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Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
This coming Lord’s Day is the second Sunday of Advent.
As you know, our series of Advent messages is on the three temptations of Jesus, those He experienced in the wilderness as His earthly ministry began. We find this story recounted for us in Matthew 4:1-11.
Following our first message, what we know so far about this event is:
It happened just after our Lord’s baptism.
Jesus was purposefully directed by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness.
It was there, in that lonely place, where Christ would “be tempted by the devil” (v. 1).
We also know that Christ had been “led” there by the Spirit in order to become our Savior and High Priest, and to offer obedience and submission to God the Father as a Man. Additionally, we know that it was in this mysterious event that our Lord Jesus would begin to defeat the enemy of our souls, and to bring down his devilish kingdom once and for all!
As we look at each of these three temptations we will see both our Lord’s perfect humanity and deity, and we will become convinced that He is our faithful, merciful, and sympathetic High priest. As the Epistle to the Hebrews says, “because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (2:14). And He is the “one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (4:14).
This week we will consider the first of the three temptations. You’ll discover it in verses 3-4.
We Welcome Al Bart to our Church Staff!
We are so very excited to formally announce that Al Bart has become our Director of Facilities. Al will be working closely with Jack Cooper, our Administrator, and will oversee the care and use of our Church building. Welcome aboard Al, and we are so thankful for your willingness to serve our Lord in this way!
Don’t forget that this Sunday is our Second Sunday Fellowship Lunch immediately following our Worship Service
I love you all, and pray for you always!
Mike
Upcoming Events:
December 9, 4 PM – Alleluia Choir at Church House
December 9, 12 PM – Second Sunday Fellowship Lunch
December 9, 4:30 PM – Youth Group at Church
December 10, 9 AM – Senior Fellows visit to Tutt Fann Veterans’ Home
December 11, 6 PM – Women’s Ministry Christmas Dinner
December 13, 6 AM – Men’s Morning Bible Study at Church
December 24, 5 PM – Christmas Eve Service
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:
Baby Nursery Volunteers: I have a baby nursery staff member who is going to be gone all of this month. If possible, I’d like two member volunteers in our baby nursery this month. This is so important, and you will love being able to rock the little ones!
Alleluia Choir: Alleluia Choir meets for the final time this year on December 9 from 4:00-4:45 pm in the Church House. All second graders through age 12 are encouraged to join us.
Items for The CARE Center: Every year at Christmas our church in conjunction with the CARE Center in New Hope collects for the needy in our community. We will collect items over the next two weeks (through Sunday December 16). The following items are most needed: Toiletries – shampoo, tooth brushes and paste, shaving razors/blades/soap and Food Items – spaghetti noodles/sauce, boxes of cereals, oatmeal. Also needed are $10 gas gift cards (to help with transportation for needy attending GED/High School completion prep classes). No toys needed this year. If you would like to contribute, bring items to church and place in marked container in the Narthex through December 16. Questions – ask Norman Dean or Joe Sims.
Women’s Christmas Party: The Women will have their annual Christmas party on Dec. 11 at 6 PM. For more details, and to sign up, please check the following link:
Missionary Letters: 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! Judi has the addresses, so talk to her, or see the email that was sent out earlier this month.
Athey Visit: Vinnie Athey is the RUF Campus minister at UAH. He and his wife Molly will be visiting our congregation on Dec. 9 to tell us more about their ministry. They will also be joining us for Second Sunday Lunch.
Senior Fellows: The Senior Fellows will visit the Floyd E. “Tutt” Fann Veterans’ Home on Dec. 10 at 9 AM. It’s located at 2701 Meridian St. Optional, bring gifts including FULL-SIZE CANDY BARS (THEIR FAVORITE BINGO PRIZE!!), LOTION, BODYWASH, DEODORANT, TOOTHPASTE, TOOTHBRUSHES, SHAMPOO. ELECTRIC RAZORS, UNDERSHIRTS, SWEATSUITS, LOUNGE PANTS, TUBE/CREW LENGTH SOCKS (BLACK OR WHITE), DIABETIC SOCKS, HANDKERCHIEFS, MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS, RADIO/CD PLAYERS, LITTLE DEBBIE SNACKS, SMALL BAGS OF CHIPS/CRACKERS, SODAS). They will have lunch afterwards
Youth Group: We will meet again on Sunday, December 9 at the Church Fellowship Hall. The times will be from 4:30-6:30 pm and this will be for students ages 13-18 years of age. We ask that those who attend be at least 13 years of age due to the content of some of the discussions and the wide age range in the group.
Also of interest to the youth, there is a winter retreat coming up, and you can get more info by clicking here.
Prayer Requests:
Healing: Please pray for the health of the following individuals: Bill Cowley, Larrabee Kirkland, Cynthia Dent, Katie Dyer, Andy Trent, Suzanne Nimon, Robin Holloway, Chris Smotherman, Elizabeth Holton, Janet Chou, Ramona Edwards, and Nolan Osmer.
Bereavement: Please pray for Stanley Gibson, whose father died this week.
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).
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