Appendix

Hello church family! I’ll be honest – when Greg indicated that we would be working through Malachi during advent this year, I was surprised. At first glance, Malachi doesn't feel like the most "Fa La La" and "Joy to the World" series we could have picked. And then I got assigned the final bit of text, and found within it, something I had never seen before.

The last three verses of Malachi are the epilogue—not just for Malachi, but the entire Old Testament. And they also point towards the New Testament and the person of Jesus in some really profound ways. To the point where I encouraged some of you that a Dragon might be an appropriate decoration to include in your manger scenes (Revelation 12:4-5). I believe Malachi deserves more of a prominent place in our Christmas Narrative. 

What follows Malachi 4:4-6 is the 400 years of silence. This is where the people of God wonder, "Is God going to do what He said He was going to do?" We, today, have the benefit of skipping over those 400 years with the single turn of a page to see the rest of the story. But for the people of Israel, hope was dwindling. Their faith was shrinking. Until, finally, God did what He said He was going to do.

This weekend we wrap up Malachi, but we will also be teeing up the greatest story ever to be told—the birth of Jesus! We will celebrate this next week through our Christmas Eve Services, and I can’t wait! 

Brody Jespersen
Senior Associate Pastor

We are excited to offer both in-person and online Christmas Eve services this year, with five options for you to choose from! Seats will fill up quickly, so head to spac.ca/christmas to reserve your seat.

Want to help on the day? Click here to find out more information.

• December 21st at 7 pm (in person)
• December 23rd at 7 pm (in person & online)
• December 24th at 3 pm, 5 pm, and 7 pm (in person & online)

Please note: The Dec. 21st service will be both recorded and photographed.

The new year coming up is a time to reset and give priority to what’s most important. Our church has a tradition of collectively doing this reset by starting the year with a week of prayer called Solemn Assembly.

Each morning you’ll receive an email that’ll guide you through a short time of prayer. There are three in-person gatherings available at the church—January 10th, 12th, and 14th—with the 12th also being available online. We’ll have the privilege of hearing from author and pastor, Ken Shigematsu.

Visit spac.ca/solemnassembly for more details and to register for any or all of the dates.