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 7

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: Christmas Eve Wednesdays, Worship Services Dec. 6, 13 & 20 10:00 a.m. & Candlelight: 5:00 p.m. 7 p.m. With Holy Communion

Dear Beloved Members and Friends,

Merry Christmas! Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord is born! Let us worship Christ our newborn King.

The wise men came to Judea to worship Christ the newborn King, a short time after His birth. The wise men had made the King of the Jews their King too. I believe the wise men were familiar with the Old Testament prophecies about Jesus. They were probably familiar with Balaam’s prophecy in Numbers 24:17a, “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.” This prophecy was spoken and written about 1400 years before Jesus was born. The wise men believed this prophecy was fulfilled. They saw the star in the east come out of Jacob. The wise men believed a Ruler had been born in Israel. The Holy Spirit had created in them the faith and desire to come to Judea and worship Christ the newborn King.

PASTOR’S LETTER Continued

Part of God’s plan was that Jesus was born in Palestine at the same time there was a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation Pisces. Jupiter was known as the King’s planet. Saturn was considered the shield or defender of Palestine. The constellation of Pisces was associated with Palestine and represented important events. The conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in Pisces alerted the wise men to the good news that a divine King was born in Palestine. The wise men came to Jerusalem because it was the capital of Judea in Palestine.

The wise men worshiped Jesus with their bodies. They laid face down on the floor before Jesus in a posture of worship. Jesus was between two days and two years old when the wise men worshiped Him. The wise men joyfully and humbly worshiped Christ their newborn King. The wise men worshiped Jesus by giving Him three gifts. They opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The wise men worshiped the Lord by cheerfully giving Him these sacrificial offerings. Their gifts proclaimed who Jesus is and foretold His ministry, death, and burial. Gold proclaims Christ as King. Frankincense proclaims Christ as Priest. Jesus our Priest offered Himself as the once for all time Sacrifice on the cross and atoned for our sins. Myrrh proclaims that Jesus died and was buried. Myrrh is a burial spice. Christ died and was buried for you on Good Friday. Jesus rose victoriously from the tomb on Easter Sunday.

Jesus is worthy of our worship because He humbled Himself to be born of the Virgin Mary in a Bethlehem barn. We worship Christ because He is our Savior and Lord. Let us come to God’s house to worship Christ our newborn King. Jesus claimed you as a citizen of His kingdom when you were baptized. Our Lord rules and shepherds you with His Word. We can daily repent of our sins. We joyfully follow our king.

Let us worship our Lord and King with our bodies. We stand to honor and praise our King Jesus. We sit to hear and learn Christ’s Word. We bow our knees and heads at the communion rail to express our humility and need for His grace and mercy.

Let us worship Jesus our King with our cheerful gifts. We can cheerfully present the offerings we have prepared to Christ our King in the offering plate. Let us joyfully set aside a first-fruit proportionate amount of our income as God has blessed us to give to Jesus as an offering every Sunday.

Let us worship Jesus our King with our prayers. We praise and thank Christ our King with our prayers during Divine Services. In every Divine Service we celebrate, we thank Christ for coming onto the world as a Child in Bethlehem. Thank and praise Jesus that He is your King and Good Shepherd. Worship our Lord for laying down His life for you on the cross and for rising from the tomb. Praise and thank Jesus for making you a citizen of His Kingdom by Holy Baptism. Thank and praise Christ for forgiving your sins. Praise and thank the Lord for hearing and answering your prayers.

Sincerely Yours In Christ,Pastor Terry 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“Sing a Song of Christmas”

Sunday, December 17 – 10 a.m.

Regular attendance is encouraged to help prepare. 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 3 & 10.

ADULT BIBLE STUDY– Sundays at 9 a.m. Dying to Live – The Power of ForgivenessMore and more it seems that the world and its media are shaping our culture. We work to be spiritual people, but how does one get and stay connected to the Creator? In this DVD series, we will better understand as baptized Christians how this spiritual relationship takes place, and how this gives us a life of forgiveness and hope.

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 22 through January 7. We offer a play-based program for three and four year olds, with age appropriate academics.

&

SWEETSSUNDAY, DECEMBER 10th –

After worship serviceProceeds benefit the Hackbardt Family

Free-will donation; Food prepared by Women’s Fellowship

We thank the Thrivent Action Team for volunteering and utilizing additional funds for the event. No Sign-up needed.WOMEN’S FELLOWSHIP

We thank WOMEN’S FELLOWSHIP for preparing the food for the Pastor’s luncheon on November 14. The pastors enjoyed the delicious lunch! We thank them also for hosting the Soup & Salad Luncheons in October and December 10, to benefit the Hackbardt family.

Women’s Fellowship will meet on Thursday, December 7, at 11 a.m. Lunch will follow at a nearby restaurant. All women welcome!

CONGREGATIONALMEETING

A Quarterly CONGREGATIONAL meeting will be held on Sunday, December 3rd, after worship to consider approval of the 2018 Budget. All members are encouraged to attend.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.

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.2018 CALENDARS

WE THANK Phillips Funeral Home of South Lyon for the beautiful 2018 Scenic calendars. Calendars are available on the Gathering Hall table to take home.

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

CHURCH DECORATING

CHURCH DECORATING FOR CHRISTMAS Saturday, November 25th – 9 a.m. Thanksgiving weekend Help is needed (both men and women) to put up our Christmas tree and decorate the sanctuary for the Christmas season. We usually complete the task in an hour or two. Hope you can attend!

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.

CHRISTMAS CARDSRemember the Hackbardt family with Christmas cards. Also, our shut-ins always appreciate cards. A list of current shut-ins and their addresses is available on the Gathering Hall table.

BERRY ADULT FOSTER HOMEWe are collecting small items again this year for Christmas baskets for 5 ladies. Purchase identical items for the ladies. A box is located in the Gathering Hall. We request items by Sunday, Dec. 10, as delivery will take place that week. Thank you for supporting this collection each year. 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 each and may be taken home after the Christmas Eve worship services. 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

(Support Cross of Christ Preschool while doing your Christmas shopping.)Do your normal shopping at Amazon.com this Christmas season using the following link and a percentage of the purchases will go to our Preschool. (You only have to register one time.) smile.amazon.com/ch/23-7302355.

THANK YOU

. . . . to our Trumpeter, Ron Reichert, for enhancing our worship services.

. . . . to Women’s Fellowship for hosting the Soup & Salad Luncheons & Pastors’ Lunch.

. . . . to all who have helped the Funeral Committee with food donations and work. We are so thankful to have such a generous and giving church family.ALTAR FLOWERS

Look for the 2018 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.

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/thriventchoiceLearn more about Thrivent products by calling our congregation’s representative,

Brian Bower, at:raymond.bower@thrivent.com or call 734-531-8423.

THRIVENT ACTION TEAMS constitute a group of volunteers lead by a Thrivent member for a specific fundraising activity, service project, or educational event.

An action team will be helping Dec. 10th.

COINS FOR CROSS OF CHRIST

Dream Catchers Save your spare change for Cross of Christ ministry in our Dream Catcher containers. Proceeds go to the Mercy Fund to help those in need in our church and community. Take home a labeled can, available on the entryway table.

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/crossofchristsouthlyon

STEWARDSHIP CORNER

Remembering Jesus at Christmas

Christmas is the gift-giving season. We make our lists of what we’ll give and what we’d like to receive. We gather together with family and friends and exchange those gifts, and we’re

thankful to receive them and enjoy giving them as well.

Even though in preparation for Christmas our lives are in fast-forward—shopping, attending parties and gatherings, and sending cards—we remember, as Christians, that Jesus is the reason for the season. We’re attending Advent services and Sunday worship, and we see the candles being lit every week, culminating in the lighting of the large white candle on Christmas morning. And we rejoice. God has given His Son. God has sent Him into the world to be the only gift we need. Jesus took on our flesh and walked among us, and He willingly laid

down His life in order to save our lives for eternity. He gave us the gift of salvation.

So what gifts can we give to Jesus? After all, the earth and everything in it is His (Psalm 24:1). Every animal of the forest and the cattle on a thousand hills belong to Him (Psalm 50:10). What is expected of and from us? The psalmist tells us, “A broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:17).

Let us, then, bring our sins to our Savior. Let us kneel before Him in contrition and allow Him to give us even more gifts – clean hearts and right spirits (Psalm 51:10). Like the Wise Men from the East, let us rejoice “exceedingly with great joy.” Let us bow down and worship him and present Him with our gifts (Matthew 2:10-12). Let us also rise up just as the shepherds did on that first Christmas and go on our way, “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:20).

In obedience to His command (Matthew 28:19-20) and in response to His great love for us, let us love one another (1 John 4:11) by teaching and preaching, baptizing and making disciples, so that others may receive the gift of salvation from the Giver of all good gifts (James 1:17). In doing these things for Jesus and in His name, we remember and praise Him not only at Christmas but all year-round.

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As the shepherds shared the Good News, you are to as well:What a truly awesome night that was in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago when Jesus was born? In the Gospel story, we read about the shepherds who are in their fields, when they see a bright light that comes from the sky. Then they see a form, and they’re scared! The angel speaks calming words: “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy…” (Luke 2:10) and he tells them about the Baby in Bethlehem. Then the sky is filled with “a multitude of the heavenly host” (Verse 13) who join the angel in

praising God. You are like those shepherds. You’ve had this message revealed to you, too, not by an angel, but by the Word of God. Unlike the shepherds, you know the rest of the story. You know that the Baby grew up to be a Man Who chose to be the sacrifice for your sins so that you could be justified in God’s sight.

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 Krause21 Matthew Nelson25 Robert Walrath28 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.

__________________________________MEMBERSHIP UPDATE

CALLED HOME

+ + Thomas Philip Hackbardt October 31, 2017

MEMORIALS

+ + In memory of Robert Hosbach, gifts have been given by Charles & Rose Eldridge, and Alice Hosback.

+ + In memory of Tom Hackbardt, a gift has been given to Debt Reduction by Charles & Rose Eldridge.

+ + In memory of Bob Hosbach, a gift has been given by Bernadine Blakely.

+ + In memory of Tom Hackbardt, a gift has been given by Annie Nichols.

+ + In memory of Tom Hackbardt, a gift has been given to Sunday School by Dominick Eldridge.

+ + In memory of the birthdays of Rev. William Besler & Juanita Tunis, a gift has been given by Shelley Besler.

+ + In memory of Robert Hosbach, a gift has been given by Myron & JoAnn Nims.

GOD GAVE MANKIND THE BESTAND BIGGEST GIFT POSSIBLE WHEN HE GAVE THE WORLD HIS SON. HIS

GIFT ENABLES OUR GIVING.

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

+ + +

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7CROSS 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

3 9:00 am Adult Bible Class10:00am WORSHIP 10:00am Sunday School/ Program Rehearsal10:00am Youth Bible Study11:00am Cong. Meeting

4 5 64:00-5:30pm Confirmation7:00pm Advent WORSHIP

711:00am Women’s Fellowship 6:30pm – 8:30pm Girl Scouts

8 9

10 9:00 am Adult Bible Class10:00am WORSHIP +10:00am Sunday School/ Program Rehearsal10:00am Youth Bible Study11:00am Soup & Salad Luncheon

11 12 134:00-5:30pm Confirmation7:00pm Advent WORSHIP

14 15 16

17 10:00am WORSHIP Children’s Christmas Program No Sunday School or Adult Bible Study______________________24 Christmas Eve

10:00am WORSHIP + 5:00pm Candlelight WORSHIP +_______________31 New Year’s Eve10:00am WORSHIP + 4:00pm Rehab Center

18

______________25Christmas Day

19

26

204:00-5:30pm Confirmation7:00pm Advent WORSHIP________________27

21

____________________ 28 3:00pm Abbey Park Service

22Preschool

Christmas BreakBegins

______________29

23 Wadkins Family Party

______________30

“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).