Verse for the week:
Arise, shine, for Your Light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon You and His glory will be seen upon You. And nations shall come to Your Light, and kings to the brightness of Your rising. Isaiah 60: 1-3
Worship leader: Rudy Franz
Song leader & Accompanist: Gerry Giesbrecht
Welcome & Announcements
Call to Worship
Prayer
Worship in Song
Offertory
Prayer Time
Worship in Song
Scripture Reading – Matthew 2 – Caroline Ens
Message – “Pledge of Allegiance” – Jake Friesen
Service of Communion
Closing Song
Benediction
Prayer & Praise
~ Congratulations to Dustin & Leah Fehr on the birth of their son, Walker Duke, on Sunday, December 30, 2018. He is a brother for Sawyer & Deacon. Proud grandparents are Dave & Cathy Fehr. We want to wish you God’s blessings as you make room in your home and hearts for the children who have been entrusted to you.
~Welcome to this first Sunday of the New Year. We are invited to continue trusting our God who is not bound by time and space. Let us rest assured that we are kept in God’s love throughout our time on this earth.
~ Thank you to the food committee for your planning and preparing such a wonderful breakfast for us on January 1, 2019. We appreciate the opportunity to begin the New Year with food, fellowship and prayer.
~ Thank you to Gerry Giesbrecht and many others for helping to plan the 24 hour Worship and Prayer day, held Saturday at the Youth Centre. This was a wonderful opportunity to begin the year with a variety of forms of worship, through music, guided prayer, meditation and scripture.
– Clubs for Boys and Girls from Grades 3 – 6 is on Wednesdays from 7 – 8:30pm. All are welcome. We will resume January 9, 2019. Thanks to everyone who has signed up for baking cookies for clubs, there are still a few open slots. Thank you to all who have provided leadership for this program. It is greatly appreciated! If there are any questions, feel free to contact Rachelle Loewen 362-8323.
~ For all those students and teachers entering back into the classroom after the Christmas break we want to wish you God’s continued guidance, a love of learning, the ability to focus and much perseverance on the journey.
– Let us continue to pray for Tim & Marlene Wiebe & Family as they face difficult decisions regarding further cancer treatments for Tim. His cancer has returned in a very aggressive manner and is already affecting his ability to read, write and process information.
– Austin Penner, as he continues in the PASS program in Winnipeg.
~ Continue in prayer for Tenley Falk and family, and Nettie Ginter and family, as they continue to deal with the challenges of after effects of treatments.
~ Dave Rempel as he continues to recover from knee surgery.
~ Those in various care homes that we remember in our prayers include: Helen Janzen at Bethania Mennonite Personal Care Home and Jake Rempel at Donwood Personal Care Home.
~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, and Tyler Loewen in Cambodia with MCC
Prayer for the Week:
Lord God, we know You are here among us to enter the shadows in our hearts. For those who have travelled through the storms of life, for those who are still on the road, for those bearing gifts in your name, for those who feel they have no gift to bring, for those who are carrying their loved ones, for those who need to be loved and carried, for those who are our leaders, for those who are afraid to lead, for those who are strangers in a new place, for those who are strangers in a place called home. Lord of Light, enter our darkness, so that just as the Magi saw the star at its rising and knew that Your Light had come and responded by offering their time, energies, gifts and praise, so may we respond to Your Light just as fully and freely. Amen.
Church Announcements
~ Audio services and bulletins are now available at our church website. The address is: http://blumenortchurch.comFrom the Finance Committee
Budget for 2018 (passed at the March, 2018 annual Meeting): $ 375,000.00
Income to December 31, 2018: $ 348,481.22
Expenses to December 31, 2018: $ 344,685.01
Thanks for your gifts and continued giving.
Please get your announcements in early. Call and leave a message, or email: blumenortmc@gmail.com. For rentals of the church basement or youth centre, please call Dorothy Hildebrandt @ 204-324-4426. Remember to clean up after your event. Thank You!
~ Jake & Ingrid Friesen will be teaching a class beginning on January 20, 2019 – “To already married and soon-to-be married people.
If love, laughter and a great marriage relationship are part of your hopes and expectations, then listen up.
How do you handle conflict?
What’s your money spending personalities?
How do you manage expectations, both stated and unstated?
Do you have someone mentoring you and are you mentoring someone?
Have you left home and are cleaving to your spouse?
How is your relationship with your in-laws?
Can you get past the differences between you?
These are just a few of the questions we’ll explore in this class, as we set a goal to improve relationships within the marriage relationship and in the church.”
~ Church Retreat is happening on February 8 – 10, 2019, at Camp Assiniboia. More details to follow. Save the dates. Sign-up sheet coming soon!!
Church Calendar
January 13 – Speaker – Gerry Giesbrecht
January 20 – Speaker – Rudy Franz
January 27 – Speaker – Esther Zacharias
Youth
~ BMC Youth is for youth in grades 7-12, and happens Wednesdays from 7:00pm-9:15pm~ For updates follow us on Social Media:
instagram: @bmcyouthmin
facebook: facebook.com/groups/BMCYouth (Group)
facebook.com/bmcyouthmin (Page)
twitter: @bmcyouthmin
or contact Gerry Giesbrecht @ 204-362-7262
January 9 – Youth resumes
Community Announcements
~ Are you getting tired of the cold and dark of winter? Join us for the Gardens on Tenth theme night, “Cabin Fever”, on Thursday, January 17th, 2019 at 5 pm with Johnny Cash (Corny Rempel). Join us for comfort food and warm entertainment for only $20.00 per person. Bring a friend who also needs to get out. Call 204-324-8945 by January 11 for your tickets.
~ Mennonite Collegiate Institute, Gretna MB, invites applications for the position of Principal commencing August, 2019. For more information or to submit a resume, please email searchteam@mciblues.net. More information can be found at www.mciblues.net.
~ SALT positions are open! What are your plans for 2019? How about spending a year immersed in another culture, serving the local community, and getting real-world work experience? SALT is an 11-month program open to young adults aged 18-30. For more information and to apply visit mccmb.ca/salt
~ Southern Manitoba Choral Society invites all singers to join the choir on Tuesdays for its winter/spring season. First rehearsal is January 15, 2019 from 7:00-8:45 pm in the W C Miller Collegiate music room. Registration is $35.