Community Christian Reformed Church Kitchener, Ontario December 17, 2017
December 17, 2017 3 rd Sunday of Advent 10:00 a.m. Pastor John Medendorp Elder-in-Charge: Ian B [* Please rise, in body or spirit] Gathering and Greeting Gathering Song: Immanuel Welcome and Announcements *Call to Worship: Leader: Rejoice in the Lord always. All: I will say it again, rejoice! Leader: Let your gentleness be evident to all All: The Lord is near, let us worship him! *God s Greeting and Mutual Greeting *Songs of Praise: Song of the Prophets Confession and Assurance Call to Confession How Long Song of Confession: PsH #257 O Christ, the Lamb of God Silent Prayer of Confession Children s Choir: Away in a Manger Children s Message Advent Prayer Leader: Together we pray: All: Come quickly, Lord Jesus! Leader: Amen Lighting of the Third Candle Children s Blessing Children ages 3 Grade 3 are now invited to participate in Sunday School. Children (ages 3-5 only) need to be signed in and out by a parent or guardian.
Proclamation of the Word Song of Preparation: PsH #194 Comfort, Comfort Now My People Prayer for Illumination Scripture Reading: Psalm 126 Sermon: A Harvest of Joy Prayer of Application Response to the Word Children in Grades 4-6 are invited to participate in their weekly sermon discussion. *Song of Response: PsH #337 Joy to the World Prayers of the People Offering: 1) Ministries of Community Christian Reformed Church 2) Woodland Christian High School Offertory: Emmanuel (Hallowed Manger Ground) *God s Parting Blessing *Doxology: PsH #335 vs. 4 Hark the Glad Sound Postlude The congregation is asked to remain in their seats after the service to allow the Pastor and people with special duties or disabilities to exit first. Please exit when the music begins. Following the service, everyone is invited to come together for fellowship and coffee/tea/juice in the gymnasium. Coffee for seniors is served in the Multi-Purpose room.
6:00 pm Pastor Amanda Bakale [* Please rise, in body or spirit] Praise and Prayer Welcome Call to Worship: Psalm 111 God s Greeting Song of Praise: PsH #244 God Himself is With Us Confession of Faith: Belgic Confession, Article 18 Song of Response: PsH #338 Come and Stand Amazed You People Prayer and Share Offering: Woodland Christian High School Hearing the Word Song of Preparation: What Child is This? Prayer for Illumination Scripture Reading: Revelation 12: 1-9, 13-17 Sermon: On the Incarnation Prayer of Application Song of Response: PsH #364 O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High God s Blessing Doxology: PsH #638 Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow OUR CHURCH FAMILY The bracketed numbers indicate the Community to which these individuals belong As part of her ongoing journey with cancer, Jane D (14) will be undergoing surgery this Tuesday at the Victoria General Hospital in London. Pray that the surgery may be helpful to her and that she may be able to return home soon. Please continue to pray for: those who are shut-in and/or unable to worship with us on a regular basis because of various health issues; Olga S (11) at St. Joseph s Health Care Centre in Guelph;
Hans O, son-in-law, of Dan and Hetty F (7), husband to Rachel and father to Jacob and Hannah those dealing with depression and other forms of mental illness; those dealing with cancer, its treatment and effects: Jane D (14), Shannon B (7); Kerri O (4) those dealing with broken relationships; those who are unemployed or underemployed; John and Jane H with Samaritan Foundation in the Dominican Republic; Anthony and Barbara P with Daystar Ministries on Manitoulin Island; Kim H with Resonate Global Mission in Guatemala; Hank and Rosario S volunteering with Resonate Global Mission in Guatemala the persecuted Church in Sudan and elsewhere in the world; the Ministries and the Leadership of our congregation Thank you congregation for your prayers, words of sympathy and encouragement and your many acts of kindness since Mom/Oma s sudden passing. We take comfort in the knowledge that she died peacefully and we cherish her memories until we see her again. The W s Bernie, Janette, Melissa, Alana, Kaylee and Braydon (13) Thank you to the congregation for your prayers, meals, cards, support and words of sympathy following the passing away of our mom and grandma, Pat D (11) A special thank you to those who faithfully visited our mom while she was in the home. Our comfort is in knowing that our mom is now restored to full health and dwelling in the house of the Lord forever! Rob and Carolyn D (4) Dave D (1) John and Donna V (1) STAFF INFORMATION Pastor Carel continues on vacation and will be back in the office on January 2, 2018. Dec 24 Dec 25 Dec 31 Jan 1 Jan 7 UPCOMING SERVICES 10 a.m. Pastor Amanda 6 p.m. Pastor John Candlelight Service 10 a.m. Christmas Day Service Pastor John 10 a.m. Pastor John 6 p.m. New Year s Eve Service Lord s Supper Pastor Amanda No service 10 a.m. Pastor Amanda 1 st Service of 2018 6 p.m. Pastor John Thank you for all the support by prayers, meals, and many cards during the passing of our brother, brother-in-law and uncle. The H s (14 & 1)
OFFERING SCHEDULE Budget Contributions For December 10, 2017 including Actual Contributions Received Targeted Contributions Contributions (Shortfall)/ Surplus Dec 10 $18,505 $12,743 $5,762 YTD $739,849 $807,318 ($67,470) Aboriginal Ministries $ 1,713 Friendship Ministries $ 75 House of Friendship $ 50 Laurentian Hills Christian School $ 20 This week our offering is for Woodland Christian High School. Woodland Christian High School is a vibrant Christian community of learning where the love of God is evident and where students will be equipped to serve in our society as followers of Christ. Next week our offering is for Christian Horizons. As an expression of Christian faith, Christian Horizons works together with people who experience disabilities to accomplish their goals and nurture communities where everybody belongs. Vouchers: Current vouchers will expire Dec 31, 2017. Please keep this date in mind when ordering voucher purchases. Vouchers purchased in December will have 2018 expiry date. Purchases can be made in the usual way using your budget envelope. At year end, if you still have 2017 vouchers, they can be exchanged for 2018 vouchers. MISSIONARY CORNER We recently received a Campus Notes newsletter from the Guelph Campus Ministry (James V and Sara D). Copies are available at the Information Centre. Please help yourself. COMMUNITY CHURCH NEWS Sunday School News: Sunday School will be taking a break for the next two Sundays (December 24 and December 31). All classes will resume on January 7. There will be colouring sheets available on December 24, 25 and December 31 that tie into the lectionary calendar. Please bring along some crayons or colouring pencils to keep your kids involved. Consistory met this past Tuesday, December 12, 2017. We welcomed to our fellowship Nicole F (8) from Palmerston Christian Reformed Church and Larry and Marjorie B (1) from Calvin Presbyterian Church in Kitchener. Welcome! Membership was transferred to Stratford Christian Reformed Church for Carolyn V and her son Drew (1). The elders approved Emma G (13) for Public Profession of Faith. We look forward to celebrating with her in the near future. CCRC's First Ever Advent Photo-a-Day Challenge: For each day of Advent (Dec 3-25), you are invited to snap a photo inspired by that day's word and share your photo via Facebook or Instagram using the hashtags #ccrcadvent and #(whatever the word is that day). Grab a postcard for more details from the Information Centre and deepen
your engagement with Advent this year! Note: Make sure that you mark your posts as "Share with everyone" instead of just "Share with friends" so that your posts are visible to all via the #ccrcadvent hashtag. CCRC go! Building Proposal/Pledges and Payments: On October 29 th we voted in favor of proceeding with the CCRC go! building project as proposed. In your mailboxes and via email, last week, you have received a pledge commitment form including an optional PAR form. You are encouraged to complete the PAR form at the same time as you fill out your pledges. Please return your pledge commitment forms as soon as possible to the Bookkeeper s mail slot (the deadline is January 15, 2018). Pledge payments can be made using your budget envelope or a plain envelope. Please be sure to indicate on either envelope the amount that is a pledge or Capital Growth Fund offering. Payments received before December 31, 2017 will be receipted for 2017. If you have any questions please contact Karen V or Diana W. Thank you for the pledges and donations received to date! The following ministries are looking for volunteers: The Worship Committee Musicians The Worship Committee Congregational Representative The Kitchen Auxiliary Fire Safety Committee Please check out the Connect, Participate, Serve bulletin board for more details. VINE: Hey Viner's! Today is our last meeting this year! The 2017 year to be specific. Today we will be talking about war. As usual, bring your appetites and questions and enjoy the discussion! If you have any question please contact Trevor B. Cadets (boys 7-13) will meet tomorrow evening at 7:00 p.m. at the church. Knifty Knitters will meet this Tuesday at the church. If you love to knit and/or crochet, please join us at 9:30 a.m. for a morning of caring through crafting. Council meets this Tuesday, December 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the church. Volleyball: All are welcome to join on the 1 st and 3 rd Tuesday of every month at 8:30 p.m. for fun and non-competitive volleyball. If you have questions or would like to know more, please contact Adom P or check out our Facebook Page "Volleyball at CCRC. Coffee Break is taking a break until 2018. We will resume our program on Wednesday, January 17 at 9:30 a.m. Childcare will be provided. We will be studying the following studies: 1) "Uninvited" by Lysa Teurkeurst, 2) "Psalms: My Sentiments Exactly" an Infuse Bible study from Faith Alive, and continuing 3) Beth Moore's "David: A Heart Like His." Looking forward to seeing you all in the New Year!
Are you free on Wednesday mornings? Coffee Break seeking a few more volunteers to serve in our Child Care Programs - we would appreciate any additional volunteer support - highlighting that we have specific need for volunteers in our Infant Nursery and in Anchor Academy (our Home School Class). The volunteer schedule is flexible and we can arrange a commitment - weekly, bi-weekly or monthly that meets your needs. For more information contact: Melodie B. Student Impact High School Youth Thank you to the many youth who have volunteered to help plan and lead the Candlelight Service on December 24! Today, immediately following the service, all youth who are interested will be meeting with Pastor John in Classroom 1 to plan the service. Everyone who is interested is welcome, even if you didn't sign up yet! Practice for the service will be held on Thursday, December 21 @ 7 p.m. Dress rehearsal will be held on Sunday, December 24 @ 5pm. Student Impact continued - Come on out on Wednesday, December 20 at 7 PM for our annual Christmas dinner and activities! The cost is $10 to cover food. Please sign up on the youth board or via Instagram direct message. We will have Mexican food (and Swiss chalet for those with allergies). Please also bring a wrapped "white elephant" gift for our fun gift exchange and wear your ugly Christmas sweaters for our contest? Faith and Hops - Thursday, December 21 @ 6-8 p.m.: If you're a 20ish to 30-something looking for a place to connect and deepen your faith, come on out to Faith + Hops at Williamsburg Arms. Once a month we get together for engaging discussion, fried food, and a beverage of your choice. Check out CCRC's Facebook page closer to the date for the discussion topic! DENOMINATIONAL NEWS For all of the announcements, employment and volunteer opportunities available through the Denomination and others, please see the listing and posters on the Deacons bulletin board across from the washrooms for information. A Theology of Star Wars - Are you excited about Star Wars: The Last Jedi? Some of the sharpest thinkers on theology and pop culture explore key themes in the preceding films in A Theology of Star Wars, an ebook from Think Christian. Simply sign up to receive Think Christian articles by email and the ebook is yours! Learn more at thinkchristian.net/starwars. MISCELLANEOUS Christmas Concert at Laurentian Hills Christian School: The Light of the World! You are invited to join us at Laurentian Hills Christian School (11 Laurentian Drive, Kitchener) for our Christmas Concert to meet The Light of the World! Grades five through eight will delight you with music, dance and drama to honour the Saviour. We have two performances. Monday, December 18th at 1:30 p.m. (Matinee
Performance) and Tuesday, December 19th at 7:00 p.m. (Evening Performance). All are welcome! 2017 CBC Christmas Sing-In - Recorded in mid-december at Montréal's Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, the 38th annual Sing- In will be broadcast on Christmas Day, December 25, across Canada and into Europe. Tune in to your local CBC Radio 2 station at 1:00 p.m. and again to your local CBC Radio One station at 4:00 p.m. Hosted by Katherine Duncan, performers include Organist Dr. Jonathan Oldengarm, soloist tenor John Tessier, Conductor Dr. Jean- Sébastien Vallée, the Choir of The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, and a brass & percussion ensemble.