First Christian Church

(Disciples of Christ)

All are WELCOME

First News December 2018

3105 Ranch Road 12, San Marcos, TX 78666 ~ 512.396.1926 ~ www.fcc-sm.org ~ fcc@fcc-sm.org

Important Dates for December

December 1, Saturday—Male Call at 8:00 AM

December 8, Saturday—Parent’s Day Out from 12:00 noon to 3:00 PM

December 9, Sunday—Children’s Pageant during worship at 10:30 AM

December 12, Wednesday—Finance Committee at 6:00 PM

December 16, Sunday—Chancel Singers presents Christmas Cantata during worship

3rd Sunday Potluck—Mexican Christmas Lunch at 11:45 AM

December 18, Tuesday—Butterfly Group Christmas party at Francis Mitchell’s at 6:00 PM

December 20, Thursday—Church Board meeting at 6:00 PM

December 23, Sunday—Caroling at Brookdale at 11:45 (after Worship)

December 24, Monday—Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at 7:00 PM

Come, Lord Jesus

In recent years politicians have attempted to upset and exploit their Christian base with issues like saying “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays”. And, many of my Christian friends over the years have taken the bait.

Why do we let people with obvious political agendas lead the conversation and direct the public agenda? Does saying Merry Christmas express faith in Christ? Does saying Happy Holidays express lack of faith? Neither is true. Merry Christmas is not a biblical greeting. Christmas is not even a biblical holiday. I challenge you to find anything about it in the Bible. (Yes, the birth of Jesus is there, but not Christmas.)

Do you want to express your faith in Christ in this season? Do you want to use the biblical expression of that faith?

Here it is: “Come, Lord Jesus!”

In the first century church Paul uses an Aramaic expression in I Corinthians 16:22. It is “Maranatha”, and it is translated as, “Our Lord, come”. Maranatha was probably a common prayer in the first century church. It is also found in a Christian document of the same time period, called “The Didache” (meaning the teaching). Both the New Testament and the Didache were written in Greek, but both use the Aramaic expression, Our Lord, Come.

That is also the prayer at the end of Revelation: “The one who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20)

This is what we believe. Whenever we take communion, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (I Corinthians 11:26)

And, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.” (Philippians 4:4-5)

“Merry Christmas”? Yes, of course. “Happy Holidays”? Sure, why not? Both are friendly greetings that reflect the season. Neither is a statement of faith. What shall we say in this Advent season of the church? What Christians have always said since the first advent: “Come, Lord Jesus!”

Connecting… Caring… Sharing… Growing…

ADVENT IS HERE: Please join us each Sunday in the Chapel at 9 a.m. All youth through adults are joining together for a four week study of Advent themes: expectancy, preparation, faith and promise. Each week we will have a different study leader, time of reflection and sharing together. Please bring your Bible and a journal/notebook. This will be an opportunity for intergenerational sharing and growth. It is a great opportunity to bring family members who haven't been attending or to invite

a friend or neighbor.

No Sunday School is planned for Sunday, December 30 but we will have Worship Service.

Children’s Church Bible Study will continue in The Way of the Child format focusing on the love of God, prayer, Lent and Easter, acts of love and parables. This is a wonderful opportunity for your children to develop important spiritual disciplines that

will aid them in all aspects of their lives.

ADULT BIBLE CHALLENGE: Grow spiritually in 2019 through daily reading the Gospels of the New Testament and prayerfully considering how to live that out in our lives. A reading plan will be available soon. Check the Education table in the Narthex.

No matter how many times we read the scriptures we discover new treasures and our daily lives are enriched.

COMING IN JANUARY… new Adult Bible Study classes. Watch the bulletin or check the Education table for registration forms.

Classes begin January 6, 2019. Please complete your registration form and return it to the Education table “Turn in” box.

Our Love for God, studies in the Old and New Testaments, led by Linda Vetters

How do I deal with this? (tough issues, questions, guilt, loss, difficulties) led by Perry Arledge and Rebecca Chapmon

Blessings of Hope, Love, Joy and Peace to you, Rev. Gael Thompson, Minister of Education

ADVENT IS HERE!

December 2-25 is the

Season of Advent

* Dec. 8—Parents Day Out and Children’s Happy Birthday Jesus Party and Pageant Dress Rehearsal at 12:00-3:00 PM

* Dec. 9—Children’s Christmas Pageant at 10:30 AM – HCWC stockings due at church

* Dec. 16—Christmas Cantata “Sing Joy to All the World” at 10:30 AM followed by our 3

rd

Sunday Potluck: Traditional Mexican Christmas meal at 11:45 AM.

Angel Tree gifts for Mendez & Brookdale due at church.

* Dec. 23 – Caroling at Brookdale, 11:45 AM after church

* Dec. 24—Candlelight Service—7:00 PM

Poinsettia Memorials

The last Sunday to order will be December 16

Cost - $10 each.

Cards for ordering can be found on the Narthex Counter.

Come to the

Christmas

Cantata!

Come one, come all! We hope you’ll be present to experience our Chancel Singers presenting our annual Christmas Cantata, Sing Joy to All the World, by renowned choral composer, Lloyd Larson! Save the date ~ Sunday, December 16

th,

2018! You will hear familiar portions of carols and the lovely voices (and additional voices, too!) of our Chancel Singers! You won’t want to miss it!

Remember to support our Mendez Cub Scout Pack 35

This program has meant so much to

so many young boys at Mendez

Elementary! This year we are sponsoring FIVE

dens! If you can help please donate to this fund

and for more information contact Phil Elam at

elamphil@gmail.com

3rd Sunday

Mexican Potluck

Lunch

Sunday, December 16

Join us after worship for our traditional Mexican Food 3rd Sunday

Christmas Meal

Please, bring your favorite Mexican

dish with enough to share

WHEN: Jan 11-13, 2019 WHERE: Eikon and FCC

WHAT: CommUNITY ~ *Guest Speaker *Live Worship Band

*Relevant Messages *Community Connection Time

Youth United is an in-town retreat designed to help students in 6th-12th grade, from multiple local churches, grow in their faith. Youth will come together at Eikon Church in Kyle for worship, games, community service projects, small group bible studies, discipleship and more! Youth will stay the night on Friday and Saturday at FCC for extended small group time with their own adult leaders. The cost for this event is $40 per student and the deadline to register is December 31st. Youth United exists because we can do more together. When we do more together, we begin to see others and ourselves differently! We begin to see God more fully and we can show the world what love is. How we work together will change how a generation sees God!!

FCC Youth Group

Looking for people who would be interested in either providing a meal or donating money for pizza for the youth group. We meet on the 2nd & 4th Tuesday of the month and we usually have between 5 and 10 people. If you are willing to donate, please contact Shawn Colson at 512-757-2521.

School Fuel We need your help!

We are collecting items for the School Fuel Christmas Special Sacks. For these sacks, we need 1.55oz Hershey bars and 18oz jars of peanut butter! We will be sending out 703 sacks at the end of December. If this is something you can help with, we would really appreciate it. We need donations by December 9th.

Once a month, a group from FCC helps pack the sacks on a Thursday evening from 6:20pm until around 7pm. It is a great opportunity to see what School Fuel is all about, fellowship with others and serve our community. Please see Shawn Colson for donations or to volunteer for a Thursday packing. THANK YOU!!

December Serving Schedule

December 2—Intinction

Elders: Teri Stapp Chase Stapp Chris Hansen

Deacons: Ron Fortin Gloria Fortin Phil Elam Sydney Morris

Communion: Fortins

December 9 Elders: Paul Sutphen Brad French

Deacons: Marti Poth Michael Poth Mac Howard Mac Daniel Howard

Communion: Phil Elam

December 16—Intinction

Elders: Wayman Mullins Louise Mullins Jerry Weidman

Deacons: Bobbie Coley David Voight Kay Quinton Beth Elam

Communion: Karen McGowan

December 23 Elders: Katy Carpenter Tory Carpenter

Deacons: Gael Thompson Jerry Thompson Stephanie Karlik Jason Karlik

Communion: Olivia Gerhart

Lay Leaders

December 2—Linda Vetters

December 9—Chris Hansen

December 16—Perry Arledge

December 23—Jo Ann Carson

December 24 ( Christmas Eve) —Olga Gerhart

December 30—Paul Sutphen

December Birthdays

Ryan McGowan December 3

Roy Enright December 12

J.P. Bach December 13

Tom Ballard December 13

Judy DeForest December 13

Kent Schlotter December 14

Bonnie Whittington December 15

Richard Trammell December 15

Jackie Cable December 19

Dorothy Volk December 19

Maggie Mossler December 21

Rachael Mullins December 22

Frances Mitchell December 23

Chelsea Breedlove December 28

Miles Carpenter December 30

David Voight December 30

Tanner Wigley December 31

Brenda Damron December 31

December Anniversaries

Keith & Denise Ralph ~ December 1

Andi & Gary Shimek ~ December 3

Randy & Paula Ayers ~ December 18

W. C. & Jo Ann Carson ~ December 21

December 30 Elders: Chase Stapp Brad French

Deacons: Rita Buchanan Beth Elam Phil Elam Kay Quinton

Communion: Carpenter’s

December 24– Intinction Christmas Eve Elders: Linda Vetters Chris Hansen Paul Sutphen

Deacons: Rita McGuire Bobbie Coley Shawn Colson Rustyn Colson Communion: Phil Elam