the COMMUNICATOR
a publication of Calallen Baptist Church
December 2006
Forever Gloria Choir Notes Senior Adult Lunches Christmas Caroling Hayride Children's Choir Christmas Cards CDC News Youth Page Pastor's Page Missions Central
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FOREVER GLORIA
Forever Gloria - We Worship the Christ of Christmas - Sunday,
December 7 - 10:50 a.m. - Presented by the Adult Choir of Calallen Baptist
Church
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CHOIR NOTES
Our adult choir will present its Christmas musical on December 17, during
the 10:50 a.m. worship service.
As you saw from the newsletter cover, it is entitled “Forever
Gloria.”
It is a beautiful, exciting, uplifting, and worshipful celebration
of the Christ of Christmas.
It tells the story of that night so long ago when, after hundreds of
years of waiting, the Promise was
fulfilled – the Messiah came to earth.
Yet He did not come in the way the leaders of the day had expected.
There was no royal ceremony in a palace, but rather a celebration in the
heavens.
It was the angels who proclaimed the good news of Jesus’ birth to lowly
shepherds on the hills outside of Bethlehem.
And that proclamation – “Glory to God in the highest” -- started a
celebration that still continues today.
Join us on December 17, and invite your friends and family, as we
celebrate anew the coming of the Christ Child.
We will rejoice at His incarnation, celebrate with the angelic chorus,
and worship with the kings and shepherds.
I pray it will be a time for you to renew your commitment to the Lord and
to give Jesus your
gifts – your life, your heart, and all your praise.
The song the angels sang so long ago was not just meant for them – it
was given to us.
That song has continued through the centuries and will never end.
May we join with those throughout the ages in singing Gloria
in Excelsis Deo!
On
a personal note:
There
is no way for Kathy and me to express our gratitude for the privilege of being a
part of the Calallen Baptist family.
We are truly honored to serve with you.
We pray that each and every one of you will have a joyous and blessed
Christmas!
Bro. Rick
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SENIOR
ADULT LUNCHES
Thursday, December 14 - Noon till 1:30 p.m. - Come, bring a potluck
dish, and enjoy the fellowship of other Senior Adults. No lunch the
Thursday following Christmas.
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Wednesday,
December 20 - 6:30 p.m. - Cocoa, Coffee & Cookies afterwards
CHILDREN'S
CHOIR
You
Are God’s Gift” - Children’s
Choir Christmas Program - Sunday,
December 17 - 6:00 p.m.
Children
in Kinder thru 6th grade will be performing. A fellowship with Santa and
refreshments will follow in the CLC.
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CHRISTMAS
CARDS
Save
your postage this year!!! There
will be boxes located in the foyers of the sanctuary and CLC where you can drop
off Christmas cards for other church members.
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CDC
NEWS
Remember,
love covers a multitude of sins and mistakes. Pray for the love that covers,
that you will fall in love with your children everyday, and to have eyes that
see the best in them. Thank
you, to all the parents and
members of Calallen Baptist Church, who came and celebrated Thanksgiving with
our children and their families at the CDC. We had a wonderful turnout and the 3
and 4-year-old class sang for all the families and guests.
It was quite a successful day and made all the staff at the CDC realize
just how much we really have to be thankful for.
We have such great families and children.
We are very blessed to be part of the growth and development of each
child that comes through our facility.
2007 CALENDARS
Remember to pre-order your calendars. Your
order needs to be turned in to either the church or day school office by
December 5th. Be sure to get yours
ordered today.
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YOUTH
PAGE
SMELLS LIKE JESUS IN HERE - The
holiday season is here. In
just a couple of days, I will walk into my parent’s house in central Texas.
And if this year is like all the others, as I walk in the door my senses
will be bombarded by the smells of the season.
You know what I’m talking about.
Nothing warms a person up to the holidays like the smell of turkey,
stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, fresh dinner roles (or buns as Kate
would say) and my personal favorite, green bean casserole.
It makes a person realize that they really are ready for Christmas, even
though it is only the end of November.
The smells take you to a happy place…a safe place.
They put a big smile on your face.
The smells of the season are unmistakable.
I’m sure that the title of this article sparked a
little interest in your minds.
To be honest with you, I really don’t know exactly what Jesus smelled
like. And if I had to
guess, it didn’t smell like the holiday season.
I understand that I have probably lost most of you by now, but for those
still with me, try your best to persevere and get through this article.
Let me post a question to you.
When you come to church, or when people come to your home, or when they
are in the same car as you, or when they are just in the same room as you, do
they smell Jesus? While
the analogy may sound a little strange, I will say that I wasn’t the one that
thought it up. The
apostle Paul was. Don’t
believe me? Go look
at 2 Corinthians 2:15. Told
you so.
Paul reminds us here that we are the medium that God
has decided to use to reflect and represent Him.
It is us whom God has chosen to leak into and to stimulate the senses of
those around us so that they can experience the goodness and richness of our
Lord. He wants people
around us to be impacted in such an unmistakable way, that the only explanation
is Jesus.
After
having eaten lunch today at The Chicken Shack, I stopped by my house on my way
back to the office. Kate
was at home and gave me a hug as I walked in the door.
Though she had no idea where I had been, she immediately said “you
smell like chicken.” The
point is we all smell like something.
Do you smell like Jesus?
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PASTOR'S PAGE
MIXED SIGNALS - RIGHT MESSAGE - Therefore the Lord
Himself will give you a sign: Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son,
and shall call His name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14, NKJV) A
lady had a circle of friends for whom she really wanted to buy Christmas
presents. Time slipped away and it
was so busy at work for her she just wasn’t able to get to the store to
purchase those gifts. Time was
running out. So not too many days
before Christmas she decided to give up on the gift idea and just buy everybody
the same beautiful Christmas card. She
went to the
local gift store and hurriedly went through the now picked over stack of cards
and found a box of fifty, just exactly what she wanted.
She didn’t take time to read the message, she just noticed a beautiful
cover on it and there was gold around it and a floral appearance on the front of
the card and she thought, “That’s perfect.”
So she signed all of them, “With all my love.”
As New Year’s came and she had time to go back to two or three cards
she didn’t send from that stack, she was shocked to read the message inside.
It said, in a little rhyme, “This Christmas card is just to say, a
little gift is on its way.”
Charles Swindoll, The
Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, 81
This
story made me chuckle. This lady had
inadvertently announced that she was expecting a child.
Imagine the shock and awe of her circle of friends as they received and
processed the news.
But, that’s the part that made me think.
Isn’t Christmas the message: ‘a little gift is on its way?”
The angel told Mary that she would conceive and give birth to a son who
would be known as Jesus, God’s Salvation (Luke 1:31)
Nine months later, the angelic choir would split open the heavens and sing: Glory
to God in the highest, peace on earth and good will towards men (Luke
2:14)
I can’t think of anything better to do this Christmas
than to send out a Christmas card to my circle of friends that focuses all
attention on the expected arrival of the Christmas Child. At
the Manger, Pastor Jack
CBC
MISSIONS CENTRAL
Operation Christmas Child - Thank you to everyone who participated
in this year's Operation Christmas Child. We collected over 900 boxes thru our
Relay Center.
South Texas Children's Home - Collection
for "Coins for Kids" will begin Jan. 7. Shirley
Poldrack reported that $185 is needed for each child to go to camp.
Mission Corpus Christi - www.missioncorpuschristi.org
- Please
continue to keep Mission Corpus Christi in your prayers, as they seek
to minister to the least of these in our community.
Church Without Walls - Our
church provides meals for Church Without Walls on the second Thursday of each
month.
This
month we are sending money to pay for the meal on Dec. 14. For more
information or
to donate, contact Debra White, 945-3259, or Carol Lindquist, 547-8102.
Also, Rey says that they are in need of t-shirts and white socks, if you would
like to donate to this cause, drop
your items off in the church office and the Mission’s team will be sure the
items are delivered.
Mission Durango - HELP
- WE NEED BLANKETS, QUILTS, WARM HATS, SCARVES AND GLOVES
The
"Gripa" (cold/flu) season is upon us and we would like to collect
several bottles of cough syrup and cold medicine. For my medical
professional friends, if you have a contact, and they would like to donate,
please assure them that we will provide a tax donation/tax deductible letter. OTHER
NEEDS: -
Monthly support to cover mission expenses - $205 a month to fly to La Guajolota
and Curachitos. It is a 4.5 hour drive to La Guajolota
and 16 hours to Curachitos. In partnership with UIM aviation missions PTE is able to fly to both
villages in under an hour. This truly allows the work to be more profitable and is a better a use of
time. - A bodega (6x6 warehouse) that will be approx. $105/month - A 4x4 vehicle that we can haul people and
resources to the mountains with. My pick-up now
has over 210,000 miles PTL. - A generator to use while in the mountains
and many local villages. I have been borrowing another
missionary's generator while he has been on
furlough. The cost for a Honda generator here in
Durango is 11,699 pesos or about $1,104 USD.
- A good digital camera
Durango
Mission Trip 1st Week of July 2007
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