The HWY 52W, Crossett, AR PH FAX Sunday, December 2, 9:20 AM

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1 The MT. OLIVE BAPTIST CHURCH HWY 52W, Crossett, AR PH FAX Volume 22, Number 12 DECEMBER Sunday, December 2, 9:20 AM Sunday, December 9, 6 PM, Children s Christmas Play Sunday, December 16, 6 PM, Adult Choir Musical Sunday, December 23, 9:20 AM

2 From the Pastor Today a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:11) God took very good care of His chosen child that first beautiful Christmas. How did He do that? Let me remind us all of the 'divine protection' that God had upon Jesus Christ at Christmas * God calls the best mother & father a child could have (Luke 1:26-38 / Matthew 1:18-25) * Mary & Joseph are given a place where she could give birth to our Savior... (Luke 2:7) * God warns the Magi not to go back to Herod and they returned home by another route (Matthew 2:12) * God warns Joseph to take his family and escape to Egypt because they wanted to kill Jesus... (Matthew 2:13) We can see the many ways (and more) that God took care of His people many, many years ago. Well, times have certainly changed but our Lord and His 'divine protection' over us has not changed. On a chilly March afternoon before going home for dinner, Pastor Walter Klempel fired up the church furnace in preparation for choir practice. When it was time to return to church with his family they were delayed because his daughter changed clothes. At the same time student Ladona Vadergrift was struggling with a geometry problem and stayed home to work on it. Sisters Royena and Sadie Estes' car wouldn't start. Herbert Kipf lingered over a letter he'd put off writing. Joyce Black was feeling "plain lazy" and stayed home until the last minute. Pianist Marilyn Paul fell asleep after dinner and her mom, the choir director, had trouble waking her. Pals Lucille Jones and Dorothy Wood were late because of a radio broadcast. Every single choir member was late; something that's Business Meeting 6 PM, Wednesday, Dec, 12, 2012 Lottie Moon Post Office Our Lottie Moon Christmas Post Office is open for business in the front foyer! Be sure to check to see if you have mail. You may leave Christmas cards for members and donate the stamp money you would have spent. All proceeds are donated to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. never happened before nor since. Was it a fluke? No! At 7:30 that night the West Side Church was flattened by an explosion from a gas leak ignited by the furnace directly below the empty choir loft! God is always looking out for us even when we don't even know we're in danger. God's Word says, "For the angel of the LORD is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him" (Psalm 3:7). God will be with us this Christmas as He was Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. Trust Him. Trust His promises. Trust His Presence. He never sleeps nor slumbers. May God continue to fill us up this Christmas season. I look forward to worshipping with you "the one BORN King of the Jews." Merry Christmas!

3 First, let me say, THANK-YOU! church family for the love offering given to me for MINISTER APPRECIATION MONTH! It was very generous and I am honored to be associated with this church family! Hey YOU th! Our Bible study from LifeFocus this month will be, What s in a Name? December 2: Yahweh Our God Exodus 6:2-8; 15:1-3,11-13 The Question: What does God s name tell us about His character? December 9: Yahweh Our Father Psalm 103:2-6,8-13,17-18 The Question: Why should I trust God as a father? December 16: Yahweh Our Righteousness Jeremiah 23:5-6; Romans 3:21-26; 10:1-,9-10,16-18 The Question: What does it mean to be righteous? December 23: Jesus Our Immanuel Isaiah 9:6-7; Matthew 1:18-25 The Question: Immanuel is one of the words we hear at Christmas, but what does it mean? December 30: Jesus Our Shepherd John 10:7-16 The Question: Besides eternal life in the future, how can I experience life now? Our DT studies this month will be finishing, GOING VERTICAL (Your most important relationship). You have a friend needing help with his/her school, home, and with God? Bring them back to our Discipleship studies Sunday 5 pm. Overtime fellowships will be Dec 2 nd (TACO BELL) and Dec 16 th (Bake, Batter, & Roll fellowship), starting at 7pm. See you there! On Dec 21 st will be our Christmas Caroling Fellowship at 6:30pm. We will carol to some of our shut-ins as well as to the families that have lost a loved one this past year. We want to invite EVERYONE (family members of our youth group.parents, siblings, grandparents!) to go with us. It will be a very unique way sharing God s Love as we minister to our church members! See you there! To the HEART group, here are the opportunities of ministry and fellowship in December. We are taking 20 on our Branson trip Dec 6-8. Look for pictures of the trip later this month! Our visitation with our HOMEBOUND is Dec 3 9am. Our meeting is Dec 17 th and we will be going down to MONROE, 10:30am. We will also go by and do some shopping at the PECANLAND MALL. Yes, invite guests to join us. I love celebrating birthdays, don t you? This month we have the privilege to celebrate our Savior s birth. It was a grand moment when Jesus came to earth. He came so that everyone (that s you and me!) could be given an invitation to eternal life. Have you accepted that invitation? I hope so! I m also praying you will share with others the true meaning of Christmas! This is why Jesus came to the earth! He came so that we may be saved!! From the Tohlen household to yours, Merry Christmas! In Christian love, Thank You To say thank you for all you have done for Operation Christmas Child is hardly adequate. We thank you so much for being such a generous and caring body of believers. Thank you for all the donations of items throughout the year, for giving donations so we could buy in bulk, for helping us purchase I ll Fly Away books to place in each of the 110 shoe boxes, for generously giving to ship the boxes, for coming on Friday, November 2, and helping us pack all the boxes, and for picking up the extra boxes and filling them so we could exceed our goal of 110 boxes for We have money left in our account because you were so generous, and we will begin even now to buy for OCC This is a twelve month project. Please continue to pray for these boxes and the children who will receive them. Mt. Olive filled and shipped 125 shoe boxes this year. There is power in a simple gift.

4 Journey Through Bethlehem at Pecanland Mall in Monroe is SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2! The bus leaves after Sunday School! We ll have lunch at the mall. This is for anyone who wants to go. See Regina for info. Just A Little Christmas Children s Play- NEXT WEEK, DECEMBER 9 at 6:00 PM. Remaining practices are Sunday, December 2 at 5:00 PM & Wednesday, December 5 at 6:00 PM. All kids are invited! On performance day please arrive at :5 PM wearing Christmas sweaters/shirts. Happy Birthday Jesus Party- December 9 after the Christmas Play in the Fellowship Hall. Coco, Cookies, Caroling, & Christmas Lights! Wednesday, December 19, 6:00-8:00 PM for all kids PreK through 6th grade. The Giving Tree- This year we will have a Giving Tree in the foyer for anyone who would like to provide a gift for a child in need. Information and a gift list will be provided for each child. Please return wrapped gifts to the church by December 19. See Stephanie Weaver for more information. For His Kids to our DECEMBER Stars! Leah Weaver - 12/01 Evan Rial - 12/13 Rachel Henry - 12/17 Located beside the Parlor, MOBC Library hours of operation are :00-6:00 PM on Sundays & 6:00-8:00 PM on Wednesdays. For a full list of books available, visit our website Church Office Closed The Church Office will be closed December 2 & 25, 2012 for the Christmas Holiday and January 1, 2013 for the New Year Holiday. Services & Activities Dismissed Services & Activities are dismissed Wednesday, December 26, MOBC Goal: $5500

5 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 7 AM Ladies Shopping Trip to the Boardwalk in Shreveport 2 Charles Graham AM Worship Journey Through Bethlehem after SS 5 PM Children s Christmas Play Practice 7 PM Youth Overtime AM Young at 6 PM Heart Children s Homebound Play Ministry Practice PM Children s Christmas Play Happy Birthday Jesus Party in Fellowship Hall (after play) 16 PM Deacons 6 PM Adult Choir I Have Seen The Light 7 PM Youth Overtime Bake, Battle & Roll 23 Financial Peace Sign Up Deadline PM Business Meeting :30 AM Young at 6-8 PM Heart Monthly Coco, Meeting Cookies, Caroling & Christmas Lights (PreK-6th) PM Young at Heart Prayer Walk Services & Activities Dismisse d PM M&M 6:30 PM Youth Meeting Christmas (Music & Caroling Missions for Women) Fellowship th Sunday Singing & Potluck Classes Begin January 8, 2013 Tuesdays, 6:00-7:30 PM for 9 weeks Can You Imagine Yourself Debt Free? Class Kits are $95 - Registration Deadline 12/23/12 Visit our website for info.

6 Mt. Olive Baptist Church 1533 Hwy 52 W Crossett, AR THE MESSENGER - PRINTED MONTHLY Return Service Requested SYMPATHY The staff and church family of Mt. Olive Baptist Church expresses sincere and heart felt sympathy to the following: Beatrice Hollis Family - Bonnie Mathews mother Colleen Holst Family Irene Johnson Family - Carol Miller s grandmother Caurene Pierce Family THANK YOU Thank you notes have been received from the following and are on the bulletin board: Freda Courson Ryan King Drew Turner VOLUNTEERS Sunday, December 2 Trudy Barnett, Anita Wilcox Ann Nutter CHURCH STAFF ERIC S. HODGE, Pastor DAVID TOHLEN, Assoc Pastor, Students SCOTT SASSER, Min. Music / Worship REGINA HODGE, Min. Children / Preschool LEAH HENDRIX, Church Secretary VICKI SHIRLEY, Financial /Asst. Secretary MELISSA JONES, Building Supervisor SUNDAY SCHOOL General Officers Preschoolers Children Youth Adults New Members Visitors TOTAL WORSHIP TOTAL Sunday, December 9 Joan & Craig Chain, Stacey Swan Sunday, December 16 Betty Willis, Dianne Pierce Melinda Ferguson Sunday, December 23 Jessie Farmer, Margie Gardner Denise Ford Sunday, December 30 Jessie Farmer, Margie Gardner Denise Ford December Deacon Visitation Jerry Ozment, Felton Jones VITAL SIGNS/ NOV DISCIPLESHIP TRAINING ENR STEWARDSHIP Receipts on 11/ Receipts on 11/11 Receipts on 11/18 Receipts on 11/ ,670.33, , ,060.79