Christmas Worship Opportunities Sundays -10am worship Sundays - 6:30pm worship and Song Dec 11 th - 2pm Christmas Caroling Dec 18 th - 4pm Christmas Flute Concert Dec 21 st - Blue Grass Band concert & meal Dec 24 th - Christmas Eve Services (7pm & 9:30pm) Dec 25 th - Christmas morning Worship (10am) Michael Sattler tells the story of Christmas 1930. His wife had just passed away the month before, and he was lonely and heartsick. But mostly, he worried about the type of Christmas his girls would have. When Christmas morning came, they opened their presents with unusual enthusiasm and merriment and when they had finished opening the last gift, the oldest Catherine said, "We know how much you miss Mama. We have a surprise for you." They scampered away. After a few moments a voice called out from the bedroom, "Close your eyes." When he opened them, he saw standing before him the Three Wise Men. Catherine said, "We have no gold." "Or myrrh," Sandy said. "Or incense," said Lucille. "And so" they said in unison with their arms spread wide open, "We bring you us!" Michael bent down, trying to hold back the tears in his eyes and scooped them up in is arms, embracing this great gift he had just received. When we come to the manger on Christmas night, it's not about how a newborn makes you feel. It's not about what God has done for us. It's about our response and our gift to Him. And the only thing we have to offer the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords and the Prince of Peace is us. That is really the only thing he ever wanted. May it be so with us this Christmas and every day for the rest of our lives. Amen CHELTENHAM UMC DECEMBER 2016 NEWSETTER WEB PAGE - CHELTENHAMUMC.COM The Crier
Transcript
Christmas Worship
Opportunities
Sundays -10am worship
Sundays - 6:30pm
worship and Song
Dec 11th
- 2pm Christmas
Caroling
Dec 18th
- 4pm Christmas
Flute Concert
Dec 21st
- Blue Grass
Band concert & meal
Dec 24th -
Christmas Eve
Services (7pm & 9:30pm)
Dec 25th -
Christmas
morning Worship (10am)
Michael Sattler tells the story of Christmas 1930. His wife had just passed away the month before, and he was lonely and heartsick. But mostly, he worried about the type of Christmas his girls would have. When Christmas morning came, they opened their presents with unusual enthusiasm and merriment and when they had finished opening the last gift, the oldest Catherine said, "We know how much you miss Mama. We have a surprise for you." They scampered away. After a few moments a voice called out from the bedroom, "Close your eyes." When he opened them, he saw standing before him the Three Wise Men. Catherine said, "We have no gold." "Or myrrh," Sandy said. "Or
incense," said Lucille. "And so" they said in unison with their arms spread wide open, "We bring you us!" Michael bent down, trying to hold back the tears in his eyes and scooped them up in is arms, embracing this great gift he had just received. When we come to the manger on Christmas night, it's not about how a newborn makes you feel. It's not about what God has done for us. It's about our response and our gift to Him. And the only thing we have to offer the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords and the Prince of Peace is us. That is really the only thing he ever wanted. May it be so with us this Christmas and every day for the rest of our lives. Amen
CHELTENHAM UMC DECEMBER 2016 NEWSETTER WEB PAGE - CHELTENHAMUMC.COM
The Crier
“HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR BIBLE?”
November Answers: Old Testament: When the Israelites reached Sin they had been gone from Egypt…
C. a month and a half Exodus 16: 1
New Testament: At one of the signs that the coming will be near, said Jesus, the sun will…
A. be darkened Matthew 24: 29
December Questions: Old Testament: Hope deferred maketh the… (Proverbs 13:) a. mind boggle c. soul patient b. heart sick d. spirit tough New Testament: In the parallel he drew with the olive tree, Paul evidently intended the Gentiles to be the…. (Romans 11:)
A. root C. graffed shoot B. natural branches D. olive
Submitted by Davie Werner From Test Your Bible Knowledge, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission
CHRISTMAS PRAYER OF POPE JOHN XXIII O sweet Child of Bethlehem,
grant that we may share with all our hearts in this profound mystery of Christmas.
Put into the hearts of men and women this peace for which they sometimes seek so desperately
and which you alone can give to them. Help them to know one another better,
and to live as brothers and sisters, children of the same Father.
Reveal to them also your beauty, holiness and purity.
Awaken in their hearts love and gratitude for your infinite goodness.
Join them all together in your love. And give us your heavenly peace. Amen.
Things You Cannot See Robert Zemeckis, not only directed The Polar Express
but helped write the screenplay. He said, “This is a
story everyone can relate to. So many of us, as
children or adults, have questioned our belief in
something or gone through the process of having
our faith tested
and restored. Kids
can take the story
literally as a
journey to find
Santa Claus, while
older readers
understand it as a metaphor for much bigger ideas.
The conductor in the story is right. The most
important things in the world are the things you
cannot see. The most important of those happened
over 2000 years ago in the small village of
Bethlehem and culminated on a cross in Jerusalem.
And when that Babe of Bethlehem became the
Christ of Calvary He also became our “ticket.” Not to
the North Pole but, at the end of our life’s journey,
to a place of perfection.
BAZAAR FUN
A Christmas village
On your
mark,
get
set…..
GO
LOOK! I GOT THE BIG ONE!
On the night
before Christmas
and all through
the house, not a
creature was
stirring… Not
even “ole Saint
Nick!”
BOOK ‘EM…
… After the signing of the agreement to
use the firetruck for Christmas deliveries
should the reindeer go on strike.
Santa’s REAL helpers
Who did you say this
guy is suppose to
be? I’m not taking
my eyes off him!
Yes Santa… I’ve been a good boy. Can I drive the firetruck now?
EXTRA, EXTRA… READ ALL ABOUT IT! ...Book Club News
We really enjoyed our November meeting. The food was yummy and the conversation lively. We decided not to meet in December due to travel and the busy holidays. We will meet on January 18th at 6:00 pm at the gathering place. We will discuss the next two books in the series.
A GROUNDED THANKSGIVING PRAYER FOR CHRISTMAS by Diana Butler Bass
God, there are days we do not feel grateful. When we are anxious or angry. When we feel alone. When we do not understand
what is happening in the world, or with our neighbors. God, we struggle to feel grateful.
But this Christmas, we choose gratitude. We choose to accept life as a gift from you, from the unfolding work of all creation. We
choose to be grateful for the earth from which our food comes; for the water that gives life; and for the air we all breathe.
We make the choice to see our ancestors, those who came before us, and their stories, as a continuing gift of wisdom for us
today. We choose to see our families and friends with new eyes, appreciating them for who they are, and be thankful for our
homes whether humble or grand. We will be grateful for our neighbors, no matter how they voted or how much we feel hurt by
them. We choose to see the whole planet as our shared commons, the public stage of the future of our race and creation.
God, this Christmas, we do not give thanks. We choose it. And we will make thanks, with strong hands and courageous hearts.
When we see your sacred generosity, we become aware that we live in an infinite circle of gratitude. That we all are guests at a
hospitable table around which gifts are passed and received. We will not let anything opposed to love take over this table. Instead,
we choose to see grace, free and unmerited love, the giftedness of life everywhere, as the tender web of all creation. In this
choosing, and in the making, we will pass gratitude onto the world.
Thus, with you, and with all those gathered here, we pledge to make thanks. And we ask you to strengthen us in this resolve.
Here, now, and into the future. Around this home. Around the homes of our nation. Around all the homes of the earth.
Amen.
His Majesty’s Hope (Bantam Dell/Random House, May 2013) Maggie embarks on a clandestine mission behind enemy lines where no one can be trusted, and even the smallest indiscretion can be deadly. World War II has finally come home to Britain, but it takes more than nightly air raids to rattle intrepid spy and expert code breaker Maggie Hope. After serving as a secret agent to protect Princess Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, Maggie is now an elite member of the Special Operations Executive — a black ops organization designed to aid the British effort abroad — and her first assignment sends her straight into Nazi-controlled Berlin, the very heart of the German war machine. Relying on her quick wit and keen instincts, Maggie infiltrates the highest level of Berlin society, gathering information to pass on to London headquarters. But the secrets she unveils will expose a darker, more dangerous side of the war — and of her own past.
The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent (Bantam Dell/Random House, July 2014)
World War II rages on across Europe, but Maggie Hope has finally found a moment of rest on the pastoral coast of western Scotland. Home from an undercover mission in Berlin, she settles down to teach at her old spy training camp, and to heal from scars on both her body and heart. Yet instead of enjoying the quieter pace of life, Maggie is quickly drawn into another web of danger and intrigue. When three ballerinas fall strangely ill in Glasgow—including one of Maggie’s dearest friends—Maggie partners with MI-5 to uncover the truth behind their unusual symptoms. What she finds points to a series of poisonings that may expose shocking government secrets and put countless British lives at stake. But it’s the fight brewing in the Pacific that will forever change the course of the war—and indelibly shape Maggie’s fate.
Submitted by Crystal Reed
CHRISTMAS STORY QUIZ
Answer the following questions without opening the Bible!!
1. Jesus was born a) at night; b) in the morning; c) at an unknown time
2. Jesus was born a) in a stable; b) I a manger; c) at an unknown place
3. The shepherds found Jesus a) in a stable; b) in a feed bin; c) in a house
4. The Magi found Jesus a) in a stable; b) in a feed bin; c) in a house
5. Angels a) sang a beautiful song; b) terrified farmworkers; c) told the wise men to go home another way
6. A star a) appeared on the night of Jesus’ birth; b) guided shepherds to the manger; c) led the Magi westward
7. The animals mentioned at the manger included a) oxen, donkey, sheep, cows, doves; b) pigs, lobsters, shrimp;
c) none of the above.
8. The weather at the birth of Jesus was a) not mentioned; b) moderate to warm; c) snowy
9. When the shepherds arrived, Jesus was a) asleep on the hay; b) wrapped like a mummy; c) not crying
10. The posture of the shepherds when the angel appeared was a) seated on the ground; b) lying in the fields;
c) not mentioned
1. Jesus was born at an unknown time. The time of the birth of Jesus is nowhere mentioned in the Bible. Many carols suggest he was born at night, including “O Holy Night” and Silent Night.” 2. Jesus was born at an unknown place. The exact place of the birth of Jesus is nowhere mentioned. He was placed in a manger, but that does not mean he was born there (very unlikely; nearly physi-cally impossible!) or even in a stable (stables would have been unlikely in a town). 3. The Shepherds found Jesus in a feed bin. A “manger” is a feed bin. 4. The Magi found Jesus in a house. Matthew’s account mentions only that Jesus was born somewhere in Bethlehem and that the wise men found him in a house. 5. Angels terrified farmworkers. Luke says the heavenly host SAID (not sang) “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to people of good will.” The Magi were warned by a dream to go home an-other way. “Angels We Have heard on High” says the angels sang this. “Silent Night” has the angels singing something that at most one angel said: “Christ the Savior is born.” No angels are recorded to have said or sung “Alleluia” (also attributed to them in “Silent Night” in the Biblical birth stories.) 6. A star led the Magi Westward. The Magi were from the East, and depending on how one translates the Greek, the star was either in the eastern sky or they were describing the fact they saw it “at its rising” (astrological term). In either event, since they were from the East, they had to go west (counter to the star if it was in the East!) to get to Judea. 7. The animals mentioned at the manger included none of the above. No animals are mentioned as being at the manger. We are not told what the shepherds did with their sheep. “What Child Is This” and “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice” mention “ox and ass.” “The Friendly Beasts” mentions the others listed in (a). The animals in (b) were seen as unclean and would not have been anywhere near the Jewish settlement. 8. The weather at the birth of Jesus was not mentioned. The Bible says nothing directly about the weather. Snow would have been unlikely if sheep were out in the fields, but other than this, we are not told. “Snow had fallen, snow on snow,” and “A cold winter’s night that was so deep” are both Northern hemisphere fictions. 9. When the shepherds ar-rived, Jesus was wrapped like a mummy. Swaddling clothes were rather like a “body wrap.” There is no mention in Scripture what else was in the manger, if anything. Scripture also never says Jesus never cried as a baby. “Away in a Manger” says both (a) and (c). 10. The posture of the shepherds when the angel appeared was not mentioned. “The First Noel” says the shepherds are “in the fields where they lay keeping their sheep” and “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night” has “all seated on the ground.” The Bible doesn’t tell us.
Answers to the Christmas Story Quiz
(no peeking!)
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
Happy New Year!
9am Sunday school
10a Worship
6:30pm Worship
2
6am Start the Week off
Right Phone Devotion
3 HOME SCHOOL 8pm AA/Al-anon
4 6pm Band 7:30pm Choir Jacob Rawlings Birthday
5 6 Deborah Aist Birthday
7 Susie Rawlings Birthday
8
9am Sunday School
10am Worship
6:30pm Worship
Kelly Putnam birthday
9
6am Start the Week off
Right Phone Devotion
Adam Aist birthday Marybeth Aist birthday
10 HOME SCHOOL 8pm AA/Al-anon
11 11:20am SLOGGS 6pm Band 7:30pm Choir
12 Debbie Ellis Birthday Don Cummings Birthday Bob Lee Birthday
13 Randy Soileau Birthday
14
15
9am Sunday School
10am Worship
6:30pm Worship
Chiara Selby birthday
16
6am Start the Week off
Right Phone Devotion
Christopher Yount Birthday Joanne & Bill VanBlarcum Anniversary
17 HOME SCHOOL 8pm AA/Al-anon
18 6pm Band 7:30pm Choir
19 12pm Senior Luncheon
20 Jamie Easter Boyd Birthday
21
22
9am Sunday School
10am Worship
6:30pm Worship
23
6am Start the Week off
Right Phone Devotion
24 HOME SCHOOL 8pm AA/Al-anon
25 6pm Band 7:30pm Choir Reagan Hulvey Himmelberger Birthday Chris Windsor Birthday
