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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10TH —
FROM 4 TO 5:30 P.M.
• FOOD PANTRY - CASEY U.M.C. —
FROM 6 TO 8 P.M.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13TH —
FROM 9 A.M. TO 1 P.M.
Kids will find great gifts for Mom, Dad,
sisters, brothers, teachers, friends, and
grandparents.
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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14TH —
COLOR: PURPLE OR BLUE
THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
LIGHT THE FIRST, SECOND CANDLES
“JOY SUNDAY.”
• If we seek Jesus, who is born in the
manger, shouldn’t we:
…be at peace among ourselves?
…help the weak and the poor?
…not repay evil for evil, but always do
good to one another?
…in all circumstances, give thanks?
As we light this third candle, let us recall
that this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus, who comes to us.
LIGHT THE THIRD CANDLE OF THE
ADVENT WREATH.
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SCRIPTURE READINGS —
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ISAIAH 61:1–11
THE MESSAGE (MSG)
The Spirit of the Lord anoints a prophet
to bring good news to the oppressed, the
brokenhearted, the captives,
the prisoners, and the mourning - - good
news that includes "the day of
vengeance of our God."
Why? None of these folks will get much
good news unless the current social
order is destroyed. When it is destroyed,
rebuilding of God's "ancient ruins" can
begin (verse 4).
In the meantime, the prophet rejoices,
clothed in the hope this good news
brings (verses 8-11).
ANNOUNCE FREEDOM TO ALL
CAPTIVES
1-7 The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me
because God anointed me.
He sent me to preach good news to the
poor,
heal the heartbroken,
Announce freedom to all captives,
pardon all prisoners.
God sent me to announce the year of his
grace—
a celebration of God’s destruction of
our enemies—
and to comfort all who mourn,
To care for the needs of all who mourn in
Zion,
give them bouquets of roses instead of
ashes,
Messages of joy instead of news of doom,
a praising heart instead of a languid
spirit.
Rename them “Oaks of Righteousness”
planted by God to display his glory.
They’ll rebuild the old ruins,
raise a new city out of the wreckage.
They’ll start over on the ruined cities,
take the rubble left behind and make it
new.
You’ll hire outsiders to herd your flocks
and foreigners to work your fields,
But you’ll have the title “Priests of God,”
honored as ministers of our God.
You’ll feast on the bounty of nations,
you’ll bask in their glory.
Because you got a double dose of trouble
and more than your share of contempt,
Your inheritance in the land will be
doubled
and your joy go on forever.
8-9 “Because I, God, love fair dealing
and hate thievery and crime,
I’ll pay your wages on time and in full,
and establish my eternal covenant with
you.
Your descendants will become well-
known all over.
Your children in foreign countries
Will be recognized at once
as the people I have blessed.”
10-11 I will sing for joy in God,
explode in praise from deep in my soul!
He dressed me up in a suit of salvation,
he outfitted me in a robe of
righteousness,
As a bridegroom who puts on a
tuxedo
and a bride a jeweled tiara.
For as the earth bursts with spring
wildflowers,
and as a garden cascades with
blossoms,
So the Master, God, brings righteousness
into full bloom
and puts praise on display before the
nations.
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PSALM 126 (UMH 847)
THE MESSAGE (MSG)
Psalm of Ascent, one of the Psalms sung
by pilgrims as they made their way to the
temple after it was rebuilt, after the return
from exile.
1-3 It seemed like a dream, too good to be
true,
when God returned Zion’s exiles.
We laughed, we sang,
we couldn’t believe our good fortune.
We were the talk of the nations—
“God was wonderful to them!”
God was wonderful to us;
we are one happy people.
4-6 And now, God, do it again—
bring rains to our drought-stricken lives
So those who planted their crops in
despair
will shout hurrahs at the harvest,
So those who went off with heavy hearts
will come home laughing, with
armloads of blessing.
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1 THESSALONIANS 5:16–24
THE MESSAGE (MSG)
Final greetings include a prayer that the
people may now be and remain "sound
and blameless at the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ"
16-18 Be cheerful no matter what; pray all
the time; thank God no matter what
happens. This is the way God wants you
who belong to Christ Jesus to live.
19-22 Don’t suppress the Spirit, and don’t
stifle those who have a word from the
Master. On the other hand, don’t be
gullible. Check out everything, and keep
only what’s good. Throw out anything
tainted with evil.
23-24 May God himself, the God who
makes everything holy and whole, make
you holy and whole, put you together—
spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit
for the coming of our Master, Jesus
Christ. The One who called you is
completely dependable. If he said it,
he’ll do it!
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JOHN 1:6–8, 19–28
THE MESSAGE MSG)
The witness of John the Baptizer
concerning his own identity. He is clear
he is not the Messiah. The Messiah
would have an even more radical ministry
than the one this baptizing prophet had
introduced. "I am not worthy to untie the
thong of his sandals" could be roughly
paraphrased as, "If you think I'm the
Messiah, you ain't seen nothin' yet!"
John, sent by God to point out the way to
the Life-Light. He came to show everyone
where to look, who to believe in. John was
not himself the Light; he was there to
show the way to the Light.
THUNDER IN THE DESERT
19-20 When Jews from Jerusalem sent a
group of priests and officials to ask John
who he was, he was completely honest.
He didn’t evade the question. He told the
plain truth: “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They pressed him, “Who, then? Elijah?”
“I am not.”
“The Prophet?”
“No.”
22 Exasperated, they said, “Who, then?
We need an answer for those who sent us.
Tell us something—anything!—about
yourself.”
23 “I’m thunder in the desert: ‘Make the
road straight for God!’ I’m doing what the
prophet Isaiah preached.”
24-25 Those sent to question him were
from the Pharisee party. Now they had a
question of their own: “If you’re neither
the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet,
why do you baptize?”
26-27 John answered, “I only baptize
using water. A person you don’t
recognize has taken his stand in your
midst. He comes after me, but he is not in
second place to me. I’m not even worthy
to hold his coat for him.”
28 These conversations took place in
Bethany on the other side of the Jordan,
where John was baptizing at the time.
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• 1799 -1st president of the United States
George Washington, died at the age 67.
• 1819 - Alabama joined the Union as the
22nd state.
• 1903 - Orville Wright made a first
attempt at powered flight. The engine
stalled in take-off and the plane was
damaged in the attempt. Three days
later, after repairs, the modern aviation
age was born when the plane stayed
aloft for 12 seconds and flew 102 feet.
• 1911 - Norwegian explorer Roald
Amundsen became the first man to
reach the South Pole.
• 1939 - The Soviet Union was dropped
from the League of Nations.
• 1946 - The U.N. General Assembly voted
to establish the United Nation's head-
quarters in New York City.
• 1985 - Wilma Mankiller became the first
woman to lead a major American Indian
tribe as she formally took office as chief
of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
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MONDAY, DECEMBER 15TH —
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• • THE OFFICE IS CLOSED TODAY • •
• 1791 - In the U.S., the first 10
amendments to the Constitution, known
as the Bill of Rights, went into effect
following ratification by the state of
Virginia.
•1840 - Napoleon Bonapart's remains
were interred in Les Invalides in Paris,
having been brought from St. Helena,
where he died in exile.
• 1854 - In Philadelphia, the first street
cleaning machine was put into use.
• 1877 - Thomas Edison patented the
phonograph.
• 1890 - American Sioux Indian Chief
Sitting Bull and 11 other tribe members
were killed in Grand River, South
Dakota, during an incident with Indian
police working for the U.S. government.
• 1938 - U.S. President Franklin D.
Roosevelt presided over the ground
breaking ceremonies for the Jefferson
Memorial in Washington, DC.
• 1944 - A single-engine plane carrying
U.S. Army Major Glenn Miller
disappeared in thick fog over the
English Channel while going to Paris.
• 1961 - Former Nazi official Adolf
Eichmann was sentenced to death in
Jerusalem by an Israeli court. He had
been tried on charges of organizing
the deportation of Jews consigned to
concentration camps.
• 1970 - The Soviet probe Venera 7 was
the first spacecraft to land softly on the
surface of Venus. The probe survived
the extreme heat and pressure for about
23 minutes and transmitted the first data
received on Earth from the surface of
another planet.
• 1982 - Paul "Bear" Bryant announced
his retirement as head football coach at
the University of Alabama.
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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16TH —
Happy Birthday Carol Ann Schnobrich!
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• 1773 - Nearly 350 chests of tea were
dumped into Boston Harbor off of British
ships by Colonial patriots. The patriots
were disguised as Indians. The act was
to protest taxation without
representation and the monopoly the
government granted to the East India
Company.
• 1809 - Napoleon Bonaparte was
divorced from the Empress Josephine
by an act of the French Senate.
• 1835 - In New York, 530 buildings were
destroyed by fire.
• 1850 - The first immigrant ship from
England, the Charlotte Jane, arrived at
the Colony of Canterbury in Lyttleton,
New Zealand. Three ships followed
within 24 hours with an approximate
total of 790 passengers consigned to
that new colony.
(Children weren't counted).
Passengers aboard these four ships
were referred to as "the Pilgrims". Their
names are inscribed on marble plaques
in Cathedral Square, in the center of
Christchurch, New Zealand.
• 1944 - During World War II, the Battle of
the Bulge began in Belgium. It was the
final major German counteroffensive in
the war.
• 1991 - The United Nations General
Assembly rescinded its 1975 resolution
equating Zionism with racism by a vote
of 111-25.
• 1996 - England's agriculture minister
announced the slaughter of an additional
100,000 cows thought to be at risk of
BSE (MAD COW DISEASE) in an effort to
persuade the European Union to lift its
ban on British beef.
• 1999 - Torrential rains and mudslides in
Venezuela left thousands of people dead
and forced at least 120,000 to leave their
homes.
• 2001 - Cuba received a first commercial
food shipment from the United States in
nearly 40 years. The shipment was sent
to help Cuba after Hurrican Michelle hit
the island on November 4, 2001.
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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17TH —
Happy Birthday Erika Lundy!
Happy Birthday Jamie Christoffersen!
Happy Birthday Brenda Irlmier!———————————————————
Hostess is Ginger Spangler
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• 1777 - France recognized American
independence.
• 1903 - The first successful gasoline
powered airplane flight took place near
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Orville and
Wilbur Wright made that flight.
• 1944 - The U.S. Army announced the
end of its policy of excluding Japanese-
Americans from the West Coast which
ensured that Japanese-Americans were
released from detention camps.
• 1975 - Lynette (Squeeky) Fromme was
sentenced to life in prison for her
attempt on the life of U.S. President
Gerald Ford. She was released on parole
August 14, 2009, after serving 34 years.
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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18TH ———————————————————
• 1787 - New Jersey became the third
state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
• 1865 - Slavery was abolished in the
United States with the 13th Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution being ratified.
• 1898 - A new automobile speed record
was set at 39 mph.
• 1912 - Discovery of the Piltdown Man
in East Sussex was announced. It was
proved to be a hoax in 1953.
• 1916 - During World War I, after 10
months of fighting, the French defeated
the Germans in the Battle of Verdun.
• 1917 - The Eighteenth Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution was passed by the
U.S. It established prohibition of all
alcoholic beverages in the United States.
• 1940 - Adolf Hitler signed a secret
directive ordering preparations for a Nazi
invasion of the Soviet Union. Operation
"Barbarossa" was launched in June 1941.
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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19TH —
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• 1562 - The Battle of Dreux was fought
between Huguenots and Catholics,
beginning the French Wars of Religion.
• 1777 - General George Washington led
his army of about 11,000 men to Valley
Forge, Pennsylvania, to camp for the
winter.
• 1842 - Hawaii's independence was first
recognized by the United States.
• 1843 - Charles Dickens' "A Christmas
Carol" was first published in England.
• 1984 - Britain and China signed an
accord returning Hong Kong to Chinese
sovereignty on July 1, 1997.
• 2003 - Images for the new design for the
Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center
site were released. The building slopes
into a spire that reaches 1,776 feet.
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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20TH —
Happy Birthday Ryan Morgan!
• 1606 - Three ships, "Susan Constant,"
"Godspeed" and "Discovery" set sail
from London. The landing at Jamestown,
Virginia was the beginning of the first
permanent English settlement in America.
• 1699 - Peter the Great ordered that the
Russian New Year be changed from
September 1 to January 1.
• 1803 - The United States Senate ratified
a treaty that included the Louisiana
Territories from France for $15 million,
(about 4 cents per acre). It is 828,000
square miles (529,920,000 acres).
France controlled this vast area from
1699 until 1762, the year it ceded the
territory to Spain. Under Napoleon
Bonaparte, France took back the territory
in 1800 in the hope of re-establishing an
empire in North America. An impending
war with Britain, however, led French
officials to abandon these plans and sell
the entire territory to the United States
in order to pay off their enormous debts.
The land purchase included the entire
states of Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa,
Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska; parts
of Minnesota west of the Mississippi
River; most of North Dakota and South
Dakota; north-eastern New Mexico; north
Texas; the portions of Montana,
Wyoming, and Colorado east of the
Continental Divide; Louisiana west of the
Mississippi River, including the city of
New Orleans; and portions of land that
would one day become part of the
Canadian provinces of Alberta and
Saskatchewan.
How lucky are we that Napoleon was
over drawn at the bank???
• 1860 - South Carolina became the first
state to secede from the American Union.
• 1963 - The Berlin Wall was open for the
first time to West Berliners. It was only
for the holiday season.
It closed again on January 6, 1964.
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FUTURE FOCUS —————
DECEMBER 24TH —
CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE
IN CASEY U.M.C. AT 5:30 P.M.
Thank you for your church life
contributions this week. Whether
muscle or monetary, they are
deeply appreciated.
God Bless and Keep You,
Donna
