The Citizen, 2008-12-04, Page 24By Pastor Brent KipferBrussels Mennonite FellowshipThe miracle of Christmas isgreater than we understand.Several years ago, early in the fall,
I lit a fire in our family’s wood stove.
It was the second time I had tried to
get it going. The first time, smoke
billowed out from the seams of the
stove pipe. We put the fire out,
discovered a bird nest at the top of
the chimney, and cleared it away.
The day was reasonably warm, so
I waited until night to have my
second try at starting our first fire.
After the children went to bed, I
carefully laid out paper and kindling
and brought a match to it all. Flames
sprang up. I closed the door - and
went off to do something else.
Upstairs, I heard a
thump...thump...thump coming from
the stove pipe. I moved closer,listened carefully and heard aswishing and scratching sound.There was a bird in our chimney. Myheart sighed. I went downstairs to
put out the fire.
When I was done, there was still
some smoke drifting up, but the fire
was mostly extinguished. By this
time, I could hear that the bird had
fallen to the lower part of the pipe
and was frantically trying to fly
away. It didn’t make it.
How could we have saved that
little bird? It was completely
disoriented inside. How could I
have convinced it to take the long
journey up that dark pipe out into the
fresh air?
A few days later we had another
visitor in our chimney. This time
there was no fire. Eventually, the
feathered creature made his way into
our cool stove box.
As I held out the garbage bag to
try to catch him, he must have
thought he was doomed. All he
knew was that I was this giant
creature trying to get him.
Eventually the bird got past meinto the living room. With the doorsto the house open, we chased himaround the house. Finally, hemanaged to find the way into the
great outdoors and he was gone.
There was a huge communication
gap between those birds and me.
Even if I could manage a nice bird
call, there is no way that I could have
given directions that each bird would
have understood. To lead the first
one to safety - or to convince either
bird that I was not the enemy - I
would have needed to become a bird
myself.
At Christmas, we celebrate an
even greater miracle: God becoming
flesh and living among us. The baby
in the manger is more than a quaint
backdrop for a holiday season. He is
a newly-arrived guest from eternity.
Through the birth of Jesus, God has
bridged a gap far bigger than the one
between me and the birds.
Out in the stable, surrounded by
sheep and shepherds, Mary and
Joseph cradle God’s great Message
to us - in the flesh - scarcely aware
that in him all things in heaven andon earth were created. (Colossians1:16)In the next three weeks, most of uswill have plenty of tasks clamouring
to be done and multiple voices
seeking our attention. How would
Christmas (and life!) be different if
we put priority on seeking the One
who has come to save us and set us
free?
Are you ready to discover [or re-
discover] the miracle of God coming
to earth, speaking our language,
coming alongside us to lead us from
destruction into a new, joy-filled
future?
The writer of Hebrews says that,
“In the past God spoke to our
ancestors through the prophets at
many times and in various ways, but
in these last days he has spoken to us
by his Son....”
PAGE 24. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2008.From the Minister’s StudyMiracle of Christmas greater than we know
Corner of Dinsley & Mill Street
Blyth United Church
Office: 519-523-4224
Rev. Gary Clark
All Welcome
December 7
Worship Service and
Sunday School ~ 11:00 a.m.
~ Communion ~ White Gift ~ Food Bank
Food
BankDecember 14
Worship Service and
Sunday School ~ 11:00 a.m.
~ Baptism
~ Guest Speakers - Anita and Paul Bertrand ~ missionaries
working in Pader, Uganda
~ lunch with Anita and Paul following service
308 Blyth Rd. E.
Pastor Les Cook 519-523-4590
B l y t h C o m m u n i ty ChurchofGod
C H U R C H O F G O D ,ANDERS
O
N
,
I
N
D
I
A
N
A
“The Church
is not a
building,
it is people
touching people
Sunday School 9:45 a.m.
- Christian Education
for all ages
11:00 a.m. - Worship Service
Mid-week Bible Studies
See you
Sunday!
THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA
Welcomes you to come
and worship with us
Parish of New Beginnings
Morning Prayer - December 7
Trinity, Blyth
9:15 a.m.
519-523-9595
St. John's, Brussels
11:15 a.m.
519-887-6862
BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE
UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
Sandra Cable, Worship Leader
Church Office 519-887-6259 E-mail - bepc@wightman.ca
Sunday, December 7
Ethel United Church
Worship Service - 9:30 a.m.
Brussels United Church
Worship Service - 11:00 a.m.
Celebrating our Christian Faith together in worship
getlivingwater.org
Pastor: Ernest Dow ~ 519-523-4848
Living Water Christian Fellowship
10:30 a.m. ~ Worship & Sunday School
at Blyth Public School,
corner of King & Mill
Evangelical Missionary Church
1st & 3rd Wednesdays 7:30 pm - Women at the Well
Fridays 7:30 pm - Youth Group (at the school)
2nd Sunday of Advent
Sunday, December 7 - Mk. 1:1-8
“Godly Sorrow
for Sin:
What a Wild
Idea!”
POTLUCK / Mixed Choir
Practice for Christmas Eve
Celebrate Jesus,
the Light of the World
Brussels Mennonite Fellowship
welcomes you
Sunday, December 7
9:30 a.m. Worship Service
10:45 a.m. Coffee Break
11:00 a.m. Sunday School
for all ages
Pastor Brent Kipfer ~ 519-887-6388
Youre Invited
to come worship
with us
Sunday, December 7
Brussels Public School
at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Sunday School for children
4 to 11 years of age (mornings only)
Childcare provided for infants and toddlers
Coffee & cookies after the morning service
For additional details please contact:
Steve Klumpenhower 519.887.8651 Rick Packer 519.527.0173
Please join us for worship
SUNDAYS
Morning Service 10:00am
Evening Service 7:30pm
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
Pastor John Kuperus
Hwy. 4, Blyth
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7
Wheelchair accessible ~ Nursery care available
519-887-9831
11:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship
- Sunday School
9:30 am - Sunday Belgrave Service
PASTOR DAVID WOOD
119 John’s Ave.,Auburn
519-526-1131
www.huronchapel.org
9:30 a.m.
Sunday School & Small Groups
10:30 a.m.
Morning Worship Service
7:30 p.m.
Evening Service & Youth Service
Upcoming Events...
Friday, December 12th
at 6:30 p.m.
“Christmas Gathering”
Adult Banquet
For tickets call 519-526-1131
Sunday, December 14th
at 7:30 p.m.
“Olde-Fashioned Christmas Concert”
Fun for the whole family!
A complainant from North Huron
contacted the Huron OPP to report a
possible scam. As a result, OPP are
passing along the information to the
public.
The complainant received a letter
dated Nov. 13 from Wells Fargo
Financial saying that the
complainant owed Home Hardware
over $3,000 but if he contacted Wells
Fargo Financial, “they had been
authorized to offer a sizeable
discount to settle his account.”
The complainant contacted police
to report the suspicious letter.
Investigation confirmed that the
company name Wells Fargo
Financial is associated to
Phonebusters as a scam. Luckily, the
complainant did not send any money
to the company nor provide any
details over the phone. When the
company was called by the police,
they stated that they must have sent
the letter to the wrong address.
Check with authorities anytime
you are suspicious of any mail you
receive or calls you get requesting
money that make you
uncomfortable, said Const. Joanna
Van Mierlo. Never feel pressured
into making a decision on the spot. If
a company is not willing to send
something in the mail that can be
investigated, end the call. Contact
police or Phonebusters at 1-888-495-
8501.
OPP remind
‘Beware
of scams’