Verse of the Week:
An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory
Of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you;
He is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:9-11
Worship leader: Marilyn Dyck
Children’s Choir and Song-leader: Ingrid Friesen
Accompanist: Joshua Dyck
Welcome and announcements
Call to worship
Prayer
Offertory
Lighting of the Fourth Advent Candle – Wesley Klippenstein & Hailey Peters
BMC Sunday School presents, “Christmas in Heaven’s Airport”, written and directed by Luke Klassen
Closing Hymn – #128 – “Angels from the Realms of Glory”
Benediction – Pastor Rudy
Prayer & Praise
~ Thank you to the Sunday school for leading us in our worship this morning through your presentation of “Christmas in Heaven’s Airport”. Thank you for the reminder of the great story of Jesus born into our midst, Emmanuel with us. The Sunday school teachers have all been involved in music, rehearsals and providing leadership. We are grateful for your participation.
~ The SS students and teachers are very grateful to Luke Klassen for writing and directing this year’s Christmas play. Luke, you have given much time and effort, first in writing the play, and then in directing us. You have written well, and you have made the preparation time very fun for everyone. THANK YOU very much, Luke!
~ The SS also wishes to thank Sara Wall for preparing the backdrops for our play. Thank you for the considerable time and effort you have given to this, Sara!
~ The month of December is a reminder of the one year anniversary of Jaime & Cody Falk’s family journey with leukemia. At times it is a long, lonely, seemingly endless story, of appointments, tests & medications with side effects. You as a family have demonstrated great resilience, patience, and a deepening trust in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus the Christ. We continue to offer you our prayer support for this Christmas season. We are grateful that Cody’s knee surgery went according to plan and that he has been able to be at home to continue his recovery. Updates can be found at: http://www.tenleysjourney.wordpress.com
~ Those in various care homes that we remember in our prayers include: Susan Janzen, Trudy Harms, Helen Fehr, Helen Janzen, and Jake Rempel.
~We continue to offer our prayer support for Laure and her family, as well as for the Paroisse Missionaire Congregation in Kinshasa, DR Congo; Ryan Thiessen in San Carlos, Mexico; Murray and Carol Honsberger in Papua New Guinea, Eagles Wings Children’s Village in Uganda, Jon & Natalie Neudorf in Chiang Mai, Thailand working with YWAM, Andrea Fehr with YWAM in Hawai’i, Kendra Fehr studying with YWAM in San Diego, CA
Prayer for the Week:
Son of God, in the bleak midwinter when the light is dim and we wonder where You are, give us eyes to see the stars shine in the darkest night sky. In the tiny fingers of a newborn baby, we find infinite hope. In the shadows of our ordinary lives, may we see You open your arms to receive us again. Remind us that You come to us in the form of a child. May we experience the light of Your presence in the unexpected places of our lives as we open our hearts to receive Your love. Amen.
Announcements:
[ Paste announcements here that don’t fit under “Youth”, “Church”, or “Community” headings. ]Youth
~ Go to http://blumenortchurch.com for updates regarding youth events. For the most recent updates, check out the groups on Facebook named “BMC Youth”, and “BMC Jr Youth” or contact Youth Pastor Gerry Giesbrecht @ 204-362-7262
~ Go to http://bmcyouth.blogspot.ca for updates youth events. For the most recent updates, check out the groups on Facebook named “BMC Youth”, and “BMC Jr Youth” or contact Gerry Giesbrecht @ 204-362-7262
Junior Youth (Mondays 7pm-9pm):
December 19 – Christmas Party, Supper @ 6pm.
The Junior & Senior Youth will resume on January 11, 2017 @ 7:30 pm for an Underground Church evening.
Senior Youth (Wednesdays 7pm-9:30pm):
December 21 – Bible study
Church
~ Audio services and bulletins are now available at our Church website. We are working at streamlining this, and keeping it current. Please be patient with us as we continue to update our web presence. Go to http://blumenortchurch.com to see what’s new online.
From the Finance Committee:
Expenses to December 16, 2016: $ 372,158.90
Income to December 16, 2016: $ 318,229.00
$’s remaining to be paid out in 2016: $ 41,500.00
$’s needed to meet all expenses: $ 93,000.00
Thank you to all who have given so generously during this year.
~Christmas Eve Candlelight Service practices: Monday, Dec. 19 7:30 pm and Thursday, Dec. 22 7:30 pm. Please attend if you are involved.
~ Contributions to the mitten tree are welcomed and very much appreciated. Mittens, scarves, toques, gloves, socks and slippers are welcomed to fill a need in our local schools. Each week, the tree will be emptied and its contents distributed to a different school in our community. Thank you for your generosity and kindness.
~ You may have noticed a new piece of art hanging in the south foyer. Thanks to Kaitlyn Rempel for taking our gifts of praise & thanksgiving to God during our Songs of Praise Sunday in October and creating a beautiful collage.
~ There will be no Sunday school on December 25 or January 1.
~ SAVE THE DATE! February 3 – 5, 2017! When planning your winter getaways, mark your calendar for the most fun, fellowship filled, learning, and economical holiday by joining the BMC retreat at Camp Assiniboia. Speaker: John Rempel.
~ Sharing Sunday – Each year we have a sharing Sunday on the last Sunday of the year. However this year the last Sunday of the year is on Christmas Day. Thus Church Council has suggested that our sharing Sunday take place on January 1, 2017. As we have in the past, we would invite the congregation to gather downstairs for breakfast at 9 am followed by our worship service to be held downstairs as well. We invite your participation by bringing items to share such as a story, poem, scripture verses, song, instrumental piece, whatever it is that would be important to share with the rest of the congregation.
Community
~ Faith and Life Male Choir and Women’s Chorus Christmas Concert: Sunday, December 18, 2016, 3:00pm at Emmanuel Mennonite Church (Winkler). A freewill offering will be taken.
~ Members of MCM congregations are invited to a special meeting on Thursday, January 12, 2017 (7:00-9:15 PM) at the Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship, 150 Bayridge Ave, Winnipeg. Updates on various MCM matters will be provided followed by conversation about how the decisions of the Being a Faithful Church could be implemented by and within MCM. This will not be a decision-making business meeting and attendees do not need to be delegated by their congregation to participate. More specific information for attendees to prepare for the BFC conversation will follow soon.
Mennonite Central Committee:
~ Christmas Giving: This Christmas bring joy to the people you love and transform lives around the world through an MCC Christmas Giving Project! Each gift comes with a card to give to your loved ones explaining the gift you’ve chosen, such as the gift of health or livelihoods. Visit http://mccmb.ca/christmas to choose a gift today.
~ Please join us in prayer for the people of Aleppo, Syria as the number of missiles and bombs has continued to increase. A long-term MCC partner urges our prayers for peace and that this Christmas will bring joy and hope to the people of Syria. To hear more from Aleppo, please visit http://mccmb.ca/stories/pray-christmas-will-bring-joy.
Church Calendar
December 24– Christmas Eve Candlelight service @ 7:30pm
December 25 – Christmas Day worship service @ 10:30am
January 1 – New Year’s Day & Sharing Sunday. Breakfast @ 9:00am. Service @ 10:00am.