Zion Lutheran Church LCMC

This Week January 29 – February 4, 2012

Pastor Ron — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 04:03:34 +0000

This Week: January 29 – February 4, 2012

Today 29th: Noisy Sunday

9:00am Sunday School

10:15am Worship Service

Tuesday 31st: 9:00am-12:00pm Aspiring Hands

6:30pm Contemporary Service – Communion

7:15pm Bells

Thursday 2nd: 9:30am Quilting

7:30pm Choir Practice

This Week January 22-27, 2012

Pastor Ron — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:16:20 +0000

This Week: January 22, 27, 2012

Today 22^nd: 9:00am Sunday School

10:15am Worship Service

Monday 23^rd: Newsletter Items Due

Tuesday 24^th: 9:00am-12:00pm Aspiring Hands

9:00am-12:00pm Library Clean Out Day

10:00am-12:00pm Food Pantry

6:00pm Constitution Meeting

7:00pm Patriarchs (at Church in the Sanctuary)

Wednesday 25^th: 6:30pm Contemporary Service

7:15pm Bells

7:30pm Alpha Omega Bible Study

Thursday 26^th: 9:30am Quilting

7:30pm Choir Practice

Saturday 28^th: 9:00am Men’s Breakfast & Bible Study

This Week January 15 – 21, 2012

Pastor Ron — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:10:52 +0000

This Week: January 15th – 21st

Today 15th: 8:30am Sunday School Meeting

9:00am Sunday School

10:15am Worship Service

Wednesday 18th: 6:30pm Contemporary Service

7:15pm Bell Practice

Thursday 19th: 9:30am Quilting

7:30pm Choir Practice

Saturday 21st: 6:15 Movie Night (5:30pm Potluck)

This Week January 8-14, 2012

Pastor Ron — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 10:08:14 +0000

Today 8th: 9:00am Sunday School

10:15am Worship Service

Installation of Council Officers

Tuesday 10th: 9:00am-12:00pm Aspiring Hands

10:00am-12:00pm Food Pantry

6:00pm Constitution Meeting

Wednesday 11th: 6:30pm Contemporary Service

7:15pm Bells

7:15pm Friends of Zion Meeting

Thursday 12th: 9:30am Quilting

7:30pm Choir Practice

Friday 13th: 6:00pm Youth Winter Lock In begins

Saturday 14th: 9:00am Youth Winter Lock In ends

Pastor’s Corner January 2012

Pastor Ron — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 01:26:44 +0000

Pastor’s Corner

Every year that Christmas comes I am more and more excited about the story of the GIFT we ALL get to unwrap at Christmas time. That special gift is JESUS! I seem to be more excited about it each year and more than the year before. Let me share the story that brings me joy so that you may enjoy it with me.

Well, the time has finally arrived. Our days of WATCHING and WAITING and PREPARING during this ADVENT SEASON are finally over, and tonight the CELEBRATION BEGINS. Set the details of the HUSSLE AND BUSSLE aside tonight and REJOICE, as we gather to consider the event that changed the course of human history forever. It’s Christmas! And my prayer tonight is that Jesus will be born in us,–and LIVE IN US, and be OUR REASON for LIVING, and loving and caring and giving every day of our lives.

Now,– having said that, I know that this is also a night of SURPRISES. In fact, I think that’s a word that best describes CHRISTMAS– in this modern day. Packages under the tree or under the bed hold surprises that wait to be unwrapped. Family or friends will travel great distances and show up at our homes unexpectedly. “Surprise!” they will say when we open the door. One WOMEN approached the clerk at WALMART and asked for a large bottle of PERFUME for her DAUGHTER. “IS IT A SURPRISE?” the clerk asked.

“Yes” the woman said, “she’s expecting An IPAD!”

Christmas is all about SURPRISES. When the ANGEL GABRIEL told MARY that she would CONCEIVE and bear a SON, and HE would be the Savior of the world, Mary was SURPRISED. “How can this be?” she asked the messenger.

When Joseph FOUND OUT that his FIANCEE was PREGNANT, Joseph was SURPRISED, SHOCKED and ANGRY until the ANGEL told him the REST of the STORY.

Elizabeth and Zecharias were ASTONISHED when Elizabeth got PREGNANT as an OLD WOMAN. Then the angel announced that their child would USHER in news of the MESSIAH, for whom the world had been waiting for a thousand years.

But I am here tonight to tell you that NOBODY was MORE SURPRISED than the SHEPHERDS near Bethlehem, when ANGELS appeared to them and ANNOUNCED the BIRTH of the Son of God.

They were shepherds, after all. UNEDUCATED, and UNLIKELY, but it was to THEM that the NEWS FIRST CAME . “Do not be afraid” THE ANGEL SAID.

But of course they were AFRAID; they were TERRIFIED. But the angel persisted. “Don’t be afraid, for I bring you GOOD NEWS and GREAT JOY, which shall be for all the people.

For unto YOU this day in the City of David there has born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

What happened next is a MARVELOUS MIRACLE, ONE of MANY that happened on that first Christmas night. When the ANGELS DEPARTED from them, the SHEPHERDS said to one another “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing which the angel has made known to us.” And they just WENT!

The shepherds ACTUALLY WENT!– Scripture says- that the shepherds WENT with HASTE to Bethlehem– and found it just as it had been told TO THEM. But that’s because they were SHEPHERDS. They didn’t form a COMMITTEE, they didn’t stop to consider the ECONOMIC IMPACT, they didn’t TAKE A POLL, or call in CONSULTANTS, or REQUESTED MORE INFORMATION FROM THE ANGEL. They WENT. With haste. Immediately. And they found it exactly as the angel had said.

But what does all of this mean to us,– some 2000 years removed from that holy night? In an age when shepherds have all but disappeared from our world;– an age when the town of Bethlehem is an EPICENTER of CONFLICT and BITTERNESS, and when we seem to do everything “with haste” except consider whether there is any room for Jesus in our lives. What does it all mean to us…today…in this present age? Three things, I think.

THE FIRST– is that Jesus still wants to come into the LIVES of the PLAIN and ORDINARY PEOPLE of this world. SHEPHERDS were not rocket scientists!

They weren’t SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS, or NOBEL PRIZE winners, or LUTHERAN PASTORS. They were COMMON FOLK, whose lives were filled with MENIAL TASKS and significant CHALLENGES, and often, they were just trying to SURVIVE in the WILDERNESS.

People, we have met the shepherds and THEY ARE US.

Nothing SPECIAL. Nothing EXTRAORDINARY. But CHOSEN by GOD to receive the greatest gift ever given. “This very night, a Savior has been born, FOR YOU.”

I know for a FACT that there are MANY in our MIDST whose LIVES are HARD.

You wonder where your LIFE is HEADED. You wonder if you do COUNT FOR ANYTHING. You wonder if GOD HEARS your prayers. welcome to the SHEPHERDS GUILD, friends. A Savior has been born for YOU tonight.

THE SECOND this has to do with is FEAR. “Do not be afraid” the angel said.

Well, EASIER said than DONE. When rumors and threats and “CODE ORANGE” flood our MINDS. When LOVED ONES face ILLNESS. When MONEY is SHORT, when HOPE is FADING,– when RELATIONSHIPS are STRAINED, of course WE become AFRAID.

To be AFRAID is to be HUMAN. To simply say “Don’t be afraid” DOESN'T CUT IT!

But that’s not what the angel said. “Don’t be afraid, for I bring you good news of great joy; a Savior has been born for you.”– God is here,– in this FRACTURED,— HURTING WORLD OF OURS.

God is WITH US in the DARK NIGHTS and the HOPELESS SITUATIONS.

God promises NEVER to ABANDON US, and more than that, God has promised that because of Jesus, we will LIVE FOREVER. His love WILL WORK on our fear.

And THE FINAL THING IS THIS; the SHEPHERDS went to Bethlehem.

They didn’t HAVE to GO. The ANGELS didn’t COMMAND IT; God didn’t REQUIRE IT.

But the INVITATION was offered. “This shall be a sign for you; a baby, wrapped in SWADLING CLOTHES and lying in a MANGER.”

The SHEPHERDS went straight to Bethlehem, not to SEE if it was TRUE, but because they BELIEVED IT WAS.

They knew that the WORLD had suddenly CHANGED,– and they wanted to CELEBRATE that fact.

And I think that’s why we are HERE TODAY; MOST OF US, at least.

Some may have come because your PARENTS made YOU, or your SPOUSE required YOU, or your CHILDREN guilted YOU into coming. That’s okay; we’re just GLAD you’re HERE!

But most have come because, like the SHEPHERDS, you believe the MESSAGE of the ANGELS. A Savior has been BORN, one who will BRIDGE the GAP between a SINFUL WORLD and a gracious God. So you’ve come. God has TOUCHED YOU with a promise that has taken ROOT in your HEART.

That though you are ORDINARY…that though you are SINFUL SHEPHERDS and SO AM I…a Savior has been BORN FOR US, and we have a reason to celebrate. Thanks be to God.

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I…..Have a Happy and Healthy New Year. May you bring Christmas in your world 365 days a year.

Pastor Ron

Dates to Remember January 2012

Pastor Ron — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 01:21:16 +0000

Dates to Remember in January 2012

1st Donation Sunday (Paper products for coffee hour, cups, small dessert plates, napkins, etc.)

3rd 9:00am-12:00pm Aspiring Hands

3rd 6:30pm Council Meeting

4th 1:00-3:00 Euchre

4th 7:15pm Bell Practice

5th 9:30am Quilting

6th 5:30pm Zion’s Diners—American Table (meet at Church at 5pm to carpool)

7th 9:00am Women of Zion Meeting & Election of Officers (Combined Circle Meeting)

8th Installation of Council Officers

8th 1:00 pm Thrivent Meeting @ Jo Jo’s Mayberry

10th 10:00am-12:00pm Food Pantry

10th 9:00am-12:00pm Aspiring Hands

10th 6:00pm Constitution Meeting (Pastor Ron, Pastor Floyd & Dwight Gilliland)

11th 7:15pm Bell Practice

11th 7:15pm Friends of Zion Meeting

12th 9:30am Quilting

12th 7:30pm Choir Practice

13th 6:00pm Youth Winter Lock-in until 9:00am on the 14th

15th 8:30am Sunday School Meeting

17th 9:00am-12:00pm Aspiring Hands

18th 7:15pm Bell Practice

19th 9:30am Quilting

19th 7:30pm Choir Practice

21st 6:15pm Movie Night (Potluck at 5:30pm)

22nd Bring a Friend or Family Member to Church

23rd Newsletter Items Due

24th 9:00am-12:00pm Aspiring Hands

24th 9:00am-12:00pm Library Clean-Out Day

24th 10:00am –12:00pm Food Pantry

24th 7:00pm Patriarchs

25th 7:15pm Bell Practice

25th 7:30pm Alpha Omega Bible Study

26th 9:30am Quilting

26th 7:30pm Choir Practice

28th 9:00am Men’s Breakfast & Bible Study

29th Noisy Sunday

31st 9:00am-12:00pm Aspiring Hands

Feed Your Neighbor Food Pantry January 10 & 24, 2012

Pastor Ron — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 01:19:10 +0000

Feed Your Neighbor

Our Feed Your Neighbor Food Pantry will be open on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. January 10th and 24th from 10:00am-12:00pm. If you know someone that is in need of help during these hard times, please let them know about Zion’s Food Pantry.

We are in need of chunky soups, powdered milk and monetary donations. Thank you for your donations!

Zion’s Diners January 6, 2012

Pastor Ron — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 01:17:32 +0000

Zion’s Diners

Zion’s Diners will meet again on January 6, 2012. Dinner will be at the American Table in Lambertville at 5:30pm. We will meet at the church at 5:00pm to carpool.

Altat Guild Meeting March 19, 2012

Pastor Ron — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 01:16:20 +0000

Altar Guild will not meet in January or February. Our next meeting will be March 19, 2012 at 7:30pm

Men’s Bible Study Breakfast January 28, 2012

Pastor Ron — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 01:15:01 +0000

Men’s Bible Study Breakfast Saturday, January 28 , 2012 at 9:00 am

Come and have breakfast with the guys! Watch a DVD, and then discuss how it relates to everyday situations or life. Bring your appetite!