WEST LIBERTY CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
“I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death.” Philippians 3:10
Dec 15, 2024
THE GOD WE WORSHIP
The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Message and Scriptures
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Shepherds and Child
Luke 2:15-20
WLCF VISION STATEMENT – To be a God centered, God loving, Holy Spirit filled, led and empowered Church, having Christ as the Head and we, as His Body, being used to make disciples of Jesus to build His Kingdom.
CHURCH COVENANT:
We covenant together with God and with one another in an ever-increasing relationship with God as follows: Lord God-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we covenant with you and with each other…That we will seek to live balanced lives in an inward journey and then, with and in You, in a journey outward to the world around us.
BARUCH ATA YHWH SEBAOTH – Bless You. Praise You. Thank You Beloved LORD GOD. We are thankful for our Teaching team and their willingness to engage with us and our children to learn more about God and to encourage us in building a relationship with Christ.
Weekly Dawn Prayer – Wednesday mornings at 7:00am both in person and via Zoom
Daily Time Alone with God – for a daily devotion please follow “Time Alone With God”, found on the website. Please pray TAG every day.
Prayer Chain – Call or email Lynne Zeman 319-627-4858 or westlibertychristianfellowship@gmail.com
TODAY AT WLCF (On Site and Zoom)
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Christmas Worship Service
9:00
a.m. Adult Sunday
school 10:00
a.m. Prayer
10:30 a.m.
Worship Service
THIS WEEK AT WLCF
Bible Studies/Sunday School/Worship
Monday 6:00 p.m. Getting to Know the Bible
Tuesday 7:00 p.m. Spanish Bible Study – Lucas Holy Spirit
Wednesday 7:00 a.m. Dawn Prayer – Prayer for the World/Nation/Community/WLCF
6:00 p.m. Youth Bible Study – Luke / Psalms
Saturday 7:30 a.m. No Men’s Bible Study - Revelation
Sunday 9:00 a.m Adult Sunday School
10:00 a.m. Prayer (Sanctuary) Social (Foyer)
10:30 a.m. Worship Service
Birthday(s)
Wednesday, Dec 18 – Ivan Escobedo
Friday, Dec 20 – Barb Keele
Anniversary(ies)
MASKS: Everyone is now welcome to make their own decision regarding wearing masks. There will still be a supply by the entry door, but it is your choice whether you wear a mask.
Zoom –You will need to download the app on your phone or computer. The code for ALL videos is 228 893 6865. The password is 416991. Join us!
UPCOMING EVENTS, SERVICES, AND ACTIVITIES
Christmas Program and Candlelight Service today. Please join us for a Christmas Potluck after the service.
CYG Live Nativity at First Church United, starting at 6pm tonight. Drive by FCU to see the outdoor nativity display.
ONGOING EVENTS, SERVICES, AND ACTIVITIES
Baptism – If you are interested in following Jesus in the Waters of Believer’s Baptism please see Pastor Mario.
West Liberty Food Pantry – Is open at FCU Saturdays 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. and Thursdays 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Thanks to the men who deliver these items to FCU. Julie McKillip is our coordinator.
Church library – You are invited to check out the books from the library downstairs.
Copy of the Message or Bulletin – Visit our website: www.wlcf.org (an audio version is included) or contact Brad Jenkins.
Stephen’s Ministry – is available for anyone needing someone to walk beside them or pray with them. Please contact Kelsey Jenkins 319-936-4891 or Cindy Mays 319-330-4620 for more information.
Child Care: Child care is available in the Nursery during worship service.
Children’s Sunday school – during the sermon at the 10:30 a.m. worship service.
OUR GIVING TO THE LORD’S WORK: Offering Box – back table
Giving in December: $2570, $2175 . We are behind budget $7622.59. We need a monthly offering of $8968.02 and a weekly offering of $2069.54 to match our budget. BARUCH ATA YHWH SEBAOTH for the giving of YOUR people through the years. God loves a cheerful giver. Checks can be mailed to the church or dropped off at the church, in the mailbox at the end of the lane. You are also invited to sign up for Electronic Funds Transfer (ETF). Please see Lynne for details.
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WLCF YOUTH MINISTRY
WLCF Youth Group for young people in 6th – 12th grades
Ministries
Worship Service: Sundays at 10:30 a.m.
Youth Night: Wednesdays at
6pm: resumes Sept 4 – Luke& Psalms
(Please bring your Bibles).
Activities and Events
COMMUNITY YOUTH GROUP (CYG)
If you are interested in serving this ministry in any way, let Pastor Mario know. They need one board member and several cube leaders. The group meets at First Church United (FCU) on Sunday evenings.
Dec 15 Live Nativity 6pm FCU
Dec 22, 29 No CYG
Jan 5 Kickoff 6pm WLCF
TIME ALONE WITH GOD (TAG)
Sunday, Dec 15, 2024
The first message sent to mankind after the birth of Jesus was that which the angel brought to the shepherds: "Fear not!" And the reason why they should not be afraid at his appearance out of the invisible world and the revelation of God, is that the angel is bringing the glad tidings of the birth of the Redeemer, Christ the Lord. The incarnation of the Son of God is indeed still the only foundation upon which real fearlessness towards the invisible, the unknown, the divine may be based. Without the coming of Christ we should have had no assurance that God really exists as a personal God, perfect in love and mercy, and we should still have been overcome with fear as regards the invisible, the hereafter, the divine and eternal. But thanks be to God that His Son gave Himself to the world in condescending love and became Man, bringing a perfect revelation of God as the Holy and Merciful Lord. Ever since the incarnation of Jesus all tidings from the Higher World are "good tidings of great joy" for those who through Him are at peace with God. For the child of God the invisible and eternal can no longer have any terror, because the Christ who has come out of the unseen world and has returned to it and now fills the whole universe is his Redeemer and Lord.
Norval Geldenhuys, Commentary on The Gospel of Luke,pp. 114f (1951, 1977)
In God's transcendent economy, lowliness is how he wants us to understand godliness, to understand his Son. As Philippians describes, "Though he was in the form of God, [he] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant" (2:6-7, ESV).
God's astonishing announcement scheme will not likely be featured in leadership books, strategic seminars, or influencer videos for how to boost your brand, gain more followers, and advance your platform. God does something far more bewildering. He sanctifies our comprehension and unravels our values in a very particular way, so that our hearts beat with a pulse that is continuously less in sync with the rhythms of the world. He shares an origin story of peculiar happenings like this, so that thousands of years later, we might treasure and ponder like Mary and return like these shepherds, glorifying and praising God for all we have seen and heard.
Will you lower yourself like Jesus? Will you be led like these shepherds? Will you stop seeing your life as a series of random, dumb-luck circumstances and open your eyes to the astonishing ways God is moving in the ordinary moments of your life? Look around, because the glory of the Lord is shining upon you to fill you with great fear, so that you may experience his great peace.
Ronnie Martin, "God's Astonishing Announcement Scheme.” p. 63. The Eternal King Arrives, Christianity Today Advent Devotional 2023.
In addition, there is the shepherds' glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen. This birth is no mere arrival of a new life, as poignant as each such event is. The story is not told so that hearers can identify with the new mother and father or enjoy a story of hope, of a touching birth in humble surroundings. This birth has value because of whose birth it is. The shepherds have found that the angel's words were true, that events have transpired just as they had been told. God's word is coming to pass; his plan is again strategically at work. They break out in praise to God because he has sent Jesus, the Savior, Lord and Christ.
Darrel L. Bock, Luke. p. 57. (1994).
Luke does not linger here. He draws our attention to a steep valley nearby where a group of shepherds are settling their sheep for the night. They are in quiet conversation when an announcement arrives of such importance that it will immortalize these forgettable men. It is the news of the century, of the millennium, of all millennia. If Augustus made a list of those who should receive such news, these men would be last. That they are first tells us something about the kind of kingdom now breaking in upon humanity. A bright light switches on like a spotlight, illuminating them, and an imposing angel appears. Terrified, they shrink back.
Imagine the scene when the motley shepherds smelling of wood fire and sheep burst in. Picture Joseph and Mary's startled expressions. The shepherds hurry to the manger and point with wonder and excitement at the baby. He is exactly as the angel described. They were the first to hear the news. Now they are among the first to see the long-awaited Messiah.
Disoriented and tired, Joseph sits up. He leans forward protectively. Mary is quiet, watching, listening as the story tumbles out: something about an angel announcing the birth of the Messiah-and a cosmic choir. "The angel told us where to find him," the shepherds explain.
Did the incongruity of the setting register with the shepherds? Did they stop to wonder why the Messiah was born in a stable attended by animals? Someday we can ask them. For now, we notice.
The arrival of God in human history was humble and awkward and messy. Everything appeared to align against God's glorious plan being fulfilled. Mary and Joseph were forced at every turn to adjust to unfolding events. Yet through their willing cooperation, God's will was accomplished and hope was born.
This is the way that God has always chosen to accomplish his divine purposes. God invites ordinary persons in ordinary circumstances to merge their smaller stories with God's Epic Adventure.
Notice that Mary paid close attention to every detail. She was watching, learning. The setting is not what she had imagined, yet the embodiment of God's promise and love was asleep in her arms. He stirs in his sleep and turns his face toward the light. Mary smiles. All is well.
Miriam Dixons and Margaret Campbell, "Meditations on The Birth of Jesus," Renovaré Advent Devotional (2019) pp. 26. 29.
Goats are intelligent; sheep are not. Regardless, both smell and are needy. The job of a first-century shepherd was humble and lowly; necessary, but unenviable. And so, it was to shepherds that God's angel announced the birth of His son, the Messiah. It is to a shepherd that the Messiah likens His own ministry, and to sheep (not the more intelligent goats) He likens His people. There are multiple layers of symbolism here; two incline us to think of David, his youthful employment, and Israel portrayed as sheep without a shepherd. All call to mind the longsuffering and steadfastness of God's love.
After the shepherds are urged to quell the fear that accompanied angelic appearances, the angel shares good news. With one Greek verb, also used of the birthday of Caesar Augustus, the angel declares not only that this news is good, but also that it will bring great joy to all the people. Joy in Luke is a response to God's saving activity, the fact that He keeps His promises. "All the people," a collective singular, means Israel in contrast to the citizens of Rome. This good news, though truly universal, began as a promise to God's own people, Israel.
The content of the message reminds us that God is not finished with the Davidic line, that fulfillment is not far in the future, but present "today." We find three functional titles for Jesus-Savior Messiah (Anointed One), and Lord, Savior, or Deliverer, is often predicated to God in the Old Testament. That God's Son will deliver His people from all enemies, physical and spiritual, demonstrates that the Son is the ultimate, anointed King and Lord. Although "Lord" can merely mean "sir," in combination with Savior and Messiah, it refers to divinity here.
Our Savior, our Good Shepherd, is also the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. All of our Christological metaphors get at some part of the scope of His mission and work, but even taken together, they fall short. As we contemplate the good news proclaimed to shepherds, let us consider the ways in which the Bible, in both Old and New Testaments, portrays the Messiah, from His humble birth to His glorious exaltation. Let us be awestruck by the fact that our Good Shepherd left ninety-nine sheep to rescue us
Elodie Emig, “The Lamb of God, The Rescuer of Sheep! (Dec. 4). Denver Seminary, Advent Devotional. The Good News of Christmas, 2023.
Notes, Thoughts, Prayers:
VOLUNTEER ASIGNMENTS
Church Cleaning Schedule
Dec 15 & 22 Sandy Green & Geri Owen
Dec 29 & Jan 5 Enedelia Gamon & Berta Esquivel
Jan 12 & 19 Sandy Cornwall