OUR WEEK-DECEMBER 19TH-DECEMBER 25TH

REMINDERS —
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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15TH —
John Frederick Scarlett Jr., "Fred", 95, of Adair,
passed away Friday, December 10,
A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at
the United Methodist Church in Adair.

ESTHER CIRCLE MEETS WITH GINGER SPANGLER
AT 7 P.M.
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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16TH —
T.T.T. meeting is CANCELED TODAY
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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18TH —
— CASEY CHRISTMAS MALL —
CASEY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
OPEN FROM 9 A.M. TO 1 P.M. HAWKEYE, CYCLONE AND A/C ITEMS.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL, BASKETBALL,
& FOOTBALL ITEMS. HATS, GLOVES, TOOLS,
DVDS, LOTIONS, PERFUMES, BODY WASH,
GAMES, SMALL APPLIANCES, AND MANY
OTHER ITEMS.
MANY GIFTS PRICED AT 50 CENTS SO KIDS
CAN FIND ITEMS FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
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TODAY SANTA CLAUS WILL BE AT THE
COMMUNITY BUILDING AT 1 P.M.
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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2010
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT
COLOR: BLUE OR PURPLEAdvent's waiting nearly (but not quite) gives way
to Christmas joy and celebration.
SINCE SERVICES WERE CANCELED
LAST SUNDAY, DUE TO THE BLIZZARD,
WE WILL LIGHT THE 3RD AND 4TH
ADVENT CANDLES THIS MORNING —

AND — — —
The Adair Casey High School Choir
will be presenting special music at
both churches TODAY.

SCRIPTURE READINGS ARE:
ISAIAH 7:10-16
(The Message)
Ahaz, king of Israel, lived a "bunker mentality."
Ahaz was twenty when he became king of Judah
and reigned for sixteen years. His sole reign
began in 732/731 BC and ended in 716/715 BC. It
is written that he gave himself up to a life of
wickedness. He ignored the remonstrances and
warnings of prophets Isaiah, Hosea, and Micah."Your problems will be resolved by God, Ahaz."
10 God spoke again to Ahaz. This time he said, 11 "Ask for a sign from your God. Ask anything. Be
extravagant. Ask for the moon!"
12 But Ahaz said, "I'd never do that. I'd never make
demands like that on God!"
13 So Isaiah told him, "Then listen to this, government
of David! It's bad enough that you make people tired
with your pious, timid hypocrisies, but now you're
making God tired.
14 So the Master is going to give you a sign anyway.
Watch for this: A girl who is presently a virgin will get
pregnant. She'll bear a son and name him
Immanuel (God-With-Us).
15 By the time the child is twelve years old, able to
make moral decisions,
16 the threat of war will be over. Relax, those two
kings that have you so worried will be out of the picture.
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PSALM 80:1-7, 17-19 (UMH 801)
(The Message)
1 Listen, Shepherd, Israel's Shepherd - get all your
Joseph sheep together. Throw beams of light from
your dazzling throne2 So Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh can see where
they're going. Get out of bed - you've slept long enough!
Come on the run before it's too late.3 God, come back! Smile your blessing smile: That
will be our salvation.
4 God, God of the angel armies, how long will you
smolder like a sleeping volcano while your people
call for fire and brimstone?
5 You put us on a diet of tears, bucket after bucket
of salty tears to drink.
6 You make us look ridiculous to our friends; our
enemies poke fun day after day.
7 God of the angel armies, come back! Smile your
blessing smile: That will be our salvation.8 Remember how you brought a young vine from
Egypt, cleared out the brambles and briers and
planted your very own vineyard?
9 You prepared the good earth, you planted her
roots deep; the vineyard filled the land.
10 Your vine soared high and shaded the mountains,
even dwarfing the giant cedars.
11 Your vine ranged west to the Sea, east to the River.
12 So why do you no longer protect your vine?
Trespassers pick its grapes at will;
13 Wild pigs crash through and crush it, and the mice
nibble away at what's left.14 God of the angel armies, turn our way! Take a
good look at what's happened and attend to this
vine.
15 Care for what you once tenderly planted - the
vine you raised from a shoot.
16 And those who dared to set it on fire - give
them a look that will kill!
17 Then take the hand of your once-favorite child,
the child you raised to adulthood.
18 We will never turn our back on you; breathe
life into our lungs so we can shout your name!
19 God, God of the angel armies, come back! Smile
your blessing smile: That will be our salvation.
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ROMANS 1:1-7
(The Message)
Paul introduces himself to the home churches in
Rome. The reason is to establish Paul's authority
for addressing these house churches.
One would expect a brief résumé. Instead, Paul
spends most of this introduction talking about
the gospel, the good news of God that he Is
entrusted with.1 I, Paul, am a devoted slave of Jesus Christ on
assignment, authorized as an apostle to proclaim
God's words and acts. I write this letter to all the
Christians in Rome, God's friends.
2 The sacred writings contain preliminary reports by
the prophets
3 on God's Son. His descent from David roots him in
history;
4 his unique identity as Son of God was shown by the
Spirit when Jesus was raised from the dead, setting
him apart as the Messiah, our Master.
5 Through him we received both the generous gift of
his life and the urgent task of passing it on to others
who receive it by entering into obedient trust in Jesus.
6 You are who you are through this gift and call of
Jesus Christ!
7 And I greet you now with all the generosity of God
our Father and our Master Jesus, the Messiah.
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MATTHEW 1:18-25
(The Message)
Here is Matthew's account of the circumstances
leading to the birth of Jesus. He tells the story
surrounding the pregnancy of Mary and the
difficulties it posed for her relationship with the
man to whom she was not yet officially married.
18 The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother,
Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before
they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered
she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he
didn't know that.)
19 Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take
care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.
20 While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a
dream. God's angel spoke in the dream: "Joseph, son
of David, do not hesitate to get married. Mary's
pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God's Holy Spirit has
made her pregnant.
21 She will bring a son to birth, and when she does,
you, Joseph, will name him Jesus - 'God saves' —
because he will save his people from their sins."
22 This would bring the prophet's embryonic sermon
to full term:
23 Watch for this - a virgin will get pregnant and
bear a son; They will name him Emmanuel
(Hebrew for "God is with us").
24 Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God's
angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. 25 But he did not consummate the marriage until she
had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.
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• • • • • • Today, Sunday, Dec 19 • • • • • •
Christmas Mall will be open to
everyone, after church services.
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MONDAY, DECEMBER 20TH —
Pastor Lynn's and Naomi's day off.
The office is closed today.
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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21ST —
Morning Bible Study in Adair U.M.C. - 9 to 11 A.M.≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24TH —CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE SCHEDULE:
• • • ADAIR U.M.C. AT 5:00 P.M.
• • • CASEY U.M.C. AT 9 P.M.
We light the 5th Advent Candle at this service.
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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25TH
MERRY CHRISTMAS!≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
FUTURE FOCUS —
Confirmation classes will begin after the first of the
year for any student or adult who would like to
participate. Class time will probably be Sunday
afternoon but this can be negotiated. We will be
using "Credo" materials. The topics covered will
be "learning the story of Christian Faith", what it
means to "Confirm your Faith" and looking at ways
to "Live your Faith Commitment" your entire life.

If there are adults who would be interested in
exploring the "Credo" material as a
"Faith Formation Review" with night classes, we will
do Monday night in Casey and Tuesday night in Adair.
I feel it is important to know what you believe about
your faith for yourself and why you believe it.

Tuesday Morning Bible study in Adair and Thursday
Morning Bible study in Casey are using the book
"Christmas From the Backside"
written by J. Ellsworth Kalas for our current study.
All are welcome to join in the discussion.
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The blizzard caused us a disorganized week, but we
can rearrange nearly everything. If you are staying
warm and safe, that is the important thing. Have a
safe and blessed Christmas.

God Bless and Keep You,
Pastor Lynn