DEVOTION: Luke 1:26-38 English Standard Version (ESV)
Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed[a] to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!"[b] 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
34 And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?"[c]
35 And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[d] will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God." 38 And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant[e] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
Mary tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. Isn't that interesting? Evidently Mary didn't get much good news in her life. She was born in the hick town of Nazareth far away from the big city of Jerusalem. She was a young woman in that small town which made it even worse. She was poor, as we can see by how they were treated when they tried to find an inn in Jerusalem. Everything was against this young woman, but God was for her! She was favored by God. She was going to be, quite possibly, the mother of the Lord Jesus and the most highly honored and favored woman in all of history.
There are many people like Mary in this world, people who haven't had good upbringings, people who didn't grow up with all of the benefits that others have, people from small, hick towns, people with all sorts of bad situations and circumstances, and people who haven't heard much, if any good news in their lives.
Do you know someone like that? If you do, then you have the opportunity and the responsibility to give them the good news, the same good news that the angel Gabriel gave to Mary, the good news that God has come down to us, been born of a virgin, suffered a perfect suffering, died a sinner's death, and rose again from the dead! You have the opportunity to be the light in that person's dark world. Why not be that light to someone today? Share the Gospel! Remind someone, anyone that their sins are forgiven, that eternal life has been won for all who trust in the Lord Jesus!
Prayer: Lord, thank you for sending your Son, Jesus to us and giving us the greatest Christmas gift ever! Amen.
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CALENDAR:
Wed- Supper 5:30; Sunday school Christmas program 6:30; Choir 7:15
Thurs- Karate Christmas party
Sat- No worship
Sun- Christmas Eve morning worship 10am; Candlelight worship 7pm
Mon- Christmas Day worship 10am
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WORSHIP WORKERS:
Acolyte- Wed- Luke Rausch;
Christmas Eve morning 10am- Gus Klaustermeier
7pm- Nick Schulze
Christmas Day 10- Abby Vossen
Ushers- Wed- Brent Davis, Gary Hoelscher, Ben Holescher
Sun 10am- Dave Callies, Marv Hendershot, Kevin Luebke, Don Nolte
Sun 7pm- Jason Figura, Brett Nordwald, Erv Yoder
Mon 10am- Rich Boeger, Don Hancce, Don Tate, Doug Walters
Altar-
Wed candles- Don Hance;
Sun 10am- Set up Lucille Luebke;
Mon- Clean up Sandy Robine
Elder-
Sun 10am- Jason Cluver;
7pm- Al Benton
Mon 10am- Don Turnure
NO Greeters this weekend
No Lay Readers this weekend
Organist Wed and Sun- Pat Golden; Mon- Molly Hendershot
Projectionist- Sun 10- McKenzie; 7pm ????
Sun, December 31 (New Years Eve Morning)
Acolyte- Jared Cluver
Organist- Barb Dreyer
Ushers- Alan Hofeldt, Tim Linke, Rich Talbert, Don Turnure
Altar Set up- Terry McKenzie
Altar Clean Up- John and Anna Hoenig
Communion Assistant- Rich Talbert
Greeters- Doug and Ruth Walters
Projectionist- McKenzie
Lay Reader- Yoder
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YESTERDAY'S QUIZ: Where was Timothy a pastor? Ephesus (Thanks Don!)
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TODAY'S QUIZ: Who is James?
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NEWS:
Worship from Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017 Enjoy and Share!
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OUR NEXT ADVENT DINNER IS TONIGHT (WEDNESDAY) AT 5:30! EVERYONE IS INVITED!!! INVITE YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS!!
All in elder groups 7 and 8 are responsible for bringing either a side dish, salad or dessert! Fried chicken will be the main course!
At 6:30 we will have our Sunday school Christmas program! There'll be lots of good hymns to sing!
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THERE WILL BE TWO CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP SERVICES THIS YEAR AT 10am and 7pm, AND ONE CHRISTMAS DAY SERVICE AT 10am!
The two Christmas Eve services will be slightly different from each other, so if you'd like to attend them both, you're more than welcome to do so. You can never get enough Jesus at Christmas.
I'm looking forward to seeing all of you!
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NEW YEARS CELEBRATION ON NEW YEAR'S EVE MORNING!!
We will have one service on New Year's Eve with a potluck afterward! Our main dish will be sloppy joes and we'll have chips there as well. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share! Bring all your leftover cookies!! There will be a sign up sheet to let us know you're coming on the counter in the narthex, but even if you don't rsvp, please come!! We'll have plenty of food!
We're going to plan our personal "goals" for 2018!!
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THERE WILL BE NO SUNDAY SCHOOL OR ADULT BIBLE CLASS ON EITHER CHRISTMAS EVE MORNING OR NEW YEAR'S EVE MORNING!!
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LITTLE LAMBS IS SELLING CANDY BARS AND COULD USE YOUR HELP!
If you'd like to help sell a box or two of candy bars as a fundraiser for Little Lambs preschool. Let Terry or one of the preschool ladies know. They'll hook you up right quick!
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SUNDAY SCHOOL MEMORY VERSE IS: "Rejoice always! Pray without ceasing! Give thanks in all circumstances! 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
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DO YOU HAVE A THRIVENT FINANCIAL ACCOUNT OR POLICY?
You may be eligible to receive money for Little Lambs or Good Shepherd!! Go to www.thrivent.com/choicedollars to check it out!
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OPERATION BACKPACK DONATIONS FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER IS INDIVIDUALLY WRAPPED SNACKS AND PACKETS OF OATMEAL.
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PRAYERS:
For SAM JOHNSON, KAILYN BLECHLE, AND AUSTIN HEITGERD who are all graduating from high school this week.
For LIBBY PAILER who is dealing with heart troubles again.
For PAUL TOEDEBUSCH who fell on Friday and sprained his ankle and broke a bone in his leg.
For LEO BADER as he will be having hip replacement surgery this week.
For PEGGY TALBERT who is recovering from knee replacement surgery at home.
For TONI MAUCH who is recovering from hip replacement surgery at home
For our CHURCH, as we begin to make some big changes to both our governance structure and our building, and as we move forward to make disciples of all nations.
For JENNIFER RAHN, who is recovering from heart valve replacement surgery and is dealing with rheumatoid arthritis problems.
For GEORGE HOELSCHER, BUCK HAMPTON, DENISE HOOKER (betty Tameler's daughter) as they continue to deal with cancer.
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PRAYERS FOR OUR MILITARY PERSONNEL:
For COLTON FIGURA deployed to Turkey, SAM HARGROVE deployed in Kuwait and DAN DREYER deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, that the Lord would keep them safe from harm during their service and bring them home safely.
For DAVID TATE stationed in Japan, and ALEX WALTERS, stationed in Tennessee. That God would bless their service to our country and keep them safe as they all await possible deployment.
For CALEB FIGURA AND VINCE MASTERS who are both serving our country in the National Guard and take time out of their lives, jobs, and families to go on duty several times a year.
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