.

.

.

.

This is our annual Novembering service where we take time to be with one another as we mark the passing of family and friends of those in our body. We also desire to acknowledge together the many other losses people have experienced in this past year, loss of health, jobs, community, independence, and many other forms of losses. We hold these special services to honor and remember those we love, invite God’s healing presence into those tender places of grief and loss, and be reminded of the solid assurance and hope of Heaven.

.

.

.

.

Back in Jerusalem, the apostle James is arrested and killed by Herod. Peter is also arrested by Herod, but an angel releases him. James and Peter both lived with open hands to the work of God. One is not “rescued;” one is“rescued.” Meanwhile, Herod and the Jewish people, grasp for power and control, holding on tight to what they know, but all that comes is death. When we live a surrendered life, God can use our living and our dying to advance the God’s work.