Sermon Preview

Dear Brothers and Sisters in our Lord,

As hard to believe as it is, Advent begins this coming Sunday! As I shared with you last week, our Advent Sermon Series for this year will be entitled “Who Said What About Jesus?” The sermon texts and titles for each Sunday of Advent are listed below so that you can read ahead and be prepared each week:

December 3, “What Mary Said”–Luke 1:34, 38, 46-55

December 10, “What the Heavenly Host Said”–Luke 2:13-14

December 17–“What Simeon Said”­–Luke 2:21-35

December 24, “What the Chief Priests and Scribes Said” ­–Matthew 2:4-6

December 24, Christmas Eve Service of Worship (5:00 PM), “What Herod Said”–Matthew 2:8.

This Sunday’s message will focus upon the words of Mary, the mother of our Lord, recorded for us in Luke 1:34, 38, 46-55. The larger section in verses 46-55 have been historically called the ‘Magnificat,’ based upon the Latin rendering of the Greek word translated as “magnifies” in verse 46. By closely examining what Mary declared here—immediately after receiving the news from the angel Gabriel that she would give birth to Jesus—we will discover so much about our Father’s gracious plan of salvation, and the divine Savior who would come to deliver us.

Also this Sunday, December 3, don’t forget that your Session will be conducting an Informational Meeting during the Sunday School hour for our Adults. We want to share some very exciting news with you, and give you a look at some of the future plans that we have been prayerfully considering.

Then, the next two Sundays, December 10 and 17, I will be teaching a two-part Sunday School lesson on the Doctrine of the Incarnation. There will be no Sunday School on December 24 or 31.

Finally, we are so excited to announce that our Alleluia Children’s Choir, led by Carol Bart, will be singing for us on Sunday night, December 17 at 6:00 PM in the Worship Center. It will be a special time of Christmas celebration for the whole Church family, and I hope you will plan to attend.

All my love for each of you in Christ Jesus our Lord,

Mike

Upcoming Events:

December 3, 12:30 PM – Visitor’s Lunch at Bagdazian Home
December 3, 3:30 PM – Alleluia Choir Practice
December 3, 4:30 PM – Youth Group
December 5, 6 PM – Women’s Evening Study
December 6, 9:30 AM – Women’s Morning Study (Final study of 2017)
December 6 – Women’s Christmas Party
December 7, 6 AM – Men’s Morning Bible Study
December 7, 11:30 AM – Women’s Lunch
December 12, 9:00 AM – Senior Fellows breakfast and 2018 planning meeting at the Church House.
December 13, 10 AM – Women’s Bible Study Brunch at Amy Schnorrenberg’s house
December 19, 9:00 AM – Senior Fellows visit the Floyd E. “Tut” Fann State Veterans Home at 2701 Meridian St N. Carpooling is 8:30 AM at the church.
December 17, 6 PM – Alleluia Choir Christmas Program

Order of Worship:

You can access this week’s Order of Worship by clicking here

The songs for this week are:

Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah
The Son Of God Came Down
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus (Hymn 196, all 4 verses)
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (Hymn 457, all 3 verses)

Announcements:

Alleluia Choir: The Alleluia Choir (Grades 2-6) meets this Sunday at 3:30 pm upstairs in the Church House. NOTE THE CHANGED PRACTICE TIME! They will have their Christmas program at 6PM on December 16, and will have rehearsal for the program at 10:30 AM on December 15.

Advent Scripture Read-Along: Ladies of Christ Presbyterian Church, please join us for an Advent Scripture Read-Along through the book of Romans. We will have a slow pace in order to allow you ample time to think upon the Bible’s greatest themes, all presented and explained in 16 chapters. I encourage you to find a study bible and dig deep in the notes as you read, 5 chapters a week will allow you to chase as many rabbits as you want.

Schedule as follows:
Dec. 4-8 Chapters 1-5
Dec. 11-15 Ch. 6-10
Dec. 18-22 Ch. 11-16

Here is what the Reformation Study Bible introduction says:

“Romans is Paul’s fullest, grandest, most comprehensive statement of the gospel. Its compressed declarations of vast truths are like coiled springs- once loosed, they leap through mind and heart to fill one’s horizons and shape one’s life.” and later: “From the vantage point given by Romans, the whole landscape of the Bible is open to view, and the relation of the parts to the whole becomes plain. The study of Romans is vitally necessary for the spiritual health and insight of the Christian.”

There is nothing better I can say to commend this book to you than that! Please email me with any questions and I’d love to know if you’re participating! Niniandjb@gmail.com

Sincerely In Christ,
Denise Brown

Youth Group: Youth Group meets Sunday at 4:30 PM at the church.

Visitors Lunch: We are now scheduling a quarterly Visitor’s Lunch at the home of Rich and Christina Bagdazian following Sunday worship. The next luncheon is Sunday December 3.  All visitors to the Church are invited to attend, as well as any members who would like to join us. If you would desire to connect with others in the Church or to assist us in welcoming our visitors, we’d encourage you to plan on eating with us.  Sign-up for the luncheon begins this Sunday in the narthex, and for more information you may contact Christina.

Senior Fellows: On Tuesday, December 12 at 9:00 AM the Senior Fellows will have breakfast at the Church House. Come and join us for food, fellowship and a devotional. Following the breakfast we will have a planning meeting on Senior Fellow Activities for 2018. On Tuesday, December 19 at 9:00 AM the Senior Fellows will visit the Floyd E. “Tut” Fann State Veterans Home at 2701 Meridian St N. This will be a great opportunity to spend some time with great American veterans, showing the love of Christ and our thanks for their service to America. We will receive a tour of the home and then spent time talking with the vets. You are encouraged to bring small gifts like socks, underclothing, toiletries, sweets (no nuts or hard candy). Pat Galecki (retired Navy) will accompany us to minister to the lady vets. Carpools will leave the Church at 8:30 AM. We will go to lunch (about 11.30 AM) following the visit. Don’t miss this blessing.

Presbytery-wide Youth Retreat: “Roots” is the Providence Presbytery’s annual winter retreat.  This retreat provides Gospel-centered teaching, worship, and fellowship for the youth in our presbytery. Make plans to join us the weekend of January 19-21, 2018 at Camp ToknowHim!!  Registration is open from now until December 17th. Click here for more details, including cost, agenda, and what to bring.

Prayer Requests:

Healing: Please pray for the health of the following individuals: Bud Lancaster, Robin Holloway, Chris Smotherman, Elizabeth Holton, Janet Chou, Ramona Edwards, Nolan Osmer, George Boyd, and Joyce Bosley
Expecting: Please pray for the Bryant family, expecting in December, the Townsley family, expecting in March, and the Staffords and the Deans, expecting in April.
Ministries: Please pray for the following missionaries and ministries: Seth and Jessica Lewis (Ireland); Steve and Rita Williams (New Zealand); Vinnie and Molly Athey (RUF at UAH); RUF at Alabama A&M; Ken and Angie Burnett (FCA); Franky Garcia (seminary student).