congregational thanksgiving...

Kenai Christian Church John 11:25 November 23, 2016 Vol. 11 No.16

Our Services Sunday

Sunday School 9:45 AM

Worship 11:00 AM

Evening 6:30 PM

Wednesday Bible Study 6:30 PM

Ministers Robert DeVolld

Phone: 907-262-2822 -Home

Email: [email protected]

Bryan Copenhaver

Phone: 907-260-4771 -Home


Youth Minister Adam Meyers

907-953-0102


Women’s Ministry

Leslie Daniel

Phone: 907-283-4559


Children’s Ministry

Karlene Meyers

Phone: 907-953-0101


KCC News is published monthly by

Kenai Christian Church

104 McKinley Street, Kenai AK 99611

Phone: 907-283-4559

FAX: 907-283-4560


WEB: www.kenaichristianchurch.org

Newsletter Jennifer Castillo

Annie Peek

Publishing

Jean Widmayer, Chrystle Henderson

Joy Winston, Louann Peery

Congregational

Thanksgiving Dinner

Wednesday, November 23rd

at 5:45 pm.

Invite a friend and come spend the

evening with us!

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

The Light of Fellowship

Every year, around Thanksgiving, Veronica and the kids

ask me the same question… “When are you going to put up the

Christmas lights?” It’s a question that I dread for a variety of rea-

sons. First of all, because it’s a bit time consuming. To start with, I

have to lug the lights out of the crawl space and then drive down to

Robert’s place and borrow his extension ladder. Then, I get to spend

the rest of the morning untangling lights, checking bulbs and climb-

ing ladders.

A few years ago, when I arrived at Robert’s house, his lad-

der was nowhere to be found. So, instead of admitting defeat, I re-

sorted to “plan B”. I pulled my truck up along the side of my garage,

placed a small step ladder in the bed of the truck and just barely

managed to scratch my way on to the roof. As I slowly started to

crawl upward on my hands and knees, I discovered that the roof was

much slicker than I had anticipated. With every step forward, I man-

aged to slide about half a step back. Ignoring common sense, I

trudged ever onward. It was only about two steps later when…it

happened. Despite the fact that I was in forward gear and had my

body locked in four wheel drive, I suddenly found myself traveling

in reverse at a rather high rate of speed. It happened so fast, that all I

could think was, “this is gonna hurt.” The next thing I knew, I was

standing in the back of my truck thanking the Lord that I hadn’t

bought a short bed pickup. Not only had my truck saved me from

falling an additional three feet, but it also provided me with a perfect

ice-free landing pad.

A couple of hours and several hundred lights later, the job

was complete. The moment of truth had arrived. After plugging in

the extension cord, I stepped out into the driveway to appreciate the

final product. As my eyes traced every strand of lights, I was horri-

fied to discover that a whole section of lights at the very peak of the

roof were burned out. Upon closer examination, I could see that one

bulb was missing about three feet from the peak. I thought for a

minute about leaving it, but then I realized how foolish my house

would look with that one section of unlit lights. So, up I went again,

risking life and limb in order to replace one missing bulb.

Recently, while I was studying John’s letters toward the end

of the New Testament, I couldn’t help but notice how often he uses

light as an analogy in his instruction. In 1 John 1:5 he says in re-

gards to God, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” And

a couple of verses later in 1 John 1:7, he describes the fellowship that

exists between believers by saying, “…if we walk in the light, as he

is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of

Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” Yet, in regards to fellow-

ship, look at what he says in the next chapter in 1 John 2:9-10.

“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in

the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there

is nothing in him to make him stumble.”

Do you see it? Fellowship is just like Christmas lights. If

one bulb is broken…if one bulb is out of place…it affects the rest of

the strand. Through the misdeeds of just one individual, the light of

fellowship can be extinguished. It’s only through loving action to-

ward one another that this light remains lit.

This is certainly a worthy thought to remember this time of

year as the pace of life picks ups and nerves become raw. I’m not

suggesting that maintaining fellowship with your brothers and sister

in Christ will be easy…but hey…at least it doesn’t require an exten-

sion ladder.

Because He’s The Truth,

Bryan

Minister's Outlook Cloudy and 28°

(11-21-16) 7:00 a.m.

Light Dispelling Darkness

The exact time of year when our Lord entered into this world as

a baby is not known. The date we commemorate as Christmas is

at most an unscientific guess. A required to celebrate on De-

cember 25th is surely not a requirement for the child of God.

However, it is one thing not to celebrate our Lord’s birth on

December 25th, but quite another not to celebrate His birth at all.

Regardless of the time of year Jesus was born, it is most appro-

priate to celebrate it. Why?

Two of the gospels record his birth

God and the angels celebrated it from heaven

Shepherds and wise men celebrated it on earth

Mary realized she would be blessed by every

generation

The prophets foretold it—even naming Bethlehem as

His birthplace

Numerous other examples are presented in the Scripture that

delight in relating the significance of His birth in Bethlehem.

Perhaps one of the most noteworthy statements regarding his

birth is found in Isaiah 9:2. This statement addresses both the

glory of the event, and how we who live in Alaska may even

relate it to the month of December. Isaiah 9:2 states:

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great

light! They that dwell in the land of the shadow of

death, upon them has the light shined.

It is known by all, especially those of us who dwell in Alaska,

that December is the darkest month of the year—but alas, on

December 21, 2016, the light begins to gain the ascendancy.

Remembering our Lord’s birth in the context of extreme dark-

ness being dispelled by light gaining the ascendancy is a fit-

ting parallel to what the prophet, Isaiah, stated.

As we remember Christ’s birth we should be jubilant with

Isaiah:

For unto us a Child is born! Unto us a Son is given!

And the government shall be upon His shoulders!

And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,

Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace!

Isaiah 9: 6-7

--Robert

Thanking God

for the growth of His Kingdom

Joining in Baptism:

Carlos and Mary Caballero

Mark Cialek

Brett Fleming

Congratulations

Abraham and

Jessica England on the

birth of their baby girl!

Eliza Serenity

England was born

October 30th. She is fol-

lowed by big brother Na-

thanael and big sisters

Christiana and Maria..

WE ARE DEDICATED TO TAKING CHRIST TO MILLIONS. AND WE HAVE FOUND THAT THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO DO THIS IS BY TRAINING CHRISTIANS FOR MINISTRY.

Strategy TCM comes alongside Christians who are leading in their own countries and have a passion for reaching their people for Christ. Through our institute we can develop a Christian leader for ministry for only 1% of the cost it would take to send a U.S. missionary to that same country. Since these individuals already know the cultures and languages, they are able to have successful ministries and are equipped for a lifetime of service.

Implementation

TCM is educating Christian leaders from more than 40 countries through our accredited graduate

institute. Courses are of-fered in a flexible format so that students can stay fully involved in their local minis-tries. 80% of each class is delivered online and another 20% is finished face-to-face with in-depth discussion, mentoring, and application of the online portion.

UPCOMING EVENTS AND IMPORTANT DATES

November

23rd: Thanksgiving Meal 5:45pm (Evening Services Dismissed)

24th: Thanksgiving Day

December

11th: Cookie Theater 6:30pm (Evening Services Dismissed)

16th: Christmas Tea 11am-12pm (Ages 2-K Parents are Welcome)

24th: Candle Light Service 5:30pm

25th: Christmas Day (Evening Services Dismissed)

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