This month's theme is about heavenly messengers and heavenly messages - "Angels we have heard on high." In both Hebrew and Greek the word translated angels is the word for messenger. Sometimes the word is used for heavenly beings and other times it is used of human beings. It is someone who bears a message either in word or in deed for the Lord. Sometimes actions speak louder than words.Let's talk heavenly messengers for a moment. One of the main ways God is referred to in the Old Testament is the Lord of hosts. You may be surprised to hear that that description of God is used several hundred times and it refers to the heavenly host of angels that exist with God in the heavenly realm. These angelic beings seem to have existed before the foundation of the world (Job 38:4-7) and exist to do God's will in the heavenlies and on earth as well. They are powerful beings, capable of destroying hundreds of thousands of people at a time (2 Kings 19:35). They can be visible or invisible. Remember Balaam, whose donkey could see the angel but he was kept from seeing it? Remember Elisha's servant whose eyes were not opened to see the angelic army that stood by to protect him from the king of Aram and his armies (2 Kings 6)?Angels are amazing creatures who bring important messages. They were present for the creation of the world. They announced the birth of Jesus. They took John on a tour of heaven in Revelation. They attended Jesus in his most difficult moments (Matthew 4:11 & Luke 22:42).Here is what you might find even more amazing than that...angels exist to minister to you as well! When was the last time you read Hebrews 1:14 and stopped to think about how significant that is?

“Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?”

If that wasn't enough Paul tells us in 1 Corinthian 6 something that is difficult to understand but entirely fascinating,

" When any of you has a grievance against another, do you dare to take it to court before the unrighteous, instead of taking it before the saints? ² Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? ³ Do you not know that we are to judge angels—to say nothing of ordinary matters? " - 6:1-3

Angels are extraordinary beings who do extraordinary things but let's not stop there. Let's also talk about human messengers. God has also appointed us to be his messengers here on earth. He has entrusted us with a message that even angels longed to look for (1 Peter 1:12). Interestingly enough that verse doesn't actually say "look" it literally says "bend over." The angels were "bending over" [to see] the things that we as Christians often think of as common knowledge. When Gabriel told Mary thew news about Jesus it wasn't just news to Mary it was also news to Gabriel. When we share the message of Jesus with people it is not a common, everyday thing...it is extraordinary information that we have been tasked with sharing with others. We are God's messengers.You have been entrusted with a precious and valuable message. Will you share it?This month we will be talking about messengers and messages. We will be talking about preaching and teaching. We will be talking about angels and humans. We will be talking about how we can better carry on the message that God has entrusted with us. We hope you enjoy our journey through December and pray that it encourages you to carry on your role as a messenger for Jesus!