Calvary Messenger

bringing you news of our congregation and God’s love.

Volume XII Number 12 December 2015

LADIES GUILD AT THE CRAFT SALE

Every year Parkview Intermediate School holds a huge holiday craft sale, which brings in hundreds of people eager to buy from perhaps 100 different vendors. Our Ladies Guild was one of those vendors again this year and sold about $500 worth of items and baked goods donated by our members. These funds will help Johanna Schnarr go on a mission trip to Nicaragua.

Our most popular item this year was Scott’s world famous smiley-faced cookies. Bringing in the most money were 2 handmade benches donated by Jon Heichelbech. Thanks, gentlemen! Manning (or womaning?) the booth from 8:00 am - 2:00 pm were Diane Wrather, Mary Anderson, Erma Lowery, and Selma Kluender. Assisting from time to time were Mike Parvey, Gary Wrather, and Marilyn Anderson. Donations of money have also been coming in.

Besides helping Joanna, this was an evangelism effort. Flyers advertising the preschool went in most shoppers’ bags, and Marilyn gave out 97 cards giving our worship service times and a Christian message. Good job, ladies (and men)!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

December . . . 3 Pat Curtis 6 Missy Anderson 7 Dylan Porter 8 Connor Anderson, Maverick Anderson 9 Janet Phillips, Chris Thompson 12 Donna Gerth 13 Bryan Roberts 19 Grigor Khachatryan 22 Selma Kluender 27 Margaret Naumoff, Chad Phillips 29 Jacob Leach 31 Judy Heichelbech, Kristen Abbott

HAPPY ANNIVERSAY!!

December . . . 20 Cheryl & David Nichoalds 29 Jon & Judy Heichelbech

CARING and SHARING TREE

The first Sunday of Advent, November 29th, the Caring & Sharing Tree will be in the narthex. Please take an ornament and purchase the gift. The gifts need to be under the tree by Wednesday, December 15th. This year, Thrivent® has given us “seed money” which we’ll use to buy perishable foods for each family’s Christmas. More details will be given in our Sunday worship services.

May God bless your Christmas preparations!

President’s Notes

Debbie will be sending out more emails to remind people of event. (This is from suggestion from the Nov. 8 congregation meeting.) A Facebook page will also be set up to send out reminders and show happening from the church. Reminder of yearly congregational meeting Dec. 13th at 2:00 p.m.

2015 LCMS Stewardship Newsletter Article

Our Lord Jesus Christ healed the man with dropsy by His Word on the Sabbath (Luke 14:1–6). He is the great physician of both body and soul. The paradoxical symptom of dropsy was

an unquenchable craving for drink even though the body was over inflated with fluid, a

craving that when indulged served not to ease but to feed the disease. And so if a man drinks a

great deal, but is never filled, he sees a doctor to inquire about what ails him, what is wrong

with his body and how to remedy it. For that is not thirst but a disease (Seneca, Consolation to

His Mother Helvia, 11.3).

But if the owner of five couches goes looking for ten, or the owner of ten tables buys up as

many again, and even though he has plenty of land and money, he remains unsatisfied and

desires yet more, losing sleep and always in discontent, does he not also require a physician to

diagnose the cause of this distress? For this is not want or lack, but a disease (Aristippus,

quoted in Plutarch, Love of Wealth, 524b). As St. Augustine of Hippo wrote, “we may rightly

compare the dropsical man to a covetous rich man: For the more the one is swollen with

excess of water, the more he thirsts; so also the other: The more he abounds in riches . . . the

more eagerly he desires them” (The Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers, Vol. 4, 135). Both

require physicians. Both require diagnosis and medicine applied from the outside to the inward

being. For these are not desires to be fulfilled but diseases to be cured.

This is why our Lord instructs us on taking care not to be overmuch consumed by money. “No

one can serve two masters . . . . You cannot serve God and money” (Matt 6:24; Luke 16:13).

The point is that our desire for money, like the disease dropsy, is never satisfied. We always

desire more. We always think, if I just had this much then I would be happy. But even when

that much comes, which God gladly gives, that happiness evades us. For the desire for more of

these things is never satisfied. It demands our constant energy–either in procuring more or

protecting what we already have. When this happens, God, in His mercy, shows us that the

money that He has given is no longer serving us, but we it. We have another master.

To overcome this, we need a physician’s diagnosis and a physician’s remedy. And our Lord,

Jesus Christ, our great physician of both body and soul, like the man healed of dropsy, applies

His Word to us. He shows us how we have put our fear, our love, and our trust in our money

and not feared, loved, and trusted in Him above all things. In essence, He says, “Stop it! Stop

chasing after these fleeting things. They are vanity. They are the things that moth and rust

destroy. For you cannot have two masters. Repent!” And in seeing our great error, we are sorry

that we have not fully feared, loved, and trusted in God above all things. And, in the mercy

and grace, that He earned for us on the cross, He takes away this sin, restores us to health, and

bids us live.

But then what? What do we do with this healing balm and care that our great physician has

done? Do we simply go back to our old ways? “By no means!” St. Paul says (Rom 3:31; 6:2).

We do not just go back to the old ways. That way is dead to us and leads us to death. No, we

live a new life, a life filled with the grace, mercy, and love of God toward us. And God’s great

mercy, grace, and love toward is so abundant that it overflows and pours out onto those around

us. So we no longer hoard money and possessions. We no longer scrape and crawl our way to

amass more. We give to those around us, as God in Christ has given to us. We press our

money and possessions into service for those who need it: our family, our society, and our

church. For money is God’s gift to us to serve us and others. Not the other way round. It serves

us because it is a gift from our Father in heaven.

December 6 "The Voice"

Lutheran Hour Speaker: Rev. Gregory Seltz The voice of John the Baptist calls us to repent and trust in the Savior

Who walked in our shoes. (Luke 3:1-20)

December 13 "The Lord is Near"

Lutheran Hour Speaker: Rev. Gregory Seltz God's message is simple and straightforward: Jesus is near-put your

trust in Him! (Philippians 4:4-7)

December 20 "The Gift in the Manger"

Lutheran Hour Speaker: Rev. Gregory Seltz From the manger to the cross to resurrection life, God is in the giving

business for all of us to receive and believe. (Luke 2:8-12)

December 27 "No Regrets"

Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour: Rev. Ken Klaus Jesus invites you to leave your burden of regret at the foot of His

cross. (1Timothy 1:16)

“THE LUTHERAN HOUR” every Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m.

on WBIW 1340 AM or on the Web at: www.lutheranhour.org.

Calvary's Choir has agreed to sing for the WBIW pre-parade program December 6 on the square. We NEED more voices. Contact Marilyn Anderson if you would like to participate.

CONGREGATIONAL MEETING will be held Sunday, December 13th at 2:00 p.m. Please plan on attending!

December 6, 2015 – Philippians 1:3-6 “I Thank God – For You”

by Rev. Dr. Walter A. Maier III, Concordia Theological Seminary~Fort Wayne, IN

The Apostle Paul would say to us, “I thank God – for you.” He would do so, because of our partnership in the Gospel, and because God, who began a good work in us,

will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ.

December 13, 2015 – Philippians 4:4-7 “Rejoice in the Lord”

by Rev. Dr. Daniel J. Brege, St. Paul Lutheran Church~Decatur, IN

Unfortunately some people believe that rejoicing only occurs when we are having fun or being entertained. Christ's birth, his life, his death and his resurrection

enable us to rejoice in the Lord…always!

December 20, 2015 “Christmas Lessons and Carols”

by Rev. James L. Elsner, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church~Stroh, IN

Hear the Bible’s story of salvation and the birth of Jesus through Scripture and song!

December 27, 2015 – Luke 2:29-32 “Salvation for All”

by Rev. Dr. Thomas R. Ahlersmeyer, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, IN

Jesus came for all, including the despised Gentiles. His love comes for YOU, no matter how unworthy or unlovable you think you are.

MYSTERY MEMBER

LAST MONTH: Last month's mystery member was Bob Moss. His parents ran a golf course, so he was there all the time. (Chad Phillips eat your heart out.)

THIS MONTH: Which of our members has spent almost 40 years helping to build big industrial tanks?

THE ADVENT OF OUR LORD

In the month of December the church observes the season of Advent. The

word Advent means ‘arrival’ or ‘coming.’ During the season of Advent we focus on

both the first advent or coming of our Savior at Christmas and His second coming

when He comes to judge the living and the dead. If you picture Christ in glory as

Judge on the throne and if you superimpose on this the image of Christ as a

screaming baby lying in a manger; you get the diversity of themes and images that

make up the season of Advent. These two images are bound together. It is only

because the Son of God became that babe in the manger that we have any hope of

standing before our glorious judge and King at the Final Judgment.

Advent is both a time of repentance and a time of hope. We prepare for the

final Advent of our Savior by repentance, we prepare in the hope that He will be

merciful to us on that day. Our preparation for Judgment Day also prepares us to

receive the full and rich comfort that the festival of Christmas. This time of

preparation calls us to halt all the hectic fury of preparing for Christmas to give

thought to the meaning of it all.

The colors of purple and blue that you see in the sanctuary symbolize the

repentance and hope that Advent cultivates. The purple candles represent repentance

and the blue paraments represent hope. Years ago all the advent paraments were

purple but now the color blue has been added to remind us that we repent in hope of

God’s mercy.

Advent is a time then of repentance and hope. Repentance now so that Jesus

final advent and the Day of Judgment are a time of hope. Without repentance

Judgment Day will be a day of doom for us. Advent is the season when we remind

ourselves that we live in the time between our Lord’s first advent and His final

advent. Now there is time to flee to safety. Still time to flee to the One laid in a

manger and crucified on a cross. The crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ offers you

forgiveness of sin and eternal life. Will you take Him up on His offer?

How tragic it will be if you reject His offer. What a waste it will be if you turn aside

from the opportunity God has given you to be saved! What a waste of Christ

precious blood if it was shed for you in vain.

Take Advent seriously this year. Resolve to be in Church for all the four

Sundays of Advent. Plan on attending all three Wednesday night Advent services

this year. Do not waste this time of spiritual preparation.

See you in Church,

Pastor Greg DeVore

Lutheran Ministries Media, Inc.

5 Martin Luther Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46825-4996 Worship for Shut-Ins Sermon Summaries

Deacon Childers Mireya Harris Eli Keller

STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

Calvary Lutheran preschool strives to enrich the spiritual, academic, physical, and social lives of the community children via the Word and example of Christian living.

CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS is the pageant the Preschool and Sunday school children will present to their families, friends and congregation on December 17th at 6:30 p.m. Little children, can you tell, do you know the story well, every girl and every boy, why the angels sing for joy…the faith of a little child is a wonder to behold! A reception will follow in the fellowship hall. The cookie bakers are Diane C., Diane W., Gloria, Janice, Pat and Sharolette. Mary will prepare her holiday punch. Erma and Pat will pour. Sharolette’s crew will give treat bags to the children after the pageant. Janet and Tara are the directors of CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS. Cookie dough needs to be picked up December 10th after 2:00 p.m. This is a fundraiser for the preschool. The money will be used for manipulatives, classroom supplies and accreditation expenses in 2016.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY December 1 to ELI PERRY

December Calendar December 10 cookie dough pickup after 2:00 p.m. December 17 CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS PAGEANT

6:30 p.m. Preschool and Sunday school children

December 21 Field Trip (Judy Hasket’s Christmas House) 3 year old preschool class

December 22 Field Trip (Judy Hasket’s Christmas House) pre-k class Last Student Day before Christmas Break

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Deacon Childers is in our 3 year old class. His parents

are Matt and Amanda. Deacon has an older brother Creed who came here a few years ago. Deacon is all boy, he loves to play and build things and he likes sports. He told me he is playing basketball this year and his muscles are really getting big now, and someday he will probably be a giant. He is a very fun child to talk with and he loves to make people laugh.

Mireya Harris is in our pre-k morning class and this is

her second year here. She is loved and cared for very much by her Grandmother Donna Harris. She also has her Papaw Fred wrapped around her little finger and likes it when he brings his little dog to pick her up from school. Mireya is very smart and is always willing and excited to learn new things. She is the sweetest child and is coming out of her shyness, as she gains confidence in her abilities.

Eli Keller is part of our afternoon pre-k class and has

been with us for a couple years. Eli’s parents are Darrell Keller and Talena Hill and he has a wonderful Nana Teresa who has helped out a few times at the school. Eli loves Godzilla and has for as long as I have known him. He has all the movies and toys that he can find, and actually draws a very good likeness as well. Eli is all about fun and laughter, learning is fun, playing is fun and making others laugh is the best kind of fun. He is usually one of my stand out leaders in our thanksgiving program and Christmas program (in a good way).

(812)275-2519 Preschool (812)275-5488 Church