JOIN US THURSDAY NIGHT FOR OUR CHRISTMAS POT LUCK DINNER AT 6 PM!

After dinner, children are invited to prepare for Christmas with a "Happy Birthday Jesus Party" in the Fellowship Hall and adults and youth are invited to join us in the Sanctuary for our annual Charge Conference.

And a huge thank you to all the youth who helped lead worship for our Hanging of the Greens Service. You all did a wonderful job. Thanks to Charles Henry Ayers, Claudia Taylor, Laura Grace Ayers, Daniel Newton, Catherine Robinson, Cassidy Taylor, Morgan Newton, and Madelyn Sibley!  Thanks also to Milanda Taylor for organizing the youth.  And as also always thanks to Tammy Harbin and Ricky Sutphin for leading our music!

This Sunday, we celebrate the 2^nd Sunday of Advent and our theme is Peace.  And as always on the second Sunday of Advent, we hear from John the Baptist:

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ²"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." ³This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'" ⁴Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, ⁶and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 

⁷But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruit worthy of repentance. ⁹Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ¹⁰Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹"I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹²His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." Matthew 3:1-12

In The Message, Eugene Petterson translates verse 11: "I'm baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. The real action comes next: The main character in this drama - compared to him I'm a mere stagehand - will ignite the kingdom life within you, a fire within you, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out.

• How do we keep Jesus the main character in Christmas?
•  If we, like John the Baptist, are mere stagehands for Jesus, how can we set things up so Jesus is seen, heard and experienced? 
   
• How do we focus the spotlight on Jesus?
• How does focusing on Jesus as the main character not only in Christmas but also in your life give you peace?
• What must you repent of in order to live in peace with others?
• What does it mean to "pass the peace" in church?
• How can we pass the peace in our daily lives?

See you on Sunday as we focus on Jesus as we worship in word, song and Holy Communion!