Mid-Week news ** NEW ITEMS ARE ALL IN CAPITAL LETTERS ** Older items are in regular case PRAYER REQUESTS Dick Patterson Alexa Way Shazer Bob Peppel • BIBLE STUDY TONIGHT AT 7:00 PM. • AA Meetings, Wednesdays at 7:00 Pm. • CHURCH OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27TH AND 28TH IN OBSERVANCE OF THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY. • FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT IS NOVEMBER 30TH. THIS IS ALSO CONSECRATION SUNDAY. • HANGING OF THE GREENS SUNDAY NOVEMBER 30TH FOLLOWING THEE 11 AM WORSHIP SERVICE. • GREETERS ARE NEEDED FOR DECEMBER 7TH AND 14TH. • ADVENT CANDLE LIGHTERS ARE NEEDED FOR DECEMBER 21ST AND THE 7PM SERVICE ON CHRISTMAS EVE. • THANKS TO ALL WHO PROVIDED VEGETABLES, ROLLS, PIE AND HELP FOR THE NOV. SOUP FOR THE SOUL DINNER. AND TO THOSE WHO ALSO PROVIDED TURKEY, VEGGIES, ROLLS, PIE AND HELP FOR THE KIDS CLUB FAMILY DINNER. GOD BLESSED THIS CHURCH WITH WONDERFUL DISCIPLES AND WE ASK THAT GOD WILL CONTINUE TO BLESS YOU. THANKS AGAIN. • THE MISSION OFFERING FOR DECEMBER WILL NOT BE MONETARY. INSTEAD, THERE WILL BE 25 TAGS ON THE SALVATION ARMY ANGEL TREE FROM WHICH YOU MAY CHOOSE IF YOU WISH. • PW CT WILL MEET ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2 AT 6:30 PM. • WHOLENESS SERVICE “PEACE” SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7 AT 7:00 PM. • COMMITTEES WILL MEET ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 8 AT 6:30 PM. • NEWSLETTER DEADLINE FOR THE JANUARY ISSUE IS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10TH. ANY ITEMS NOT IN BY WEDNESDAY WILL GO IN THE FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER. DUE TO THE BUSYNESS OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON, NO EXCEPTIONS ALLOWED. • SOUP FOR THE SOUL WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10TH 5:00 – 6:30 PM. MENU: HAM AND SCALLOPED POTATOES • SHOWER OUR KITCHEN WITH GIFTS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON WE ARE SO THANKFUL FOR OUR BEAUTIFUL, BUSY KITCHEN AT THE CHURCH! IF YOU FIND IT IN YOUR HEART THIS HOLIDAY SEASON, THE KITCHEN IS IN NEED OF SOME “GIFTS”. SOME ARE SUPPLIES, SOME ARE TALENTS. SUPPLIES NEEDED: ALUMINUM FOIL, PLASTIC WRAP, PLASTIC BAGS (ALL SIZES), WAX PAPER, DISH SOAP, PAPER NAPKINS, LEFTOVER CONTAINERS. PLEASE PUT THIS ITEMS IN THE BASKET IN THE ENTRY WAY. TALENTS NEEDED: POLISH GOOD SILVER, CLEAN SILVERWARE DRAWERS, CLEAN REFRIDGERATOR, CLEAN UNDER SINKS, CLEAN SALT, PEPPER, CREAM AND SUGAR CUPBOARD IF YOU CAN HELP IN ANY OF THESE AREAS, PLEASE SEE MARGE HARVEY • Sermon Cliff’s Notes: Isaiah 64:1-9 Mark 13:24-37 We begin a new year in the liturgical calendar with the first Sunday of Advent. Typically we start the liturgical new year in the life of Jesus Christ by examining the final chapter of the saga of our Lord which deals with his second coming and setting up the Kingdom of God. We also light the first candle representing hope in the Advent wreath. Our Old Testament passage comes from Isaiah which is part of a communal prayer of lament lifted up to God (63:7-64:12). Because God has been faithful in the past, Israel is seeking mercy as she is returning to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon. The petitioners are asking God to demonstrate his awesome authority with miraculous feats that would cause the gentiles to tremble as they anticipate at the coming of the Messiah, (vv. 1-3). Verses 5-7 serve as a confession of past sins so God will forgive their iniquities and hopefully restore their status to pre-exilic conditions. Israel begs God to squelch his wrath, forgive their sin, and remold them once again into the chosen people, “Yet, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be exceedingly angry, O LORD, and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people,” (vv. 8-9). Our New Testament passage describes the second coming of the Son of Man and the unusual cosmic events that accompany the establishment of the Kingdom of God, “Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven,” (vv. 26-27). Mark records how we should be ever vigil in our watching for the coming of our Lord. We can predict the weather and changing of the seasons but we fail to observe the signs of the second coming of Jesus Christ. We should also not become complacent in our watch but hold on to the promise of God, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away,” (v. 31). Jesus shares a parable about a man entrusting his facilities and leaves on a trip. The servants are warned to keep watching for their master’s return so they can open the door for him. Regardless of what hour it may be, the slaves were urged to be alert at all times, “Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly,” (vv. 35-36). As we light the first purple candle in the Advent Wreath, we are reminded that we look backward to the Old Testament scriptures that anticipated the coming of the first coming of the Messiah but also look forward with hope to the second coming of the Messiah and the establishment of the Kingdom of God. Waiting may tend to lull us into complacency but we need to heed the warning in the words of our Lord, “And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake,” (vv. 37).
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 19:51:46 +0000
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