Great coffee…

How would you describe a great coffee shop?

Using words to paint a picture of something can be a challenge. But since the topic is coffee, I am going to give it a shot.

I think a great coffee shop always smells good. When I enter I like to pause and take in a deep breath of the aroma of roasting beans. Then I love to hear the sound of beans grinding, latte’s steaming, and people talking and laughing. When it comes to the décor, the floors, ceilings, and walls should be simple and clean but still, make you wonder what one would learn “if walls could talk.”

Of course, a great coffee shop must serve great coffee…I am a simple guy (and I tend toward cheap) so I typically drink drip coffee. My favorite is smooth, strong and loaded with caffeine.

A few weeks ago, I tasted a special coffee and it flooded my memory with times back in college when I used to ride dirt bikes on trails in the woods of Wisconsin.

A great coffee shop will have comfortable seating to relax and visit or tables where one can get some work done. Wifi is non-negotiable.

In my opinion, the only way to make greatness when it comes to a coffee shop is to boast a nice view of the city, an outdoor patio with a fire pit and freshly baked bread.

I have experienced all of the above at Messenger Coffee which is located just a few blocks from New Life and now I want to keep going back.

So here’s the tie-in…This Sunday we will have good coffee at New Life. I will also continue our sermon series entitled, “Beyond the Manger” with a sermon from John 1:1-18. Instead of describing coffee, the Apostle John describes Jesus Christ.

In his description, he draws from personal experience with Jesus and uses words like ‘life’, ‘light’ and ‘Word’ to compile a prologue to the book that is absolutely amazing. I look forward to sharing more on Sunday at 10:45 am.

In the meantime, maybe you can find a great coffee shop and read through John 1 to prepare for the service on Sunday. Have a great evening,

Troy

Announcement: Tonight is our Christmas Gathering, at 7pm at New Life. You will not want to miss it :).

O Christmas Tree…

This past week we loaded up the family and made the trip to Minnesota to celebrate Thanksgiving with my extended family. The weather was unseasonably warm and that was especially nice when it came to outdoor activities.

Our traditional trek to cut down a Christmas Tree was no exception.

It took about thirty minutes to drive out to the farm. When we arrived, we went into the shop and loaded up on candy canes, asked for the latest advice on trees and secured a few saws.

It seemed that every time we located one that gave us hope, we found a reason to reject it. Typical reasons would be that it was bare on one side or what looked like one tree was actually two or three growing together or the branches were sparse, etc.

So, we walked around for an hour looking for perfection then we started to get tired and hungry and all those imperfections seemed to melt away and we settled on something nice, but certainly less than perfect.

Ultimately, we got home with our tree and went to work setting it up. We trimmed some branches, put it on the stand, gave it water and then Leigh-Ann brought in her magic that included ribbon, ornaments, and lights.

We have worked hard to make our imperfect tree look perfect.

Kind of reminds me of religion.

At times people work hard to hide their imperfection. However, this time of year we celebrate much more than religion, we celebrate substitution.

Jesus, the Son of God came to earth took on flesh, lived a perfect life and then was crucified, buried and rose again victorious over death.

The story that we love to tell is that instead of having to “dress up” our imperfections with good works, we can admit our imperfection and by faith trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus as sufficient to take our place. Jesus is our Perfect Substitute.

We are in the middle of a Christmas sermon series entitled, “Beyond the Manger.” This Sunday, Pastor James will bring a sermon from John 7:37-39 entitled, Christmas — Drink for our Souls. I know it will be a great reminder of the hope we have been given through Jesus.

I hope to see you soon,

Troy

Announcement: We would love for you to join us on Friday, December 8^th at 7:00 pm. There is more information on the New Life Christmas Gathering page online.