today in worship today in sunday school
TODAY IN WORSHIP ____________________________________ December 4, 2016 is The Second Sunday in Advent Servants in Today’s Worship Preacher: Rev. Matthew Hardaway Liturgist: Rev. Craig Otto Organist: John Arndt Greeters: 8:00, Mike & JoAnn Davis 10:45, Don & Ann Wesselschmidt Acolyte: 8:00, Braeden Curless; 10:45, Colin Turner Elders: 8:00, Keith Wagner, Doug McCommon; 10:45, Don Sanders, Mike Pignotti Altar Guild: Altar Guild Prayers of the Church . . . pray for family of Ardyth Wendte (Gretchen Shafer’s mother-in-law) who passed away. . . . pray that God would bless the preaching and teaching of His Word in all our churches today. Prayers for members … pray for those who are ill or recovering: Amy Johnson, Bruce Wilke, Harold Charles, Carol Garska, Nancy Viets, Don Sailors, Bev Heuchert, Darlene Schaefer, Wes Hardin, Edna Atherton, Delores Harrelson, Dottie Hinterleitner Prayers for family and friends … pray for Larry Riebesell, Vern Degenhardt, Clif Smith (Kelle Johnson’s father), Kary Nichols (cousin of Sherri Mills), Bill Johnson (brother of Clare Kapperman), Herb Weinrich, Betty Enke, Debbie Riebesell, Chris Plate, Laura Pekar (Raylene Herkamp’s mother), Barb Pancoast, Ronnie Parks (Jennifer Ours’ father).
TODAY IN SUNDAY SCHOOL ___________________ (9:30 – 10:30) Adult Bible Class – Fellowship Center. Today Pastor Otto covers 1 and 2 Peter. High School Bible Class – Katie Brown teaches in the new Fellowship Center youth room. Sunday School Children through 8th Grade – Held in Education Wing.
SPECIAL WORSHIP SERVICES _________________________________ Advent Services – Wednesdays at 4:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Our theme this year is family life, as we learn from families connected with our Lord’s birth including Joseph, Mary, Jesus, Zechariah, Elizabeth, and John. These families faced infertility, frustration, loss, misunderstandings, death, and more. Wed., Dec. 7 — Advent 2 – Our Way (Luke 1:57–66) Wed., Dec. 17 — Advent 3 – A List! (Matthew 1:1–17) Wed., Dec. 21 — Advent 4 – Open the Door (Matthew 1:18–20) Christmas Services Sun., Dec. 13 — Children’s Program, part of regular 10:45 a.m. worship service Sat., Dec. 24 — Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship — Three services: 4:00, 6:00, 11:00 Sun., Dec. 25 —
Christmas Day Service — Holy Communion — 9:00 a.m.
TODAY’S ANNOUNCEMENTS ______________________________ Flowers Flowers that grace the altar this morning are given to the Glory of God by: Don & Sue Sailors and Carol Lea in memory of their mother’s. Christmas Poinsettias Altar Guild has purchased poinsettias again this year to help decorate the sanctuary for the Christmas season. If you would like to purchase or sponsor one of these beautiful plants, please sign to do so on the sign-up sheet on the Altar Guild bulletin board in the hallway leading to the fellowship hall. Cost of the poinsettias will be $10 per plant. Please pay any Altar Guild member or place your payment in the envelope hanging below the sign-up sheet. You may take your plant home after Christmas Day worship service. Thank You Thank you to all the groups who provided the bag of goodies. It was in over abundance. Del Fuchs and Jo Kubas Thank You Thank you so much for your overwhelming generosity at Thanksgiving. I heard about your project to give members of the community complete Thanksgiving dinners and stopped by. I knew of two families who are really struggling and your volunteers gave me a meal to take to each of them. As I was, they were so overwhelmed by your generosity and were both so excited to be able to make such a great meal for their families. I just wanted you to know what a difference you made in so many lives. The meal and beautiful words of encouragement in each bag brought such joy and hope! Thank you again to everyone involved. May all of the kindness and blessings come back to you all. God Bless, Sherri Norton Thank You We wish to express our deepest thanks for your generosity with the food you gave us for Thanksgiving. Please tell the preschoolers that we sincerely appreciate the prayer. We pray God’s blessings on your entire church and on your spiritual and financial prosperity. My husband, Herb, is 90 years old and I, Dee, am 72 years old. We are retired and live on Social Security and it’s very hard to buy anything other than the bare necessities. So your gift is very much appreciated. God bless you, Herb & Dee Denham, Nixa, MO St. Matthew High School youth families This year we will be volunteering to serve area families at the Metropolitan Lutheran Ministry Christmas Store. The date is December 10 and time is 9AM-1:30PM. The MLM Christmas store serves 1,000 pre-qualified families who are at or below 150% of the federal poverty level. The store allows heads of household the opportunity to shop for Christmas gifts for each member of their family. All gifts are donated from individuals and local business and are organized by gender, size, etc. within the MLM warehouse. Each family will receive gifts, bibles, food and blankets as part of this Christmas ministry. We will check in families with their pre-assigned shopping list, escort the heads of families select items, carry goods to their transportation, and re-supply areas within the store. Parents are very welcome to take part with your H.S. student as we play a small role in serving others and sharing Jesus' love. We will meet at the church at 8AM to gather and share rides. The address of the event is 1700 Westport Road, Kansas
City, MO 64111. If you have any questions please contact Randy Cox @ [email protected] / 816-668-8199 or myself! Pastor Hardaway Senior High Youth — Come for Sunday evening! December 18 at 6:30 p.m. will be out next SWAG (study with a game) event. Senior High students and friends are invited for an hour of games and snacks, followed by an hour of digging into God’s Word. Call your friends and bring a group! Pastor Hardaway and Randy Cox are leading it.
Advent Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries for 2016 Advent devotions are available via email through Lutheran Hour Ministries at www.lhm.org. Those of you who have smart phones, iPads or similar devices can download the app for daily devotions from the website. First Wednesday Dinner - December 7th at 6:00. Please note the time change due to Advent. The Adult menu is Ham, Cheesy Potatoes, Green Beans, Veggie Tray, Hot Rolls and Cherry Pie. The Children's Entree will be Chicken Nuggets and Mashed Potatoes. Please sign up in the Narthex. Remember, the Adults can choose Adult's, Children's or Both menus. We just need a count so we can have the right amount food for those attending. Also needed are 4 people who can stay and help clean up so those who prepared the meal can attend the Advent service after the meal. Pam York, Dinner Coordinator Take a Break from the Holiday Hustle and Bustle! Come to the Annual Cookie & Candy Sale at St. Matthew Family Center on December 10th, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. There will be coffee, hot cocoa, and refreshments served for your enjoyment. Stop, Shop, and enjoy the morning with fellow members and friends. Spread the word among your family, neighbors, friends and co-workers, all are welcome! Christmas Dinner at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church St. Matthew and Beautiful Savior Lutheran Churches are hosting the annual Christmas dinner at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Kansas City on Sunday, December 11. This year St. Matthew is scheduled to work between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. If you would like to help, please contact Brian Mitchell at 525-6016. We are asked to provide about a dozen pies from our congregation. If you would like to provide one or more pies, a sign up sheet is in the narthex. Please bring your pies to the new kitchen by the morning of December 11. Thank you for your help! College Addresses We need current student addresses so our LWML can do care packages in early February. Please email info to the church office at [email protected]. Thanks!
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION _________________________________ Sunday Mornings
Sunday School for every age throughout the year, 9:30 a.m. Children up through 8th grade all have classes in the education wing down the hallway, while the youth and adults meet in the Fellowship Center. Refreshments are always available in the new kitchen! Sunday Adult Bible Class – Pastor Otto Dec.4 1 & 2 Peter Faith during persecution, holy people, trusting Good Shepherd Dec. 11 1 Jn. 1 – 2 Jn. Budget Meeting 1st half, then: Jesus our advocate; Divine love Dec. 18 3 Jn. – Rev. 4 Big picture review of Revelation Dec. 25 No Sunday School Christmas Day worship with Communion at 9 a.m. Dec. 31 Rev. 5 – Rev. 22 Teaching on passages about heaven, renewal, return The Gospel of Matthew at John Knox Village every Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. in the Gallery Room.
Pastor Otto teaches
The Book of Revelation Pastor Otto teaches in the Fellowship Center Meeting Room Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. Wednesdays Nights — Classes meet at 6:30 during Advent Midweek Classes, Confirmation, High School, Adult Bible Classes, & Adult Choir every week at 6:30 p.m. Babysitting provided. Bible Readings for This Week ☐1 John 1:1-10 (Monday) ☐1 John 2:28-3:24 (Wednesday) ☐1 John 5:1-21 (Friday)
☐1 John 2:1-27 (Tuesday) ☒1 John 4:1-21 (Thursday) ☐2 John 1-13 (Saturday)
FELLOWSHIP & CARE _________________________________ Our Gifts to the Lord Last Sunday Offering: $9,358 Saturday Offering: $951 Needed Weekly: $12,485 Thanksgiving Day: $756 Advent 1: $494 YTD Offering: $665,278 YTD Expenses: $650,164 YTD Budget: $764,162 Worship & Christian Education – Weekend of November 26 & 27 Attendance: 48, 106, & 138 (292 Total) Communion: 43 Visitors: -,32 Thanksgiving Day: 73 Visitors: 7 Advent 1: 40 & 53 (93 Total) Sun. School Attendance: 10 High School: 0 Adults: 36 Staff: 5 Offering: $ John Knox Bible Study: 15 Wed AM Study: 18 Wed PM Study: 21 Midweek: 40 Birthdays This Week Today: Benjamin Powelson Monday: Evelyn Arnold, Nyssa Arnold, Lori Lanham, Lindsey Pierce Tuesday: Angela Cunningham, Linda Sanders Friday: Tony Velasquez, Daniel White II Saturday: Xander Bruening Anniversaries This Week
Today: Darrell & Joyce Kunard Monday: Steven & Melissa Schramm
MISSION & COMMUNITY SERVICE ________________________ Hope House Needs for December Hope House needs include: Salad dressings, spices, plastic cups and plastic silverware. Donations may be placed in the Hope House box in narthex. Lee’s Summit Social Services Needs During December we will be collecting any kind of canned fruit or pie filling. Donations may be put inside the wooden cupboard next to the Sanctuary doors. St. Matthew Goes to Haiti — Pray for our January trip Once again the Lord calls us to build up our brothers and sisters in the Lutheran Church of Haiti. We are taking six members to learn, grow, pray, and serve in the city of Saint-Marc. Jim, Karen, and Joshua Averitt will make this trip, in addition to Ron Brohammer, Rick Shafer, and myself. We depart on Jan. 30 and return Jan. 4. This trip our goals are to provide Bible teaching to children, seminary training for Lutheran pastors and teachers, assist them with school construction, and to provide health kits, Bibles, and Luther’s Small Catechisms (all in their native language) to those we see. Pray for this short-term mission trip, that the Lord go before us for a safe and meaningful journey to help the Haitians. Pastor Otto
TODAY IN SUNDAY SCHOOL ___________________ (9:30 – 10:30) Adult Bible Class – Fellowship Center. Today Pastor Otto covers 1 and 2 Peter. High School Bible Class – Katie Brown teaches in the new Fellowship Center youth room. Sunday School Children through 8th Grade – Held in Education Wing.
SPECIAL WORSHIP SERVICES _________________________________ Advent Services – Wednesdays at 4:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Our theme this year is family life, as we learn from families connected with our Lord’s birth including Joseph, Mary, Jesus, Zechariah, Elizabeth, and John. These families faced infertility, frustration, loss, misunderstandings, death, and more. Wed., Dec. 7 — Advent 2 – Our Way (Luke 1:57–66) Wed., Dec. 17 — Advent 3 – A List! (Matthew 1:1–17) Wed., Dec. 21 — Advent 4 – Open the Door (Matthew 1:18–20) Christmas Services Sun., Dec. 13 — Children’s Program, part of regular 10:45 a.m. worship service Sat., Dec. 24 — Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship — Three services: 4:00, 6:00, 11:00 Sun., Dec. 25 —
Christmas Day Service — Holy Communion — 9:00 a.m.
TODAY’S ANNOUNCEMENTS ______________________________ Flowers Flowers that grace the altar this morning are given to the Glory of God by: Don & Sue Sailors and Carol Lea in memory of their mother’s. Christmas Poinsettias Altar Guild has purchased poinsettias again this year to help decorate the sanctuary for the Christmas season. If you would like to purchase or sponsor one of these beautiful plants, please sign to do so on the sign-up sheet on the Altar Guild bulletin board in the hallway leading to the fellowship hall. Cost of the poinsettias will be $10 per plant. Please pay any Altar Guild member or place your payment in the envelope hanging below the sign-up sheet. You may take your plant home after Christmas Day worship service. Thank You Thank you to all the groups who provided the bag of goodies. It was in over abundance. Del Fuchs and Jo Kubas Thank You Thank you so much for your overwhelming generosity at Thanksgiving. I heard about your project to give members of the community complete Thanksgiving dinners and stopped by. I knew of two families who are really struggling and your volunteers gave me a meal to take to each of them. As I was, they were so overwhelmed by your generosity and were both so excited to be able to make such a great meal for their families. I just wanted you to know what a difference you made in so many lives. The meal and beautiful words of encouragement in each bag brought such joy and hope! Thank you again to everyone involved. May all of the kindness and blessings come back to you all. God Bless, Sherri Norton Thank You We wish to express our deepest thanks for your generosity with the food you gave us for Thanksgiving. Please tell the preschoolers that we sincerely appreciate the prayer. We pray God’s blessings on your entire church and on your spiritual and financial prosperity. My husband, Herb, is 90 years old and I, Dee, am 72 years old. We are retired and live on Social Security and it’s very hard to buy anything other than the bare necessities. So your gift is very much appreciated. God bless you, Herb & Dee Denham, Nixa, MO St. Matthew High School youth families This year we will be volunteering to serve area families at the Metropolitan Lutheran Ministry Christmas Store. The date is December 10 and time is 9AM-1:30PM. The MLM Christmas store serves 1,000 pre-qualified families who are at or below 150% of the federal poverty level. The store allows heads of household the opportunity to shop for Christmas gifts for each member of their family. All gifts are donated from individuals and local business and are organized by gender, size, etc. within the MLM warehouse. Each family will receive gifts, bibles, food and blankets as part of this Christmas ministry. We will check in families with their pre-assigned shopping list, escort the heads of families select items, carry goods to their transportation, and re-supply areas within the store. Parents are very welcome to take part with your H.S. student as we play a small role in serving others and sharing Jesus' love. We will meet at the church at 8AM to gather and share rides. The address of the event is 1700 Westport Road, Kansas
City, MO 64111. If you have any questions please contact Randy Cox @ [email protected] / 816-668-8199 or myself! Pastor Hardaway Senior High Youth — Come for Sunday evening! December 18 at 6:30 p.m. will be out next SWAG (study with a game) event. Senior High students and friends are invited for an hour of games and snacks, followed by an hour of digging into God’s Word. Call your friends and bring a group! Pastor Hardaway and Randy Cox are leading it.
Advent Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries for 2016 Advent devotions are available via email through Lutheran Hour Ministries at www.lhm.org. Those of you who have smart phones, iPads or similar devices can download the app for daily devotions from the website. First Wednesday Dinner - December 7th at 6:00. Please note the time change due to Advent. The Adult menu is Ham, Cheesy Potatoes, Green Beans, Veggie Tray, Hot Rolls and Cherry Pie. The Children's Entree will be Chicken Nuggets and Mashed Potatoes. Please sign up in the Narthex. Remember, the Adults can choose Adult's, Children's or Both menus. We just need a count so we can have the right amount food for those attending. Also needed are 4 people who can stay and help clean up so those who prepared the meal can attend the Advent service after the meal. Pam York, Dinner Coordinator Take a Break from the Holiday Hustle and Bustle! Come to the Annual Cookie & Candy Sale at St. Matthew Family Center on December 10th, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. There will be coffee, hot cocoa, and refreshments served for your enjoyment. Stop, Shop, and enjoy the morning with fellow members and friends. Spread the word among your family, neighbors, friends and co-workers, all are welcome! Christmas Dinner at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church St. Matthew and Beautiful Savior Lutheran Churches are hosting the annual Christmas dinner at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Kansas City on Sunday, December 11. This year St. Matthew is scheduled to work between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. If you would like to help, please contact Brian Mitchell at 525-6016. We are asked to provide about a dozen pies from our congregation. If you would like to provide one or more pies, a sign up sheet is in the narthex. Please bring your pies to the new kitchen by the morning of December 11. Thank you for your help! College Addresses We need current student addresses so our LWML can do care packages in early February. Please email info to the church office at [email protected]. Thanks!
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION _________________________________ Sunday Mornings
Sunday School for every age throughout the year, 9:30 a.m. Children up through 8th grade all have classes in the education wing down the hallway, while the youth and adults meet in the Fellowship Center. Refreshments are always available in the new kitchen! Sunday Adult Bible Class – Pastor Otto Dec.4 1 & 2 Peter Faith during persecution, holy people, trusting Good Shepherd Dec. 11 1 Jn. 1 – 2 Jn. Budget Meeting 1st half, then: Jesus our advocate; Divine love Dec. 18 3 Jn. – Rev. 4 Big picture review of Revelation Dec. 25 No Sunday School Christmas Day worship with Communion at 9 a.m. Dec. 31 Rev. 5 – Rev. 22 Teaching on passages about heaven, renewal, return The Gospel of Matthew at John Knox Village every Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. in the Gallery Room.
Pastor Otto teaches
The Book of Revelation Pastor Otto teaches in the Fellowship Center Meeting Room Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. Wednesdays Nights — Classes meet at 6:30 during Advent Midweek Classes, Confirmation, High School, Adult Bible Classes, & Adult Choir every week at 6:30 p.m. Babysitting provided. Bible Readings for This Week ☐1 John 1:1-10 (Monday) ☐1 John 2:28-3:24 (Wednesday) ☐1 John 5:1-21 (Friday)
☐1 John 2:1-27 (Tuesday) ☒1 John 4:1-21 (Thursday) ☐2 John 1-13 (Saturday)
FELLOWSHIP & CARE _________________________________ Our Gifts to the Lord Last Sunday Offering: $9,358 Saturday Offering: $951 Needed Weekly: $12,485 Thanksgiving Day: $756 Advent 1: $494 YTD Offering: $665,278 YTD Expenses: $650,164 YTD Budget: $764,162 Worship & Christian Education – Weekend of November 26 & 27 Attendance: 48, 106, & 138 (292 Total) Communion: 43 Visitors: -,32 Thanksgiving Day: 73 Visitors: 7 Advent 1: 40 & 53 (93 Total) Sun. School Attendance: 10 High School: 0 Adults: 36 Staff: 5 Offering: $ John Knox Bible Study: 15 Wed AM Study: 18 Wed PM Study: 21 Midweek: 40 Birthdays This Week Today: Benjamin Powelson Monday: Evelyn Arnold, Nyssa Arnold, Lori Lanham, Lindsey Pierce Tuesday: Angela Cunningham, Linda Sanders Friday: Tony Velasquez, Daniel White II Saturday: Xander Bruening Anniversaries This Week
Today: Darrell & Joyce Kunard Monday: Steven & Melissa Schramm
MISSION & COMMUNITY SERVICE ________________________ Hope House Needs for December Hope House needs include: Salad dressings, spices, plastic cups and plastic silverware. Donations may be placed in the Hope House box in narthex. Lee’s Summit Social Services Needs During December we will be collecting any kind of canned fruit or pie filling. Donations may be put inside the wooden cupboard next to the Sanctuary doors. St. Matthew Goes to Haiti — Pray for our January trip Once again the Lord calls us to build up our brothers and sisters in the Lutheran Church of Haiti. We are taking six members to learn, grow, pray, and serve in the city of Saint-Marc. Jim, Karen, and Joshua Averitt will make this trip, in addition to Ron Brohammer, Rick Shafer, and myself. We depart on Jan. 30 and return Jan. 4. This trip our goals are to provide Bible teaching to children, seminary training for Lutheran pastors and teachers, assist them with school construction, and to provide health kits, Bibles, and Luther’s Small Catechisms (all in their native language) to those we see. Pray for this short-term mission trip, that the Lord go before us for a safe and meaningful journey to help the Haitians. Pastor Otto
