (for each of the three categories)

• Two-night stay for two at Terranea in Rancho Palos Verdes
• A 70” TV for the corps/unit represented

Plus, an article in New Frontier will feature the Top 10 in each of the three categories.

This initiative of turning our thoughts and prayers towards the same part of the world at some point in the same week is a beautiful way to unite us as a global Army family and I thank you for the commitment that you each give to this.

The Prayer Focus requests for November 2022. We will be praying for the following territories:

31 October - 06 November 2022 | Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands Territory

07 – 13 November 2022 | Mali Region

14 – 20 November 2022 | USA Southern Territory

21 – 27 November 2022 | Norway, Iceland, and the Faeroes Territory

NORWAY, ICELAND, AND THE FAEROES TERRITORY

Territorial Leaders: Commissioners Knud and Lisbeth Welander

Prayer requests:

Norway

• Pray for more children, youth, and families to come and feel at home in TSA, so they can flourish and grow in Christian faith.
• To open our communities for immigrants and refugees and strengthen our commitment outside our own territory (countries).
• That our fellowships can be inclusive places where we naturally can talk about faith, growing and living out our faith, finding our places where we can serve God in our communities.

The Faeroes

• Pray that God will Show us what His plans for us are, we want to listen to His voice, so we can be a Salvation Army for the future on the Faeroes Islands.
• Pray that we as leaders will listen and follow his guidance to be able to serve all people.
• Pray that His kingdom will grow, and new people will join The Salvation Army and become soldiers.

Iceland

• Pray against unfair treatment of asylum seekers in our country and against growing violence between especially young people.
• In our corps and other places where we work pray that God will help us to care for the people He has sent to us and give us courage and strength to continue being an including fellowship for everyone coming and taking part in our activities.

Email: annmarguerite.jones@usw.salvationarmy.org
Website: https://www.SalvationArmyConcordCA.org
Location: 3950 Clayton Road, Concord, CA, USA
Phone: (925) 676-6180
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tsaconcord