HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2006-12-21, Page 25HURON CHAPEL
EVANGELICAL MISSIONARY CHURCH
IG A SO1\ q OF Auburn - 519-526-1131
c9:)lj.--9"se PASTOR DAVE WOOD & PASTOR DON PLANT JR.
Blyth United Church
Corner of Dinsley & Mill Street
Sunday, December 24
Worship Service, Sunday School & Nursery
11:00 a.m.
Minister: Rev. Robin McGauley
"Re 2Pegeowe
Office: 519-523-4224
BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE
UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
Sandra Cable, Worship Leader
Church Office 519-887-6259 E-mall - bepc@wightman.ca
Sunday, December 24
Ethel United Church
Worship Service & Sunday School
9:30 a.m.
Brussels United Church
Worship Service & Sunday School
11:00 a.m.
Dec. 24 - Christmas Eve Service at 7:00 pm
at Brussels United Church
Dec. 24 - Christmas Eve Service at 5:30 pm
at Bob Alexander's barn at Ethel
Celebrating our Christian Faith together in worship
December 2-1
10:30 am Festival of
Lessons St Carols,
Communion
7:00 pm Christmas Eve Family Worship
Sunday School Play, Special Music
God's Blessings to You at Christmas from LWCF!
December 31
Guest Speaker: Harvey Snell
ENangelical Nlissionao Church
water
Cfinatiaarellawskp
10:30 a.m. - Worship & Sunday School
at Blyth Public School, 6]
corner of King & Mill
Mondays 7:30 pm - Power of a Praying Woma DVD
Tuesdays 7:30 pm -1Ningham Small Group
Fridays 7:00 pm - Youth Group
Pastor: Ernest Dow - 519-523-4848
getlivingwatenorF)
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coumunity Church of
Looking for a Great
Sunday School Experience?
THIS IS IT!
FOR ALL AGES
SUNDAY - 9:45 to 10:45 am
WORSHIP SERVICE AT 11:00 am
Phone 519-440-8379 308 Blyth Rd. E. - Pastor Les Cook 519-523-4590
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 24
11:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship
- Sunday School
9:30 am - Sunday Belgrave Service
December 24 - 11:00 am
Christmas Service Sharing the music that tells of the wonder
of the season.
Please note time - 7:00 pm - Joint Christmas Eve Service at
Brussels United Church.
Sharing fellowship and family time
Wheelchair accessible - Nursery care available
Rev. Cathrine Campbell - 519-887-9831
THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2006. PAGE 25.
From the Minister's Study
Making room for Jesus this holiday season
By Pastor John Kuperus
Blyth Christian Reformed
Church
In Matthew's gospel we hear of
the coming of Jesus from the
perspective of Joseph. A baby is
coming and with the arrival of any
baby, there is a waiting.
Sometimes waiting is difficult,
filled by worry, prayer and hoping.
A message by Fred Craddock on
this text, from whom I have gleaned
insights for this article says, while
we are waiting, Matthew takes us for
a walk in the graveyard of Jesus.
Chapter 1:1 says "Jesus Christ the
son of David, the son of Abraham."
He wants to highlight two of the
great ancestors of Jesus. Matthew
proceeds to give us three sets of 14
generations.
Recently, a Blyth resident took me
on a ride to the old cemetery in Blyth
behind the water treatment plant. It
was there that old family names of
Blyth are preserved. They had to be
some of the first residents in Blyth.
Then I wondered if their descendants
were still in Blyth. It is at the
cemetery we can find clues about
people living in the community.
At cemeteries I find myself
calculating the age of people. Then I
Compare how old I am. Did I live
beyond their age or how many more
years do I have if I die at their age. I
appreciate visiting cemeteries with
people older than I am. They are able
to tell me stories and give insights
into people who are buried there. I
(love to hear people's stories. •
Matthew does not tell us any
stories. He is interested in
connecting us to the Old Testament.
Most of the stories of these people
are recorded in other books of the
Bible and we can go back to those
stories to hear about the ancestors of
Jesus.
Let me remind you of a few while
we are waiting. Abraham was a man
of faith. Hebrews 11 tells us what
might have been on the stone of
Abraham. He was a pilgrim and "he
was looking forward to the city with
foundations, whose architect and
builder is God." He was an amazing
man who left his homeland to go to
a land where God told him to go.
He also had his flaws. When he
went down to Egypt, he lied to
Pharaoh that his wife was his sister.
Pharaoh takes Sarah to be his wife
and after he discovers the lie,
reprimands Abraham.
David is a remarkable man too. He
is a poet, a warrior and a friend. He
is described as "a man after God's
own heart." That is a real honour to
have that title. David was a man of
extremes and this is expressed in his
poetry. In Psalm 100 he calls us to
worship, "Shout for joy to the Lord,
all the earth. Worship the Lord with
gladness; come before him with
joyful songs." While in Psalm 51 his
emotion and thoughts are on his sins,
"Have mercy on me, 0 God,
according to your unfailing love; ...
For I know my transgressions, and
my sin is always before me."
The genealogy brings out one of
David's sins. It says, "David was the
father of Solomon, whose mother
had been Uriah's wife." Her name
was Bathsheba and that is the
woman David had an affair with and
then had her husband killed in battle.
Normally we like to hide our dirt.
The Bible is honest. The point is that
these people were a part of the
family of Jesus. The good news is
that if God's grace flows to
individuals like these, then it surely
flows to sinners like you and me.
The condition is if we make him
Lord of our lives.
After Matthew introduces us to the
family of Jesus, then we hear about a
couple named Mary and Joseph.
"Mary was pledged to be married to
Sunday
Tuesday
Wednesday
9:30 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
7:30 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
6:30 p.m.
7:00 p.m.
Joseph" (Matthew 1:18).
Back then, engagement was a legal
thing between two families. Often
times parents decided whom their
children would marry. Engagement
was like a marriage and was binding
in nature. Engagements could last a
long time. The two families came
together, signed the papers, and
when the young people became of
age, they married. An engagement
could only be broken by going into
court. •
Joseph has a surprise or an
interruption into his life. The woman
he is engaged to is pregnant. What
Joseph knows is that he is not the
father. This is extremely painful
when a partner is not faithful.
The text tells us that Joseph "was a
righteous man." He wanted to do
what is right. What should he do?
He had a few options. For one, he
could go to the coffee shop and tell
everyone that his fiancee was not
- Sunday School
- Morning Worship Service
- Evening Worship Service
- Youth Bible Study
- Olympians (JK to Grade 6)
- Adult Bible Study
faithful and then ask what he should
do.
When we are facing a difficult
situation, we want the approval of
others around us. We share with
everyone everywhere what we have
gone through and seek their advice. I
believe that everyone needs a pastor,
one person, where we go to process
our experiences.
Some friends from the community
of faith might say, "Just do what the
Bible says." Deuteronomy 22 says,
"She is to be taken out and stoned to
death in front of the people." That is
what the Bible says.
There is a real danger in quoting
the Bible for every situation. The
Bible can be used to justify a killing,
after all it says, "an eye for an eye
and a tooth for a tooth." The Bible
also says "If a man finds something
displeasing in his wife, let him give
her a divorce and send her out of the
house." It also says, "Let women
keep their heads covered and their
mouths shut."
Joseph is a good man and he is
remarkable. He knows and loves his
Bible. He reads the Bible through
the lens and character of God, who is
loving and kind. Joseph's response
therefore is not to harm her, abuse
her, expose her, shame her, ridicule
her, or demean her value, dignity or
her worth. Joseph's response is to
protect her. "He had in mind to
divorce her quietly" (vs. 19b).
Friends, if you find in the Bible
Continued on page 27
Friday 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. - Drop-in Youth Centre
Dec. 24 - Christmas Eve Candlelight Service ai 7:30 pm
Christmas ere
C± Come celebrate the birth of
Jesus Christ
at a candlelight service
with
Brussels Mennonite Fellowship
250 Princess Street, Brussels
Sunday, December 24 7:00 p.m.
(No Sunday morning worship service) AIM
Ir. __,• t...
Sunday, December 31 9:30 am
OtUre—Tork LS 0 Christmas Carol Service
Bethlehem's stable was the first step in
God's journey of love to the cross.
Pastor Brent Kipfer 519-887-6388 - Everyone Welcome
.7Ctuux 'United eftwidi
(Beiyatue
efixiAtinco, Wo,aftip,
December 24
11 a.m. - Advent IV
7:30 p.m. - Christmas Eve Worship
Euexygne Welcome
THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA
Velau4ted you to come
aid akvid axed a4
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 24
The Rev. Tom Wilson, B.A., MDiv. 519-887-9273
Trinity, Blyth St. John's, Brussels
9:30 a.m. 11:15 a.m.
Candle-fit enxiattwo, Eve S,e)tvizes,
St. John's, Brussels Trinity, Blyth
5:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.
Michels axe invited to attend eithen wauce with the& parrified