I'm sure you've experienced this kind of recorded message as you've been waiting on hold. It can often get to the point where you're ready to throw the phone across the room! I went thorough one of these waiting-on-hold times just this morning. I was trying to upgrade my son Joey's phone using the Verizon website and spent over an hour trying to get it to work - even with the assistance of the "chat window girl". She finally admitted defeat and gave me the phone number for the sales department to handle my order. That meant I got to wait on hold for about a half hour... However, when the salesman finally answered, I was told a series of pieces of surprisingly good news: Not only could they change our phone service package and save me about $100/month, they could also upgrade my whole family to iPhone 7 devices and we'd be coming out ahead by quite a ways! As I've refected on this experience, I've come to realize that my frustration in the waiting actually led to Good News of Great Joy that will be for all people (in the Palmberg household)! This Sunday, December 18th, we'll be looking at the Song of Simeon as found in the last part of Luke 2. It's a story of waiting... but also a story of Joy! God is always at work for our benefit and sometimes it will require us to wait for his blessings to arrive. I hope you'll be able to join us. Children's Christmas Worship this SundayA major feature of our Worship Celebration this Sunday will be our kids' participation. Just like in the story/song of "The Little Drummer Boy", our kids will be offering what they have to Jesus. There will be music performances, the kids Bell Choir, and some surprizes!
Don't miss it! The notion of peace all too often feels like a naiive dream of the 1960's. When we turn on the news or even look around us, we rarely see what we would call peace. And taking an inventory of our hearts and minds points out that peace doesn't define our inner life, either.
And yet, the song of the angel choir over 2000 years ago was a message of "peace on earth and good will to all men". Was that an empty promise? This coming Sunday, December 11th, we'll be continuing our series on "The Original Christmas Playlist" and considering the song of the angels. What does it mean here at the end of 2016? One Sunday morning at a small southern church, the new pastor called on one of his older deacons to lead in the opening prayer. The deacon stood up, bowed his head and said, "Lord, I hate buttermilk." The pastor opened one eye and wondered where this was going. The deacon continued, "Lord, I hate lard." Now the pastor was totally perplexed. The deacon continued, "Lord, I ain't too crazy about plain flour. But after you mix 'em all together and bake 'em in a hot oven, I just love biscuits." He paused, "Lord help us to realize when life gets hard, when things come up that we don't like, whenever we don't understand what You are doing, that we need to wait and see what You are making. After you get through mixing and baking, it'll probably be something even better than biscuits." Amen. What are you waiting for? Advent is the season of waiting on the birth of the Messiah: Jesus - something that God's people waited for for thousands of years. A lot of bad things happened during that time of waiting. But God was at work - even though the people didn't see what he was up to. This Sunday we'll be continuing our series, "The Original Christmas Playlist" as we take a look at Zechariah's Song. If you would like to, you can read it in the first chapter of the gospel of Luke. I hope you'll be able to join us! Seasonally Special Stuff!As you are undoubtedly experiencing, this season is always filled with extras. That's also the case for our church. Here are a few things we want to get onto your radar. For more info on any of these, give the church office a call. Children's Christmas Program (Sunday, Dec. 18) Lisa Whatley is organizing special participation by our kids - instrumental performances, songs, drama, etc. We'd love to include your child. There will be a rehersal after worship on the 11th and then another one on Saturday the 17th. Progressive Dinner (Sunday, Dec. 18th) Be sure to join us for this fun evening that starts at the church for appetizers and then travels to other homes for soup and dessert. Be sure to sign up at the church to either host or simply participate. Caroling (Thursday, Dec. 8th) The town of Twisp is holding a special evening of shopping this coming Thursday from 4-7 pm. Most of the shops will be open with special sales and drawings for prizes. Santa will be welcoming kids and kids-at-heart and there will be free horse-drawn carriage rides. To add to the meriment of the event, our church will join forces with folks from Cascade Bible Church and the United Methodist Church to form a caroling choir. Do some shopping and then meet at the big tree at the north end of Glover Street at 5:30 and we'll make our way through town singing carols. If you want to bring jingle bells or another instrument (kazoo anyone?), feel free. We'll be done around 6:30. Giving Tree Once again, our congregation will be providing gifts for children in our community who otherwise might not have them. The Giving Tree is set up in the Fellowship Hall with tags that list wishes which you can purchase and wrap for them. Let's bring Christ's love to these precious children. Job Opening: CE CoordinatorAfter many years of service, Mandy Schmekel is needing to step down from her position of overseeing our Children's Ministry and so we are looking for a new person to coordinate this important ministry. Job descriptions and applications are available in the church office for this part time paid position. See Pastor Jeff for more information.
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Pastor JeffThoughts about living as a Jesus follower and life at Community Covenant Church Archives
December 2020
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