CROSS OF CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH24155 Griswold Road, South Lyon, MI 48178

248-437-8810Fax: 248-437-7708

www.crossofchristlutheran.org Email: cross-christ@att.net Like us on FACEBOOK at: www.facebook.com/crossofchristsouthlyon

D E C E M B E R, 2 0 1 8

Sunday Worship: 10 a.m.Holy Communion is celebrated on the 2nd, 4th, and 5th Sundays of the month.

Sunday School: 10 a.m. – 3 years old through fifth grade Adult Bible Study: Sundays 9:00 a.m.

Youth Bible Study: 10 a.m. (1st & 3rd Sundays)

Mid-Week Advent Worship: Candlelight Christmas Eve Wednesdays, Worship Service Dec. 5, 12 & 19 5:00 p.m. 12:30 p.m. With Holy Communion

Dear Beloved Members and Friends,

Blessed Advent! Merry Christmas! One of the tasks of parents who are expecting a baby is to name their newborn child. That process may begin when Mom discovers that she is pregnant. Dad and Mom talk with each other about boys and girls names that they like. They may look at a name book to discover the meanings of the names they like. The parents may explore names in their respective families. Christian parents look in the Bible for names they like. When Mom and Dad discover that they are having a boy or a girl, then they can focus their consideration on the boys or girls names. Some parents decide early in the pregnancy the names of their children. Others wait until their children are born to make the final decision and name their newborn child.

Joseph and Mary went through the process of naming her firstborn Son. They had help from God and from an angel of the Lord. The engaged virgin Mary was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. An angel of the Lord told Joseph to take Mary home as His wife because what was conceived in her was from the Holy Spirit. The angel told Joseph that Mary would give birth to a Son and that he was to give Him the name “Jesus.” Mary gave birth to a Son and Joseph gave Him the name “Jesus.” All this took place to fulfill the prophet Isaiah’s prophecy in 7:14 of his book. I have good news to share with you in this letter. Jesus Christ Immanuel is born.

PASTOR’S LETTER Continued

The Holy Spirit conceived Jesus in the virgin Mary’s womb. The Spirit came upon Mary and His power overshadowed her. The Holy Spirit conceived the Son of God in Mary’s womb. Jesus was conceived without sin because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Christ was sinless in the womb of His mother Mary.

The angel announced that Mary would give birth to a Son. Joseph was to give Him the name Jesus because He would save His people from their sins. To save means to rescue from sin, death, and hell. By delivering the Jews, Jesus would deliver all nations. Jesus means Savior. Jesus was conceived and born to save us from our sins.

Mary gave birth to a Son in a Bethlehem stable. Jesus was her firstborn Son and the Son of God. Mary wrapped baby Jesus in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger on the eighth day after His birth when it was time to circumcise Him. He was named “Jesus” by Joseph. Salvation is found in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Jesus fulfilled His name by His birth, life, death, and resurrection. God sent His Son into the world to save you and the world. God sent Jesus into the world to achieve the greatest rescue mission of all time. Jesus lived a sinless life for you. Jesus paid the full price for your sins and for your place in heaven by His blood shed on the cross. Jesus took away your sin when He was crucified. Jesus went through hell for you on the cross and saved you from it. Jesus rose from the dead and saved you from your sins and from hell.

Our Lord comes to you to give you salvation and forgiveness of sins in His Supper. Jesus gives you His body in the bread you eat. Christ gives you His blood in the fruit of the vine you drink.

Your Lord will bless you with salvation, forgiveness of sins, joy, life and peace in His Supper. You will proclaim your Lord’s death until He comes again in glory.

Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. Jesus Christ is God. Christ promises to be with you always. “Surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.” Jesus is with you as you hear and learn. Christ is with you when you play and pray. Our Lord is with you when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death and He comforts you. Jesus is with you to the Last Day when He will come back in glory.

Jesus is with you every day. Christ is with you to help you and to strengthen you each day. Your Lord is with you to guide you. Jesus is with you to hear and answer your prayers. Christ helps you to serve God and people in your prayers. Christ helps you to serve God and people in your vocations. Your Lord is with you to provide for all your physical and spiritual needs. Jesus is with you to heal you when you are injured or sick. Christ gives you His grace, mercy, and strength when you are afflicted.

Rejoice this month of December. Give glory to God in the highest. Jesus and His birth are the Reason for the Christmas season. May our newborn King bless you and your family this month of December and always! - - In Christ, Pastor Terry Nelson

Dear Beloved Members,Thank you so much for remembering and celebrating my birthday at the Harvest Dinner on Sunday, Nov. 18. I am grateful for your love and thoughtfulness. I was surprised! Thank you for the beautiful stole. I am planning to wear the stole during the Advent worship services. Thank you for the delicious dinner, birthday cake, and for singing Happy Birthday to me. It was a special day!In Christ, Pastor Nelson

C H R I S T I A N E D U C A T I O N

“Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Proverbs 22:6

SUNDAY SCHOOL classes are held at 10 a.m. for children three years old through fifth grade. Children are dismissed to their classes from the worship service after the opening hymn.

SUNDAY SCHOOL/ Christmas Program Practice is being held during the normal Sunday School class time.

Children’s Christmas Program

Presented by the Sunday School Children“Christmas is Jesus”

Sunday, December 16th – 10 a.m.

Regular attendance is encouraged to help prepare. A DRESS REHEARSAL will be held on Wednesday, December 5, from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Pizza will be provided. Contact Becky Kreipke with questions (248-719-3115) – rkreipke@gmail.com.

YOUTH BIBLE STUDY SCHEDULE: Youth in grades 6 – 12 normally meet during the worship service on the first and third Sundays of the month. They are dismissed to their classes after the opening hymn. This month the Youth Bible Studies will be held on December 2 & 9, due to the Children’s Christmas Program on the 16th.

ADULT BIBLE STUDY– Sundays at 9 a.m.ADULT BIBLE STUDY has just begun a new DVD study Sundays at 9 a.m. entitled: The Odyssey of St. Paul. Aside from Jesus himself, no one had a greater influence on the founding of Christianity than Paul of Tarsus.  Sessions include: Young Saul,

The New Saul, The First Mission Journey, Quarrels and the Second Mission Journey, The Second Mission Journey and Greece, The Third Mission Journey, Arrest and Imprisonment, The Voyage to Rome. All are welcome to join in at any time!

C H R I S T I A N E D U C A T I O N

CONFIRMATION instruction, for young people in 7th and 8th grades, is held Wednesdays, from 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. If you are interested in having your child join the class, call or email Pastor Nelson.CROSS OF CHRIST CHRISTIAN PRESCHOOL

The preschool children and staff are looking forward to all of the special days in celebration of our Lord and Savior’s birth. Preschool classes will be off for Christmas Break December 21 through January 4. We offer a play-based program for three and four year olds, with age appropriate academics. CONGREGATIONALMEETING

A Quarterly CONGREGATIONAL meeting will be held on Sunday, December 9th after worship to consider approval of the 2019 Budget. All members are encouraged to attend.SPECIAL THANKS

. . . to Louise Rucker for her service as Secretary of the congregation for many, many years. She will be relocating to Alma in the coming months. We pray God’s blessings on her as she settles into her new home.

HELP NEEDED

USHERS NEEDEDWe are in need of additional Ushers. Ushers serve on a team of four, once every three or four weeks. See Pastor Nelson if you can help out.

ALTAR GUILD HELPHelp is also needed on our Altar Guild. Teams of two serve every three or four months for a month. See Pastor Nelson if you can help out.

Sign-up NeededDates are open in December to sign up to place flowers on the altar to celebrate special events or in memory of loved ones. Sign up on the Flower Chart in the fellowship hallway. Cost is $30 per vase. (Designate your check “Altar Flowers” and place in the offering plate.) Flowers are taken home after the worship service.

WOMEN’S FELLOWSHIP

Women’s Fellowship will meet on Thursday, December 11, at noon, during the Pastors’ Circuit meeting. All women welcome!

ALTAR FLOWERS

Look for the 2019 FLOWER CHART to be posted in December (in the hallway near the kitchen). Flowers may be purchased for $30 per vase, in celebration of special events or in memory of loved ones, and taken home after the worship services. Checks are made out to “Cross of Christ” – designated “Altar Flowers” and placed in the offering plate.

P R E P A R I N G F O R C H R I S T M A S

CHURCH DECORATING

Thank you to all who helped decorate for Christmas! The trees and sanctuary look beautiful!

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD

Thank you to all who participated in the OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD shoebox collection. We had a good response. The boxes were delivered to the shipping site on November 16.POINSETTIAS

Sign up on the Information Board to place Poinsettias on the altar for Christmas services (or contact the church office.)Sign up to purchase POINSETTIA plants for the church sanctuary for Christmas week. The beautiful three-stem plants are available for $16.50 each and may be taken home after the Christmas Eve worship service. Cash or checks made payable to “Cross of Christ” may be placed in the offering plate, designated “Poinsettias.” Twelve plants have been ordered.AMAZON.COM FUNDRAISER

As the Holidays approach, we wanted to remind you that we have an Amazon Smile Link setup, so that a portion of your Amazon shopping can benefit Cross of Christ Preschool.  Every little bit helps, so if you haven’t tried this yet, it’s very easy.  Just use this link to get to Amazon, and then anytime afterwards, go to smile.amazon.com.  (You only have to register one time.)Thanks, and have a blessed Christmas Season!

smile.amazon.com/ch/23-7302355

2019 CALENDARS

WE THANK Phillips Funeral Home of South Lyon for the beautiful 2019 Scenic calendars. Calendars are available on the Gathering Hall table to take home.

Due to age and availability of parts, our copier will need to be replaced during 2018-19. A COPIER Fund has been set up to receive donations. Thank you!

START SAVING: A proposed "Trunk Sale" fundraiser is being planned for next May, so save your unwanted/good condition items. More details after the holidays!

FREE CHRISTIAN YOGA CLASS AT CROSS OF CHRIST

"Are you interested in trying yoga? Please join us for a free beginner yoga class at the church! The focus will be on an introductory yoga practice with gentle movement and breath work to help you relax and feel better overall. We will incorporate prayer and Bible readings into the class.  If you are interested, please sign up on the board, or email Jessica Wood at Jessica.L.Wood96@gmail.com. The first class is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 10th at 10:15 a.m.

Learn more about Thrivent products by calling our congregation’s representative,Brian Bower, at:

brian.bower@thrivent.com or call 734-531-8423.

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: LCMS Lcms.org/givenow/disaster DISASTER REPONSE

Text LCMSDISASTERS to 41444

888-930-4438To make a credit card gift by phone, call the LCMS toll-free donor care line between 8 a.m. and 4:10 p.m. Central time.

 Mail:

On the memo line or enclosed note, please indicate how you would like your gift to be used. (Disaster Response – where needed most, wildfire relief, hurricane relief, etc.)Make check payable and mail to:The Lutheran Church—Missouri SynodP.O. Box 66861St. Louis, MO 63166-6861

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THRIVENT MATCHING DONATION Donate. Thrivent will match up to $250,000 in personal donations made through Thrivent.com to

specific disaster relief organizations helping with the recovery efforts. Thrivent will pay the processing fees for these donations, so 100 percent goes to help.

Visit the Disaster Response page on Thrivent.com

Thank you for choosing Cross of Christ Lutheran Church or Preschool as your designation for CHOICE DOLLARS! If you have Thrivent products and would like to designate dollars, go to:

Thrivent.com/thriventchoice

STEWARDSHIP CORNER

Make Known the Savior

What greater mystery is there than these words of the Apostle John: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14)? This Word Who is with God and Who is God and Who has been with God since the beginning (John 1:1-2), this Word became one of us. Born in a stable more than two thousand years ago, Jesus lived among us. We joyfully sing every Christmas, “Joy to the Word, the Lord is Come.” In His 33 years on earth, He ate and drank and slept like one of us, and He showed us His glory. “And from His fullness, we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16), for this is what He came to bring. First and foremost of those blessings is the forgiveness of sins and life eternal with Him. He is “the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). As we turn the pages of the Gospel of John, we come to know more about our Savior. He is: living water, the healer, the teacher, the miracle worker, the good shepherd, the raiser of the dead, the Vine, the Christ, the Son of God, the I AM.

And we are the sheep of His flock, His witnesses, the branches who cling to Him, the Vine, so that we might be sustained and empowered to serve this mighty Savior Who deigned to become one of us.

What does He ask of us, His sheep? To believe in Him, to remain in Him, to love others as He has loved us, to expect persecution for the sake of the Gospel, to trust Him so completely that He can accomplish through us even greater things (John 14:12).

“You did not choose Me,” Jesus said, “but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide” (John 15:16). How blessed we are to be chosen to have our identity in Christ, to be chosen for the tasks He gives us to do! Let us joyfully take up the work He gives us as we make known to all the Savior, the Word made flesh.

May peace and joy abound in our lives as we celebrate Jesus’ coming into the world as our rescuer from sin and death!

Jesus Is the Reason for the SeasonIt’s December and preparations for Christmas are underway. Unfortunately, for some, this is a period of great stress, inadequate sleep, and too much busyness. Is this what Advent is all about? Jesus said, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20). What a pleasant request! Shut the door of the world. Open the door of your heart to Jesus’ knocking. Enjoy fellowship with Jesus and receive His wonderful gifts!

His Ways Are Not Our WaysHere we are, ready to celebrate the birth of Christ – a major event, even for those who don’t believe in Him. Today this celebration is heralded back in October, or at least November, by merchants filling their shelves with enticing gifts, decorations, cards, and all the trappings of Christmas.

How different from the first Christmas! Mary and Joseph settled down in an inn. There were no photographers waiting outside to snap the first picture of the new king. No one knew what was happening! No one, that is, except for the parents and the host of Heaven who made the announcement. But to whom was this announcement made? To the powerful who would speed through the towns and villages, spreading the news? No, to shepherds who were outcasts, hired hands who were so low on the social scale that they weren’t even allowed to give testimony in a court of law. They weren’t even allowed to come into the Temple.

Yet these were the ones chosen by God to tell the good news. These wretched creatures saw the angels with “…the glory of the Lord [shining] around them….” They heard the message the angels brought: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord…. You will find a baby…lying in a manger” (Luke 2:9,10). They saw, they listened, and then they went to see for themselves. After receiving the Good News, they spread it. “When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them” (Luke 2:17-18).

If lowly shepherds could tell the story, can’t we as well? “All who heard it were amazed,” Luke writes, but he doesn’t say all believed. All we’re asked to do is tell the story. How could fear, uncertainty, or apathy hold us back? This is the biggest news mankind has ever received! As stewards of the Gospel, we have no choice but to follow the example of the shepherds and “spread the word concerning what has been told [us] about this child.”

The Word Became FleshIsn’t it amazing to think that “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us” (John 1:14)? Who are we that the Word Himself should come to this squalid world to live among us? We are those He loves – loves so much that He would leave Heaven, would abase Himself, would suffer for us, would die for our sin, would rise so that we, too, can rise. We are those who, in response to this great love, serve Him in everlasting righteousness,

innocence, and blessedness.

DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS

1 Jessica Wood 2 Michael Bugar

Joshua Petsch 3 James Morrison Jr. 4 Robert Martin 5 Rose Eldridge

Deirdre Gerke 7 JoAnn Nims 8 Abigail Hackbardt 9 William Pratt10 Austin Lanam

Kenneth Miller13 Joann Stolz16 Arlene Krause19 Jillian Hudson21 Matthew Nelson28 Patricia Hicks

Matthew Wood31 Jordyn Nelson

DECEMBERANNIVERSARIES

1 Bill & Earlene Reinwand 5 Steven & Stephanie Petsch27 Robert & Karin Wolski

Let the church office know of any dates missing or incorrect.

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PIANO AVAILABLE:A free Henry Miller wood piano, available. You provide pick up. Contact Derek at:248-721-3213.

MEMORIALS & HONORARIUMS

HONORARIUM:+ + In honor of Warner Krause’s birthday, a gift has been given by the Cast family.

MEMORIALS:+ + In memory of Robert Walrath, a gift has been given by Carol Walrath.

+ + In memory of Juanita Tunis, a gift has been given by Shelley Besler.

+ + +

EMAIL ADDRESSES

If you’d like to be added to our email list, contact cross-christ@att.net. To check out upcoming events, go to our web site at www.crossofchristlutheran.org. The monthly calendar and newsletter are available each month online.

Like Us on FACEBOOK at: www.facebook.com/crossofchristsouth

lyon

GOD GAVE US THE BEST GIFTPOSSIBLE WHEN HE GAVE USHIS SON. HIS GIFT ENABLESOUR GIVING.

“For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 8 CROSS OF CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH

Email: cross-christ@att.net Office: 248-437-8810 Fax: 248-437-7708 Web: www.crossofchristlutheran.org www.facebook.com/crossofchristsouthlyon

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday+ Indicates Holy Communion

1

2 9:00 am Adult Bible Class10:00am WORSHIP 10:00am Sunday School/ Program Rehearsal10:00am Youth Bible Study

3 4 512:30pm Advent WORSHIP 4:00-5:30pm Confirmation 5:30-7:00pm Christmas Program Dress Rehearsal

6 6:30pm – 8:30pm Girl Scouts

7 8

9 9:00 am Adult Bible Class10:00am WORSHIP +10:00am Sunday School/ Program Rehearsal10:00am Youth Bible Study11:00am Congregation Meeting

10

10:15-11:00am Yoga Class

118:30am-1:00pm Circuit Pastors’ Mtg. & Lunch

12:00pm Women’s Fellowship

1212:30pm Advent WORSHIP 4:00-5:30pm Confirmation

13 14 15

1610:00am WORSHIP Children’s Christmas Program &

Preschool Sings No Sunday School or Adult Bible Study______________________23 10:00am WORSHIP + 4:00pm Rehab Service______________________30

10:00am WORSHIP +

17

___________________24 Christmas

Eve

5:00pm Candlelight WORSHIP___________________31

18

_____________25

Christmas Day

1912:30pm Advent WORSHIP 4:00-5:30pm Confirmation

________________26

20

__________________ 27 3:00pm Abbey Park Service

21Preschool

Christmas BreakBegins

______________28

22

______________29

“For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).