Download - Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & School of Redding, CA

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Page 4Christmas is coming!!Okay, so most of you reading this article will not bethrilled with those words, “Christmas is coming!” Itstrikes panic into the hearts of even the most organizedperson. So many things to do. So little time.Let’s change that this year. Instead of the hustle andbustle, let’s wait.Wait! That’s not one of our favorite concepts either.For most of us, waiting is notsomething we relish. It’s a frustratingwaste of time. Sometimesperhaps, but not always. Especiallynot now at the beginning ofa new church year. Soon it will beAdvent again, that four-week seasonof the year that Christians setaside to prepare for the coming ofthe Lord. Advent is a Latin wordthat means coming. Coming implieswaiting. Advent is an invitationto wait — quietly, patiently,expectantly, joyfully.Waiting is something the peopleof God have been doing for a verylong time. Old Testament believerswaited 4,000 years for thepromised Messiah to arrive. Thatwas a long wait. Thousand yearslater we are still waiting for Jesus’Second Coming. That’s what Advent is all about.This year Advent begins on Sunday, November 28. Ourworship that Sunday and for the following three Sundayswill help us wait for Jesus’ coming. Because Jesus’birth is such a special celebration, we will also setaside time on Wednesday evenings to focus ourthoughts and actions on his coming. Again this year,we will have Advent soup supperson Wednesdays, December 1, 8 and15. These soup suppers provide atime of fellowship (remember theearly Christians used to gatherDAILY for meals and worship!) andnourishment. Supper is served beginningat 5:30 PM.Mid-week Advent services will startearlier this year — at 6:30 PM. Thiswill create a shorter “break” betweenthe supper and the beginningof worship. It will also enable familiesto return home earlier in theevening after worship. Our worshipfor these mid-week services will utilizea quiet, contemplative liturgy.Please join us on Sundays andWednesdays and wait. . .Women waitingMt. Calvary will hold it’s second annual Adventby Candlelight at 7:00 PM on the firstSunday of Advent, November 28. This is aspecial evening for women to set aside thefrenzied pace of the commercial seasonand wait. . . peacefully. Through music andrecitation, our thoughts will be focused onChrist’s first coming and the promise of hissecond coming.Advent by Candlelight is perfect opportunityto invite your female friends, familyand neighbors who may or may not knowJesus as their personal Lord and Savior —the real reason for Christmas. You can host(or co-host) a table for 6—8 guests of yourchoosing. You may also host a table forpeople who aren’t so familiar to you —make some new friends! (Individual memberswill want to attend but may not beable to host a table.) There’s a sign upsheet on the white board — please tell us ifyou are coming and if you want to host atable. (Hostesses are responsible for decoratingone of the church’s 8-foot tableswith holiday linens, dishes and dessert.Coffee will be provided.)Please sign up right away. Seating is limitedand will fill up quickly!
A new beginningAnother Church Year is beginning on November 28, with thefirst Sunday in Advent. That also means that a new editionof Meditations begins that same day. Don’t wait till NewYear’s to make resolutions about changing your life. Startnow with this Advent and Meditations. Start holding dailyfamily devotions this month, not some vague day in the future.A method for everyoneMany members who have already returned their TNT formsindicated that they want to read through the entire Bible in2011. Hallelujah and praise the Lord!If you use Meditations, you can easily read through the Biblein one year! Printed on the bottom of each page is “Biblereading: . . .” If you follow this guide, you will read throughthe Bible in one church year (December—November). Youwill read passages that further enhance the daily meditationand compliment each other. You may find that “more interesting”then reading one chapter after another, cover tocover.If you prefer chapter by chapter, go to wwwwels.net, select“spiritual help” in the menu bar, and then select “ThroughMy Bible”. This option will enable you to read the entire Biblein three years — requiring less time daily. If you have avery busy schedule this may work better for you.Do your eyes get tired reading? Is the type too small? At thePage 5The three-minute readings focus on the gospel lessonfor each Sunday so they will also enhance your regularworship life.To help defray the cost of Meditations, please drop $3in the box on the back counter in the sanctuary whenyou pick up the latest edition.same page (www.wels.net, spiritual help, through myBible) you can also LISTEN to the Bible being read eachday by a WELS Pastor! The audio version follows thesame three year schedule as previously described.Can’t REMEMBER to read God’s Word daily? WELSwill email you a reminder daily with each day’s readinglisted. Sign up on the same webpage.If you don’t have daily access to a computer, you cango to the same site (www.wels.net, spiritual help,through my Bible) scroll down the page and in the bottomright corner you can download and print a PDF ofthe entire three year schedule. Only you and God willknow if you read a “lesson” a day of read a week’sworth at one sitting.Whatever method you use to read the Bible in its entirety,just do it!Latest editionThe editor of Forward in Christ apologizesto bird lovers. Living in Wisconsin, he sayshe thanks God every year around this timewhen the geese decide to stop chasing afterpeople and fly south for the winter.Even though he’s not a big fan of geese, hethanks God for watching over all the birds—even the geese. Editor John Braun remindsus that we have even more for which to bethankful because God says that we areworth more to him than the birds. Even thehairs on our heads are numbered. In hisdevotion, Norman Burger shares moreabout the blessings of God's counting.Although we may remember to thank Godfor the things and even the people in ourlives, we can forget to give thanks for ourLord. He has redeemed and continuesto care for us, and yet, somehow, weoften take him for granted. DonScheuerlein reminds us this Thanksgivingto look past the birds and allthe other stuff to the One who hasalways loved us.The November issue is availableon the back counter in thesanctuary. Help yourself!
Page 1 and 2: Volume 6, Issue 11Has your dynamite
Page 3: Saying gracePastor Dan Thews of Fai
Page 8 and 9: Page 8Dozens more scrip vendors are
Page 10: Ministry minutesHere is the report

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