Daily Email: Thursday, December 17, 2015

DEVOTION:  Luke 1:39-56

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be[a] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."

Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat

46 And Mary said,

"My soul magnifies the Lord,
47     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
    For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
    and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
    and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
    in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
    to Abraham and to his offspring forever."

56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

 

(Spoiler alert: This is a bit of the sermon for this weekend.)

 

Why do you magnify something?  You magnify it to make it bigger so you can see it better, don't you?  Why then does Mary say, "My soul now magnifies the Lord"? 

 

Mary, never wanted the spotlight.  She never wanted people to praise her or to put her up on a pedestal.  She was simply a woman whose soul magnified the Lord.  She became less so Christ could become more.  Here in this passage she is both overwhelmed with joy and maybe even a little bit of fear.  She was going to give birth to God's Son.  Can you imagine the thoughts and wonder that would be going through her head?  That's why it says several times, "Mary kept all of these things and pondered them in her heart".  She didn't go around boasting about it.  She didn't really even let anyone know anything about it. 

 

What about you?  Does your soul magnify the Lord, or are you more prone to try to magnify yourself?  When I think of this I think of certain politicians who, because of the nature of running for office, have to magnify themselves.  Nothing could be more of a put off for me.  I wish Ben Carson would and could be our president, but he is too quiet and hasn't magnified himself enough. 

 

Our souls should magnify the Lord, not ourselves.  When people see our hear us, they should hear or see Jesus.  The biggest compliment I get is when little kids call me Jesus, because that means the He is what they hear and see from me. 

 

Plan on magnifying Jesus today!  In your dealings with people, share Jesus.  Give a simple "Peace be with you" or "Jesus loves you" or even just "A blessed Christmas" to everyone you meet. 

 

Prayer: Lord, make my soul magnify you today and every day.  Amen.

 

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CALENDAR:

Thurs- GARMS FAMILY CONCERT 6pm!!

Fri- Bible Study at Hendershot's 7pm
Sat- Men's Breakfast 8am; Sunday school Christmas program practice 9-11; Worship 5
Sun- Worship 8:30; Sunday school 9:45; Sunday School Christmas Program 11am

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WORSHIP WORKERS:  
Acolyte-  8:30- Sarah Cluver  ; 11- Alaina Heitgerd

Ushers- Sun- Figura Family

Altar- Set Up- Cheri' Hofeldt; Clean up- Pam Linke

Elders- Sat- Randy Fischer; 8:30- Steve McDowell; 11- Charlie Figura
Greeters- 8:30- Lew and Dianne Feldkamp; 11- Marv and Molly Hendershot

Lay readers- Sat- Marcia Sevier 8:30- Sandra Perricone 11-  Steve Robine

Sat. Pianist- Kathy Barrow

Organist-  Rachel Fisher

Projectionists: Sat. Perricone  8:30- ???? , 11- ????

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YESTERDAY'S  BIBLE QUIZ:     Find a prophecy about Jesus in the book of Micah?

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NEWS!!!! 
THE GARMS FAMILY SINGERS WILL BE HERE FOR A CHRISTMAS CONCERT TOMORROW (THURSDAY) AT 6PM!!
They are a wonderfully talented family who use their God-given abilities to honor him and bring entertainment to churches all around the USA.  Please mark your calendars and make every effort to be there.  You won't be disappointed.
 
Check them out here:
 
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IRMA TRAVELET VISITATION AND FUNERAL  MONDAY, DECEMBER 21  At CHURCH
Visitation- 9-11am
Funeral- 11am
Burial in Warrenton Cemetery Immediately following
 
(No luncheon)
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HOPE FULL LIVING DEVOTIONS FOR SENIORS AVAILABLE TO ORDER FROM CHURCH FOR $8 FOR THE WHOLE YEAR!!
"Hope Full Living" is a daily devotional booklet just for seniors that Pastor contributes to.  He usually has one or two of his own devotions in it.  If we get 10 or more people to order it and each person gives $8 we can order them in bulk and have them mailed to church.  Order yours today by calling the church office!
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WARREN COUNTY COMMUNITY FITNESS CENTER IS BEGINNING NEW CLASS SESSIONS on JANUARY 4!!
They also have the gym open Monday-Friday 8am-7pm and Saturday 8am-noon.
 
It's in the old NIKE store in the mall. 
 
There are discounts for Senior and Kids.  Stop by to sign up today!
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MEN'S BREAKFAST IS THIS SATURDAY AT 8AM!
Biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, sausage and some sort of Christmas treat. 
 
Please RSVP today!!
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OPERATION BACKPACK FOR DECEMBER IS CANNED SOUP AND RAMEN NOODLES!!! 
Please help feed the less fortunate kids in Warrenton and Warren County, all of whom get two meals at school during the school week, but go hungry on weekends. 
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OFFERING ENVELOPES ARE ON THE TABLE IN THE NARTHEX!!!
If you are a confirmed member of St. John's you have offering envelopes!  Take them home!  Put money in them!  And Bring them back as your offering to the Lord!
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UNMARKED BLUE ENVELOPE CONTRIBUTIONS ARE GOING TO THE BUILDING EXPANSION PROGRAM
If you'd like it to go to the DCE fund you need to mark it for that!  Please make sure you mark the ENVELOPE clearly for the DCE PROGRAM!

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DO YOU HAVE A KROGER CARD?  ENROLL IT IN THE COMMUNITY REWARDS PROGRAM!!!
Register it online www.krogercommunityrewards.com and have it swiped each time you shop to earn money for Little Lambs. 
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GENERAL PRAYERS:
For the family and friends of IRMA TRAVELET, as she passed from death to eternal life yesterday afternoon.
 
For DAVE CALLIES as he recovers from losing a finger and injuries to others.
 
For CAL TAMELER as he is dealing with many complications and struggles with his eye.
 
For DAVE WINTER as he awaits an important test to identify troubling results from a prostate exam.
 
For DON PANHORST who is recovering from his third round of chemo. 
 
For DONNNA LINDSEY'S DAD, as he has been moved to Lincoln County Nursing and Rehab to recover from kidney troubles.
 
For KARIN KLAUSTERMEIER as she recovers from her hysterectomy.   
 
For MARIANNE LINKE, who has been moved to Warrenton Manor and is receiving treatment and antibiotics for a very stubborn infection.
 
For DENISE SCHLESSELMANN as she is in the Czech Republic to continue her mission work.
 
 
For WILMA WEIGLE as she continues to deal with the after effects of a severe stroke almost two years ago.