Tuesday December 23rd 2014

 

Dear Friend –                       

 

Thirty eight energized kids – singing! A big guy singing so tenderly baby Jesus would smile. A young couple and their baby – portraying Mary, Joseph and Jesus. Soloists and choir praising beautifully. AND a smorgasbord serving more than a hundred people!

 

This is OUR Calvary – at our best –at this past Sunday’s Cantata. What a wonderful time of many, many people working together to praise.

 

I thank – and praise God – for the gift of Calvary to these poor children, to their parents, to the congregation!

 

-God loves you and so do I – Pastor Chuck

p.s. On Christmas Day I’ll leave for Davenport to be with Anne and her parents. On Saturday I’ll leave for South Dakota to be with Rebekah, Kena, Anna and Izzy. Back on Tuesday evening. 

 

RESOURCES FOR YOUR DAILY QUIET TIME

Why not read these Bible passages round robin?

Message – Chaplain Pam Lojewski

Galatians 4:4-7

Psalm 148

Luke 2:22-40

First Sunday After Christmas/December 28th 2014

 

Message – LIFE???

Ephesians 1:3-14

Psalm 147:12-20

John 1:1-18

Second Sunday After Christmas/January 4th 2014

Song Following – Holy Child, Within the Manger(WOV)

 

Previous week's eWeekly

Thursday December 12, 2014

 

Dear Friend –

 

Peace??? The people of Advent give me SO much to think about.

Old priest Zechariah and Anna – no trusting archangel Gabriel’s message they would have a baby

Mary – accepting Gabriel’s message with joy that she would have Jesus

Now – Joseph: this ordinary man is at a crossroads – a crisis. Will he choose a path to peace?

Worship this Sunday – to praise, to learn – for peace.

-God loves you and so do I, Pastor Chuck

 

RESOURCES FOR YOUR DAILY QUIET TIME

Why not read these lessons daily, round-robin?

Message – The Third Path to Christmas Peace

Isaiah 61:1-4,8-11

Psalm: Luke 1:46-54

Matthew 1:18-25

Third Sunday of Advent/December 14th 2014

 

Song Following – Joseph, Dearest

1. "Joseph, Dearest Joseph mine,
Help me cradle the Child divine.
God reward thee and all that’s thine,
In paradise," so prays the mother Mary.

Chorus
He came among us at Christmas time
At Christmas time in Bethlehem
Men shall bring him from far and wide,
Love’s diadem
Jesus, Jesus;
Lo, he comes and loves and saves and frees us.

2. "Gladly dear one, Lady mine
Help I cradle this Child of thine."
"God’s own light on us both shall shine,
In paradise," as prays the mother Mary. Chorus

3.
Peace to all that have goodwill!
God, who heaven and earth doth fill,
Comes to turn us away from ill,
As all may see In Jesus, Son of Mary.

4.
All shall come and bow the knee,
Wise and happy their souls shall be.
Loving such a divinity as all may see
In Jesus Son of Mary. Chorus

5.
Now is born Emmanual,
Prophesied once by Ezekiel,
Promised Mary by Gabriel, Ah, who can tell
Thy praises, Son of Mary. Chorus

 

FFT(Food for Thought)

Emma Green writes in the November 2015 Atlantic,
For more than a century, sociologists have predicted a decline in faith. Measuring religious belief is very difficult, but what we do know is that Americans born after 1980 are less likely to identify with a religion than were members of any previous generation at the same age. It remains to be seen, though, whether their beliefs will change in adulthood: members of other generations have become more religious after marrying and having kids.

 

If Millennials do eventually become religious, they may reap some unexpected fringe benefits. For one thing, compared with the non religious, religious people report more satisfaction with their love lives and sex lives. Frequent church attendance has also been associated with lower rates of smoking and drinking, a greater tendency to exercise, reduced risk of cancer, and improved cardiovascular health. A research review conducted on behalf of the National Institutes of Health went so far as to declare that church service attendance protects healthy people against death. So religion affects the course and even duration of your life. What about the converse: how does your life, specifically your early life, affect your religion? Over the decades, studies have identified a number of contributors to religiosity, many of them unsurprising, like attending religious services as a child. Family also matters a lot: studies

 

Previous week's eWeekly

Thursday December 4th 2014

 

Dear Friend –

 

Beautiful stories! That’s what Dr. Luke has in his gospel. First there’s old Zechariah and Elizabeth – they’ll have a baby they’ll name John – John the Baptist.

 

Now there’s Mary. Archangel Gabriel will tell her she’s going to have a baby – and she’ll name him Jesus.

 

That’s a LOT of a very young woman – but her key to peace will be acceptance – accepting what God wants her to do.

 

Ever struggle with acceptance? Back in 1942 a scholar named Reinhold Niebuhr wrote a sermon that included a brief prayer. People began quoting that prayer and wondering who wrote it – so he stepped forward. Here it is – all of. Would you pray it daily for the rest of Advent? Or- for the rest of your life?

 

 

-God loves you and so do I, Pastor Chuck

 

p.s. THANKS to Chris and Brian Clark for donating a dehumidifier to Calvary!

 

Serenity Prayer

 

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; 
Courage to change the things I can; 
And wisdom to know the difference. 
 

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time; 
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; 
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; 
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; 
That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. 
Amen.

-Reinhold Niehbuhr

 

RESOURCES FOR YOUR DAILY QUIET TIME

Why not read these before Sunday? Why not daily, round-robin?

You’ll understand them SO much better.

Message – The Second Path to Peace

Isaiah 40:1-11

Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13

Luke 1:26-38

Song following-

 

FFT(Food for Thought)

 

Charles Francis Adams, the 19th century political figure and diplomat, kept a diary. One day he entered: “Went fishing with my son today—a day wasted.” His son, Brook Adams, also kept a diary, which is still in existence. On that same day, Brook Adams made this entry: “Went fishing with my father—the most wonderful day of my life!”

 

It’s amazing how two people can see the same thing, yet not see the same thing. Charles Adams saw his day spent fishing as a wasted day—a day when he could’ve been much more “productive” had he been working. Yet his son saw the time investment as meaningful and loving. What a tragic difference in perspectives.

 

The only way to tell the difference between wasting and investing is to know one’s ultimate purpose in life. For some, time spent praying and reading the Bible is time wasted, when so much more could be done.

 

Yet for those with the right perspective, it’s time with their Heavenly Father, who longs for them to invest their time in Him. So have the right perspective. Spend your time building your relationship with God. It will be the best time you’ll ever invest!

 

 

 

 

,

 

 

 

 

 

http://makinganyrelationshipbetter.com for Relationship Help!