IN THIS ISSUE: December 2016 Volume 197 HIGH VIEW CHURCH OF GOD Leaman Road Ronks, PA

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1 December 2016 Volume 197 IN THIS ISSUE: HIGH VIEW CHURCH OF GOD Pg. 2 From The Pastor Pg. 3 Birthdays & Anniversaries Pg. 4 Little Lambs Preschool Pg. 5 Youth /children Christmas party Pg. 6 /7 Prayer Calendar Pg. 8 Letter to the Congregation/ Haiti Mission opportunity Pg. 9 Mission News Pg. 10 Christmas Services Pg. 11 Christmas Play/Train open House 2470 Leaman Road Ronks, PA Tom Myers, Pastor Jason Smith, Assistant Pastor HighViewChurch@verizon.net Secretary Office hours: Mon - Thurs. 9 AM - 2 PM 1

2 Devotional Challenge There is a frequent blank stare that is seen all too often among those in the church pews when there is talk about reading God s Word every day. If the stare is not seen, it is the smirk of the one who believes their life is so busy there is simply no room to squeeze that into an already hectic schedule. Yet, those same individuals wonder how the Church in America is in the declining, weak state that it is in today. The reason for the lack of strength in the body of Christ is the children of God being distant from the Lord they claim to love and surrender their lives too. This is discouraging, but there is good news and hope still possible. All is not lost! The diagram below is something I found and modified from heapofstones.com. This is a wonderfully simple illustration of how studying God s Word can and will increase a hunger to know and grow in Him more as time is spent with Him. We must first have a desire to know God. Do you want to know God more than you do now? This is a serious question to be wrestled with and considered. If you desire to know God or know Him more, the Bible is the single greatest source of information about God s character that can be revealed to the heart of a person through the Holy Spirit working within the people of God. The more we discover and learn about the Lord the more a person will enjoy His presence. Conviction and encouragement will be both welcomed and accepted. Those who enjoy God will find themselves thinking about Him and His Word more often throughout the day. This meditation on the Word of God increases the desire to follow Him in obedience. This desire for obedience will help the person who loves the Lord to align their life up with the precepts and principles they learn while reading and meditating on Scripture. This brings about a greater desire to know the Lord even more and starts the process all over again which draws the child of God into a deeper commitment to Him. How often do you read the Bible? Do you do this out of duty or out of desire? The answer to these two questions will help you to know whether or not you have begun this process. If you answered never or less than three times a week you have probably not even begun the process. As we enter into the Advent Season, start to desire to draw near to God. Begin by making time for Him. Get up a few minutes early, cut out some time you do other things, or maybe include time with God during some other activity. Start somewhere in Scripture like Proverbs 1:1-7; Psalm 19; or Psalm 139. Read one verse a day. Write it down. Carry it with you and think about it every spare minute you have. Continue this for at least a month and watch the changes take place in your life. Pastor Tom 2

3 12/2 Eugene 12/4 Ed 12/9 Don 12/12 Sallie 12/15 Brady 12/16 Gerri 12/18 Brad 12/23 Glenn 12/25 Kim 12/26 Pam 12/26 Terry 12/28 John 12/28 Sharon 12/30 Jacqueline 12/31 Dalton Tom and I would like to express our deepest Thanks and appreciation for the all the cards, gifts, prayers and words of encouragement during pastor appreciation. We feel truly blessed and are so thankful to God for such a wonderful family here at High View. Thank you all! Pastor Tom & Ada Anniversary Blessings! 12/1 Rick & Veronica 12/3 Ron & Gerri 12/5 Sol & Kim 12/11 Terry & Donna 12/21 David & Sandy 12/22 Bill & Floss 12/30 Craig & Connie Thank You! We thank everyone for the prayers, cards, visits and delicious meals during the time we were house bound because of George s accident. We thank the Lord for His protection. We are so blessed to have a loving, caring family of God here at High View. George & Gerry Dippner 3

4 Classroom Highlights Mrs. Shindle s 3 s: In December, our theme will be God s Special Gift to Us. Each day we will focus on a specific part of the Christmas story, including a special craft to correspond with each day s Bible lesson. Our fine motor skills will be utilized to create a variety of Christmas art projects. We will even create a surprise or two! Mrs. Shindle s Pre-K: During this very special month we will be celebrating and learning about the true meaning of Christmas. Our letter focus will be M for Mary and Manger and J for Jesus. We will talk about the joy of giving to others and how God wants us to help those in need. Little Lambs Christmas Outreach This Christmas, we have adopted two local families. Our Giving Tree in the Little Lambs Lobby will have gingerbread men on it with gift ideas for the family members. The other gingerbread men will have food and grocery items needed by the families. Little Lambs Christian Preschool and our families will work together to teach the children that God wants us to help those in need. Helping Hands and Donations *January materials are available in the monkey basket in the office, if you are interested in helping to prepare materials. *We are in need of Clorox disinfecting wipes. THANK YOU!!!!! The Blessings of God s Peace The Beauty of Hope in Jesus The Spirit of God s Love May These be Your Gifts This Christmas Season Kim, Laurie, Suzanne & Kerri 4

5 YOU RE INVITED YOUTH CHRISTMAS PARTY WHERE: BRIAN AND MICHELE GRAHAM S HOUSE WHEN: SATURDAY DECEMBER 17 th TIME: 6-9 PM RSVP to Pastor Jason and Heidi Smith Please bring a wrapped $5 to $10 gift for NOW YOU HAVE IT NOW YOU DON T Friday, December 16th Kindergarten -5th grade Christmas party at 6pm at Pastor Tom and Ada s house Dress in your most creative Christmas clothes! Enjoy Food, Fun, Gifts and time with the Lord! Please let Ada or Tom know if you will be attending. 5

6 1. Pray for the committees of the church who will be meeting tonight. 2. Pray for our marriages 3. Pray for unsaved family, friends, and co-workers 4. Pray for those who may be visiting High View today for worship 5. Pray that we honor God in our places of employment as we begin the work week 6. Pray for transition of leadership from the President to the President-Elect and for all the other leaders of our country 7. Pray for our military men, women, and their families 8. Pray missionary men, women, and their families 9. Pray for those who are being persecuted in other countries because of their belief in Christ. 10. Pray that God uses you today to minister to the life of another 11. Pray that the Lord opens our eyes and ears as the Pastor brings forth the Word 12. Pray for the Church, that it remains faithful to God s call 13. Pray for the poor 14. Pray for those affected by natural disasters across the globe 15. Pray for the leaders of the Church of God Conference 16. Pray for Pastor Tom and Ada 17. Pray for the churches in our local community 18. Praise God for His faithfulness to us all 19. Pray for the youth of our congregation and in the community. 20. Pray for those who are dealing with sickness or other physical issues 21. Pray for Wednesday night Bible studies. That those attending will grow as they dig deeper into the Word of God 22. Pray for the Little Lambs Pre-School 23. Pray for Pastor Jason and Heidi 24. Pray for the Christmas eve service 25. Praise God today for His gift of salvation through Jesus! Immanuel! God with us! 26. Pray for those who are traveling back from visiting family on Christmas 27. Praise God for who He is as you read Psalm Pray for Pastor Tom, Ada, and Dominick DiBella as they make preparations to travel to India in March 29. Open up your directory and take time to pray for others in the congregation 30. As we end the work week, praise God for the gifts and talents He has blessed us with 31. Pray for 2017 in that we continue to allow God to move in our hearts so that we may show the love of Christ to a fallen world And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7 6

7 DECEMBER PRAYER CALENDAR 7

8 To the congregation, Heidi and I would like to thank you all for the cards, gifts and words of affirmation during Pastor Appreciation month. The truth is, we feel appreciated throughout the entire year and October to us is like the icing on the cake. We are truly blessed to have the opportunity to minister to and be a part of such a wonderful supportive family who care about the well-being of their pastors. I also wanted to take a moment to thank you for all the encouragement and support as I have been going through my seminary education and give you an update on how things are progressing. In less than a week I will be finishing up three years and 48 credits worth of seminary and that means I only have six months and two credits remaining in order to fulfill the requirements of 50 credits for graduation in August of During the last three years, I have only taken off one semester which allowed me to finish seminary in record time as a PTI graduate. This was only possible because of the support system Heidi and I have had behind us the entire way. God has blessed us with many of you praying, checking in on us and offering us financial support as we have been providing ministry, taking classes and transitioning from the work force into the ministerial role God has called us to. Our prayer for you is that you continue to walk in accordance to what God has called each of us to do and live a life of joy resting in the glory of God. Pastor Jason and Heidi Smith To the congregation, Anyone feel called to go to Haiti? In the past few months I have been praying about going back to Haiti for another short term mission trip to work with Project Help. During this time I have been asked by Watson Joseph (a pastor and team guide/translator for Project Help) to be his godfather for his seminary graduation. A godfather in Haitian culture is likened to the best man at a wedding in American culture. I agreed to his request and I am considering it a great honor to be with him as he takes his oath to serve God in the position as a Pastor to the Haitian people. The ceremony for graduation is taking place on May 27 th 2017 but I am looking to reach out to those of you who may be interested in serving in Haiti for the week or so prior to this date. Right now we are looking forward to putting a medical/construction team together to work in the Pierre Payen compound. Of course the specifics of the trip are not 100% clear, but at this point that is absolutely normal. Most of you know I have been to Haiti about a dozen times with Churches of God and other independent ministries, so if you have any questions or concerns about the upcoming trip, please do not hesitate to ask me. Until then, I will be praying for God to speak to those of you who may be sensing God s call to serve the people of Haiti. Pastor Jason 8

9 One Mission Ben Tobias Director Travis Helm Assistant Director Ministry -- % YTD Goal CC 2709 Bangladesh Community Development CC 2835 Dom. Rep. Church Planting & Outreach CC 2716 Haiti Medical Ministries CC 2718 Haiti Partnering Fund CC 2802 Latino Outreach CC 2822 Mexico Church Planting & Outreach CC 2814 Missionary Recruitment & Training CC 2834 Venezuela Church Planting & Outreach Missionary Support Accounts CC 2731 Pastor Gordon & Annie Avey CC 2821 Haiti Assistant Director (Edgard Miliace) CC 2735 Pastor Devin & Tabitha Dillinger CC 2737 Stephen & Ubah Carlton CC 2746 Haiti Pastoral Advisor (Watson Joseph) CC 2754 Pastor David & Kenda Kapaku CC 2756 Pastor Doug & Anna Molgaard CC 2761 Steve & Shirley Mossburg CC 2764 Pastors Caleb & Christina Acosta Here are two lists of specific CCM fields and missionaries with significant funding gaps. Please pray about how the Lord is directing you to respond in meeting these needs, and thank you in advance for whatever He prompts you to give. Just a reminder, CCM Administrative Assistant Becca Shrom will be stepping down from her role on Dec. 31, This creates an immediate need for a new Administrative Assistant. Interested individuals need to their résumé (with an introduction letter and references) to CCM Director Ben Tobias at ccm@cggc.org by Dec. 1. This full-time, 30 hour per week position will require availability throughout the work week during office hours. Remember to Pray for Haiti and all other Countries who need to accept the love of Jesus! 9

10 Christmas will be celebrated on Sunday this year which makes it a wonderful day of celebrating our Lord s Birth! We will have a combined Service from 9:30am to 10:30am. There will be no Sunday School Classes so we can join together as families to celebrate God s son, Jesus! We pray that you all would take some time this season to Praise Our Lord who has Our Christmas Eve Service will be different this year since there will be no Cantata. For Christmas Eve we are planning on having Communion and Feet washing for families from 5:30 to 6:45. You may come with your family anytime during those hours. The pastor will be in the front of the Sanctuary and you may walk up with your family to take communion when there is no other family up front. You do not need to wait to be called. The same will be for the feet washing, but it will take place down the hall in room number 13. At 7pm, After the Communion and feet washing, we will have a time of Worship and a Candle lighting Service. There will be refreshments for you to enjoy while you wait for the Service to begin at 7. You do not need to participate in all of these but we want to be sure you are aware that they are available. Communion is a special and precious time for those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior. It makes it even more special when you can share communion with your family. If you have any questions about the Christmas Eve Service, please call the office or pastor Tom Myers. It will soon be Christmas and again this year we would like to brighten our sanctuary with beautiful poinsettias as we celebrate Christ s birth. 6.5 Pot blooms in a foiled container $10.00 each If you wish to order a plant please call the office by December 11th. You may use cash or if you prefer a check, please make your check payable to Sue Heil. All purchased poinsettias may be taken home Christmas Day. 10

11 Join High View on Sunday, December 11 th at 7pm for The Christmas Play Program. 12 faithful cast members have been working hard to put on a show that we are praying will touch many Invite your family and friends to an evening out! lives. You will meet 2 Bumbly bums and a congregation who needs to see the true meaning of loving others. Refreshments will be served after the production. If you would like to bring some cookies please let Ada Myers know. Thank you! Train Show Open House At the home of Alvin Brackbill 314 Hilltop Road Strasburg, Pa Dates: Saturday, December 3, 10, 17-10am 5pm Sunday, December 4, 11, 18-1pm 5pm Wednesday, December 21-2pm 8pm Thursday, December 29-2pm 8pm 11