Our teens are on their way!

Follow 2012 Promo from SFD on Vimeo.

International Wesleyan Youth Convention

December 28-31, 2012

Louisville, Kentucky

www.mywycon.com

You can make a difference today!  Your financial gifts will help insure that the church can continue to focus on changing lives and building the kingdom.  Please make sure your mail is postmarked by December 31 to receive tax credit for this year.

Celebrate!

Encounter the TRUTH

that is

Changing the World

Got Peace? (Question for Advent Week 4)

There once was a King who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The King looked at all the pictures, but there were only two he really liked and he had to choose between them. One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror, for peaceful towering mountains were all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

The other picture had mountains too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all. But when the King looked, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest... perfect peace.

Which picture do you think won the prize?

The King chose the second picture. "Because," explained the King, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace." (Catherine Marshall)

Seems to me that most of us would have chosen the first picture- I know I would have. And do you know why? Because we've been deceived into thinking that peace is a by-product of circumstances. That at some point we will get all of our stuff together, and all will be as calm as a mountain lake on a perfect day

So we toil and strive trying to find tranquility in our lives by trying to remove all that seems difficult. In the back of our minds is a little voice saying: "if only..."

• If only I didn't have to go to school
• If only I didn't have to work
• If only I had a different family
• If only I had more money
• If only I had more time
• If only (fill in the blank), I would have more peace in my life.

Meanwhile, God in Heaven is longing to give you the stillness you are looking for...and He is whispering "If only you would look to me for true peace, I would give it to you".

The King in the story is right. True peace can be found even in the midst of the most difficult and trying circumstances, because God lives inside you. He really desires for you to live life the way He designed it, which is to be at peace with yourself and the world around you.

So how do you get there?

Not by changing your circumstances, because you really don't have a lot of control in that area. Oh sure, you have choices, but you cannot control the choices that other people make-which is usually what ends up trashing our tranquility.

The secret to internal peace is changing your perspective. Here's the advice God gives:

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thoughts are fixed on you! (Isaiah 26:3)

Simple principle, don't you think? Yet sometimes very difficult to apply. Basically, if your mind is constantly fixed on God and His Word, there remains no room for the attacks of worry and stress that kill any hope of peace in our lives. Like the little bird, we need to quit looking around and start looking up to our Creator, and repeating over and over what He has already promised us.

Where to start? Here are a few promises that you can stash in your nest for future study:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:27)

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

But the fruit of the Spirit is...peace (Galatians 5:22)

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6)

Got peace?

Questions:

1. How many hours of the day do you experience true peace?
2. What is keeping you from fixing your thoughts on God?
3. Which verse from the ones above speaks the loudest to you right now?

Family Christmas Eve Service

Family Communion will be offered from 6pm to 8pm on December 24th.  Come as a family and celebrate Christmas by remembering the reason for the season.  Pastor Jeff will be in the Sanctuary to serve you and your family the sacrament of communion.

Christmas Presentation...

The children of the church are going to be involved in the Sunday morning service on December 23rd.

They have been practicing their presentation during Junior Church and during the Awana times.  

Questions?  Contact Tricia Dunham.

Luedtke's Open House

Pastor Jeff, Amy and the kids would like to open their home to the church for a pastor's open house on this Sunday afternoon (December 16).  Please stop by between 2pm and 5pm at 6629 South E 00 West, Jonesboro, for some snacks and fellowship.

Christmas Prayer on the Third Week of Advent

Dear Jesus,

It’s a good thing you were born at night. This world sure seems dark. I have a good eye for silver linings. But they seem dimmer lately.

These killings, Lord.  These children, Lord.  Innocence violated.  Raw evil demonstrated.

The whole world seems on edge. Trigger-happy. Ticked off. We hear threats of chemical weapons and nuclear bombs. Are we one button-push away from annihilation?

Your world seems a bit darker this Christmas.  But you were born in the dark, right? You came at night. The shepherds were nightshift workers. The Wise Men followed a star. Your first cries were heard in the shadows. To see your face, Mary and Joseph needed a candle flame. It was dark. Dark with Herod’s jealousy. Dark with Roman oppression. Dark with poverty.  Dark with violence.

Herod went on a rampage, killing babies. Joseph took you and your mom into Egypt. You were an immigrant before you were a Nazarene.

Oh, Lord Jesus, you entered the dark world of your day. Won’t you enter ours? We are weary of bloodshed. We, like the wise men, are looking for a star. We, like the shepherds, are kneeling at a manger.

This Christmas, we ask you, heal us, help us, be born anew in us.

Hopefully,

Your Children

Awana Christmas Party

Wednesday, December 19

6:15pm - 8:00pm

in the Family Life Center

(All Age Groups Together)

Preparation and Prayer

If you missed Sunday's meeting or would like to come back for more prayer, you are invited to join us for our family meeting and prayer time for our two service transition.  It'll take place on Wednesday, December 12th at 6:30pm.  We'll answer questions, share a handout with a more detailed plan of transition and spend time in prayer together as we seek the Lord's leading and direction.

Return of the King: Second Week of Advent

In his days justice shall flourish and peace till the moon fails

In his days, justice shall flourish

and the voice of those who are oppressed will be heard.

The poor will receive enough on which to live

and the rich will share gladly

the abundance they have received at the hand of God.

In his days justice shall flourish and peace till the moon fails.

The wolf lies down with the lamb:

the fierce gives way to the tame,

the weak protect the strong,

the powerless contain the power of the mighty.

In his day justice shall flourish and peace till the moon fades.

God will give judgment to the King,

to the One who comes in the name of the Lord,

to establish peace and justice

with integrity and with mercy.

(inspired by Psalm 72 and Isaiah 11)

New Groups on the Horizon!

January is the perfect time to bring on the next round of small groups!  If you have considered hosting or leading a group, attending or inviting others to attend with you, small groups are important because they move us out of self-centered isolation.  It’s the classroom for learning how to get along in God’s family.  It’s a lab for practicing unselfish, sympathetic love.  You learn to care about others and share the experiences of others: “If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it. Or if one part of our body is honored, all the other parts share its honor” (1 Cor. 12:26 NCV).

Come, Lord Jesus

Advent begins this Sunday, December 2nd.  You may have never celebrated Advent, or this could be a half century of observing it for you.  Either way we wanted to review some foundational concepts to the observance of Advent.  In Robert Webber’s chapter on Advent in his book "Ancient-Future Time" he presents these points:

• Advent is a time to prepare for the coming of the Messiah.
• The Messiah’s coming is understood in three different senses: (1) His coming to earth in Bethlehem, (2) His second-coming at the consummation of God’s purposes and (3) His coming in the present moment into my life.
• The coming of Messiah to me in this moment is surrounded by my repentance.
• From the Old Testament, Isaiah could be considered the prophet of Advent because in his life and prophetic word he represented the hope of Advent.
• In the New Testament, John the Baptist and Mary, Jesus'd mother, reveal Advent spirituality: the former by his single-minded mission and self-giving love, the latter by her willingness to yield her life to God’s will.
• The first candle of Advent can be called “promise”.

Here’s how Webber summarizes the emphasis and challenge of Advent:

Emphasis. Readiness for the coming of Christ at the end of history and at Bethlehem (the four Sundays before Christmas day).

Spiritual Challenge. Repent and be ready for the second coming of Christ.  Allow all eager longing for the coming of Messiah to be birthed in your heart.

The Prayer for the first Advent Sunday from the Book of Common Prayer:

Almighty God, give all of us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with the and the Holy Spirit, on God, now and for ever. Amen.