Verse of the Week:
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9: 6
Worship leader: Rudy Franz
Song Leader & Pianist: Kirsten Friesen
Welcome
Call to worship
Christmas Litany
The Lord’s Prayer
Worship in Song
Lighting of the Advent Candles and Christ Candle
Offertory
Prayer Time
Children’s Story – Rudy Franz
Worship in Song
Scripture Reading – Luke 2: 1 – 20, Riley Dyck
Message – God’s Economy – Rudy Franz, Jonah Ginter, Katrina Schulz, Elizabeth Peters
Closing Song
Benediction
Der Friedensfuerst
Prayer & Praise
Christmas Litany
L: Emmanuel, we affirm that you are God-with-us this Christmas morning and all the days of the year.
P: Emmanuel, we confess that we need both the tender words of the Comforter and the shouted challenge of the herald.
L: Emmanuel, we believe that you are the Shepherd of our lives;
P: We come this morning to be nurtured for strength;
L: We come this morning to be gathered from the scatteredness and fragmentation of our hurried days;
P: We come this morning to be held and carried through the places of pain, sorrow and fear;
All: we come this morning to be gently led into new paths of service as we become, by your strength, your shepherds for one another.
L: And so hear us, Emmanuel, as we pray together your prayer
Prayer & Praise
~ Thank you to Music committee for planning and directing a wonderful evening for all of us during our candlelight service on Christmas Eve. The “What if” the story had not happened was replaced by the reality of what did take place. Thanks be to God for such an expression of love, a babe in a manger, a gift to a world in need of purpose and direction.
~ Welcome to our Christmas Day Worship Service. this morning we are invited to rejoice with the angels for the birth of the One foretold so long ago. We come like the shepherds ready to worship and bow down, then to go and tell the news about the One born to be our Savior, Redeemer and King.
~ Rudy & Kathy would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all the cards, pictures which you have sent our way. This is a wonderful reminder of all the people who have responded to the call to be the church here in Rosetown. We appreciate your many gestures of kindness and generosity.
~ We trust that this Christmas season will in its own way, be a blessing for Tenley Falk and her family. May this Prince of Peace find room in your hearts and minds, even in unexpected ways. 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
Christmas Blessing:
May the humility of the Shepherds, the perseverance of the Wise Men, the joy of the angels, and the peace of the Christ-Child be God’s gifts to us and to people everywhere this Christmas season. And may the blessing of the Christ-Child be upon us always. Amen.
Announcements:
[ Paste announcements here that don’t fit under “Youth”, “Church”, or “Community” headings. ]Youth
~ 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):
The Junior & Senior Youth will resume on January 11, 2017 @ 7:30 pm for an Underground Church evening.
Senior Youth (Wednesdays 7pm-9:30pm):
Church
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 22, 2016: $ 373,405.45
Income to December 22, 2016: $ 330,662.50
$’s remaining to be paid out in 2016: $ 41,500.00
$’s needed to meet all expenses: $ 77,000.00
Thank you to all who have given so generously during this year.
~ 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.
~ 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
Community
~ 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:
~ 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.
Urgent Prayer Requests from Mennonite Church Canada:
As our thoughts turn to the birth place of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, we are again reminded to pray for people in conflict all around the world. Please also remember MC Canada Witness workers Jennifer Otto and Gregory Rabus, and Karl and Marla Langelotz as they minister to refugees in light of the tragic truck crash into a Christmas market in Berlin. The Otto Rabuses and Langelotzes are Witness workers serving in Mannheim.
Bock Ki Kim and Sook Kyoung Park, MC Canada Witness Workers in South Korea, invite your prayers for during a time of great political unrest. President Park Guen-hye was impeached on Dec. 9, 2016 for abuse of power, corruption and scandal. Protestors are calling for Park Guen-hye’s removal from office. Bock Ki and Sook Kyoung have noticed some protestors carrying torches instead of candle lights. Traditionally, torches symbolize peasant revolution. Please pray that amidst the current political crises, Mennonite Church in South Korea may encourage helpful dialogue and non-violent action according to the way of Jesus Christ.
Church Calendar
January 1 – New Year’s Day & Sharing Sunday. Breakfast @ 9:00am. Service @ 10:00am.