Sunday Worship Preview - December 7

Sunday, December 7 (8:30 A.M. and 11:00 A.M. Traditional and 9:45 A.M. Contemporary)

Sermon - "An Upside Down Christmas"

Features - 2nd Sunday of Advent & The Sacrament of Holy Communion

Scriptures - Isaiah 40:1-11; Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13; II Peter 3:8-15a; & Mark 1:1-8

Theme - What does it mean to celebrate an “upside down Christmas?” We live during a time when people are finding it more and more difficult to differentiate between the cultural meaning of Christmas with the biblical meaning. The message of John the baptizer is a reminder to the church of what it means to celebrate an “upside down Christmas.” Come and discover what this might mean for us during this season of Advent.

Happy Thanksgiving!

As I took our dogs for a walk through the windy and cold rain late yesterday afternoon, I heard someone singing. It was the little neighbor girl and you would have thought that it was a Hanna Montana street concert!

She has a wonderful singing voice and it was a gift to hear someone singing joyful music in a place and a time you would least expect. She sounded so much better than any song on my mp3 player. As I rounded the corner with my dogs leading the way (my doggies love their walkie!) this singer in the making spotted us and just like that, the concert was over.

I'm sure she was a little embarrassed but she reminded me of that old Irish proverb, "Sing like no one is listening. Dance like no one is watching. Live every day like it is your last."

During this week of the Thanksgiving holiday, let's remember to sing, dance, and live in response to the overflowing and generous love of God through Jesus Christ.

A Thanksgiving Prayer
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

The World Vision Experience: AIDS - December 1 - 7

Our Miami Valley District (West Ohio Conference) District Superintendent, Rev. Duane Anders has taken the lead in helping to stop the terrible disease of HIV/AIDS in our country and around the world, particularly in Africa.

His church, Stillwater UMC, 6911 Frederick Pike, which is also the location of our district office, will be hosting The World Vision Experience: AIDS, December 1 through 7. (December 1 is HIV/AIDS National Awareness Day.) The available times to walk through the exhibit vary, but are basically from mid morning through the evening on each of these days. This website will walk you through securing a free ticket to the exhibit (recommended, not required.)

Please allow 20-30 minutes to go through the World Vision Experience. There are as many as 40 open spots for every 30-minute time slot. Once you've selected the date and time of your experience, please confirm there are enough spaces available for you and your group (see the "tickets remaining" box). Then enter the number of tickets desired, your first name, last name, and e-mail address. Shortly after you've reserved your tickets, we'll send you an e-mail confirmation with your reservation details.

The exhibit is a 3,000 square foot interactive exhibit that invites visitors to "step into Africa" by hearing, seeing and walking through an African village to personally experience the lives of children affected by AIDS. The stirring audio tour and captivating photography will transport you into the life of an African child and give you a new perspective on the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time.

Pastor Rick and I will be volunteering at the exhibit and hope that many of our members take the opportunity to experience this educational experience. Helping to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS was one of the sermons that was preached at our church this past August as part of our "What Breaks God's Heart" sermon series.

Below is some information regarding the HIV/AIDS crisis provided by our District Superintendent:

A global pandemic
Nearly 33 million people live with HIV.
Last year alone, more than 2.5 million people were infected.
6,000 people die every day because of AIDS.
. . . another person dies every 15 seconds.
Source: AIDS Epidemic Update, UNAIDS, December 2006

AIDS in Africa
Two-thirds of all people living with HIV are in Africa.
Two-thirds of all new HIV infections are in Africa.
Three-quarters of all AIDS-related deaths are in Africa... in a place that's home to just over one-tenth of the world's population.
Source: AIDS Epidemic Update, UNAIDS, December 2007

Children and AIDS
Approximately 2.5 million children worldwide have HIV.
Right now, there are more than 15 million children who have lost one or both parents because of AIDS.
Every day, another 6,000 children are orphaned due to AIDS.
. . . and most of these children live in Africa.
Sources: AIDS Epidemic Update, UNAIDS, December 2006; Africa's Orphaned and Vulnerable Generations, UNICEF, August 2006; UNAIDS, 2002.

The future of AIDS
By 2010, more than 20 million children will be orphaned due to AIDS.
By 2020, AIDS could kill up to 12 percent of Africa's workforce - as many as 58 million people.
. . . this crisis will not go away by itself.
Sources: UNICEF, August 2006; International Labour Organization, November 2006

World Vision's response
770,000 children in Africa received values-based HIV-prevention training in 2006 alone.
615,000 orphaned and vulnerable children received care and assistance.
11,000 church leaders were mobilized to respond to the AIDS crisis.
. . . World Vision has been on the front lines of the AIDS crisis in Africa since 1990.

Sunday Worship Preview - November 30

Sunday, November 30 (8:30 A.M. and 11:00 A.M. Traditional and 9:45 A.M. Contemporary)

Sermon - "A Blue Christmas"

Features - 1st Sunday of Advent

Scriptures - Isaiah 64:1-9 & Mark 13:24-37

Theme - We are getting increasingly negative news about our economy and recognize that Christmas can be a difficult time for families. This Blue Christmas worship service will offer comfort and hope to families faced with economic hardships, grieving the loss of a loved one, or feeling the blues during the holiday season.

Week #4 - The Blue Parakeet

Here's a summary of the Thursday morning bible study (November 20) on the book, "The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible" by Scot McKnight.

Chapter 9 - We began by taking a quick test on what we believe should be applied today from the several commandments found in Leviticus 19. We agreed that we should not slander (verse 16) but didn't feel that to not wear clothing with two kinds of material (verse 19) was necessary to apply in the 21st century.

This chapter in the book also pointed out that while we agree that pre-marital sex is wrong that we should also understand that in today's world, in many ways, it's more difficult to refrain from pre-marital sex than it was in the time of the bible. One of the reasons for this includes the observation that people in bible times married a lot younger than people today, making it much more difficult to resist temptation. This doesn't change what is right or wrong but we should be aware of these cultural differences.

Chapter 10 - The author gives examples of how some issues within the bible have been adapted even within the bible. For example, the early church (Acts 15) after a lot of discussion and disagreement, finally came to the conclusion that circumcision was not necessary for non-Jewish males who wanted to become followers of Jesus Christ. Baptism ended up taking the place of circumcision for the Christian community.

Other examples where we see adaptations within the bible itself include divorce/remarriage, styles of Christian women, and the death penalty. Regarding divorce, our group discussed how emotional/physical abuse should be considered as grounds for divorce today even though this issue is not specifically mentioned with regard to marriage in scripture. Jesus allows for divorce in the case of sexual infidelity and Paul allows for divorce if a non-believing spouse wants out of the relationship. The point the author is making is that if the bible adapts on the issue of divorce, we should adapt in our day and age as well as long as we keep in mind the overall grand narrative of the bible and the meaning of marriage.

This session brought out out a lot of group discussion about these many topics on how we should apply biblical commandments in our day and age. The author claims that in order to be faithful to following the bible, we need to use wise discernment in applying the scriptures to our cultural context.

Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, our next session on this book will not be until the first week of December.

Sunday Worship Preview - November 23

Sunday, November 23 (8:30 A.M. and 11:00 A.M. Traditional and 9:45 A.M. Contemporary)

Sermon - "Hope for the Directionally Challenged"

Features - Christ the King Sunday & Sunday Before Thanksgiving Day

Scriptures - Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24; Psalm 123; I Thessalonians 5:1-11; & Matthew 25:14-30

Theme - Are you directionally challenged? Even just a little bit? Sometimes in our faith journey, we find ourselves in unknown territory. How do we find our way home? The prophet, Ezekiel, has a word of tremendous hope for us whenever we wander off the beaten path of our faith.

What if the church marketed Starbucks?

Check out this 5 minute video from http://www.beyondrelevance.com/ that shows what it would be like for a first time Starbucks customer if the church was behind their marketing.

While "tongue in cheek" this video is a great way to help the church rethink how we are perceived by the unchurched.

Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7_dZTrjw9I