Weekly Bulletin 12/10/2017

Sunday, December 10, 2017
The Lord anoints us, as he did Jesus, “to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted” (Isaiah 61:1, NRSV).
We gather here to be strengthened for this work. Welcome!

9:30 am ~ Morning Worship Service
Worship Leader: Rev. Jacob Porter

Welcome & Call to Worship
Praise Songs ~ Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
Emmanuel
What Child Is This
God’s Greeting and Our Shared Greetings
Noisy Offering ~ Love INC Sponsor-a-Family
(Pre-K – 5th grade are dismissed for Sunday School)
Morning Prayer
Offering Prayer ~ Fred Mireles
Tithes & Offerings ~ HCRC Ministries & Building Fund
Offertory ~ Love Comes Down
God’s Word ~ Isaiah 9:1-7 (pg. 1072)
Message ~ Longing For… Peace
Song of Response ~ Emmanuel God With Us
God’s Blessing
Sending Song ~ Go Tell It On the Mountain
Sending Praise

Prayer Ministry ~ Fred Mireles and Michele Dykstra

6 pm ~ Down Home Gospel Music
at Hamilton Christian Reformed Church
Offering: Down Home Gospel Ministry

Next Sunday – December 17 – 6pm
DVD – The True Meaning Of Christmas

OUR CHURCH FAMILY
Christmas Cards for our missionaries and home-bound church family can be placed in the special mailboxes in the fellowship hall through today. Take time to wish them a special greeting.

OUR CHURCH ANNOUNCEMENTS

Morning Service ~ This morning we continue our Advent Journey to Bethlehem, Longing For.. from the book of Isaiah.

Evening Worship Service will be held at our church tonight at 6 pm. Down Home Gospel Music will lead us in worship through song. Join us for this evening of praise.

Fellowship Night will be held on Wednesday, December 13. A Christmas Dinner will be served in the fellowship hall from 5:30 – 6:30 pm. The congregational meeting will follow at 6:30 pm.

Congregational Meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 13 at 6:30 pm to vote on the General Budget for 2018. A copy of the budget is available on the Welcome Table. An agenda for the meeting and minutes of the last congregational meeting are in your church mailbox. If you are unable to attend the meeting an absentee ballot is available from any Council member.

Ladies Guild Bible Study will meet on Tuesday, December 19 at 10 am in the fellowship hall. We will discuss lesson 6, Standing Firm. Following our lesson we will have our Christmas luncheon at Hawk’s Nest Restaurant.

Offerings for December 3:
General Fund ~ $1,664.00
Building Fund ~ $25.00
Faith Promise Mission Support – $345.00
Noisy Offering – $66.50

OUR CHURCH CALENDAR

Today: December 10 ~ Second Sunday of Advent
9:30 am ~ Morning Worship Service – Rev. Jacob Porter
Offerings ~ HCRC Ministries & Building Fund
Noisy Offering – Love INC Sponsor-a-Family
Sunday School – Pre-K – 5th grade
Story: Way To Bethlehem
Fellowship Time follows worship service
6 pm ~ Down Home Gospel Music – Hamilton CRC
Offering: Down Home Ministry

Wednesday, December 13
7 am ~ Prayer Time in the sanctuary
5:30 – 6:30 pm ~ Fellowship Christmas Dinner
6:30 pm ~ Congregational meeting
6:30 pm ~ Cadets Christmas Party
6:30 pm ~ Youth Group – Lesson Myrrh

Sunday, December 17 ~ Third Sunday of Advent
9:10 am ~ Pre-Service Prayer Time – Pastor’s office
9:30 am ~ Morning Worship Service ~ Rev. Jacob Porter
Offerings ~ HCRC Ministries & Building Fund
6 pm ~ Evening Service – Hamilton CRC
DVD ~ The True Meaning of Christmas

Requested & Expanded Announcements
December 10, 2017

Sunday School for Pre-K – 5th grade will meet this morning and be dismissed during the morning worship service. Next Sunday the children will be singing a song of Christmas during the morning service. There will be no Sunday School time on December 17, 24 and 31.

Cadets will be meeting on Wednesday, December 13 at 6:30 pm for our Christmas party. This will be our only meeting for the month of December.

Youth Group we will be meeting on December 13 for our Christmas lesson. We will be having a Christmas Party on December 20. Remember our youth gatherings start at 6:30 pm.

Congregational meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 13 at 6:30 pm. We will voting on the General Budget for 2018. A copy of this budget is available in your church mailbox.

Christmas Services ~ We will celebrate Holy Communion at the morning service on December 24. A love offering will be received for Faith Promise Mission. Our Christmas Day service will be on December 25 at 9:30 am. An offering will be received for World Renew.

Sr. Breakfast will be held on Wednesday, December 27 at 8:30 am at the Hawk’s Nest Restaurant. Anyone is welcome to come to this breakfast time. Many laughs are shared with church friends.

Christmas Card Volunteers are needed to deliver Christmas cards to our church family. If you would be willing to deliver a package of cards and bring Christmas greetings to some of our church friends let Lori know in the church office.

Community Blood Drive will be held on Thursday, December 21 from 12 noon – 5:45 pm at Hamilton Reformed Church. If you would like to schedule an appointment to donate go to redcrossblood.org (sponsored code: hamiltonreformed) or call 1.800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Life’s a gift. Give more of it. Donate blood.

GATE Youth Center will be opening in January and we are looking for mentors for our middle schoolers. There will be a training time on Saturday, January 6 from 9 – 11 am. If you are interested in investing in our Hamilton youth as a volunteer mentor, please email, thegateministry117@gmail.com.

Mighty God ~ As we continue to anticipate and think about the birth of Jesus Christ, we encounter Isaiah’s second name for our Messiah: Mighty God. Join Groundwork as we study Isaiah 9:6-7 and Colossians 2:15 to discover how a baby who will later appear weak as he dies on a cross really is our Mighty God. Listen now at GroundworkOnline.com and subscribe to Groundwork’s weekly emails for future episodes.

Kid’s Corner ~ Merry X-Monsters. One of the families in Terrene loses their house and all their belongings in a house fire right before Christmas. Liz decides to give them his coveted, long anticipated X-Monsters games so they’ll have something brand new to play with. Check out Kid’s Corner new Christmas coupon book for a great gift idea at www.kidscorner.net.

Stand In the Gap ~ World Renew invites you to stand in the gap with people who live with poverty and hunger this Christmas. You can help a family with a filter for clean water to drink, help a child get the food they need to grow well with a nutrition kit or help a disaster survivor find shelter and restoration. What will you give to help fill the gap? Get your copy of the all-new World Renew gift catalog online at worldrenewgifts.net, or call 800.333.8300 to order your printed copy.

Calvin Symposium on Worship ~ You are invited to register and attend the annual Calvin Symposium on
Worship, January 25-27, 2018, at Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary. The three-day conference brings together a wide audience of artists, musicians, pastors, scholars, students, worship leaders and planners and other interested worshipers. There are excellent rates for students and groups from churches. For information and to register, go to worship.calvin.edu/symposium.