Fourth Sunday of Advent

 

CERRO GORDO CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN

December 18, 2022

This Week's Scripture: 

It’s Really True!

Luke 1:39-79

Mary Visits Elizabeth

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Mary’s Song

And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord
    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
    of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
    for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
    holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
    from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
    but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
    but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
    remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
    just as he promised our ancestors.”

Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”

They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

Zechariah’s Song

His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David
(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
salvation from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us—
to show mercy to our ancestors
    and to remember his holy covenant,
    the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
    and to enable us to serve him without fear
    in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
    for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
    by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
    and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Look on facebook for Sunday's worship and sermon:

Cerro Gordo Church of the Brethren

Announcements:

 

Tuesday 9:30 Bible Study

 

Today and next Sunday Advent special offering. See bulletin insert. Envelopes are in the back of the sanctuary.

 

December 21 7:00 pm Christmas Service: scripture; carols; communion; candlelight

 

December 25 Christmas Sunday

 

January 1 last worship in sanctuary for the winter

 

Offering plates are in the back of the sanctuary. Thank you for your continued giving!

 

Donation Box: The Lord’s Storehouse

First Sundays: food donations for food banks

 

Pastor Larry Traxler- (217) 454-2362

 

To keep up on Church of the Brethren news:

Denomination: www.brethren.org/news Sign up for Newsline by clicking link on left side of page.

District: iwdcob.org (click on newsletter link) and on facebook

Our pages: cerrogordocob.com (printed sermon, announcements, & calendar) and on facebook

Keep in Your Prayers

Jonah Martina; Jan Bower; Larry Traxler; Michelle West; Carolyn Hirsch; Eli Brunner; Nancy Fansler; Joe Waltz; Doug Larrick; Anna Rose Larrick; Ron & Kathleen Petersen; Anna Gentry Thompson; Louis & Carol Sulwer; Debbie Leibrock; Dorthea Wood; Tina Wilhelm; Tate Sawyer; Bryce Ashenfelter; Mindy Sawyer; Marlene Schultz; Carl and Wilma Cable; Mike and Carol Seidenstricker;  Adiline Young; Kim Lehmann; Doug Fansler; Shawn Cain; Robert Cripe; Mayo & Darlene Hanaver; Patty Cripe; Lauren Gross; Stacie Warren; Nancy Gorrell; many unspoken requests; Coronavirus; healthcare workers and first responders; victims of disasters; victims of shootings; shut-ins; the Nigerian church; Haitian Brethren; Ukraine; Hope Welty Library; Florida; Puerto Rico; La Place congregation

Military and Other Services and their families

Brethren Volunteer Service workers; Disaster project workers

District Prayer Calendar: Pray for the Neighborhood congregation near Montgomery and Boulder Hill

 

Church of the Brethren vision statement:

Together, as the Church of the Brethren, we will passionately live and share the radical transformation and holistic peace of Jesus Christ through relationship-based neighborhood engagement. To move us forward, we will develop a culture of calling and equipping disciples who are innovative, adaptable, and fearless.

                        Our Mission Statement:

Love God, grow with others, serve faithfully, reach the lost, find peace.

 

 

Third Sunday of Advent--December 11

 

CERRO GORDO CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN

December 11, 2022

 

Can It Really Be True?

Luke 1:26-38, Matthew 1:18-25

 

Last week we read and considered how God was working to fulfill the promise made to Israel through the prophet Isaiah 700 years earlier. First the one who would pave the way for the Savior was announced. John would be born to two righteous people who had tried their best to honor God during their lives. However, Zechariah and Elizabeth had felt left out by God since they had been unable to have children. Now they were seemingly at an age that children would not happen only to find out God would bless them with a special son. Their son, John, would prepare the way for the Savior. In spite of the fact they were beyond the normal age for having children, God began his plan to redeem the world in this unlikely way.

 

This morning we once again read how God is going to bring the Savior to the world. We first read of how God would use a young woman with no special social standing to bear the Savior. An angel visited Mary and explained how it would all come to be. Mary understood how children came about and knew that it was impossible for this to happen before Joseph and her were actually married. As is the case with God, there was a plan that goes beyond what we might think is possible. The son born to Mary would be unlike any baby ever born before and unlike any baby that would be born after. Just as God created the world from nothing, God would cause this baby to be formed and born as only God could do. Mary had questions for the angel about how this could really happen but the angel assured her God’s hand and blessing was upon all these things and they would happen just as she was told. Mary was even told of the first miracle in which her relative Elizabeth was going to have a son that would also be important to God’s plan.

 

Mary agreed to do whatever the Lord wanted her to do, which then leads us to the man in Mary’s life. An angel spoke to Joseph in a dream. In the dream Joseph was told what was going to happen with Mary, the woman he was pledged to marry. Before the angel spoke to him Mary apparently told Joseph of the visit she had from an angel explaining everything that was about to happen. The fact is Joseph did not believe her. Joseph thought of how to quietly end the engagement. That is when the angel spoke to Joseph in the dream. The angel explained how God was going to bring everything about. The angel then assured Joseph that Mary was a faithful woman who had not done anything wrong. It was important for Mary to have a husband throughout all of this and Joseph had been chosen by God, just as Mary had, to be the Savior’s earthly father as he grew to manhood.

 

We read that just as Mary agreed to do as she had been instructed by the angel Joseph agreed as well. Earlier I said Mary had no special social standing but the fact is both Mary and Joseph fulfilled the earlier prophecy about the Messiah by having King David as their distant relative.

 

When we read about all of these things and how everything happened just as God had said it would, I still cannot help but think we miss how miraculous everything that happened really was. We read how all four of these people agreed to everything they were told. And then we see it all happened exactly as God had planned. All of these key people, at some point probably asked the question first of all, “Am I crazy? Is what I think I have been told really going to happen? Nothing like this has ever happened before. Why us, why now?”

 

Once again, this Sunday put yourself in Mary or Joseph’s shoes. What would you be thinking? Would you ask yourself over and over again, “Can this really be true?”

 

Christmas is getting closer and closer. We are only two weeks from Christmas day. As we celebrate once again the season of miracles, may we try as best we can to understand how amazing everything God has done and continues to do is. May the stories we have reread the past two Sundays be more than just really neat stories from the Bible. May God help us understand how everything that was done happened because of his love for us and that everything talked about is impossible to have happened without God’s hand being up on the events. These are not everyday events we are reading. May we never lose the wonder of it all. And in a way it makes perfect sense for us to question at least for a minute, “Can it really be true?” Not because we doubt God or have no faith in God, but because what happened is truly only possible with God.

 

Today we once again see the faithfulness of a young man and a young woman who were willing to do what God asked them to do. In part, because of their faithfulness we celebrate the Christmas season yet again.

Pastor Larry

Announcements:

 

Tuesday 9:30 Bible Study

 

A Christmas greeting from the District and greetings from others are on the east bulletin board.

 

December 14 Board Meeting—current and incoming members 6:15 exec committee; 7:00 commissions; 7:30 board with reorganization to follow

 

December 21 7:00 pm Christmas Service

 

Offering plates are in the back of the sanctuary. Thank you for your continued giving!

 

Donation Box: The Lord’s Storehouse

First Sundays: food donations for food banks

 

Pastor Larry Traxler- (217) 454-2362

 

To keep up on Church of the Brethren news:

Denomination: www.brethren.org/news Sign up for Newsline by clicking link on left side of page.

District: iwdcob.org (click on newsletter link) and on facebook

Our pages: cerrogordocob.com (printed sermon, announcements, & calendar) and on facebook

Keep in Your Prayers

Family of Leah Flory; Jonah Martina; Jan Bower; Larry Traxler; Michelle West; Carolyn Hirsch; Eli Brunner; Nancy Fansler; Joe Waltz; Doug Larrick; Anna Rose Larrick; Ron & Kathleen Petersen; Anna Gentry Thompson; Louis & Carol Sulwer; Debbie Leibrock; Dorthea Wood; Tina Wilhelm; Tate Sawyer; Bryce Ashenfelter; Mindy Sawyer; Marlene Schultz; Sarah Rudelick; Carl and Wilma Cable; Mike and Carol Seidenstricker;  Adiline Young; Kim Lehmann; Doug Fansler; Candy Dobson; Shawn Cain; Robert Cripe; Mayo & Darlene Hanaver; Patty Cripe; Lauren Gross; Stacie Warren; Nancy Gorrell; many unspoken requests; Coronavirus; healthcare workers and first responders; victims of disasters; victims of shootings; shut-ins; the Nigerian church; Haitian Brethren; Ukraine; Hope Welty Library; Florida; Puerto Rico; La Place congregation

Military and Other Services and their families

Brethren Volunteer Service workers; Disaster project workers

District Prayer Calendar: Pray for the Hurricane Creek congregation near Mulberry Grove

 

Church of the Brethren vision statement:

Together, as the Church of the Brethren, we will passionately live and share the radical transformation and holistic peace of Jesus Christ through relationship-based neighborhood engagement. To move us forward, we will develop a culture of calling and equipping disciples who are innovative, adaptable, and fearless.

                        Our Mission Statement:

Love God, grow with others, serve faithfully, reach the lost, find peace.

Second Sunday of Advent

 

CERRO GORDO CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN

December 4, 2022

 

I am speechless!

Luke 5:25

Have you ever had something happen that left you speechless? Has someone ever said something to you that for one reason or another left you speechless? What we read this morning is talking about the first of several events that changed the course of the world forever. We are told of a husband and wife that were truly committed to God that had been unable to have children. They were getting up in years to the point it was unlikely, if not seemingly impossible, to expect they would even have children of their own. But when Zechariah’s division was to serve the Lord in the temple something amazing, something unbelievable happened. For one thing the Lord made sure Zechariah would go alone into the most Holy Place in the temple. Then when alone in the most Holy Place an angel of the Lord was there with him. We read Zechariah was startled and then gripped with fear, but the angel assured Zechariah he had nothing to fear and proceeded to tell him of things that were about to happen to him and his wife. The angel knew his wife’s name and told him not only that a son would be born to them, but what his name is to be and what he would mean to the Jewish people. Their son would be a powerful servant of the Lord that would draw many back to God. The one interesting thing the angel said was that his name should be John, which would be different from what Jewish tradition would have expected of a first-born son. Zechariah’s only question of all this was one that most of us would thing is logical. He asked, “How can I be sure of this?” After all, Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth had been praying for years to have a child and when that time had seemingly come and gone, they are being told it was going to happen.

 

How many of you when you have been wide awake have ever had a conversation with an angel of God? Maybe some of us may have had some sort of dream or vision but a real conversation when wide awake with an angel is not an every day event, even for the most righteous of people. I am pretty sure Zechariah had never had such an event happen ever before. So most anyone would question, how can I be sure this will happen? Then the angel went on to tell Zechariah his name and exactly how connected to God he was.  Gabriel, God’s angel, went on to say, “Because you have doubted, you will be unable to speak until the birth of your son occurs.”

 

Apparently, Zechariah was in this Holy Place in the temple longer than normal and the people waiting outside began to wonder what was taking him so long. Finally, Zechariah came out but as Gabriel had promised he was unable to make a sound when he tried to speak. The people knew something special must have happened but were unable to figure out exactly what it was. Zechariah returned home to his wife and whether he tried to help his wife know what had happened or just waited to see if what he had been told by Gabriel came true, we are not really told. The fact is, things did happen exactly as Zechariah had been told and the events that would soon change the world had begun.

 

Last week we read in Isaiah of a promise made by God to the Jewish people. Now 700 years later the first events that would see that promise fulfilled was starting to happen. Just a reminder, most of you probably already know it was a very big mark against a husband and wife back at this time if you were unable to have children. It was believed that at least one of you must have done something really bad for God not to allow you to have children. That is why Elizabeth said what she said in verse 25, “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” What seemed to be impossible at this late stage in Zechariah and Elizabeth’s life was about to miraculously happen. In many ways even if God had not prevented Zechariah from being able to speak it is quite possible he would have been speechless anyway. Would you have been brave enough to tell those around you what you had been told by an angel? Would they have made fun of him? Would they have called him crazy? After all, they knew how physical bodies worked back then then just like today. In many ways it is not surprising that he was speechless about what had happened to him while he was in this most Holy Place in the temple.

 

What about you and me? At the very beginning of this message, I asked the question, “Have you even been speechless about anything that happened to you or someone you loved?” If so, what made that event so unique it left you speechless? What do you think you would have one if you had been in Zechariah's shoes? Would you have acted any differently than Zechariah did? In the world we live in today I could almost see some saying to the angel, “No it is too late in our lives to raise a child, I do not want this now.” Ten or fifteen years ago would have been fine maybe, even 5 years ago, but we are too old now so forget about it. Do you think anyone might say something like that in today’s world? Thankfully Zechariah did not say that but was willing to see just what God would do. Our God is a God of miracles. Maybe they don’t seem to happen the way things happened during Bible times, but God is still working in the lives of His people and in His world every day. Sometimes we just need to have the faith and the spiritual eyes to see his hand at work today. This is viewed as the season of miracles. The first of those miracles occurred for two faithful people and in many ways probably went unnoticed at the time, but God is at work and began what we call the Christmas Season with a very innocent seeming miracle. Yes, most of us would have been speechless just like Zechariah was. Some of us probably would not have needed God to make us speechless. We would have been unwilling to say what we had been told by an “angel” because virtually no one would believe us. But today we celebrate the first of several miracles that God made happen that once again changed the course of the world forever. What a great God of love, mercy and forgiveness we have. Christmas, the time of miracles, is coming!

Pastor Larry

Announcements:

 

Tuesday 9:30 Bible Study

 

December 4 4:00 Christmas Vespers HERE

 

December 6 12:00 Women’s Luncheon—will reveal prayer partners; meat & drink provided; please bring a dish: A-H vegetable; K-S salad; T-W dessert. All women are invited.

 

December 14 Board Meeting

 

December 21 7:00 pm Christmas Service

 

Offering plates are in the back of the sanctuary. Thank you for your continued giving!

 

Donation Box: The Lord’s Storehouse

First Sundays: food donations for food banks

 

Pastor Larry Traxler- (217) 454-2362

 

To keep up on Church of the Brethren news:

Denomination: www.brethren.org/news Sign up for Newsline by clicking link on left side of page.

District: iwdcob.org (click on newsletter link) and on facebook

Our pages: cerrogordocob.com (printed sermon, announcements, & calendar) and on facebook

 

Keep in Your Prayers

Jonah Martina; Jan Bower; Larry Traxler; Jill McBride; Michelle West; Carolyn Hirsch; Eli Brunner; Nancy Fansler; Joe Waltz; Doug Larrick; Anna Rose Larrick; Ron & Kathleen Petersen; Anna Gentry Thompson; Louis & Carol Sulwer; Debbie Leibrock; Dorthea Wood; Tina Wilhelm; Tate Sawyer; Bryce Ashenfelter; Mindy Sawyer; Marlene Schultz; Sarah Rudelick; Carl and Wilma Cable; Mike and Carol Seidenstricker;  Adiline Young; Kim Lehmann; Doug Fansler; Candy Dobson; Shawn Cain; Robert Cripe; Mayo & Darlene Hanaver; Patty Cripe; Lauren Gross; Stacie Warren; Nancy Gorrell; many unspoken requests; Coronavirus; healthcare workers and first responders; victims of disasters; victims of shootings; shut-ins; the Nigerian church; Haitian Brethren; Ukraine; Hope Welty Library; Florida; Puerto Rico; La Place congregation

Military and Other Services and their families

Brethren Volunteer Service workers; Disaster project workers

District Prayer Calendar: Pray for the Romine congregation near Salem in Marion County.

 

Church of the Brethren vision statement:

Together, as the Church of the Brethren, we will passionately live and share the radical transformation and holistic peace of Jesus Christ through relationship-based neighborhood engagement. To move us forward, we will develop a culture of calling and equipping disciples who are innovative, adaptable, and fearless.

                        Our Mission Statement:

Love God, grow with others, serve faithfully, reach the lost, find peace.

 

November 27 Sermon and Announcements

 

CERRO GORDO CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN

November 27, 2022

 

How long do we have to wait?

Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-7

 

How patient are you? When someone says they are going to do something, especially something that really needs done, are you content just to wait until they get good and ready? After quite a while passes, do you get frustrated if nothing has happened yet?

 

As we begin today with the what the Bible has to say about the Savior of the world’s coming, we have read the promise made by God to Israel through the prophet Isaiah.  This prophecy was given 700 years before any of the events would actually happen. Israel had been overrun for a long time at this point. The people were asking God to free them of the oppression they were feeling. After all they were supposed to be God’s chosen people. God’s favor was supposed to rest on them. They were the ones who should be leading the world. Instead, they had been taken captive and felt humiliated and forgotten. Never mind about the fact their difference against God should have anything to do with their problems. The fact is God is supposed to come to their rescue. So finally, we see God making some promises of a new day for Israel. Isaiah reported to the people in the chapter 7, verse 14, “The Lord himself will give you a sign. The birth to a son and he will call him Imanuel.” Immanuel means God with us. So, something truly special is going to happen. Finally, God has heard our cries and is going to come and defeat their oppressors. It gets even better in the 9^th chapter, 6^th and 7^th verses. God gives them even more details. Man, this is going to be good just to see what God is going to do. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord almighty will accomplish this.” Do you hear that? Everyone is going to realize who is in charge soon? Finally, God is going to show the world that Israel and Jewish people are the best. But something did not quite work out like everyone thought. The people waited and waited and waited and nothing was happening.

 

When someone says they are going to do something you might not be upset if it did not happen today or tomorrow. Depending on what was promised, maybe even a week or two would be okay, but after that you begin to wonder, “What’s the deal? If you were not going to do anything, why say you are?” Israel and the Jewish people waited 700 years for this promise to become a reality.

 

Many generations of people came and went waiting to see God make good on his promise. Can you imagine the frustration, the disappointment, the doubts that had set in? Admittedly, when God inspired Isaiah to tell the people these things, he never told them when it would happen, but the people felt they deserved help right then. Why God have you allowed the nations to mock us? It is just not fair!

 

Have you ever felt let down because you felt a promise had been made that was for now only to find out it was never really quite as certain as you thought? If so, did you get angry or frustrated? Disillusioned to the point you had trouble trusting anything anyone said to you again? The Israelites had to have felt that way. The people during Isaiah’s time thought something was going to happen very soon. God was going to restore Israel to the glory days of King David, but they waited and waited and nothing happened, nothing changed. We begin this season of promise with the first predictions that God is going to do something truly amazing. As we read these verses over 2,000 years later, it is hard to imagine what God’s people were thinking about this promise.

 

America in its current form has only existed 250 years. God’s people waited 3 times as long as we have existed to see the promise start to take shape. By the time things start to happen did anyone still even know about the promise made through Isaiah? Did anyone believe it would really happen? Next Sunday we will begin to look at this most wonderful story, the most important prophecy fulfilled there ever was.

 

A closing thought for today—the next time you get impatient about a promise someone made to you that hasn’t happened yet, just think of the Israelites that waited 700 years to see God’s promise he fulfilled. It may not make you feel any better, but it does remind us that things do not always happen in the timing we want. Just stay patient, stay optimistic and believe hopefully what was promised will at least happen in your lifetime.

Pastor Larry

Announcements:

 

Tuesday 9:30 Bible Study

 

November 27 Soup lunch/ then decorate sanctuary

 

November 29 Deadline for December newsletter submissions

 

December 4 4:00 Christmas Vespers HERE—need food donations and help in the kitchen; also need a special

 

December 6 12:00 Women’s Luncheon—will reveal prayer partners; meat & drink provided; please bring a dish: A-H vegetable; K-S salad; T-W dessert

 

Get your candy orders in! See the flyer on the bulletin board and give Chelle Shively or Nancy Born Martin your orders. Pick up is on Dec. 3.

 

Offering plates are in the back of the sanctuary. Thank you for your continued giving!

 

Donation Box: The Lord’s Storehouse

First Sundays: food donations for food banks

 

Pastor Larry Traxler- (217) 454-2362

 

To keep up on Church of the Brethren news:

Denomination: www.brethren.org/news Sign up for Newsline by clicking link on left side of page.

District: iwdcob.org (click on newsletter link) and on facebook

Our pages: cerrogordocob.com (printed sermon, announcements, & calendar) and on facebook

Keep in Your Prayers

Jonah Martina; Jan Bower; Larry Traxler; Jill McBride; Michelle West; Carolyn Hirsch; Eli Brunner; Nancy Fansler; Joe Waltz; Doug Larrick; Anna Rose Larrick; Ron & Kathleen Petersen; Anna Gentry Thompson; Louis & Carol Sulwer; Maralyn Heckman; Debbie Leibrock; Dorthea Wood; Tina Wilhelm; Tate Sawyer; Bryce Ashenfelter; Mindy Sawyer; Marlene Schultz; Sarah Rudelick; Carl and Wilma Cable; Mike and Carol Seidenstricker;  Adiline Young; Kim Lehmann; Doug Fansler; Candy Dobson; Shawn Cain; Robert Cripe; Mayo & Darlene Hanaver; Patty Cripe; Lauren Gross; Stacie Warren; Nancy Gorrell; many unspoken requests; Coronavirus; healthcare workers and first responders; victims of disasters; victims of shootings; shut-ins; the Nigerian church; Haitian Brethren; Ukraine; Hope Welty Library; Florida; Puerto Rico; La Place congregation

Military and Other Services and their families

Brethren Volunteer Service workers; Disaster project workers

District Prayer Calendar: Pray for the West Branch congregation in Ogle County.

 

Church of the Brethren vision statement:

Together, as the Church of the Brethren, we will passionately live and share the radical transformation and holistic peace of Jesus Christ through relationship-based neighborhood engagement. To move us forward, we will develop a culture of calling and equipping disciples who are innovative, adaptable, and fearless.

                        Our Mission Statement:

Love God, grow with others, serve faithfully, reach the lost, find peace.

 

 

 

November 20 Sermon and Announcements

 

CERRO GORDO CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN

NOVEMBER 20, 2022

 

 

What are you thankful for?

Psalm 136:1-9

 

We are just a few days from celebrating Thanksgiving once again in America. It has become a tradition for most families to get together and share a meal. Sometimes family members make more of an effort to get together and use this day as an opportunity to reconnect with one another not only with a meal but also spend some time just catching up with one another. Hopefully most of you will have a chance to do some of that this week. When we think about Thanksgiving, we oftentimes think of Pilgrims and turkey and a meal they shared with the Indians who had helped the Pilgrims get through a tough year. But how often do we take time to acknowledge what God has done and is doing in our lives? All of us have had both some good times during our lives and some tough times. Through it all God has been there for us. Sometimes he has led us as His people to be there for each other. As I considered Thanksgiving this year, I got wondering just how much God emphasizes being thankful in a number of ways and for a number of reasons. I did a little research to see how often something to do with being thankful is mentioned in the Bible. Thankfulness is mentioned 71 times in the New Testament, 20 times of which is found in the four Gospels. Gratitude, which is similar to being thankful, is mentioned 157 times in the Bible. Thankful at least 7 times and thanks 33 times. So, at the very least, some form of thankfulness is mentioned over 250 times in the Bible. That does not include verses like we read this morning that repeats itself 3 times in 3 verses.

 

So, the question for you and me this morning is what are you, what are we thankful for? In our busy lives how often do we take a few minutes to reflect on the things that make life worth living? Whether it is things going on right now or recognition of things in the past that have special meaning still today. Do we take the time to say thank you to people who help us deal with life? For those who have jobs, are you thankful for being able to work? Are you thankful for the ability to get by, to have at least what you really need? In other words, maybe not only pay the bills, but also maybe have a little extra to do other things with. For those who have had relatively healthy lives or really healthy lives, are you thankful for that blessing? Those who have family close by especially, do we let them know we appreciate them and how important they are to us? For those who live farther away, I hope you are keeping up with those members of your family as well by taking advantage of the modern technology we have available to us today. How about friends that check in on you as you check in on them? Are we thankful for being able to put food on our tables and clothes on our backs? Are we thankful we have places to live as winter closes in; are we thankful for that or just take it for granted?

 

There are so many things most of us should be thankful for, but do we get too busy to really be thankful? With all of these things and people I have mentioned, I have not even said anything about the one who makes it all truly possible. Our God! God created the world we get to enjoy. God created you and me. God did this because he wanted us to enjoy not only what he has created but to also have a relationship with him as well. It may be that every one of you take time each day to give thanks for the blessings you have. If you are like me though, things seem to get in the way at times. Thanksgiving is, to me, the kick off of the holiday season. The one-month period of Thanksgiving to Christmas that causes me to take some time to reflect on what should be really important. The greatness of God, the blessings of life, both of the past and present. And a desire to have a greater attitude of thanksgiving. As we celebrate Thanksgiving once again this year, I pray each of us will truly take some time to reflect on the blessings we have had during our lives. Those who the Lord has blessed us with, those who are no longer with us as well as those in our lives today. Focus on the good things, not things from the past that cannot be changed, even though at times we might wish we could change them. God has great things in store for His people. Coming before the Lord with a thankful heart is a good place to start. As the first verse says in Psalm 136, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, His love endures forever.” God loves you and always will. If that is not a reason to give thank, I do not know what is.

Pastor Larry

Announcements:

 

Tuesday 9:30 Bible Study

 

November 20 Council Meeting immediately after worship

           

The Lord’s Storehouse Thanksgiving basket donations due today—sign up sheet is in the back of the sanctuary today.

 

November 27 Soup lunch/ the decorate sanctuary

 

November 29 Deadline for December newsletter submissions

December 4 Christmas Vespers HERE—need food donations

 

Get your candy orders in! See the flyer on the bulletin board and give Chelle Shively or Nancy Born Martin your orders. Pick up is on Dec. 3.

 

Offering plates are in the back of the sanctuary. Thank you for your continued giving!

 

Donation Box: The Lord’s Storehouse

First Sundays: food donations for food banks

 

Pastor Larry Traxler- (217) 454-2362

 

To keep up on Church of the Brethren news:

Denomination: www.brethren.org/news Sign up for Newsline by clicking link on left side of page.

District: iwdcob.org (click on newsletter link) and on facebook

Our pages: cerrogordocob.com (printed sermon, announcements, & calendar) and on facebook

Keep in Your Prayers

Jonah Martina; Jan Bower; Larry Traxler; Jill McBride; Michelle West; Carolyn Hirsch; Eli Brunner; Nancy Fansler; Joe Waltz; Doug Larrick; Anna Rose Larrick; Ron & Kathleen Petersen; Anna Gentry Thompson; Louis & Carol Sulwer; Maralyn Heckman; Debbie Leibrock; Dorthea Wood; Tina Wilhelm; Tate Sawyer; Bryce Ashenfelter; Mindy Sawyer; Marlene Schultz; Sarah Rudelick; Carl and Wilma Cable; Mike and Carol Seidenstricker;  Adiline Young; Kim Lehmann; Doug Fansler; Candy Dobson; Shawn Cain; Robert Cripe; Mayo & Darlene Hanaver; Patty Cripe; Lauren Gross; Stacie Warren; Nancy Gorrell; many unspoken requests; Coronavirus; healthcare workers and first responders; victims of disasters; victims of shootings; shut-ins; the Nigerian church; Haitian Brethren; Ukraine; Hope Welty Library; Florida; Puerto Rico; La Place congregation

Military and Other Services and their families

Brethren Volunteer Service workers; Disaster project workers

District Prayer Calendar: Pray for the Rock Community congregation in Fairfield.

 

Church of the Brethren vision statement:

Together, as the Church of the Brethren, we will passionately live and share the radical transformation and holistic peace of Jesus Christ through relationship-based neighborhood engagement. To move us forward, we will develop a culture of calling and equipping disciples who are innovative, adaptable, and fearless.

                        Our Mission Statement:

Love God, grow with others, serve faithfully, reach the lost, find peace.