This Week in the BRN Family 12.22.22

The BRN team, local church members and PA/SJ churches share special Christmas greetings and blessings - it's a very merry week in the BRN family!

December 21, 2022
Macala Mays

Merry Christmas, BRN Family! For this week’s special edition of This Week in the BRN Family, several of our churches and fellow BRN brothers and sisters have shared Christmas blessings and a few of their favorite Scripture verses for this time of year. We pray these greetings bring you and your loved ones joy and peace during this season as you reflect on the greatest gift ever – Jesus Christ!

A special Christmas greeting from the BRN Team:

Christmas blessings from BRN Churches:

Christmas Greetings…

“Merry Christmas from my family to yours. I understand how the holidays can be joyful for some and yet lonely or melancholy for others. Therefore, let us remember our Savior that was born to bring us peace but also our brothers and sisters who may be in need of our presence even more than our presents.” – Pastor Larry Anderson, Great Commission Church

Verse for the Season:

“Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” – Nehemiah 8:10

Good Tidings…

“Merry Christmas! I pray that the celebration of Emmanuel and the reminder that He will come again brings joy to your heart and encourages the soul. Keep on, fellow servants.” – Jessica Beck, Director of Children’s Ministries at Mason Dixon Baptist Church

Verse for the Season:

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” – 2 Timothy 1:9-10

Merry Blessings…

“Christmas reminds us God took the first step so that we could take a step in eternity!” – Pastor Jeremiah Canfield, Reclamation Church

Verse for the Season:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” – Isaiah 9:6-7

Warm Wishes…

“Merry Christmas! May we be reminded that our Savior took on the name Immanuel for His glorious purpose. Indeed, God is with us! God is with us in our mourning. God is with us in our rejoicing! Whether we have been blessed with much or with little, what a marvelous comfort we have knowing that our Savior walks with us. I pray that you would be comforted this Christmas, knowing that it is your glorious Savior who not only has blessed you with immeasurable riches, but who also walks and strengthens you in the midst of suffering!” – Daniel Nauta, Member at Big Woods Bible Church

Verse for the Season:

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” – Isaiah 7:14

Joyful Salutations…

“Merry Christmas, fellow saints! May this Christmas season be one of rejoicing in the wonder of our Savior’s birth. God so loved the world that he sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and give us eternal life. This salvation began in the cradle, and that is what we celebrate! May the love of Christ penetrate your heart and lead you to worship this Christmas.” – Ben Burlaga, Ministry Resident at Fellowship CrossPoint Church

Verse for the Season:

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14

Peaceful Invitations…

“Grace and Peace, to you and yours during this blessed season when we celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, the Son of God who became human. I hope and pray that Jesus, the Immanuel, is truly with you now at this moment and throughout the rest of the year.” – Brian Musser, BRN Collegiate Minister at Drexel University

Verse for the Season:

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).” – Matthew 1:22-23

Cheerful Regards…

“Merry Christmas, dear brothers and sisters! This Christmas we take special comfort in the fact that Christ our Savior is the Prince of Peace! The circumstances in Ukraine continue to show the effect of sin as the impact of war continues to devastate our homeland and the Ukrainian people all over the world. We continue to pray for peace and for the cessation of the aggression and terror but also that true peace from our Lord would settle into the hearts of many that desperately need hope and a Savior from sin. The Christmas season allows us to focus on God’s gift to man and the promises which remain true regardless of what is happening here on Earth.” – Pastor Denis Sichkar, First Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church of Philadelphia

Verse for the Season:

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6

Be a part of This Week in the BRN Family

Have exciting things happening in your church!? Let us know so we can celebrate with you and share the good news with our BRN Family. Submit stories of your church accelerating Kingdom movement, loving their neighbors or celebrating baptisms on our News Tips page. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Macala Mays

In 2022, Macala Mays stepped into her current role as Associate Editor of BRN United and Podcast Producer for the Baptist Resource Network of Pennsylvania/South Jersey (BRN). Before taking this position, she worked as a contracted Podcast Producer in 2021 and a freelance writer in 2020 for the BRN. During her time with the BRN, Macala Mays has produced three different podcast series, including 50 Stories of Transformation (2021-2022), The #LovePASJ Podcast (2022), and Celebrating Cooperative Missions (2023). She also has written over 60 articles for the BRN and has been nationally published by The Baptist Paper and Baptist Press. She is also a member of the Baptist Communicators Association (BCA).

Prior to working with the BRN, Macala interned at the State Capitol of Tennessee in the Publications Division under the office of Secretary of State. She also remotely wrote news for TalkErie, a radio station in Erie, Pa., and previously worked as a News Director/Producer for WJET-TV in Erie, Pa.

Macala Mays holds a master of arts in communications from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania (EUP) as well as a bachelor of arts in journalism/public relations from EUP. During her graduate years, Macala worked as a Graduate Assistant and helped manage the on-campus radio station. She also served as a managing editor for the university’s newspaper, which led to an interest in music journalism.
Macala and her husband, Robbie, live in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, where they attend Big Woods Bible Church and Robbie serves as the Associate Pastor of Campus Ministry. Both Robbie and Macala find great joy in discipling and walking alongside college students at Lock Haven University.