De Soto Baptist Church

Transcription

1 E N G A G E D I N T H E M I N I S T R Y O F R E C O N C I L I A T I O N De Soto Baptist Church For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. DECEMBER 2016 The wonderful, glorious Advent Season is upon us when all Christians, in spite of our diversities, celebrate the same Good News which is for all people. I would suggest that individually, as a couple, or as a family, you consider the following readings and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. Week 1: Hope - Read Hebrews 11:1, Romans 8:28, Jeremiah 17.7, Psalm 39:7. How has hope in God affected your life? How does it affect your attitude toward the future? Week 2: Peace - Read Psalm 29:11, John 14:27, John 16:33, Romans 14:19. How is the peace God gives to our hearts different from the peace of the world? What are some things we can do to help bring about greater peace in the hearts of others? Week 3: Joy - Read Romans 12:12, Psalm 16:11, John 1:12, Nehemiah 8:10 What are some of the joys of being a child of God? How does the joy of the Lord give you strength? Week 4: Love - Read John 3:16, I John 4:16 & 17, Romans 12:10 1 Corinthians' 16:14 Who are some people who have demonstrated God s love to you? How? How can you help others to know and receive the gift of God s love? Christmas: Read Isaiah 9:6, I John 5:12, Ephesians 3:17-19 Describe how you received the gift of Christ into your life. Share how Christ has made a difference in your life. Everyone share some Christmas memories. May the Hope, Peace, Joy and Love of Christ be yours. Pastor

2 The Doers Monday Evenings Dec. 3 rd 10:30 am - ABW Christmas Brunch - Sweet Acres Inn -Eudora, 103 E. 7th Street 5:00 pm Mayor s Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, Soup dinner, Art Center Open at City Hall. Dec. 4 th 2 nd Sunday of Advent Communion 6:00 pm ABGirls Christmas Tea Dec. 5 th 6:30 pm Doers of the Word & Men s Bible Study Dec 5, 12 & 6:30 P.M. in the new conference room Contact Karen Wall or Mary Etta Copeland Monday Evenings 6:30 P.M. In the Galen Weese Room Contact Pastor Copeland - - Dec. 7 th 7:00 pm Deacons & Trustee Meetings 7:30 pm Church Business Meeting Dec. 10 th 7:30 am Men s Breakfast at Wanda s Dec. 11 th 3 rd Sunday of Advent 11:00 am Jr. Joys Christmas Program 1:45pm Cantata Choir & Youth sing at Crown Center Dec. 12 th 6:30 pm Doers of the Word & Men s Bible Study Dec. 13 th Pray for our Central Region Churches Dec. 14 th 5:30 pm MOPS Dec. 18 th 4 th Sunday of Advent 6:30 pm Instruments play for Cantata 7:00 pm Christmas Cantata Bring cookies & candies to share THE SCRIP PROGRAM - These are gift cards that are available to numerous merchants such as Applebee s - Chili s On the Border Long Horn Steak House Borders Kohl s Pizza Hut Panera Bread Red Lobster/Olive Garden Wal-Mart. These merchants donate a portion of each purchase back to our church. Contact Rick and Monica Walker for more details. Some cards are available immediately. Other merchants may be available upon request. Order today! Dec. 25 th Christmas Day No Sunday School classes Finance Report for October 2016 For unto us a child is born... ~ Isaiah 9:6 Beginning Bal. $ 45, Deposits 16, Disbursement 8, Ending Bal. 52, Improvement Fund $135,683.27

3 Thanksgiving...so much to be thankful for. How Jesus gave His life for each of us despite the brokenness of the world. Now Christmas and a celebration of Joy, Peace, Hope & Love. It will be a very busy month getting the sanctuary decorated for the Advent season, and planning a time of fellowship after the Cantata. Thank you so much again for everyone in so many capacities that are serving in the name of the Lord. There are always additional opportunities at this time of the year for example "see and serve" with adopting families from not only our community but also Bethel. Please do not forget the cleaning supplies that we take to Bethel. This is over and above the adoption of families, but they so badly need this vital ministry. Seek the opportunity during this season to be more like Jesus in all you do. As He looks down on each of us may He be well pleased with this "spirit of giving". Merry Christmas! Anita Woywod, President ABW DOERS OF THE WORD HOLIDAY SCHEDULE: The Doers We will be completing our study of the Sara Young series this month. All women are encouraged to join us, even if you have not been a part of this fall s study. Each week is one where you can come unprepared, and you will still be greatly blessed by the sharing and insights that we experience each week. We meet on Mondays from 6:30-8:00 p.m. on Dec. 5, 12, and 19 th. OPERATION CHRISTMAS AT DBC! This year our church has adopted 5 families from the Bethel Neighborhood Center and 4 families from the De Soto School District for Operation Christmas - providing gifts for needy families in our area and in the Bethel KCK area as well. People sign up for various children and their parents and provide gifts based on their wish lists. These are to be returned to the church to be distributed to those families. Please see the sign-up sheets on the bulletin board so that you and your family can take part in sharing and giving to those less fortunate. Thank you so much to everyone who will be providing for these children and their parents - you have made their Christmas brighter in sharing the love of Christ. THANKSGIVING FOOD BASKETS A HUGE SUCCESS!! Congratulations to everyone who contributed in any way to our Thanksgiving Food Drive for Needy Families. This drive, in conjunction with our De Soto Food Pantry, provided the fixings for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for well over 100 De Soto Families. This was made possible through the donations of our congregation, other churches, businesses and organizations of the De Soto area. Volunteers from our church delivered 35 baskets from DBC alone. Thank you, Thank you for your generous support of this annual project May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope; The spirit of Christmas which is peace; The heart of Christmas which is love. `Ada V. Hendricks

4 DBC Cook Book - - Available now This cookbook is a tribute to the past and present great cooks we have at DBC. Would be a great Christmas present Contact Linda Lane 12oakslane@gmail.com or Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers meeting on Dec. 14 Our December MOPS meeting will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 14. We welcome all mothers and children 0-5 to our meetings that run from 5:30 (starting with a simple supper), and end at 7:30. We are ALWAYS looking for those who might be willing to help us in providing care and service in the kitchen, in the nursery, helping with the Pre-K class. Please contact Brooke Brownell or Karen Wall if you would share two hours of your time at one or more of these monthly meetings. ANNUAL ABW CRAFT AUCTION A HUGE SUCCESS! On Sunday, Nov. 6, a large group gathered in Fellowship Hall for a wonderful time of food, fellowship, laughter, and good-natured bidding as our church family so generously supported the work of ABW for the upcoming year. A dinner of Baked Potatoes with all of the toppings plus salads and desserts was enjoyed by all. Then, we were again so blessed to have Jeff Ruckert serve as our auctioneer. Jeff grew up in our church and presently lives in Manhattan. He shared a most poignant and touching story of how the foundation laid at De Soto Baptist was part of his being able to recently lead a former DeSoto classmate to the Lord. Having Jeff with us always brings a great blessing to us. He always shares the great memories and wonderful faith-building experiences he had as part of our church family. Because we took part in the Octoberfest Craft Fair on Oct. 29, food items provided the main draw for our auction. As a result from both the Craft Fair and the Baked Potato/Food Auction, $3400 was raised for our local ABW projects and for regional and international mission projects as well. If we combine that with the $800 raised at the Pie Booth during the Sunflower Art Fest, we have a grand total of $4200. A huge Thank You needs to go to all of those who brought items and for those who so generously bid and bought them. I truly believe that if we keep telling the Christmas story, singing the Christmas songs, and living the Christmas spirit, we can bring joy and happiness and peace to this world. ~ Norman Vincent Peale ( ), American Protestant religious leader and author. During the beautiful season of Christ's coming into our world, De Soto Baptist will be filled with the musical sounds of Hope, Joy, Peace & Love as our Choirs and Instrumentalists share their God-given gifts of music! On Sunday morning December 11th our Jr. Joy Singers will be featured in worship under the direction of Tami Reeves. The Jr. Joy Singers and Adult Choir will also spread the message of Christmas in the setting of Crown Center at 1:45 that afternoon. On the evening of December 18th beginning at 6:30 p.m.carols will be heard from the balcony as our Brass and Wind players share their gifting, this will preceed our annual cantata by the Adult Choir. The Song of the Angels: Glory to God in the highest and on earth, Peace. ~ Luke 2:14

5 I m Exhausted! Gwen Smith with Girlfriends in God - Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly" (Matthew11:30, MSG). Friend to Friend I had just arrived at my favorite coffee shop. As I opened the door, the smell of freshly brewed java greeted me and filled my creative mind with possibilities. I was eager to get to work and excited that my warm, happy coffee-friend would come along with me for the ride. As I grabbed a cup from the counter and paid, I asked the barista how she was doing. I m exhausted! She lamented with a sigh. I knew exactly how she felt. I feel that way a lot! I m famous for trying to put ten pounds of living into a fivepound sack. She was tired. Stressed. Drained. Over-committed. Under-rested. Exhausted. Yep. I totally know that feeling. Have you been there? Ha! Of course you have! It s so easy for us to rush into our days and get busy with life stuff, attempting to accomplish mountains of tasks and emotional situations in our own strength. We are constantly pulled in a million directions. Trying to juggle the slow, steady drain of complicated relationships, crazy schedules, and weighty challenges. The simple truth is, our exhaustion problems can t be solved without God. I find it comforting to realize that we aren t the first people to struggle with feelings like this. All throughout Scripture people got worn-out and lamented about their tired souls. David wrote countless Psalms about being weary, and Elijah was so exhausted at one point that he sank into a deep depression and lost his God-courage. Jesus spoke to a crowd of people in Galilee one day about the only surefire solution to our exhaustion problem. He said, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30, NIV) The MESSAGE paraphrase of those same verses reads this way, Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." (Matthew 11:28-30, MSG) When you keep company with Jesus you ll learn to live freely and lightly. Does that sound appealing to you? If so, then it s time to respond to His invitation. Whether you have thirty seconds or thirty minutes, pause now to turn to Him. Grab your prayer journal if you have one. Center your heart on His splendor and approach Him with reverence. While you are in His presence, empty your exhaustion out before Him. Tell Him the concerns on your heart and take a soul rest. That day in the coffee shop, as I filled my cup I gave my exhausted, coffee-serving friend a smile and a knowing look. Then I spoke a word of hope to her heart and encouraged her to refuel in the secret place, the presence of God. She smiled back and thanked me for the reminder. She loves the Lord, but like all of us she sometimes forgets that soul rest is available. Keep company with Him today. All day. When you do, you ll experience His strength for each moment and His hope in each challenge. Live freely and lightly in Jesus, girlfriend. Let s Pray Heavenly Father, You hold the rest that I need. Thank You for reminding me that I can always come to you and trade in my exhaustion for Your rejuvenation. Please restore my soul. In Jesus Name, Amen

6 Engaged in the ministry of reconciliation De Soto Baptist Church Richard G. Copeland, Pastor P.O. Box E De Soto, Kansas Address Service Requested NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PERMIT #3 DE SOTO, KANSAS December.