Second Sunday in Advent: LOVE

What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;

If I were a wise man, I would do my part; Yet what I can I give him: give my heart.

And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 11:19

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezek. 36:26

In the Bleak Midwinter of Planet Earth, Eternal Spring emerged through iron-hard earth, stony ice, snow on snow on snow. The frosty wind made moan… as did the virgin mother-to-be. Then, a new sound: the cry of The Baby pierced the darkness and signaled that the spell was broken. The Deep Magic of The Rebellion was to be overwhelmed by The Deeper Magic of The Incarnation.

Behold, the winter is past… (Song of Sol. 2:11)

Although in the extreme cold or heat or wind or rain, such an opinion seems folly, I really do like living in a temperate climate in which we have distinct seasons. Each season has its own qualities, its own beauties, its own harshness. Such keeps me looking ahead.

Our lives reflect or even embody the four seasons. We speak of the seasons of life wherein the vitality (or lack thereof) in the aging process moves from spring through summer then autumn into winter.  Or we can view our spiritual lives – our  soul’s health –  as reflective of the seasons.  The seasonal metaphor works, so powerfully portrayed in Christina Rosetti’s poem we sing today.

Rosetti asserts that the Mighty Christ arrives in the bleak midwinter into a world which can neither contain nor control him, yet the King’s heaven-and-earth shattering entrance is humble and vulnerable and so like the man he was to become. She needs to respond. So do we.

News & Announcements:

• Prayer gathering this Wednesday@ church @ 7:00.
• Advocate Bromenn Partners in Prayer Dec. – Intermediate Care Unit (IMCU) Located on 5 West, this 56-bed unit serves cardiac and pulmonary patients. It is the post Critical Care Unit, particularly for post cardiac surgery patients.
• Attention Jr. High youth and their parents!  We have spots reserved for you and your friends at the Jan. 20-22 ICE CAMP Weekend Retreat at Miracle Camp.  We would love for any Jr. high students and their friends to join us!  More details coming soon!  Email Cary with questions.
• Calling young(er) couples (under 40 – no offense)!  Hire a babysitter and join us for a potluck holiday meal at The Jake on Friday, Dec. 9th at 6:30pm!  Bring a dish to pass and enjoy fellowship with other couples!  RSVP to Cary.
• Be blessed in serving dinner @ Home Sweet Home Mission on December 22. We have been asked to provide eight servers as HSHM provides a Christmas dinner to their clients. Ask Cary for details.
• Summer in the USA! Lord-willing, we will once again host Basque students next summer. It’s time to start planning and praying, praying and planning. If you want to play a part, please let Bob V. know.

First Sunday in Advent: HOPE

Es ist ein Ros entsprungen

Lyrics: unknown German, 16th century
Music: Michael Praetorius, 1609
English translation: Theodore Baker, 1894

German original
Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen,aus einer Wurzel zart,wie uns die Alten sungen,von Jesse war die ArtUnd hat ein Blümlein brachtmitten im kalten Winter,wohl zu der halben Nacht.Das Röslein, das ich meine,davon Jesaia sagt,ist Maria die reinedie uns das Blümlein bracht.Aus Gottes ew’gem Rathat sie ein Kind geborenund blieb ein reine Magd.or: Welches uns selig macht.Das Blümelein, so kleine,das duftet uns so süß,mit seinem hellen Scheinevertreibt’s die Finsternis.Wahr Mensch und wahrer Gott,hilft uns aus allem Leide,rettet von Sünd und Tod.

English version
Lo, how a rose e’er blooming,From tender stem hath sprung.Of Jesse’s lineage coming,As men of old have sung;It came, a flow’ret bright,Amid the cold of winter,When half spent was the night.Isaiah ’twas foretold it,The Rose I have in mind,With Mary we behold it,The virgin mother kind;To show God’s love aright,She bore to men a Savior,When halfspent was the night.O Flower, whose fragrance tenderWith sweetness fills the air,Dispel with glorious splendourThe darkness everywhere;True man, yet very God,From Sin and death now save us,And share our every load.

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. (Isa. 11:1-2)

Do you remember the first time you heard an amazing tune?

Sue will tell you that I can’t remember where I put my wallet but I can remember a minute detail of events more than 50 years ago. Tis true. (She also says I’ve never forgotten a meal; she’s wrong about that one, for there was that one time back in ’65…)

Some sensory experiences stick with us, to be sure. As I write this, I recall vividly where I was when and whom I was with when I first heard these songs:

1. “Heard it Through the Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye (driving by the Walnut High School football field with my friend Marc Brown)
2. “Can’t Turn You Loose” by the Chambers Brothers (headed north on Knoxville Avenue in Peoria, just past Vonachen’s Junction)
3. “Layla” by Eric Clapton (walking in dorm hallway, first floor, Dolan Hall, IWU)
4. “Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming” (sitting outside music room as Mrs. Jeanette Johnson introduced it to our 5th grade music class by playing it and singing it in lovely fashion; I was in trouble, thus my banishment; due to my banishment, I had no distractions and was utterly drawn in by the “unusual” lyrics and melody.  We sang it for the Christmas program. I behaved.)

We’re blessed to both hear and sing this old German Christmas hymn today. Please take it in with both your ears and your imagination. Consider the visual imagery of the lyrics. And be transported by the music…“Isaiah Twas Foretold It” – 700 yrs. Before Christ

News & Announcements:

• Prayer gathering this Wednesday@ church @ 7:00.
• Advocate Bromenn Partners in Prayer Nov. – Emergency Department (ED)The Current ED at the Medical Center has 18 beds, four of which are dedicated to cardiac emergencies and traumas. Approximately 90 patients per day.
• Tonight!!!  Our delightful “Deck the Halls”evening: decorating the church, Christmas music, and pizza@ 5:00
• Attention Jr. High youth and their parents!  We have spots reserved for you and your friends at the Jan. 20-22 ICE CAMP Weekend Retreat at Miracle Camp.  We would love for any Jr. high students and their friends to join us!  More details coming soon!  Email Cary with questions.
• Calling young(er) couples (under 40 – no offense)!  Hire a babysitter and join us for a potluck holiday meal at The Jake on Friday, Dec. 9th at 6:30pm!  Bring a dish to pass and enjoy fellowship with other couples!  RSVP to Cary.
• Be blessed in serving dinner @ Home Sweet Home Mission on December 22. We have been asked to provide eight servers as HSHM provides a Christmas dinner to their clients. Ask Cary for details.

Mary did you know …

Mary did you know…
…that your baby boy will one day walk on water?

Did you know…
…that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?

Did you know…
…that your baby boy has come to make you new?

This child that you’ve delivered…
… will soon deliver you.

(lyrics by Mark Lowry)

I’ve heard from several of you that this has been a worthwhile series. Good! Praise the Author!

These women chosen by God played compelling roles in salvation history.

Each story shows…

• Providence
• Human responsibility
• Utter futility of wickedness

Here’s a worthwhile review:In 5 words or less, please describe each drama.

Eve: ______________________________________________

Sarah:____________________________________________

Rebekah:_________________________________________

Rachel & Leah:___________________________________

Tamar: ___________________________________________

Rahab: ___________________________________________

Ruth: ____________________________________________

Bathsheba: ______________________________________

Esther: ______________________________________

Mary: ______________________________________

News & Announcements:

• No prayer gathering this Wednesday. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.
• Advocate Bromenn Partners in Prayer Nov. – Emergency Department (ED) The Current ED at the Medical Center has 18 beds, four of which are dedicated to cardiac emergencies and traumas.  There are one to two emergency trained physicians in house 24×7.  Approximately 90 patients are seen a day in this area.
• Our traditional “Deck the Halls”evening: decorating the church, enjoying Christmas music, and pizza.Sunday, Nov. 27 @ 5:00
• Attention Jr. High youth and their parents!  We have spots reserved for you and your friends at the Jan. 20-22 ICE CAMP Weekend Retreat at Miracle Camp.  We would love for any Jr. high students and their friends to join us!  More details coming soon!  Email Cary with questions.
• Calling young(er) couples (under 40 – no offense)!  Hire a babysitter and join us for a potluck holiday meal at The Jake on Friday, Dec. 9th at 6:30pm!  Bring a dish to pass and enjoy fellowship with other couples!  Who knows, maybe this will be a monthly thing?!  email Cary to RSVP.

Queen of Lawbreakers, Esther the Brave

Ladies First, Story Nine

When the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king… Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her. And when Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace… the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown[a] on her head and made her queen…(from Esther 2)

Simply put, Purim (the feast from the Book of Esther) is about “reversal.” We tend to use the term reversal most often as a negative, as in “so and so suffered a reversal.” However, reversal is a neutral word and can refer to a turnaround from negative to positive just as readily as the other way. Purim is about such a reversal.

The women in this series had their own reversals.  Take a moment and jot down how each of these women’s stories include a reversal… and how each is evidence of the truth of Genesis 50:20 – “what you meant for evil, God meant for good.”

Eve: ______________________________________________

Sarah:____________________________________________

Rebekah:_________________________________________

Rachel & Leah:___________________________________

Tamar: ___________________________________________

Rahab: ___________________________________________

Ruth: ____________________________________________

Bathsheba: ______________________________________

News & Announcements

• House Blessing @ Dan and Kaetlyn Hubbard’s Wednesday, Nov. 16, 7:00
• Advocate Bromenn Partners in Prayer for Nov. – Emergency Department (ED) The Current ED at the Medical Center has 18 beds, four of which are dedicated to cardiac emergencies and traumas.  There are one to two emergency trained physicians in house 24×7.  Approximately 90 patients are seen a day in this area.
• Our traditional “Deck the Halls”evening: decorating the church, enjoying Christmas music, and pizza.Sunday, Nov. 27 @ 5:00
• Attention Jr. High youth and their parents!  We have spots reserved for you and your friends at the Jan. 20-22 ICE CAMP Weekend Retreat at Miracle Camp.  We would love for any Jr. high students and their friends to join us!  More details coming soon!  Email Cary with questions.
• Calling young(er) couples (under 40 – no offense)!  Hire a babysitter and join us for a potluck holiday meal at The Jake on Friday, Dec. 9th at 6:30pm!  Bring a dish to pass and enjoy fellowship with other couples!  Who knows, maybe this will be a monthly thing?!  email Cary to RSVP.

Bathsheba: Bad start. Good ending.

Ladies First, Story Eight

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah… (from Matthew 1)

Ever wonder what inspired the Psalmists to compose such timeless “songs”? No mystery here for the answer is quite simple:LIFEThe Psalms are unique in all Scripture because they are purely the outpourings and opinings of people towards or concerned with God as life reveals our need for Him. As I have said many times, I believe that Psalm 23 is the finest literary effort of all time: personal, lovely, pithy, theologically astute, economical, and uplifting.

Our same brother in the faith who wrote #23 also wrote what is, in my opinion, the next nominee for the “Psalms to Memorize” list: Psalm 51. This masterpiece is profound in the breadth of what it covers, while all the time being so readily familiar and able to be grasped, applied, and made one’s own. It is the heart’s cry of a broken man of God repenting and humbly exulting in redemption. King David wrote this in response to finally coming to grips with his sin regarding Bathsheba, Uriah, and all Israel.  No doubt his words have been uttered in humble hope and confession BILLIONS of times since they were first written down. And no doubt the mercy and grace of God has poured over the pray-ers of these confessions BILLIONS of times. That I memorized parts of Psalm 51 as a boy prepared me to be part of the BILLIONS confessed and mercy received.

Both Psalm 23 and Psalm 51 flow from David’s experience. Both are ideally suited for the human condition, without exception. And both proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ hundreds of years before His Incarnation.  He is the Good Shepherd who creates clean hearts, renews spirits, and restores the joy of salvation.

News & Announcements:

• House Blessing @ Bill & Suzi Matthews’, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 7:00
• Advocate Bromenn Partners in Prayer for Nov. – Emergency Department (ED)The Current ED at the Medical Center has 18 beds, four of which are dedicated to cardiac emergencies and traumas.  There are one to two emergency trained physicians in house 24×7.  Approximately 90 patients are seen a day in this area.
• Ladies –Thursday evenings 6:00-7:00 @ the church. Subject: Philippians.
• Men’s Gospel of John Manuscript Study – 6:00-7:00 on Mondays @ Dave Park’s Place
• Men – Men’s Fraternity Wednesday mornings, Sept. 21 @ 6:00 a.m.  Coffee & donuts provided.
• Anybody – C.S. Lewis Reading Group, Tuesday evenings, 7:00, Fellowcopter Pad (ask Pastor)
• Our traditional Thanksgiving Dinner Saturday, Nov. 12 @ 5:00
• OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD – GIVE THE LOVE OF GOD SHED ABROAD IN SHOEBOXES OF HOPE – NEXT SUNDAY!

Ruth: The Poor. The Oppressed. The Alien.

Within every culture that has ever existed these words have been common place. Our government and educational systems are doing their best to make these words obsolete. It’s as if we believe that within our modern ways we can wipe these things away. However, even with the “political correctness agenda” at its peek, oppression is still felt.  With financial assistance at every corner, and welfare programs that far exceed previous standards, we still have the poor.  And as we tighten our national boarders and attempt to legalize the influx of foreign nations, the reality of illegal aliens is at an all time high.

It’s as if God has deemed it to be this way, as if he has a purpose in the outcast.  Perhaps that purpose is for his church to show compassion.  Or maybe its his hope that we would all find ourselves labeled as the outcast in order that we would be looking, hoping and clinging to our very own……..Kinsman Redeemer.

News & Announcements:

• Prayer Gatherings Resume Nov. 9, (possibly a house blessing night)
• Advocate Bromenn Partners in Prayer October – Critical Care Unit (CCU) Located on the West End of 1 South, this unit has 13 beds in individual rooms, which serve the most serious medical/surgical patients.
• Ladies –Thursday evenings 6:00-7:00 @ the church. Subject: Philippians.
• Men’s Gospel of John Manuscript Study – 6:00-7:00 on Mondays @ Dave Park’s Place
• Men – Men’s Fraternity Wednesday mornings, Sept. 21 @ 6:00 a.m.  Coffee & donuts provided.
• Anybody – C.S. Lewis Reading Group, Tuesday evenings, 7:00, Fellowcopter Pad (ask Pastor)
• It’s a Feast. It’s supposed to be!
  Our traditional Thanksgiving Dinner Saturday, Nov. 12 @ 5:00 (details to follow; looking for volunteers to harvest our sweet potatoes for this event; talk to Bruce if interested