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Excerpts from The New Outlook
Early December 2006
Celebrating the Birth of Our Savior
There are lots of opportunities during this Advent season to celebrate
together the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ, into the world.
Hanging of the Green Service
At the Hanging of the Green Service on Sunday morning, December 3, during
the worship service, we will decorate our sanctuary with the symbols of this
holy season. The adult choir will provide special music and lead us in our
favorite carols. Members and friends will bring in greenery, candles, and other
symbols as we learn about their meaning. The children and their parents will
bring in the empty manger, waiting for the baby Jesus to be placed there at the
Christmas Eve service.
The Hanging of the Green service this year will be based on material written by
Sandy Dixon, our pastor’s wife.
Devotions for Advent
Click here for Advent devotions
written by Sandy Dixon. We hope they will be a help to you as you prepare for
the coming of Christ this season.
An easy Advent wreath to use with these devotions can be
made by going to a dollar store or Walgreens and purchasing 5 inexpensive votive
candles in the glass holders. Arrange 4 in a circle, with one in the middle for
Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. Family Advent wreaths can also be purchased at many
local Christian bookstores.
Two Opportunities for “Introducing Jesus”
When holiday schedules become frantic, it can be hard to remember
just why we celebrate. Take time for yourself to be more in touch with the
"reason for the season" and you will find time during Advent to prepare for the
coming of the Christ. To help you do that, Second
Baptist Church invites you to participate in an Advent Bible study, "Introducing
Jesus," led by Pastor Michael Dixon.
This study will be offered in two
different venues:
●
On Sunday mornings December 3, 10, and 24, the
Bible Study, Beatitude, and Reflections classes will
meet together at 9:30 in Fellowship Hall for “Introducing Jesus.” (On December
17 the group will discuss the Beatitude "Blessed are those who hunger and
thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled,”
the subject of Mike’s sermon the week before.)
● “Introducing
Jesus” will also be offered in the Community
Room on the three Tuesdays of Advent, December 5, December 12, and December 19,
beginning at 1 p.m. and concluding by 2:30.
In this study we will explore how
each Gospel introduces the story of Jesus Christ. In our own minds and in
popular culture, the stories tend to mush together, but each Gospel has a
separate way of witnessing to Christ’s coming into the world.
Topics will be:
Mark 1: The Baptist’s Call
John 1: The Word Become Flesh
Matthew 1 and 2: A Promise Fulfilled
Luke 1 and 2: Good News of Great Joy
Drama, Music, and a Special Visitor
After a catered dinner at 5:00 Sunday, December 10, the children of
Second Baptist will perform the play An Angel Came to Nazareth,
adapted and directed by Linda Marks. And for a special treat, individual
children will entertain us with music on the various musical instruments they
are learning. Santa couldn’t pass up a chance to get in on such a memorable
evening, so he’s coming, too!.
Please make reservations by turning in the insert in the
bulletin or calling the church office by December 7. The cost of the dinner is
$7 per person, not to exceed $20 per family.
A “Lessons and Carols” Service December 24 The church music department is planning a "Lessons and Carols" service for our morning worship on the fourth Sunday of
Advent, December 24. "The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols” is a traditional format of Christian worship to celebrate
the birth of Jesus. It was originally drawn up for Christmas Eve 1880 in Truro, England. The most famous version is
broadcast annually from King's College, Cambridge on Christmas Eve featuring carols by the famous Choir. It is estimated
that each year there are millions of listeners worldwide. Our service will follow a similar format to that used by King's College. We will feature the adult choir, youth choir,
children's choir, duets, and congregational hymn singing. We are really looking forward to a wonderful morning of worship and music. Marilyn Short Note: See the next New Outlook for more details on the origins and format of this service.
Christmas Eve Candlighting Service
Sunday, December 24, at 5:00 p.m., we will have a traditional Christmas Eve candle lighting service.
Bell Sunday
Sunday, December 31, will be Bell Sunday. Bring
a bell to the worship service to help ring in the New Year.
Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst after Righteousness. . .
As part of his monthly series on the Beatitudes, on Sunday, December 10,
Rev. Dixon will focus on the fourth Beatitude, “Blessed are those who hunger and
thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
Job is the central figure in our window depicting this
Beatitude. Although Job lost his health, his family, and his property, he never
gave up his confidence in the goodness of God. To learn more about this window,
see the Beatitude Window pamphlet in the pews or click
here.
Sharing with Others
Our church is adopting a family through Northside Team Ministry this
Christmas.
Each ornament on the Christmas tree on the table in the
narthex lists an item a member of the family needs or wants. Please take the
ornament corresponding to the gift you want to buy with you. Also, please list
your name and the items(s) you plan to buy on the sheet marked Christmas Family.
Please wrap your gifts and put a note on the outside saying
what they are and whom they are for. Gifts may be brought to the church office
during the week or to the narthex on Sunday. Please put your gifts under the
Chrismon tree.
You can put monetary donations in the offering plate and
mark them “Christmas families.” Please bring your donations and gifts to the
church by Sunday, December 10. Mildred Shelton and Sharon Parker will do the
shopping, and we’ll all help wrap anything that needs it during Coffee
Fellowship on Sunday, December 17. Many thanks for your help.
Enjoy a Progressive Dinner
Call the church office at (314) 991-3424 if you'd like to join us for a
progressive dinner on Saturday night, December 2, at 5:00 p.m. Meet at the
church to carpool. The cost is $15 per person.
A Painless Way to Help Your Church
Schnucks is offering a new program in which shoppers can present a card
each time they shop, and 3% of their purchase will be donated to a charity of
their choice. To sign up to help Second Baptist in this way, pick up a card from
the table in the narthex. Write your name and the card’s bar code number on the
sign-up sheet. That’s it! All you have to do after that is to remember to
present your card to the cashier each time you shop at Schnucks before he
or she totals your order.
Book Group
Join Second’s Book Group in the church library on Saturday, December 9,
at 10 a.m. to discuss The Haj, by Leon Uris, author of Exodus and
Trinity. Set within the mighty saga of Arabs and Jews, this fast-paced
novel tell the story of an Arab ruler who tries to save his people from
destruction but cannot save them from themselves.
Order Your Poinsettias
If you would like to provide a poinsettia to help decorate our sanctuary
this Christmas season, please fill out a form in the bulletin or call the church
office. Each poinsettia costs $10. Please indicate if you would like to give
your poinsettia in memory, in appreciation, or in celebration of someone. You
may take your plant home after the service on Sunday, December 24.
From the Pastor
Advent.
Hushed expectations.
A look inside our own hearts,
Wondering, “Am I ready? Am I
ready for
Christ to enter here, to be born here?”
Reflection.
Candles, flickering lights in
darkness.
Prophets and dreamers.
Counting down days.
Prayer.
Family.
Singing, but sometimes in minor
key.
Prayers for peace, in the world
and in our own little worlds.
How long? How long yet?
Christ is coming.
Wait. Be ready.
God will come.
God promised.
We can trust God’s promise.
Some things just can’t be rushed.
And so we wait.
Advent.
May this Advent season be a time
for you to grow closer to the Christ, the one we wait for, yet the one who is
with us right now.
Mike
nd is
up
WEEKLY ACTIVITIES
Mon 7:00 p.m. Obsessive-Compulsive Group in Community Room
Tue 6:30 p.m. Adult Children of Alcoholics Group in Community Room
Wed 7:00 p.m. Choir practice
SPECIAL ACTIVITIES
Nov 30 Search
committee meeting, 6:30 pm, Community Room
Dec 01 3rd-5th grade
YYC, Glendale Presbyterian church, 6:00—8:00 pm
Dec 02 Progressive
Dinner, 5:00 pm
Dec 03 Hanging of the
Green during worship service, 1st Sunday of Advent
“A week of Guided Prayer - A Retreat in Everyday Life” , Delmar Baptist
Church, noon
Dec 09 Book Group, 10:00 am, library
Dec 10 Children’s Christmas
program and dinner, 5:00 pm
Dec 13 Council meeting, 6:15 pm
Dec 17 Congregational
meeting and lunch, 11:45 am, following worship service
Dec 22 Office closed
Dec 24 “Lessons and Carols”
worship service, 10:30 am
Christmas Eve traditional candle lighting service, 5:00 pm
Dec 25 Merry Christmas!
(office closed)
Dec 31 Bell Sunday, ring in
the New Year!
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