the church courier, december 2009

8/14/2019 The Church Courier, December 2009

1/12

Dec 2009

Vol. 10, Issue 12

In this issue:

Holiday Cake .............. 4

The Sabbath .............. 6Oktoberfest ................ 9Church @ Work ....... 10

Wise men and women still seek HimWise men and women still seek HimWise men and women still seek HimWise men and women still seek HimShepherds hurried to find him; wise men traveled

thousands of miles seeking the Messiah, the newbornKing. To our knowledge they had no map, they had

no compass. They only had a star to guide them on

their journey, a star of wonder, a star of light, a star ofhope. Wise men seeking, wise men finding, wise men

rejoicing in their salvation. When they saw the star,

they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. (Matt. 2:10)

All men are seeking something, but not all are wise.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge:but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Prov. 1:7)

So, what are you seeking? Is it joy, peace, forgive-

ness? All of these things are good, but where are you

looking?

But rather seek ye first the kingdom of God and all

these things shall be added unto you. Luke 12:31

Wise men still seek Him. May the Lord bless you

with wisdom this Christmas season. The wise shall

find Him. (Online source)

A Christmasthought

God is our onlyhope. God alone will

not fail us, for Godcame to abide in ourmidst as one of us, ifwe will but open ourhearts to receiveHim. He came toglory in our glory, tosuffer in our suffer-ings, and tears. Godis no stranger towhat we experience.

-Author Unknown


2/12

Long ago Martin Luther received some discouraging news.But he responded by saying, Recently I have been looking up

at the night sky, spangled and studded with stars, and I found

no pillars to hold them in. Yet they do not fall. Luther was

encouraged as he reminded himself that the same unseen God

who was upholding the universe was also caring for him!

Yet there is another unseen source of help from which Gods

people can take courage when facing any crisis---angels!

These heavenly beings, called ministering spirits in Heb. 1:

14 are instantly responsive to Gods commands. We have no

earthly idea what powerful protection and help they bring to us

every day! Remember when Jesus was agonizing in the garden

of Gethsemane, an angel appeared to Him from heaven,

strengthening Him, (Luke 22:43) Even though we might not

see them, theyre doing their work just the same.

Many centuries ago some of then had the task of forming an

unusual star in the heavens to guide wise men to the birthplace

of our Savior. Others were given the task to appear to someshepherds to sing the announcement that He was born. Have

any appeared to you? Maybe they have, but youve not recog-

nized them! Just knowing these unseen helpers are on our side

strengthens our trust in the God they faithfully serve! Yours for

allowing Gods ministering spirits to work for us, Pastor and

Sharon Webb

Page 2 The Church Courier


3/12

Vol. 10 Issue 12 Pag

Fall FestivalFall FestivalFall FestivalFall Festival

Carry the peanut, eating pie contest,

face painting, and crafts, were some of

the games and activities that our youth

had the opportunity to enjoy during the

Fall festival.

I think it was a great activity offering our

youth an alternative to Halloween. We

know how hard it is for our youth to

deal with the pressures of the world,

and with activities like this one, we help

them a little bit.

Thanks to Mark Schiefer, Susan and

Alan Hecht, Martha and Stan Getlinger,

and all the parents and members thathelped in this activity in one way or

another. Great job!

Remember that you can see photo

albums of activities on the

Church webpage:www.nprsda.org/PhotoGallery

Thanks to Susan Hecht for pictures

of this activity.


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Holiday Scripture cake.The fun starts with looking up the ingredients, which can befound in the Bible. You won't find a verse that says, 'five eggs,

separated,' so all of the ingredients are listed in the baking in-structions.

Enjoy!

3/4 cups of Psalm 55:21

1-1/2 cups of Jeremiah 6:20

5 Isaiah 10:14

3 cups of 1 Kings 4:22

3 tsp. of 1 Corinthians 5:6

3/4 tsp. of Leviticus 2:13

1 tsp. each of 2 Chronicles 9:9

1 tsp. of Exodus 30:23

1/2 cup of Judges 4:19

3/4 cup of Numbers 17:8

3/4 cup of Nahum 3:12

3/4 cup of 1 Samuel 30:12

Cream butter with sugar. Beat in egg yolks one at a time. Siftflour, baking powder, salt, cloves, nutmeg, allspice and cinna-

mon. Blend into creamed mixture alternately with milk. Beat eggwhites until stiff; fold into batter. Fold in chopped almonds, figs,raisins. Pour into greased and floured pan. Bake at 325 degreesfor 70 minutes or until knife comes out clean.



5/12

Think about it

Those who walk with God

always reach their destination.

"This is a ch_ _ch. What is

missing?

If your life is headed in thewrong direction, God allows you

to make a U-turn.

May you have the Spirit ofChristmas, which is Peace, The

Gladness of Christmas, which is

Hope, The Heart of Christmas,which is Love, The Gift of Christ-

mas, which is Christ.

If you think you know this church member, submit

your guess to us, either by phone or email.You can submit your baby pix by email or directly

to us. Photos can be black and white or color and

will be promptly returned. For more informationplease contact us.

November baby was: Jim LitardoClue: Everybody wants him in their team.

Jim Litardo is very good at sports.

Our winners were: Justin Rivera, Pastor Webb,Martha & Stan Getlinger, Alan Hecht, Arlene Learman,

Marjorie Boyd, and the Rodriguez-Menendez Family (Christie, Gabriella,

Myranda, Brittany, Kristin, and Benjamin)

Thanks for participating!

Clue: Goldielocks?


PIXIE PIN-UPSDO YOU KNOW ME?


6/12


THE SABBATH QUESTION IN THE

NEW TESTAMENTBy Gary D. Grimes

Everyone admits Sunday keepers and Sabbath keepers alike, thatthe holy day of the OT was the seventh-day Sabbath. Today theworld calls the seventh-day of the week Saturday. The modernweek day names were named after pagan gods by the Romans.Saturday is named after the pagan Roman god Saturn. Yet in theBible both OT and NT the name of the seventh-day is Sabbath.Hundreds of modern languages use a word that means Sabbath todescribe their seventh-day of the week.

Since everyone agrees that the holy day of the OT was the sev-

enth-day Sabbath we need not discuss that point in this article.But, what is the holy day of the NT? I maintain it is still the sev-enth-day of the week. Heres why.

1. No where in the NT does it specifically say that God (Jesus)

transferred the holiness of the seventh-day to the first day. NOWHERE! To honor Jesus death, burial and resurrection the Bi-

ble gives us the act of baptism by immersion (Romans 6:1-6).

2. The great question of the NT was not which day of the weekis the Sabbath, but how to keep it. Jesus, the Apostles, the Phari-sees, the Sadducees, the Zealots, the Priests, the Scribes and thecommon Jew all believed the seventh-day of the week was theSabbath.

3. What Jesus and Jewish leaders did clash over was the practi-cal aspects of Sabbath-keeping, not which day of the week wasthe Sabbath. Jesus allowed His disciples to pluck and eat grain

on the Sabbath, the Jews said He and His followers were

breaking the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-28). By and large, the

greatest conflict Jesus had with Jewish leaders was over

His acts of healing on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-14).

So what some interpret as Jesus being anti-seventh-daySabbath is not that at all. It is Jesus keeping the seventh-

day Sabbath the way He intended it to be when He cre-

ated it. It is to be a day of blessing. It is a time to do

well. It is a time to draw near to Him.


7/12



8/12


SunsetSunsetSunsetSunset

Dec. 5 ........ 5:35 pmDec. 12 .......5:36 pmDec. 19 ....... 5:39 pmDec. 26 ...... 5:43 pm

Bought too many?

Stocked with too many pecans? I know! Our school kids did

a great job selling them in their last fundraiser.

The good news is that pecans are very popular during this

season in desserts such as pies, cookies, and candies, but also

make an interesting addition to salads, stuffing, main or side

dishes. They are also delicious whole, toasted and spiced, or

covered with chocolate.

Heres a great idea for those extra pecans. After you finish with

this quick recipe, put them in a little cellophane bag and put a niceribbon. A nice perfect little Christmas gift!

Ingredients:

20 small mini pretzels

20 chocolate covered caramel candies

20 pecan halves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).

2. Arrange the pretzels in a single layer on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Place onechocolate covered caramel candy on each pretzel.

3. Bake for 4 minutes. While the candy is warm, press a pecan half onto each candycovered pretzel. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Guess who

got voted to

be a sheep in

the SabbathSchool pro-

gram for the

fifth year in a

row?!


9/12

Vol. 10 Issue 12 Page

Oktoberfest at Camp Kulaqua

by Martha Getlinger

October is a wonderfultime to go to Camp Ku-

laqua. The air is crisp

and a little cool. It feels

good to be outside. Sev-

eral members of ourchurch in the 50 plus

category enjoyed apeaceful rustic four days

at Camp Kulaquas

Young at Heart camp

this past month. Activi-

ties enjoyed were morning walks, Sabbath-School studies, worship

times, horse-back riding, go-carting, mini-golf, shuffleboard, model

rocketry, softball game by the Camp Kulaqua staff, Scrabble tourna-ment, Mexican Train tour-

nament, a visit to the zoo to

meet Samson, the new baby

lion and many more things.

Each day was filled with

various activities that you

could choose from and par-ticipate if you wanted. The

end of the stay was a cele-

bration of Oktoberfest fea-

turing German cuisine and

music. It was a delight!

Those of us who attended are already planning for next year. Whydont you come with us. It is an excellent time to fellowship with old

friends and make new friends.

The ladies with German outfits

Drivers and their crew


10/12


Support our SchoolSupport our SchoolSupport our SchoolSupport our Schoolby advertising your

business orcongratulating a

special student in ourSchool Yearbook.

Time and spaces arerunning out,

reserve yours today.

For more information

contact the Schooloffice, Church office orOmayra Rivera.

This Christmas Season you can help spread the Good News of

Jesus. So many people need to hear some Good News. Invitethem to join us for to one or all of these Christmas programs.

May Gods blessing be on you and yours this Christmas Season.

Sabbath 5th, Worship with Joanne Gilkey and Friends.

Sabbath 12th, Worship with Adventist Christian Academy.

Sabbath 19th,NPR SDA Sanctuary Choir Christmas Cantata.

All programs at 11:00 AM

New Port Richey Seventh-day AdventistChurch presents:

International SabbathSabbath, March 13, 2010

Want to participate

representing your country?

Please turn in your

participation form or contact

Martha for more information.


11/12

Vol. 10 Issue 12 Page

This newsletter is

published monthly

by the NPR SDA

Church. If you

have any com-

ments to make

about the news-

letter, wish to

make a donation,

or wish to submit

an article, please

send it to thechurch or to us.

NPR Seventh-day Adventist Church

6424 Trouble Creek Road

New Port Richey, FL 34653727-848-4567 www.nprsda.org

Contact UsAlexander Ortiz

727-365-2892Omayra Rivera

727-372-0052

[email protected]

From the Editors

If you look in a diction-

ary the word hope,you will find something

like this: a general feel-

ing that some desire will

be fulfilled.

(www.elook.org)

This year went so fast,

packed with lots of trials

and happenings. I cant

wait for the new year to

start, to see what is instore for us.

Im sure everybody

hopes and wishes for

different things this sea-

son. But one wish weshould have in common

is the hope to see the

second coming of Jesus

really soon. That is my

hope. Whats yours?

Wishing you a great

Season and thanking you

for a great year!

Omayra & Alex


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the church courier, december 2009

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