Sermon Preview

My dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

This coming Lord’s Day, the second Sunday of Advent 2019, we will once again turn to the prophet Isaiah for another Old Testament ‘Christmas card.’

Our sermon text will be Isaiah 42:1-4 where God the Father introduces One that He describes as “ My Servant” (v. 1).

This passage is the first of four such ‘Servant songs’ in the book of Isaiah, perhaps the most familiar of them being Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (a passage we particularly think of at Easter).

In this passage from chapter 42 we will consider the Servant’s description (v. 1), His mission (vv. 1, 3-4), and His character (vv. 2-4).

And then we will see how this very passage from Isaiah 42 is interpreted by the Apostles, and linked directly to our Lord Jesus in the New Testament (see Matthew 3:13-17; 12:15-21; 17:1-8).

Have a blessed weekend and I’ll see you Sunday!

With His love and my constant prayers,

Mike

Upcoming Events:

Dec 8, 4:30 PM – Youth Group at Church
Dec 8, 6 PM – Career/Singles Bible Study at Daughtry Home
Dec 10, 6 AM – Men’s Morning Study at Panera Bread Co. Bridge Street
Dec 10, 9 AM – Mother’s Morning Bible Study Brunch at the Turnbull Home
Dec 10, 6 PM – Ladies’ Christmas Dinner at Huntsville Country Club
Dec 11, 9:20 AM – Senior Fellows visit the Floyd E. “Tut” Vann State Veterans Home
Dec 11, 10 AM – Women’s Morning Bible Study
Dec 11, 6 PM – Women’s Evening Bible Study
Dec 13, 11:15 AM – Senior Fellows Team A lunch feeding at the Downtown Rescue Mission
Dec 24, 5 PM – Christmas Eve Service
Jan 12, 12 PM – Second Sunday Fellowship Lunch

Order of Worship:

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

If you’d like to sing the songs with your family beforehand, the songs for this week are:

O Come, O Come Emmanuel – Hymn 194, vs 1,4-5
How Deep
We Three Kings
The First Noel

Announcements:

Advent Wreath:

The Advent Wreath in the narthex is full of rich symbolism anticipating the celebration of our Savior’s birth. It is round – in Him there is no beginning or ending. It is filled with evergreens – He is eternal. The four candles on the wreath, one for each Sunday of Advent, anticipate the coming of the Light into the world growing ever brighter each week. On Christmas Eve, we light all four and the center one, announcing that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Light of the world has come!

Advent Resources for Families:

I have compiled a list of Advent Resources for those with children or grandchildren. Read some of my recommendations by clicking HERE.

Ashley

Men’s Morning Study:

The men are meeting at Panera at Bridge Street on Tuesdays at 6 AM to study Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion. If interested, email darondrown@gmail.com

Career/Singles:

There is an ongoing weekly bible study and fellowship at 5:30 PM Sunday evenings at the home of Jim and Sharon Daughtry. Email them to get involved.

Transportation for Jean Terry to Worship

Steve Terry’s treatment, which will take place in Arkansas, will be a long process – 42 weeks. So, we as a church body have the opportunity to serve this sweet family during the difficult road ahead. One way we can serve and bless them is to provide transportation for Jean Terry, Steve’s mom, to and from worship service. A link is provided to sign up if you are able to help in this manner. Please contact Kim Fohrell if you have questions about serving. Click HERE to volunteer to drive Ms. Jean to and from worship service.

CPC Christmas Collection for Downtown Rescue Mission:

This Christmas season we will provide support in the name of Christ to the Downtown Rescue Mission (DRM), which for more than four decades has provided compassionate, Christ-centered programs and services to help those in desperate need. On Sundays in December, we will collect the following new or good condition used items for men, women and children in labeled containers in the church narthex: Undergarments (only new), Winter outerwear clothing, Nonperishable food, USB thumb drives, Headphones for computers, Lotion, Kleenex, and other toiletry items, Diapers/pull-ups. For more information or questions, contact Norman Dean or Joe Sims.

Youth Group:

Youth Bible Study for Middle and High School is the following dates:

Sunday December 8–4:30 PM at the Church

Also, Middle School and High School Youth, please sign up for the presbytery-wide youth retreat. The retreat is held in North Alabama for our entire presbytery January 24-26, 2020. This year’s guest speaker is Daniel Hightower. Daniel is the RUF campus minister at Jacksonville State University (and former Youth Director at Grace Presbyterian Church in Fort Payne). You may register by clicking here. If you have any questions, please email Betsy Morgan or Sarah Burgess as they coordinating cabin and chaperone arrangements for Christ Pres.

**The church has agreed to pay half of the cost, so it’s only $50 a student. After you register online, make your check payable to the church and write “Roots Retreat” in the line on the bottom of your check. You can drop that into the offering box anytime this month.

Second Sunday Lunches:

Many of you remarked to me that you’ve only been able to come to one or two lunches because of forgetting or making other plans – well let me encourage you to mark your calendars! 😉

We plan to continue each 2nd Sunday of the month from December through May. The May lunch will most likely move to the 3rd Sunday because of Mother’s Day.

December 8, and January 12 are the next ones coming up. Please make plans to join us in the Fellowship Hall after worship. And please welcome visitors to stay and join us to eat!

***A word of thanks to all the MANY helpers who prep, set out tables, serve the meals, bring food or dessert or tea, and those who linger to clean up – THANK YOU for making these lunches a great success. It is a pleasure to work alongside you and serve the church body this way.

Sincerely in Christ,
Denise Brown

Women’s Fellowship Opportunities:

The Tuesday mothers’ group will get together at the Turnbull home on Tuesday, December 10th, at 9 am for a Christmas fellowship brunch. You can drop your children at church for nursery while you attend.

The annual Ladies’ Christmas Dinner is Tuesday, December 10th, at 6 pm at Huntsville Country Club. Please RSVP by clicking on the Evite link HERE. Email Denise Scrip to volunteer to help with the event.

Mark your calendars for these fellowship opportunities. Contact Denise Scrip for any questions.

Senior Fellows:

Here is a list of Senior Fellows events for December:

9:20 AM, Wednesday, December 11 – visit the Floyd E. “Tut” Vann State Veterans Home (2701 Meridian St, Huntsville). Meet at entrance to the Vet Home. Carpools from the church 8:30 AM. Purpose is to bring some Christ centered Christmas joy to “ Americas Best”. Visit will consist of setting down one-on-one talking to the Vets. Bring unwrapped gifts (optional) which will be distributed by the Vet Home Staff. Lunch follows the visit. Visitors welcome. Questions see Andy Trent.
11:15 AM, Friday, Dec 13 – Team A lunch feeding at the Downtown Rescue Mission

Christmas Cards for Missionaries:

At Christmas we have the special opportunity to send a card or greeting to our missionary families listed in the bulletin each Sunday. They have spoken often about how meaningful it is to receive these greetings! They love the picture cards or notes and letters that many of us are sending to family and friends. They are family for us and friends as well. To make it possible for you to include them in your Christmas list we are providing addresses for each family. The PO has global stamps for sending a card or letter to Ireland and New Zealand for about $1.15. If you purchase several at a time you always have a stamp handy for future mailings! It is one way we can be connected to this part of our church family. They have the church directory to remember who they met last summer.

It is a good idea to send the cards near the beginning of December to give them time to get to the destination by Christmas. Mailing packages is quite expensive but certainly some small item could be sent as well, something that could fit into the envelope but may require an extra stamp. If you have any questions or need help contact Judi Fikes (judifikes@gmail.com) please email only or catch me at church! Save these addresses so you can use them from time to time.

Seth and Jessica Lewis
6 Fernbrook
Castlelake
Carrigtwohill County Cork
Ireland

Steve and Rita Williams
21 Johnson St. Beach Grove
Kaiapoi 7630
New Zealand

Vinnie and Molly Athey
2614 Pansy St.
Huntsville AL 35801

Ken and Angie Burnett
5031 Patriot Park Dr.
Owens Cross Roads AL 35763

Franky and Alaina Garcia
5422 Clinton Blvd.
Jackson MS 39209

Prayer Requests:

Healing: Please pray for the health of the following individuals: Steve Terry, John Baxter, Bill Cowley, Larrabee Kirkland, Chris Smotherman, Elizabeth Holton, Janet Chou, and Nolan Osmer.
Expecting: Please pray for the Brackins, expecting in March.
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).

Emails:

general inquiries: admin@christpreshamptoncove.org
benevolence needs: benevolence@christpreshamptoncove.org
counsel and ministry needs: matthew@christpreshamptoncove.org
men’s ministry: men@christpreshamptoncove.org
women’s ministry: women@christpreshamptoncove.org
children’s ministry: children@christpreshamptoncove.org
youth ministry: youth@christpreshamptoncove.org
senior fellows: seniorfellows@christpreshamptoncove.org

Address:

288 Old Highway 431
Owens Cross Roads, AL 35763