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COGOP DECEMBER 1, 2019

Young Lakes Connected

A letter that calls for passion and faithfulness

CHRISTMAS
Commemorate the
birth of our Lord
and Savior Jesus
Christ.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2019 HAPPY NEW

YEARS
GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD, FOR HE IS GOOD; HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER. - 1
Make sure you start
CHRONICLES 16:34 2020 giving him
We know that we are late, but we hope that you had an awesome praise!
thanksgiving surrounded by loved ones. We just want to remind you like
scripture says, to be always be thankful. Don’t do it only on “turkey day.”

1 2 3 THE
CHALLENGE

WINTER FEST COTR YOU HAVE AN EVENT Make sure to plan

and execute the
“NOT ASHAMED” Coming Soon! COMING UP? 2020 vision God
February 21-23, 2020 LET US KNOW THE gave you!
DATES

1
COGOP
The Unwrapped Gift
It’s finally December. It’s the month everyone’s been
waiting for. Winter Break, Hot cocoa, Christmas tree
decorating, family feasts, and Michael Bublé blasting
through the speakers; It’s the most wonderful time of the
year, right? Wait, we can’t forget the gifts! Christmas
stands out to so many because of the gift giving, and of
course, the receiving. Families wait impatiently by the
Christmas tree just waiting to unwrap each gift. But are
we, as Christians, waiting impatiently to unwrap God’s
special gifts to us?
As we talk about these gifts, we want you to understand
that when we’re unwrapping the gifts given to us by God,
we are accepting them into our hearts.
In Ephesians, Paul speaks about two of these God given
gifts, grace and faith. “For by grace you have been saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of
God” (Ephesians 2:8, NKJV). The gift of grace is so
wonderful because it is giving us the opportunity to live
another day and follow Christ without our past being
constantly held against us. God’s love is so great that He
turns a blind eye to all of the wrongdoings against Him
that we’ve made. The gift of faith allows us to trust and
believe in God, helping us to let go of worries and
problems, and know that God has everything under
control. Because of the blessings of grace and faith, we
can draw closer to God every day. The warm and filling
love that is so pure comes from God, and it is made
possible because of these two wonderful gifts.
When you begin to think about how great God’s love is
for us, you truly start to understand how little we’ve
deserved all of the gifts He’s given to us. The Apostle
John says, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay
down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13, NKJV) Jesus
DECEMBER 1, 2019
sacrificed His own life for us, even though He had never
done anything wrong. Jesus bore our burdens so that we
would be forgiven of our sins. But not only are we
forgiven from our past sins, we’re promised a place in His
throne room of Grace. We’re now co-heirs with Christ,
putting a special gift tag on us that no man could offer.
And by paying the ultimate price for us, Jesus purchased
the one gift that no human could afford.
Of course, receiving a gift will always be fun, but there
are gifts that still need to be unwrapped even after all of
the excitement. What you will discover is that the
unwrapped gifts are the greatest. No present can top
what Jesus has given you.
This December, we challenge you to tear open that
unwrapped gift of grace that God gives you everyday,
grow in faith, and cherish Jesus’ sacrifice for you.
Reminisce on where you see these gifts working in your
life. Grace, faith, and Jesus’ sacrifice are presents that
deserve a lot of excitement!
Because who doesn’t love a little bit of hot chocolate and
a whole lot of Jesus?
Michelle Ponce de Leon & Liz Wilson
Youth Leaders at Lakeside Community Church in
Zion IL