Calvary Courier. Bow Down Before Your Savior. Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church December Upcoming Events. Inside this issue:

Transcription

1 Calvary Courier Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church December 2016 Upcoming Events Children s Christmas Eve Service Practice Dec. 3 & 17 9:00 a.m. Wednesday Advent Services Dec. 7, 14, & 21 7:00 p.m. Supper 5:30 p.m. Ladies Guild Christmas Breakfast Thursday, Dec. 8 9:00 a.m. Christmas for Kids Saturday, Dec. 10 9:00 a.m. Christmas Service Invitations Handout Saturday, Dec. 17 9:00 a.m. Christmas Eve Services Saturday, Dec. 24 Children s Service 6:30 p.m. Carol Service 8:00 p.m. Christmas Day Service Sunday, Dec :00 a.m. New Year s Eve Service Saturday, Dec. 31 7:00 p.m. Inside this issue: Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel 2 Help Needed 2 Advent, Christmas, & New Year s Eve 2 Bible Classes 2 Mesa s Sculptures: Walking Tour Recap 3 Christmas for Kids 4 Your Ladies Guild at Work 5 Lunch Bunch Outing Recap 5 December Birthdays 6 Through My Bible in a Year 6 Worship Schedule Insert Calendar Insert Bow Down Before Your Savior A new Church Year begins on Sunday, November 27, with the season of Advent. Advent simply means coming. More specifically, it refers to the coming of God s Son, Jesus. You will notice that the readings on the Sundays in Advent will focus on different aspects of Christ s coming to us. We will read of his coming on the Last Day to usher in Judgment Day. We also will read about John the Baptist preparing the way of our coming King. Of course, these readings set the stage for our celebration of Christ s coming to us at his birth. Jesus was born to be the Savior of the world this is the glory and mystery of Christmas. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) The oldest Christian church in the world is the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, built in the fourth century over the place where tradition said Jesus was born. It was partially reconstructed in the sixth century and still stands today. The main entrance to the massive stone church is a small door, about four feet high by three feet wide. During the Middle Ages, there was a huge doorway through which the Turks rode on horseback into the church and slaughtered many Christians as they worshiped. In response to this attack, the large entrance was reduced in size to be so small that only a man could enter, and then only when he stooped over, almost down to his knees. They called it the Door of Humiliation. This is a reminder to Christians that to come into the presence of God, they must come bowing before him. We bow before God in joyous and humble response to what he did for us. God humbled himself, stooped to our level so that he could lift us up from sin and death. God took upon himself our very nature. This is why Jesus is called Immanuel which means God with us. God has come to us. Jesus is very God of very God. In order to rescue us from the grip of sin, death, and the devil, our Lord became man. He lived a perfect, sinless life in our place and shed his holy blood to pay the penalty for our sin. The manger contains the fullness of God and his love for the world. Some will replace Jesus with reindeer, snowmen and jolly old elves and still believe they are celebrating Christmas. But without Jesus, God s Son, there is no heavenly joy and no everlasting peace. Thankfully, God has come to us! Jesus has brought peace to burdened souls weighed down by sin. He has brought joy to those who previously had no hope. He still offers and gives the gift of salvation and an eternal, glorious life with him. God has come to us. Let us bow down and worship him. God grant you a joyous and blessed Advent and Christmas season! Pastor Martin Spaude 1270 N. Dobson Rd. Chandler, Arizona Phone: Website:

2 Calvary s Mission Statement: As members of this congregation, our constant aim is to share the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ with all people based on the inspired, infallible Holy Scriptures and to exemplify our faith through Christian living as commissioned by our Savior. Calvary s Church Leaders: Pastor Martin Spaude Pastor Roger Sprain Staff Minister: Charlie Kuether President: David Gannon Secretary: Rodger Johnson Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel Celebrate the advent of our Savior with Stephen Bautista and his daughter Marissa Renée, featuring the music from their new Christmas CD, A Wondrous Journey. This will take place during our second midweek Advent service on December 14, at 7:00 p.m. Stephen is a friend of Chris Driesbach, who played a concert at Calvary last year. Stephen is a WELS member from Las Vegas, Nevada, and a full-time Christian Music Missionary who seeks to enlighten the lost and encourage the found with his original, Christ-centered music. He tours the country with his wife, their eight roadschooled children, and a cat, living in a travel trailer they pull behind a Chevy Express van. Stephen has four Nashville-produced CDs available for purchase at his concerts and worship services. His music is also available online at BautistaMusic.com, itunes, Amazon, and most other online outlets. There will be an opportunity to support Stephen s music mission by purchasing his CDs and/or contributing a freewill offering that will help him continue spreading the Gospel with his music. For more information about Stephen s music and upcoming events, visit BautistaMusic.com. Financial Secretary: Paul Spaude Treasurer: Scott Abbe Evangelism/Stewardship Director: Aaron Remsburg Education Director: Ben Coker Property Director: Brad Reinke Bible Classes The Sunday morning Bible Class is concluding our study of the book of Revelation. The next study will be looking at Deadly Desires: A study of homosexuality. The Wednesday Bible Class will resume in January. Take a picture of this with your phone to visit: Like us on Facebook: CalvaryLutheranChurchChandler Help Needed On Saturday, December 17, the Evangelism Committee will be hanging invitations to our Christmas services on doors of the houses in Calvary s neighborhood. This will begin at 9:00 a.m. and last for a couple hours. Any and all help will be appreciated. Help to get the word out that Christ the Savior has been born. Christmas Services Celebrate the birth of the Savior together with your church family. The Christmas Eve children s service will be at 6:30 p.m. The Christmas Eve carol service will be at 8:00 p.m. The Christmas Day Song Service (Sunday) will be at 10:00 a.m. (We will not be having the 9:00 a.m. regular Sunday service.) Midweek Advent Services Midweek Advent services will be held on the three Wednesdays before Christmas: December 7, 14 & 21. The services will begin at 7:00 p.m. Please note that the second service will be a brief meditation followed by the concert by Stephen Bautista. As in the past, there will be a dinner served prior to the services beginning at 5:30 p.m. New Year s Eve Service As 2016 comes to a close, we will usher it out with a communion service on December 31, at 7:00 p.m. (There will not be the regular Saturday evening 6:00 p.m. service.) On Sunday, January 1, we will have the normal Sunday service at 9:00 a.m. Calvary Courier page 2

3 Mesa s Sculptures: Walking Tour Recap BY SUE SCHROEDER If you needed to confirm to yourself just how beautiful a fall day in Arizona can be, you should have joined Friendship Gang on their outing in downtown Mesa on October 29. We had a leisurely stroll down both the south side and north side of Main Street, viewing about thirty pieces of Mesa s permanent sculpture collection. As is an unwritten rule of the group, a lunch was in order near the end of the tour. So, we enjoyed Mexican entrees at Mangos. It was a lovely morning! Calvary Courier page 3

4 realice proyectos celebre la Navidad Navidad para Niños haga y coma refrigerios participe en juegos cante bellas canciones Date: Fecha: Saturday, December 10, 2016 Time: Hora: 9AM-12PM Place: Lugar: Calvary Lutheran Church, 1270 N. Dobson Rd. Chandler, AZ Contact information: Información: register at Calvary Courier page 4

5 Your Ladies Guild at Work BY JAN ENDERLE This group is open to all women of Calvary. We meet the second Thursday of the month at 9:30 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Our meetings consist of a Bible study with Pastor Spaude and a business meeting. This is a good opportunity to be involved in your church activities. For information, call Jan Enderle at Annual Christmas Breakfast Everyone is invited to join us at IHOP for Calvary s annual Christmas Breakfast sponsored by Your Ladies Guild. IHOP is located on the southeast corner of Alma School and Elliot. The address is 935 W. Elliot Rd., Chandler. There is a sign-up sheet on the back counter of the Narthex. Please let us know if you will be joining us so we can give IHOP a head count. See you there! Lunch Bunch Outing Recap BY SUE SCHROEDER The theme for this outing became: What next?? This is ridiculous!! We met at the SocialBox on November 12. If something could go wrong regarding food and service during this luncheon, it did! As it was, the group of five diners became increasingly bonded in laughter. They, though thoroughly disappointed, had such a fun time. This is the wonderful spirit of Christian friends. Join us for fun in the upcoming months. Greeting Cards Your Ladies Guild has stocked new boxes of all occasion greeting cards. These cards are provided as a service to the congregation and are sold at cost. They are displayed on a rack during fellowship time on the patio before and after the Sunday service as well as in the fellowship hall at all times. Alpha Pregnancy In keeping with their mission statement Spread the Gospel while emphasizing the sanctity of life, Alpha Pregnancy is distributing Bible story books along with diapers, formula, clothing, blankets, etc. to mothers-to-be. This is an ongoing project supported by your Ladies Guild. We are asking for additional donations of these books. They are available at most of the dollar stores as well as other discount stores. We are keeping a box in the Narthex for donations. Thank you for your support. Food Pantry Calvary has been blessed to be able to help members and reach out to non-members through our food bank. We have been asking for donations and members have responded with great enthusiasm. The shelves have been re-stocked and we do have extras to replenish. Generally the usage goes up during the holidays. Thank you for continuing to support the Calvary Food Bank. There is a container on the patio every Sunday for donations or they can be dropped off in the kitchen, fellowship hall or the coffee room. Church Cleanup Day Recap On November 18 and 19, a dozen members of Calvary took over the church from narthex, to altar, fellowship hall, cry room, coffee room/food bank, windows and music center. Every nook and cranny was washed, waxed, vacuumed, scrubbed, and polished. It was a lot of work, but fun as well. Thank you so much to everyone who participated. Great job. Calvary Courier page 5

6 December Birthdays Best wishes to the following who celebrate birthdays this month: Allen Knepprath December 1 Zachary Altman December 5 Michelle Spaude December 6 Dustin Moore December 9 Tanner Lowry December 11 Ron Clegg December 17 Ronald Enderle December 17 Tina Milward December 17 Sarah Converse December 19 Roger Johnson December 20 Joan O Claire December 24 Kayla Armbruster December 25 James Armbruster December 28 Harold Laubenstein December 29 Shyann Dugan December 30 (If your birthday is not listed, tell the Office Manager, Randi Rasmussen, so your records can be updated.) Through my Bible IN A YEAR Cut this out and place it in your Bible: December 1 2 Corinthians Corinthians Galatians Galatians Ephesians Ephesians Philippians Colossians Thessalonians Thessalonians Timothy Timothy Titus Philemon 15 Hebrews Hebrews Hebrews Hebrews James Peter Peter Peter John John & 3 John 26 Jude-Revelation Revelation Revelation Revelation Revelation Revelation 19-22