"For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before they face, which shall prepare thy way before thee."
St. Matthew 11:10
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Fr. Scott's sermon for this Sunday discussed the theme of the lessons for the Third Sunday in Advent i.e., God has ordained ministers to come before him to prepare the way for Christ's second coming. The Gospel lesson focuses on John the Baptist and a particularly weak moment he has after he is imprisoned by King Herod. Despite all the previous interactions between John the Baptist and Jesus, the imprisoned John sends his disciples to ask Jesus "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" Instead of rebuking John in this moment of weakness, Jesus speaks kindly about John to the crowds, calling him The Prophet and forerunner of the Messiah. Fr. Scott reviewed the lessons from this passage and ended by reminding us: 1) a lived life in Christ is the best example of a Christian to other people, 2) get caught saying good things behind people's back, and 3) find joy leading up to Christmas as Jesus Christ came into the world and will return.
Please find the complete sermon at the following link:
Thank you Fr. Scott for the informative and thoughtful sermon!
After services we had a pot luck luncheon downstairs. Thank you to everyone who brought food! Wonderful food and wonderful company!
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Due to the Christmas Holidays, Christian Education has been cancelled. We will resume Christian Education in January. Thank you for your understanding and patience!
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Construction Update!
Almost all of the construction work for heat pump project is complete!
Jeff and Earl rewired both speakers so the wire is now underneath the floor. We were able to remove all the red duct tape covering the wires underneath the pews!
Rose Marie and I cleaned out and rearranged the Sacristy.
After all the work was completed, a cleaning service came in. They steam cleaned all the carpets, rugs, pew cushions, kneelers, etc., both upstairs and downstairs! In the process they moved everything! Thank you to Matt, Fr. Scott, Scott, Dan, Lynn, Earl and Daryl for making the church ready for services this past Saturday!
All that is left to be completed is the new drop ceiling in the basement hallway which is scheduled for this week.
Thank you to everyone who came out to help this past week!
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We continued our Women's Bible Study for Advent. This past week's meeting was at the Maple Street Biscuit Co in Johnson City. They graciously host Bible Study groups and provided us with free beverages! They also serve wonderful sandwiches and salads plus their signature biscuits!
The theme of this past week's lesson was 'Response - Christmas requires us to respond.' We completed the last three sections of this chapter which included Isaiah's prophecy of Immanuel, the reaction of the unborn John to Mary's visit, and Elizabeth's blessing of Mary and her baby. We will start Week 3, Faithfulness at our next meeting (yes, we are already behind schedule!!).
Due to all the holiday activities, our next meeting is on Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 11 am at the church.
Please remember to bring the book and your bible!
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Sue continues to lead our weekly online prayer group on Discord every Thursday at 11:30 am. Thank you so much Sue for taking the time each week to lead our prayers! If you have a special prayer request but cannot join us, please send your request to Sue. Please contact me if you would like to join us on Discord.
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St. Peter the Apostle Anglican Church
Presents
The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
The Festival tells the story of the birth of Jesus Christ through nine scripture readings interspersed with traditional hymns and carols of the Christmas Season. First used in England to start the healing process after the horrors of WWI, the Festival is Anglican in origin but now used by many churches. The service at St. Peter the Apostle Anglican Church features a string quartet from the Symphony of the Mountains and traditional Christmas Hymns.
Please join us on Sunday, December 18 at 11 am for this beautiful service! Please note there will not be a Christian Education class before this service.
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Our Annual Congregational Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, December 18 after the Lessons and Carols service. Please plan to attend as we will be approving a budget for next year and electing new members to the Mission Committee. After the meeting we plan to eat pizza and decorate the sanctuary for Advent!
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