Christ Covenant Weekly Update       12.14.14



Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind
- Romans 12:2

Our lives are constantly pressured by the schedules, demands, and values of our heart.  When we love the world and seek it's security and affirmation, that love conforms us to the world.  When we love Jesus, our lives take on a different shape.  This Advent, we will be conspiring together to be shaped by the Gospel as part of the growing Advent Conspiracy.

Advent Week 3 - LOVE: The Birth of a Child

 

 

A printed booklet of all the Advent Devotionals is available to pick up at the Welcome Table on Sunday to be to be easily used at home.  It is also designed to be shared with friends and neighbors with an invitation to the Christmas Eve Service, so feel free to pick up several!  Click Here for a downloadable copy of the entire devotional booklet.

 

Candle Lighting    

Today we relight the first two candles of the Advent wreath: The candle of HOPE and the candle of PEACE. Now we light the third candle of Advent. This is the candle of LOVE. Jesus demonstrated self-giving love in his ministry as the Good Shepherd. Advent is a time for kindness, thinking of others, and sharing with others. It is a time to love as God loved us by giving us his most precious gift. As God is love, let us be love also.

 

Reading: Luke 2:1-7

 

Devotional - The Birth of a Child

Both Isaiah and Zechariah remembered God's mighty acts in the past. They spoke of God's great promises for the future. They both spoke of God's greatest deliverance in terms that both echoed and surpassed his mighty acts of the past: The final deliverance of his people through the total destruction of their enemies. Yet when God acted in fulfillment of his great promises, it was all so ordinary. The king arrived, but he came as a child.

 God came to earth as a child. Childbirth isn't exactly a grand entrance. A feeding trough for animals isn't exactly a king's bed. If Luke's account of Jesus' birth is anything, it's ordinary. It's obscure. It's seemingly inconsequential. "But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong" (1 Cor 1.27).

 

God accomplished his plan through a child, born into poverty, in an obscure town, to a couple of young, first-time parents. 
What does God's ability to accomplish redemption through a child tell you about his power and control?   

 

 Adults' Prayer: Jesus, eternal Son of God, you left the glories of heaven for the mess of earth. You made yourself nothing. You came to earth as a child. You faced the miseries of this life. You took upon yourself the wrath of God. You died on a cross. You stayed in the grave for three days. You did this to save your people from their sins. Thank you.

 

Children's Prayer: Jesus, thank you for leaving heaven and coming to earth as a baby.  

 

Visit our website for the full version of these Advent devotionals. 

Learn the New City Catechism: One Question Per Week

Each week we'll be posting a question and answer from the New City Catechism, along with a brief video explanation. 

Question 50:
What does Christ's resurrection mean for us?
Answer:

  Christ triumphed over sin and death by being physically resurrected, so that all who trust in him are raised to new life in this world and to everlasting life in the world to come. Just as we will one day be resurrected, so this world will one day be restored. But those who do not trust in Christ will be raised to everlasting death.
 

NCC Q50: What does Christ?s resurrection mean for us?
NCC Q50: What does Christ?s resurrection mean for us?
 

Click here for a tutorial on using the New City Catechism!  
Sunday Sermon
Topic:
Advent Conspiracy:
 Give More
Passage:
 Matthew 2:1-3; 9-11
Acts 20:35
Last Chance for Christmas Bazaar Gifts!! 
 
We still have lots of beautiful, handmade items available for purchase this Sunday, the 14th. Great stuff including home decor, jewelry, Christmas gifts, and more! Go take a look, find something you like, and support Christ Covenant's Missions fund! Find Samantha Heinlein will be available on Sunday to help you with your purchases.
Thank You For Serving In Children's Ministry This Week!
Beth Coss
Rachael Orzechowski
Karen Jordan
Neighborhood Caroling!
This Sunday,
Dec 14

Meet at Church at 6 pm
We'll  organize, harmonize and go from there.  Fun and casual, stay as you can


The Manger Build

Hope Presbyterian Church
December 13th, 8:30am
Help celebrate and focus on Christ's birth by building a life size manger with your family. 
Email Stan Huie to register.

Visit themangerbuild.org to learn more.