HIGHLANDS HIGHLIGHTS Highlands ARP Merry Christmas December, 2018 Welcome New Members Melvin and Carolyn Crook Melvin and Carolyn live in Lawrenceville. Melvin s favorite hymn is Amazing Grace and his favorite Bible verse is John 3:16. He served in the Army. He is retired and enjoys golf, watching football. Carolyn s favorite hymn is It is Well With My Soul and her favorite verse is Matthew 6:25-27. Carolyn is retired and enjoys reading and having lunch with friends. They have a white dove named Annabell. Melvin and Carolyn became members of Highlands on October 21st. Gene and Yvonne Wade Gene and Yvonne live in Loganville. Gene s favorite hymns are Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art. He served in the Army. He is part of the Robertson, and Hope Clans. He is retired and enjoys grilling and genealogy. Yvonne s favorite hymns are Amazing Grace and Rock of Ages. Her favorite Bible verse is Colossians 3:15. She is also retired and enjoys cross stitch and crossword puzzles. Gene and Yvonne became members of Highlands on October 21st. Special points of interest: Dec 2 Puppet Show Dec 5 Soup Nite Fund Raiser, Talent Show Dec 10 Soup Nite Caroling Dec 11 Ladies Night Out Dec 12 Birthday Celebration, Children Nativity Dec 16 Cantata, Christmas Dinner Dec 18 MMO Christmas Program Dec 19 Youth Christmas Party Dec 24 Christmas Eve Service Inside this issue: From the Pastor 2 Young Family Ministry 3 MMO 4 Youth 5 WOC 7 Events Soup Nite 8 11
From the Pastor You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's. (Exodus 20:17 ESV) We ve finally arrived at the last of the Ten Commandments which deals primarily with the desires of our hearts. What makes this commandment significant is not only the fact that it speaks to heart issues but it s also the only one that is repetitive. The command You shall not covet is used twice for emphasis which tells us that this particular issue of sin is one that s very dangerous and very rampant in the lives of many people even today and sadly it also infiltrates the lives of those who profess faith in Jesus. Now, there s a very fine line between what it means to covet and that of enjoying all the blessing of God in this life. As the Apostle Paul points out that it is God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy in this life. (1 Timothy 6:17 ESV). You see, the issue isn t with desiring the good things in life that were meant for us to enjoy but in what s behind the reason for wanting them in the first place. As I ve often heard people say: I don t want what so and so has. I simply want one just like it. The question of course is: why do you want one just like it? Is it only because they have it and you re not wanting to fall behind your neighbor or is there a real reason for desiring it that it might be something useful and helpful to your own life or that of your family? There are actually two very specific examples in Scripture of lives that were severely damaged as a result of coveting what belonged to someone else. First, there s the story of King David in 2 Samuel 11-12. It seems that David had stayed behind while Israel went out to battle. One night he was on his roof and he noticed Uriah s wife, Bathsheba, bathing and decided that he wanted her for his own. Even though he was married and had plenty of women in the palace he desired what belonged to someone else. Of course, Bathsheba became pregnant and in order to cover up his sin he had Uriah recalled home. However, being a man of integrity, Uriah wouldn t go into his house while his men were fighting on the battlefield. So, David then sent him back and order his whole battalion to the front lines where they were killed in battle. David then took Bathsheba to be his wife and it all started with coveting. Second, there s the story of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel in 1 Kings 21. It appears they liked to garden or at the very least liked to have a garden. There was a man, named Naboth, who owned a very beautiful garden right next to the palace. It was so close that King Ahab could see it from the palace and he really wanted that garden. So, Queen Jezebel arranged for Naboth to be brought up with false charges and he was eventually killed. King Ahab got the garden but in the end was guilty of murder and it all started with coveting. Coveting is a very dangerous sin as it can lead to jealousy, which in turn can lead to feelings of envy, actions of ill intent toward others, and even destroying, not only our lives, but also the lives of others. It s also the sign of a heart that hasn t yet found full contentment in the Lord who alone is able fully to satisfy all our desires. We re at the beginning of the Christmas season which is the time we celebrate by generously giving and gratefully receiving gifts. We do this because God has so generously given to us. He sent His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to meet the greatest need of our lives redemption. So, enjoy this season of giving and receiving. Just be careful not to fall into the trap of coveting. Page 2 Pastor Mark Highlands ARP
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Highlands MMO & Preschool December Merry Christmas! It s hard to believe that it s already December and we are almost half way through the school year! The students have learned so much, and it s fun to watch their progress. They had a great time learning about the first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims and Native Americans. This month we will be using Christmas and it s special activities to reinforce their learning! We will talk about the colors of wreaths, stockings, and candy canes! We will count the antlers on the reindeer, and we will talk about giving smiles as presents to all they meet. We will learn about the first Christmas. It should be a fun month. We invite you to join us for a Christmas Program on Dec. 18 at 11:00 am! Highlands MMO & Preschool is reaching out to our community to provide quality Christian childcare and instruction for families with young children. Please pray for this outreach ministry of Highlands ARP Church. Page 4 Highlands ARP
November has always been a busy and exciting month for youth ministry at Highlands. This month we had the opportunity to travel to Bonclarken with 7 of our students for the Middle School Retreat. The students participated in large group worship, games, and small group seminars on various topics. It was a fun and helpful retreat for the students as they bonded together and learned a lot. This month we also participated in the Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Ministry, packing and sending almost 50 boxes to children across the country. Thank you to all who were able to take part in this ministry! Thank you also to the youth who came out to help with the annual Thanksgiving pancake breakfast. It was a joy for us to serve the pancakes and drinks! In youth group we have continued our study of the Shorter Catechism, focusing this month on questions regarding how Christ is our prophet, priest, and king. We also created a thankful tree on the chalkboard wall in the youth room where we counted the many blessings that God has given us this year. Thank you for your support and prayers for the youth ministry. Please continue to pray that through this ministry, these students will be given a strong foundation as they grow into young men and women No Sunday School December 23, 30 No Wednesday Night Activities December 19, 26, and January 2 December 5 Talent Show December 12 Christmas Nativity December 16 Christmas Dinner December 19 Christmas Party at the McCoy s Home December 24 Candlelight Service Highlands Highlights Page 5
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This year we are going to have our dinner at M and J Home Cooking in Snellville located at 3050 Main Street. We will have a private room that holds 40 so please invite your lady friends and family members to join you. This is a great out reach to the ladies in our life. Faith Wallace is planning a fun cookie exchange so please bring a tin of about a dozen cookies or candies to exchange. Every lady that worships at Highlands is encouraged to join us. It will be a fun evening for only $9 per person. SUNDAY SCHOOL RECESS SUNDAY SCHOOL RECESS The Highlands Session has adjusted the December Education schedule to recess Sunday School on the 23rd and 30th of December. This is considered a Highlands Highlights good idea since many will be traveling. Chris McCoy is sending out a calendar of advent season events for the youth. All Sunday School scholars are asked to remember and share the Dec 23 & 30 recess dates. Christmas Blessings to you and your family, Don Reinhardt Page 7
This was our 85th year for having the EL Bell Thanksgiving Pancake Breakfast. This breakfast is a fund raiser to support our youth mission trip, Thank you to everyone that got up so early on Thanksgiving morning to worship our great God and support our youth. It is always a pleasure to welcome the Bell family back at Highlands. Page 8 Highlands ARP
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Wednesday Nights Decorating for Advent, Thank you for helping! Page 10 Highlands ARP
Soup Nite Wow, the rain came pouring down on our 1st Soup Nite in November. Being Veterans Day and just dreary outside, no one expected us to get many visitors on this night. However, God was so gracious and got all His guests to us safely and cheerfully. We had no food left over and once again, people were so happy with having Pumpkin Chili on a rainy day. We stayed late to accommodate the last clients over at the CoOp so that they could come over to us. An extra 9 people came through our doors and took anything we had left. We had our regular visiting family, Ms. Yvette and her 4 children, eat in with us and we celebrated a birthday. Mr. Winfrey and Xavier came to get their 15 meals and once again, blessed us with a prayer. Both Jane and Bob were missed, however, I was very grateful for the outpouring of love in assistance from our volunteers to get this meal done right. It was a good night. On our 2nd Soup Nite, it was Pizza Night! Thank you to Bonnie for arranging it all for us. As a side dish, we made a salad and Jane was able to use the kale from the garden in our salads. As with our Pumpkin Chili, we used garden greens in it too! Everyone got On December 5th, at 2 slices of pizza, salad and dessert! Pastor Steve, fundraiser for our ministry. Highlands, we will have a Dewey and Charles had the opportunity We will only have one Soup to pray with a lady Nite, on December 10th who was new to our Soup Nites. Please lift her up in your prayers as well. We never know what people are going through when they come to see us. I am glad she was willing to share with them. Ms. Baxter came back after months of being away. She is still going thru trials and tribulations. Please pray for her and her family. She needs back surgery and continues to try to work at Taco Bell. In December, we will only have one Soup Nite, on December 10th. It will be our Christmas Dinner, including a chicken breast, yams, green beans, stuffing and mashed potatoes. We will ask each volunteer to make at home the chicken and bring it back to us on that Monday, already cooked. Jane and I will take care of making all the sides. I will send out an email to remind you when it gets closer. On December 5th, at Highlands, we will have a fundraiser for our ministry. We are making 3 different meals in crockpots and serving them to the people who come to our regular Fellowship dinners on Wednesday. This will start at 7pm. I am going to do a brief talk telling about Soup Nite. We will have a slide show and everyone will get to sample the meals that we make for our guests. Everyone please come! After dinner, there is a talent show and it's always fun! Again, we are approaching the end of the year and filled with many blessings. Thank you for your willingness to serve God's people and receive the blessings He bestows upon those who listen to His voice. In Christ, Carrie Macaluso Highlands Highlights Page 11
Highlands Blood Drive Tuesday, January 8, 2019-2:30 p.m. 7:00 p.m. You don t need a special reason to give blood. You just need your own reason. Some of us give blood because we were asked by a friend. Some know that a family member or a friend might need blood someday. Some believe it is the right thing we do. Whatever your reason, the need is constant and your contribution is important for a healthy and reliable blood supply. And you ll feel good knowing you've helped change a life. Did you know that there are only 2 regularly scheduled blood drives in the city of Grayson and only one in Loganville? Highlands is sponsoring our next blood drive on Tuesday, January 8, 2019 from 2:30 p.m. till 7:00 p.m. Our goal is 17 pints hopefully you can find a time to give that works in your schedule. If you haven t given in a while, or if you ve never given, this is a great time to start! There will be a sign-up sheet in the narthex in mid- November or you can visit www.redcrossblood.org, search for 30017 and January 8 and sign up online. If you have any questions, please contact Betsy Whitson at 404-790-8936 or bjwhitson@bellsouth.net Page 12 Highlands ARP
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 9:00 SS 10:00 Worship 11:00 Puppet Show 3 4 7pm Ladies Bible Study 5 Omar Edmondson 6:00 Choir Practice 6:30 Youth 7:00 Dinner 7:30 Soup nite Talent show 6 Don Reinhardt 7 8 9 Benjamin Coker 9:00 SS 10:00 Worship 10 Kristy Summers 5:00 Soup Nite Delivery & Christ- mas caroling 11 7:00 Ladies Night Out 12 6:00 Choir Practice 6:30 Youth 7:00 Dinner 7:30 Birthday celebrations, Children's Nativity 13 Lyn Alimena 14 15 Robert Whittle 16 9:00 SS 10:00 Cantata 11:00 Christ- mas dinner 17 17 18 11:00 MMO Christ- mas Program 19 Youth Christmas Party at the McCoy's 20 21 22 23 10:00 Worship 24 Stephan Miller 7pm Christmas Eve Service 25 25 26 27 27 Daniel McCoy 28 29 Alex McGill 30 Frank Sexton 31 Earl Thomas 10:00 Worship Highlands Highlights Page 13
Worship Times And Activities Sunday: 9:00 AM Sunday School for all Ages 10:00 AM Worship 11:00 AM Bell Practice Tuesday: 7:00 PM Ladies Weekly Bible Study Wednesday: 6:00 PM Choir practice Thursday: Saturday: 6:30 PM Youth & Children fun and games 7:00 PM Dinner 7:30 PM Bible Study 7AM Men's Prayer Breakfast at Main Street Restaurant on Hwy 78 in Snellville 11:00AM Ladies Bible Study, 3rd Thurs of the month 8:00AM 3rd Saturday Men s Monthly Bible Study 9:00 AM Fellowship Breakfast (Periodically) 9:45 AM Highlands Men of the church & WOC meeting Important Phone Numbers (770) 978-3001-Phone (770) 972-3008-Fax Email: highlandarp@gmail.com Pastor: Associate Pastor: Music Director: Secretary : Mark Hornby Chris McCoy Bonnie Hornby Alexia Cundey Highlands Highlights December, 2018 Newsletter Candle Lighters: Dec 2 Jacob Blandshaw Dec 9 John Mark Avitabile Dec 16 Nate Edmondson Dec 23 Thomas Kuykendall Dec 30 Jacob Blandshaw Warmly Welcoming our Members & Visitors each week: Dec 2 Jim Whitson, Stan Whitaker, Sal Macaluso, Jon Jones Dec 9 Phillip Wallace, John Avitabile, Earl Thomas, Rob Kuykendall Dec 16 Robert Whittle, Lee Hunt, George O'Farrell, Justin Jacques Dec 23 Paul McInnish, Glenn Martin, Charles Roberts, John West Dec 30 Bill Alimena, Zack Caughman, Don Reinhardt, CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED Nursery & Children's Church Nursery Schedule for Worship Dec 2-Megan Sinclair Dec 9 Lea Whittle Dec 16 -Megan Sinclair Dec 23 -Carole Sexton Dec 30 Leizl Spiller Preschool Children's Church - Dec 2 Michelle McCoy Dec 9 Megan Sinclair Dec 16-Lynn Avitabile Dec 23- Megan Sinclair Dec 30- Megan Sinclair Elementary Children's Church Gail O Farrell