SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

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1 Ebenezer Lutheran Church Port Hudson The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod 9100 Highway YY Leslie, Missouri Parsonage Church Rev. William F. Zastrow, Pastor Mary Sprick, Secretary ebenezerlutheranchurch.wordpress.com SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT A Shoot with Humble Beginnings Brings Peace on Earth December 5, 2010 AS WE GATHER: Isaiah pictures peace on earth. Animals that would normally eat each other are now relaxing and eating together. A leopard stretches out and takes a nap next to a goat rather than crouching to attack. A wolf no longer snarls and prowls around a lamb, but the two are best buddies, playing together. You won t hear Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! anymore. They ll eat grass and nap in a pasture with a bunch of cows, and not one cow will get nervous about the arrangement. Natural enemies in the animal world will become friends, living in perfect harmony. A child, perhaps no older than a baby crawling, will find a snake to play with, laughing at the sound of the rattle it makes. And the snake is not warning the little one to stay away, but simply enjoying the laughter and company of the child. No harm, no danger, no threat, even from a poisonous snake.

2 Peace on earth. The picture is beautiful. The weakest and most vulnerable will be safe and secure. No one will get hurt. No one will be in harm s way. No more injustice. No more enemies. No more war. Just living together in harmony and peace. What expectation and joy! PRAYER BEFORE WORSHIP: God of love, you call your people to live in harmony with one another. Where there is discord in your church, restore it to unity and truth. Where there is strife between peoples, bring repentance, reconciliation, and peace. Where we have harmed ourselves through our own sinful action, grant us true repentance and the assurance of forgiveness. We pray in Jesus name, Amen. THE DIVINE SERVICE DIVINE SERVICE I, page 136 HYMNS: 28, 30, 239, 246, 16 OUR MISSION AND MINISTRY IN OUR PRAYERS: We pray our Lord will bring hope, healing and comfort to our members, friends of Ebenezer, and our many shut-ins, especially Lawrence Pelster, Mary Wesche who will be undergoing tests this week, Ed and Ruth Gardner, Marie Adams, Eric Hohlt, Christine Anderson, Delores Roehrs, Mathilde Ohse, Leonard Brune, Elda Vohs, Ardell Wagner, Ray and Irene Bargen, Edna Deppermann, Ken Obermann, Ruth Marks, Cornelia Bunge, Adeline Keune, and all those

3 we hold dear in our hearts. We ask the Lord s Blessings to be upon all our Missouri Synod, District, and Circuit Officials and the many agencies of the Lutheran Church that minister to the deaf, the blind, and those with special needs. Grant to all people and the leaders of all nations a spirit of cooperation, peace, and freedom that all may live their days in safety and unity of purpose. We also ask the Lord to bless and protect our law enforcement people, EMT s, firemen, and our men and women serving in the Armed Forces around the world. We continue to ask the Lord to guide and bless the endeavors of our Missionaries serving around the world, especially Robin McCoy, the Rodewald family and John Strasen TO OUR GUESTS AND VISITORS, WE ARE SO GLAD YOU ARE HERE WITH US! May the Word of our Lord refresh you with peace and love during our worship service. We ask that you please sign the guest register near the Church entrance with your name, address, and Church affiliation. Thank you! We sincerely hope you will join us in worship here at Ebenezer again soon! Senior Citizen Christmas Dinner will be held here today at 12:00 noon. We will be having music by a couple of young violinists before the meal. They will be here to play music for about minutes.

4 Thank you A huge Thank you to all who helped with the Senior Citizen dinner today. Whether you prepared food, made cookies, served food, played music, or helped to clean up, you are an important part of the day. Without your help, it could not be as successful a day! Thank you so much!!! Christmas Cards If anyone knows of someone in Iraq or Afghanistan and would like to send them a Christmas card, there are a few cards for servicemen on the table in back of Church. Please help yourself! Midweek Advent Worship Our second Advent Worship Services will be Wednesday, December 8 th at 10:00 AM and 7:30 PM. The theme for this week s service will be It s Time to Wake Up! based on Romans 13:11-14). In Galatians 4:4 we read But when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law. Everything has a time when something happens. This Advent season has many things happening all at special times. Please join us in the Advent midweek services as we prepare for the special time of Christmas. In these sermons and worships we grow in the knowledge of Christ that God sent His son to enter our time and place so that we will live with Him forever in timeless peace. Make time to sacrifice your time to attend these uplifting services! Applebutter The Men s Club has applebutter for sale. Please see Marvin Sprick if you would like to purchase some. This would make a great Christmas gift!! Thank You The Ebenezer Mission Society would like to thank

5 all who donated food to our Thanksgiving service ingathering. The items have all been taken to a local food pantry. There is still a little girl s pink jacket hanging on the coat rack in the dining hall. There are also a number of dishes and containers on the shelves in the kitchen. Christmas Schedule: Christmas Eve Children s program 7:00 PM; Candlelight Service with Holy Communion 11:00 PM, Christmas Day with Holy Communion 10:00 AM, No Saturday afternoon service. Those Serving Today Organist Saturday Laura Nichols Organist Sunday Ruth Marschel Choir On Jordan s Bank Choir Director Kathy Scheer Head Usher Saturday Tracey Bade Head Usher Sunday Lee Kassebaum Altar Guild Mary Adams and Barb Gilbert Acolytes Scheduled to Serve Paul Kassebaum, Cody Adams and Brent Thurmond Bell Ringer Corey Adams Our measure of love in giving last week Weekly envelopes - $1,454.00; Plate $51.00; Sunday School $28,00; Poinsettias $20.00; Thanksgiving offering $30.00; Zastrow Memorial $25.00; Total $1, Attendance Saturday 18; Sunday 89 This Week at Ebenezer Tuesday Elder s meeting 7:00 PM Wednesday Confirmation 6:30 PM Advent Midweek Service 10:00 AM and 7:30 PM Choir Practice after Evening Midweek Service Saturday Children s Christmas Program Practice 9:30 11:00 AM Worship 3:00 PM