Lunenburg United Methodist Charge

 

Antioch UMC                                                           Williams UMC

 

On our walk. . . . .                 

December 5, 2007

Pastor’s Message –

Christmas As A Holiday

The English word Christmas means Christ's Mass, the festival of Christ's birthday.  December 25 was, by the fourth century AD, the date of the winter solstice, celebrated in antiquity as the birthday of Mithras and of Sol Invictus.  In the Julian calendar the solstice fell on January 6, when the birthday of Osiris was celebrated at Alexandria.  By about 300 CE, January 6 was the date of Epiphany in the East, a feast always closely related to Christmas.  The earliest mention of December 25 for Christmas is in the Philocalian Calendar of 354, part of which reflects Roman practice in 336.  Celebration of Christ's birthday was not general until the fourth century; in fact, as late as the fifth century the Old Armenian Lectionary of Jerusalem still commemorated James and David on December 25, noting "in other towns they keep the birth of Christ."  When celebrated, the theme was the Incarnation, and the scriptures were not confined to the birth or infancy narratives.  To Luke 2:1-14 and Matthew 1:18-25 were added not only John 1:1-18 but also, for example, Titus 2:11-14.

The year of Christ's birth is hard to determine.  The enrollment by Quirinius in that year according to Luke 2:1-5 is dated by Josephus as equivalent to 6-7 AD, but this enrollment was not of "all the world" (Luke 2:1).  This would not have taken place under Herod, during whose lifetime Quirinius was not governor of Syria, and would not have required the presence of Joseph, and still less of Mary, in Bethlehem. Although Luke 3:1-2 suggests no exact year, the passage seems to indicate between 27 and 29 CE as the times of John's baptizing and of Jesus' being about thirty years of age (Luke 3:23).  Jesus' birth would then be about 4-1 BC. The time of year is nowhere indicated.

The exact place at Bethlehem is doubtful; the manger of Luke 2:7 may be rather a stall with almost no covering, or even a feeding trough in the open; the "inn" itself not being a building but a yard with partial shelter at its sides. The ox and ass of subsequent art are not in Luke's story but enter from Isaiah 1:3. Another early tradition, recorded in the second century, tells of a cave as the birthplace.  It was apparently shown to Origen ca. 246, and by 333 Constantine had built a basilica over it, which was replaced under Justinian ca. 531.  Still extant, the cave claims a stone as the manger.  In early liturgies both the manger and the shepherds' fields play a part, but at the inclusive feast of the Epiphany rather than at a celebration solely of Christ's birthday.

All these facts are good to know but let’s not forget the one amazing fact --- Christ was born.  That is the reason for the season!

                 God bless

Upcoming Events – December 5– December 11, 2007

 

Saturday, December8, 2007

   Williams Men Breakfast @ 8:00 AM

   Youth Group @Williams @ 3:00PM

    Rehearsal for “Night in Bethlehem”@ Antioch @ 5:00 PM

Monday, December 10, 2007

    NO Bible Study@ Antioch

 

Tuesday, December 11, 2007  

   Bible Study@ Audrey Smith’s @ 10:00 AM

    Charge Pastor Parrish Committee Meeting @ Williams UMC @ 7:00 PM

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

   Prayer Meeting @ Williams @ 5:45 PM

   William’s Celebration Choir practice @ Williams @ 6:00 PM

   

 

Worship Events—December 9, 2007, 2nd Sunday of Advent

  Service Theme: The Coming Of Jesus

 This week’s reading will be: Sermon Text     Luke 1: 26-38

                                               Hebrew Text      Psalm 72: 1-7

Pianists:   Leigh Anne Bacon

                Nancy Turner

 

Tree Decorating and Spaghetti Dinner

 

 A Chrismon tree decorating and spaghetti dinner will take place Saturday, December 15 @3:00 pm  at Williams UMC.  Bring a friend and enjoy a homemade spaghetti dinner and decorate the Williams Christmas tree. Fun will be had by all.

 

Evangelism Committee to Meet

 

The Antioch Evangelism Committee will meet on Wednesday, December 5 @ 7:30 @ Antioch.  The discussion will be on developing plans for the coming year.  This is a change of date as Rev Ed has to attend a meeting in Farmville on Tuesday.       

                     

Family Ministries Committee to Meet

 

The Family Ministries Committee will meet on Wednesday, December 5 @ 6:30 @ the Parsonage. The discussion will be on planning A Night in Bethlehem.

 

We baptized a new member!

On December 2nd we had the wonderful occasion to welcome into our church family Addison Lillian Mc Daniel.  She was baptized during our worship service and she was a charmer all during the service.  She never made a sound till the water was sprinkled on her head.  Our best wishes go out to John and Lori as they begin a new adventure in their lives in being parents to Addison.  Remember, all of us are responsible to help raise Addison in her church and spiritual growth.

 

A Night in Bethlehem

On December 14th Antioch UMC will be converted into the little unassuming town of Bethlehem.  From 7-8:30 our church will be carried back 2000 years to the night Jesus was born.   Join all of those who spent the past weeks putting all of this together so we can deliver the message of His birth to our community.

 

An Open House

On December 21st, Jane and I will be having an open house and would like for all the members of the charge to join us.  We will, as we did last year, provide refreshments and a time of fellowship during this season.  If you would like to join us, watch the bulletins for times and we will post the times here in the next two weeks.

 

150th Anniversary Throws   Throws are still available. These beautiful throws will make a great present for a family member. Our supply is running low – about 5-6 left.  The cost is $45.00 each.  Please call Jane DiStefano if you would like to order a throw or have any questions.  434-676-2314

 

Cookbooks are still available.  The Administrative Board has authorized the Cookbook Committee to order an additional 400 copies. If you would like to obtain copies for the upcoming Christmas Season please contact Susan Moseley at 676-2081, Gayle Grant at 676-3531, Trudy Wilkins at 676-4458, or anyone at Antioch.  Any church member can get a copy to you for $10 each.

 

Sunday School is available each Sunday morning.  The importance of Sunday School is that, though you may think hearing the word will suffice for you, you really need to be in attendance at Sunday School to gather all the information that you can in an open discussion classroom.  Jesus’ word cannot be totally understood just by listening to a sermon.  You have to interact with it and with other Christians to learn what He was saying to us.  This is a life long study and you should take part.  There is a class for every age so please plan on joining us to learn more about our Lord, Jesus Christ.   Sunday School at Williams begins at 10:45 AM and at Antioch at 10:00 AM.

 

Evening Bible Study. Evening Bible study will continue on December 17at 7:00PM. We will be viewing the movie “The Nativity” at the parsonage. If you would like see this movie please join us.

 

Morning Bible Study. Morning Bible study will continue on December 11at 10:00 AM at Audrey Smith’s house. We will be reviewing the first 10 chapters of Numbers. If you would like to join in the discussion please join us.

 

The Methodist Way

 

Of the four sides (or sources or guides) included in the quadrilateral, without question Scripture is the base. Although the biblical text "talks" with reason, tradition, and experience, "United Methodists share with other Christians the con­viction that Scripture is the primary source and criterion for Christian doctrine."9 No matter what we learn from experience, appreciate in tra­dition, and gain from reason, if faith and practice are not faithful to the Scripture, they are faulty.

 So, using the quadrilateral is not a matter of seeing which source is most persuasive; the quadrilateral is using reason, experience, and tradition to appropriate the honest and full message of the Bible. Reason, experience, and tradition are subservient to Scripture.

Methodists have come to understand that the "honest and full message" of the Bible is most likely to be revealed to those who draw on reason, tradition and experience. Such an approach to Bible study tends to protect Methodists from "bibliolatry" (which is a kind of worship of the Bible instead of the God of the Bible). The Bible is the final authority, and persons in the Wesleyan pattern will use reason, tradition. and experience as the lenses through which to look at the Scripture. (Think of it like this: I wear glasses and unless I have them on. even though I want very much to see the words on my computer screen, the text blurs. Even though God has revealed plain truth in the Bible, we sometimes need the help of experience, tradition, and reason to bring the meaning of the text into focus.)

What about reason? It is a way we order (organize) information and insights. It is a way we test idea one with idea two to see if the two ideas are consistent. Sometimes it is just common sense. Sometimes it is careful, critical thought. When the grace of God is allowed to work in a life, reason can become a tool of that grace.

Reason describes how God is at work in what God has created. Reason does not operate in a vacuum. Reason does not produce independent information; it processes data from other sources. In a letter sent to an old friend, John Wesley wrote, “Some say you are for reason; I am for faith. I am for both; for faith to perfect my reason, that, by the Spirit of God not putting out the eyes of my understanding but enlightening them more and more, I may be ready to give a clear , scriptural answer to every man that asks me a reason of hope that is in me.”

                                      “Being Methodist in the Bible Belt” F. Belton Joyner, Jr.

 

                             

If you cannot reach Rev. Ed at the parsonage, you may call him on his cell phone:  252-532-0952.  He can also be reached via e-mail at revedumc@yahoo.com .   If you would like to receive e-mail messages from the pastor send an e-mail to him at revedumc@yahoo.com and we will add you to our list.

 

Please keep the following families in your prayers:

Marjorie Thompson

Allen Green

Bertha Arthur

Sarah Agnes Callis

Christian Sutton

Paul & Argy Turner

Bobby & Virginia Overby

Sheila Cage

Jeff Hendricks

Earl "Chuckie” Barnes

Virginia King

Nathan Hendricks

Edna & Wilson Bagley

Sara Sutton

Maria Kay

Carrie Couto & Children

Our Military

Frances Hawthorne

“B” & Teewah Hayes

Jack Heater

Bernard Bottoms

Elizabeth Biggerstaff

Wayne King

Tommy Cage

Dorothy Ann Irby

Grace Marshall

Kay Family

Marvin L. Crutchfield

  Nick Holden

Grace DiStefano

Walter B. Moseley

David King

Faye & Ray Seamster

If you have anyone who is in need of prayer, please place their names on the Prayer List and lift up their names in prayer during worship service and throughout the week

 

In the Library

 

Apollyon: The Destroyer Is Unleashed (Left Behind Series #5)

by Tim LaHaye, Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins, Tim F. LaHaye

       From Our Editors

In Apollyon, the individual members of the Tribulation Force find themselves distraught at personal problems, as well as the destructive forces of evil that are steadily taking over their world. Buck Williams and his wife must decide whether or not to have a child in a world that is rapidly ending, and Rayford Steele questions whether his wife is a true believer. Hattie, Nicolae's former mistress, is approaching the birth of their child with fear and and uncertainty. As believers prepare to gather in a massive rally, God unleashes a plague of locusts to destroy those who do not carry His seal on their foreheads. Also available on CD.

From the Publisher

"The #1 best-selling hardcover novel of 1999 is now available in softcover! The Tribulation Force travels to Israel for the Meeting of Witnesses as further judgments are released upon the world. Satan falls from heaven and opens the bottomless pit, releasing Apollyon and his plague of locusts that torture the unsaved. Now available in trade softcover, Apollyon is a thriller that will be tough to put down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Walk to Emmaus

 

This week we continue our new series about “The Walk to Emmaus”.  The following information comes from “What Is Emmaus?” We hope you find it informative and we hope it clears up any misconception there may be about the Walk to Emmaus

Rev Ed

 

 

 

What Is an Emmaus Community?

The Walk to Emmaus gave me a whole new set of Christian friends who live all cross two states

-Layperson from New Mexico

An Emmaus community consists of all the persons in a locality who have attended The Walk to Emmaus. In addition to many small groups, Emmaus communities usually have a monthly gathering on a Friday or Saturday night to celebrate God's grace and to keep alive the enthusiasm for living everyday-the Fourth Day-as a walk with the risen Christ. A volunteer board of directors, whose mem­bers are elected annually by the Emmaus community, coordinates Emmaus activities.

When an Emmaus community has grown sufficiently in numbers, its leaders can ask The Upper Room for help in offering Walks to Emmaus on a regular basis. Emmaus communities sign a letter of agree­ment with The Upper Room and covenant to operate within the guide­lines of the program.

Each local Emmaus community relies on local leadership and inevitably reflects the strengths, weaknesses, religious fervor, and theo­logical biases of those involved. Each generation of participants becomes the potential leaders for the ongoing program. The Upper Room holds leadership-training workshops and visits Emmaus communities upon request to guide and to help develop leadership for the program.

 

Remember: Tradition is the group effort to keep the unexpected from          happening!

 

Have a Blessed Week