Nov 27 News and Announcements

News and Announcements Christ Lutheran Church Eagan Minnesota

November 27, 2016

Verse of the Week: Romans 13:12

Hark! A thrilling voice is sounding! “Christ is near,” we hear it say.

“Cast away the works of darkness, All you children of the day!”

So, when next He comes in glory And the world is wrapped in fear, He will shield us with His mercy And with words of love draw near.

Honor, glory, might, dominion To the Father and the Son With the ever-living Spirit While eternal ages run!

LSB 345 Text (sts. 1,4,5) and Music: Public domain Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2006 Concordia Publishing House.

ADULT BIBLE CLASS meets Sundays at 10:15.

Come and join others in studying God’s Word!

Religious Christmas Cards are for sale in the Fellowship Hall. You can put your check or cash in the container provided.

Church Decorating for Christmas!

Saturday, Dec 3rd at 9:00am All are welcome to help.

Please join us to help create a festive atmosphere at the church to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Copies of the 2017 Budget are available on the table in the narthex if you want to review it. This will also be part of the Annual Report which will be distributed in January.

Christ Lutheran has a lot of Styrofoam balls that we no longer need. If you are interested in taking some to make ornaments or other crafty things, please see a staff member. Any balls that are leftover on Sunday, November 27, will be thrown away.

The HUMAN CARE BOARD will be working with other local churches to help support the Holiday Gift Shop again this year. The Holiday Gift Shop provides gifts to families in the Eagan area who qualify for food through the Open Door Pantry. This year instead of a giving tree, the Human Care Board will be collecting gift cards for any dollar amount for Walmart and Target. If you prefer to give cash to support our efforts you may do so. Please put your gift cards or cash in a small envelope, marked “Holiday Gift Shop” and put in the wooden box in the Narthex marked LWML. (Human Care will use this box temporarily.) The cash and gift cards will be used by the Holiday Gift Shop to fill in with gifts in areas that are still needed. We will collect Nov. 5 – Dec. 5. Thank you for your support.

Heading for warmer weather this winter? Please make sure we have your address and when you’ll be away so we can keep in touch. God bless your time away from us!

Thank you to all who donated used eyeglasses to the Lions Club in the box on the Lost and Found table. It was full, and the Lions Club was so happy to receive them. Many will appreciate your donations! We can always use more!

Christmas Tea This year’s Christmas Tea is bringing Christmas back to its Middle-Eastern roots by sharing some wonderful food and supporting an LCMS mission known for their work in the Middle East, POBLO International. (See more information below.)

Please join us on December 10th from 11:00-1:30 in the Fellowship Hall for a spectacular meal, engaging conversation, and a wonderful opportunity to help our Middle-Eastern brothers and sisters in Christ, who have literally walked in the footsteps of Jesus.

Tickets are $15 each with $10 donated directly to POBLO International. Tickets will be on sale starting November 5th. Only 100 tickets will be sold for this spectacular event. You can reserve your tickets by contacting Gabriel Hartog (email: gabriel.hartog@gmail.com, Phone: 612-2128919). Remember to bring your checkbook or the exact amount of cash to buy tickets at church.

More information about POBLO (People of the Book Lutheran Outreach) and our local missionaries: POBLO’s mission work consists primarily of missionary training, church planting, and grassroots evangelism through Bible studies and one-on-one conversations with those interested in exploring the Christian faith or learning more about Jesus. The fields are ripe for harvest (John 4:35) right here in the U.S., and POBLO is responding. People from other religions now have the freedom to learn about and practice Christianity without fear. (POBLO is a Recognized Service Organization of the LCMS.) The POBLO missionaries who will be sharing their work at the Christmas tea are Nader and Georgette Alaraj, who are originally from Palestine. Nader started his career as a medical technologist, working for fifteen years in the medical field in Omaha. Georgette has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and taught for 6 years. Both were raised in Christian homes, although Nader felt a personal calling to serve the Lord shortly after arriving in the United States in 1998. After helping to organize the Arabic Christian Fellowship of Omaha and sharing their faith in practical ways in that community, they moved to Bloomington MN to begin their outreach to non-believers in this highly diverse city. They have two small children and are members of St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Bloomington.

Are you missing a Bible? An NASB was left above the coat hooks several weeks ago. It has a leather cover and is well-used with the name Kirk Johnson written inside. If you know who this belongs to, help us return it to the owner. It is currently on the Lost and Found table. Thanks!

Our Gifts to the Lord Nov 12/13 General Fund Nov 7-10 Joyful Response Total Weekly Need

Attendance $3814.50 $1385.00 $5199.50 $6935.00

Saturday Nov 19, 5:00pm Sunday Nov 20, 9:00am Sunday Nov 20, 2:00pm Total

21 91 11 123

About Advent The word “advent" is from the Latin word for “coming,” and describes the “coming” of our Lord Jesus Christ into the flesh.

Advent begins the church year because the church year begins where Jesus' earthly life began — in the Old Testament prophecies of his incarnation. After Advent comes Christmas, which is about his birth; then Epiphany, about his miracles and ministry; then Lent, about his Calvary-bound mission; then Easter, about his resurrection and the sending of the apostles; and then Ascension (40 days after Easter) and Pentecost, with the sending of the Holy Spirit.

Advent specifically focuses on Christ's "coming," but Christ's coming manifests itself among us in three ways — past, present, and future.

The readings which highlight Christ's coming in the past focus on the Old Testament prophecies of his incarnation at Bethlehem. The readings which highlight Christ's coming in the future focus on his "second coming" on the Last Day at the end of time. And the readings that highlight Christ's coming in the present focus on his ministry among us through Word and Sacrament today.

The traditional use of Advent candles (sometimes held in a wreath) originated in eastern Germany even prior to the Reformation. As this tradition came down to us by the beginning of this century, it involved three purple candles and one pink candle. In more recent years, the candles have been assigned names: hope, love, joy, and peace. The pink candle (the third week of Advent) is for joy.

We now use three blue candles and one pink. Why the change? Purple is also used in Lent, and it has a more penitential nature to it, inviting introspection and repentance on behalf of the believer. This is appropriate for Lent, but also for Advent as we prepare for Christ’s birth as well as His Second Coming.

At some point, churches began using blue because the deep blue of Advent highlights the expectant nature of the season, and of our faith. Deep blue is the color of the clear, predawn sky, the color that covers the earth in the hours before the sun rises in the east.

Thus we use deep blue for Advent to shade the season with a hint of expectation and anticipation of the dawn of Christ. Surely penitence and spiritual discipline is part of the traditional Advent observance, and this is why so many of you are using Advent wreaths and our congregation’s Advent devotional to mark the days of Advent. Advent is a time to recommit to our faith and to our God – no matter the color! The deep blue of Advent is meant to inspire in us the hope of faith, and to encourage us to keep watch for the promised light of Christ to break over the horizon, changing night into day, darkness into light, and filling our lives and our world with a holy and righteous splendor.

(Information taken from www.lcms.org and The Lutheran Zephyr by Rev. Chris Duckworth)