Lycoming Alive

Lycoming Christian Church DECEMBER 2012

THE BIG PICTURE...

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10-11 In December of 1903, after many failed attempts, the Wright brothers were successful in getting their flying machine off the ground at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. As you might expect, they were thrilled! They had spent years on their dream and were finally successful! Wanting to share with their family the great news of their success, they telegraphed this message to their sister Katherine back home in Ohio: We have actually flown 120 feet! We will be back home for Christmas. In turn Katherinewanting to share the news of her brothers long sought success in mans attempt at flighthurried to the editor of the local newspaper and showed him the message. The editor, with the newsroom loud and hectic and his mind elsewhere, glanced at it and said, How nice. The boys will be home for Christmas. He totally missed the big picture! Man had flown! I dont know about you, but sometimes its easy to lose sight of the big picture this time of year. No one intends to lose Christ in the wrappings, tinsel, and Christmas bustle, its just thatwellwe lose Christ in all the wrappings, tinsel, and Christmas bustle! Thats how it is: there are lists to write, presents to buy, cookies to bake, travel arrangements to make, and houses to clean. Not to mention cards to send, strings of lights to hang, decorations to put up, menus to plan, school concerts to attend, more cookies to bake, light bulbs to replace in the strings of lights you just put up, andit goes on and on. Despite our best efforts, our good intentions and actual attentions dont always align. Now we might excuse ourselves by truthfully stating how much simpler, and quieter it was in that sheep pasture on the outskirts of Bethlehem 2000 years ago. The shepherds had few distractions. The message given by the angels would be hard to miss; certainly compared to the noisy, bright, and complicated world of today. Yet that is a poor excuse, the fact is, they headed to Bethlehem faithfully on far less than a big picture, just a promise of a Savior. We on the other hand possess far greater, the reality Christs completed work of ministry, crucifixion, burial, and resurrectionall for uswe who are too busy celebrating Christmas to remember to celebrate Christ. (continued on page 4)

To glorify Christ by serving Him together in love and unity

SUNDAY SCHOOL 9 :15 AM WORSHIP 10:15 AM Minister Donald Dennis ELDERS Fred Bryans David Gephart John Getgen David Lomison John Williams SECRETARY Suzanne Gephart

IN THIS ISSUE
THE BIG PICTURE
PRAYER MINISTRY

IT MINISTRY JESUS IS HERE THE BIG PICTURE (CONT) YOUTH & CHILDREN

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As we go into the month of December here are some scriptures to help you be encouraged in your prayer time. I Thessalonians 5:17 KJV Pray without ceasing. Devote yourself to prayer Colossians 4:2A, NIV. When you read the Gospels you see that Jesus prayed all the time. One last scripture I would like to share is I John 5:14-15, NASB This is the confidence which we have before Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. Come join us the first and third Saturday of each month at 7:00 am to praise and pray. Dont forget we take prayer requests. May God bless you in all you do and say.
Carolyn Myers Prayer Ministry

IT Ministry
Merry Christmas from the LCC Information Technology Ministry! November was an exciting month for our team. Our team of super-heroes planned and executed a last-minute wireless upgrade to the church building, timed so that Celebration 12 would have complete internet access from any point in the building. This was in response to a challenge encountered last year: internet dead-zones where workshop leaders had been unable to access their workshop material. A special Thank You goes to Gage Shoff and Matthew Daugherty for their last minute efforts! Another exciting development is that the Elders approved the IT Ministry as an official church ministry. The Ministry Board voted in support of the decision and the IT team members nominated Rosalyn Price English as the ministry leader. A big Thank You goes to Gary Thomas for all his hard work in creating the needed policy and procedure infrastructure for this new ministry. We are committed to supporting the technology needs of LCC, and honored to be using our geeky gifts to further the Good News of Jesus! Lastly, you may have noticed a video camera in the sanctuary this past week. Thanks to our media guru, Clair Clark, we are beginning to work on a video solution for Dennys sermons. This is in response to numerous requests we have received for video presentation of the sermons. Clair will be working on this throughout the month, thank you in advance for your patience, and stay tuned for more information on this exciting development!
A very Merry Christmas to you all from Rosalyn, Gary, Gage, Matt & Clair.

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Ornaments of Christmas
Join us Sunday morning, December 16th as His Kids Clubhouse Crew presents the musical Ornaments of Christmas. It is time to take down the decorations on the Church Christmas Tree. The children quickly remind us what the Angel, Bells and Candy Canes represent each Christmas. We invite you to sing along with us and share in the true meaning of Christmas!
Patsy Schmalhofer Childrens Ministry Team Leader

Thank You for Giving to the Lord!

Celebration 12 is now a wonderful memory! Months of preparation by the Youth Ministry paid great dividends for many youth and their sponsors. One sponsor, as he was leaving on Saturday evening, stated to me My youth were really moved by what was said and done here during the past twenty-four hours. I know lives have been changed by this weekend! Please keep this going. Curtis Booher truly spoke from the heart and challenged the youth through his very direct God-inspired messages. Marc Imboden truly led the worship from the heart, the heart of God. The band was amazing. Marc commented to me that this is his favorite church of all the churches he has ever been because the people are so caring and truly show Gods love. Thank you to those who opened their homes to the youth and sponsors. This is a very important ministry in that you are taking in strangers and demonstrating Gods love to them by sharing what you have with them. Each year the sponsors and youth comment on the generous hospitality they experienced. Thank you for all the homemade cookies, fruit, and vegetables that you donated. This helps defray the food expense for celebration. If you came to lend help in setting up or came to help with the cleanup, you are an angel of mercy to the Youth Ministry. There is a great deal of setup and cleanup and you made our burden easier. Thank you to those who labored in the kitchen preparing the meals. The food was excellent and received many compliments from our guests. We want to let you know that the Sweet Valley Christian Church has Celebration as a benefactor for the past four years. They give a monthly donation to Celebration to be used to help with costs that are not covered by the registrations. Thank you to our Christian brothers and sisters at Sweet Valley for their generous gift. We are already planning for Celebration 13. Joey Potter will be the guest speaker and his son Josiah Potter and band will be leading the worship. Thank you for your prayer support and please keep on praying. Robert Williams
Youth Ministry Team Leader

Lycoming Christian Church 20 Chapel Hill Road Linden, PA 17744 (570) 322-9940 www.lycomingchristianchurch.org

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REACHING OUR COMMUNITY WITH THE LOVE OF CHRIST!

Lycoming Christian Church

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Jesus is here I am at my kitchen table and the morning sun is breaking through the trees spreading bright light. A cup of coffee, a nourishing breakfast, my journal, devotional book and bible are scattered around me. A sentence in my devotional catches my attention: "Rest in silence and tranquility." Before I have finished reading the sentence, loud laughter comes out of the living room where Trey is watching Milo & Otis for the 150th time. I look up in time to see him sneaking a cupcake off of the counter, my "Not right now" drowned out by the pounding of his feet as he runs back into the living room. Earlier, I was up at 3AM by his request for milk. Then his 6AM cry for a foot rub. My coffee is preceded by a dash outside to feed and water chickens, rabbits, horse, dogs, and a cat. Trey follows me outside, and a normally quick routine is punctuated by screams of "I lost my shoe!" "I'm cold!" "I want to go inside!" - all said in a screaming voice with as much drama as Bette Midler. Silence? Tranquility? Not today, honey. It's days like today that this verse encourages me: "Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you." ~ Jesus (Jn15:4 MSG) Jesus isn't waiting for silence and tranquility before he makes his home in me. Phew. Phones ringing , toddlers whining, dirty dishes - regardless, Jesus is making his home in me in the midst of my life, not in spite of it. I encourage you to make a concerted effort to set aside quiet time for devotions and prayer. But on those days when the only 'quiet' you experience is when your kids are strapped into their seats and you're pumping gas - remember, in this too, Jesus is here. Here in the midst of your life. Want to read more of Jesus is here.
Rosalyns devotions? Visit her website at: www.rosalynpricenglish.com

by Rosalyn Price English

Merry Christmas from Denny, and Kathy. Have a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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We find the big picture of Christmas lies well beyond the gospels, loudly exclaimed in letter after letter of New Testament Scripture. But when the time had fully come, Paul wrote, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. (Galatians 4:4-5) Thats where our intentionsand our attentionsshould dwell this Christmas season. Thats the Big Picture. The Big Picture of Christmas

That night when in Judean skies The mystic star dispensed its light A blind man moved in his sleep And dreamed he had his sight. That night when shepherds heard the song Of host angelic choiring near A deaf man stirred in slumbers spell And dreamed that he could hear.

That night when over the newborn babe The tender Mary rose to lean A loathsome leper smiled in sleep And dreamed that he was clean That night when in the manger lay The Sanctified who came to save A man moved in the sleep of death And dreamed there was no grave.
Author Unknown

Denny
MUSIC, MUSIC, MUSIC
Its the most wonderful

Christmas Eve Service

Our annual Christmas Eve Service will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, December 24th. In addition to some special music by our choir, Ladies Ensemble, and Mens Quartet, there will be a Childrens story time on the platform. Also, some of our finest actors will be portraying the main characters of the Christmas story. We would love to have you join us as we set aside just one hour of our busy schedule to worship and celebrate the birth of our Savior!

time of the year, and theres a song in the air at LCC as we are preparing for some awesome special music for the Christmas Season. The choir will be singing during several services in December, as well as a Ladies Ensemble. We will also be hearing from a Mens Quartet. How fortunate we are at Lycoming Christian Church to have such a talented and dedicated group of people! It is our goal to help our congregation remember the true meaning of Christmas.
Kathy Dennis