Thursday,

December 24,

2009

8:00 p.m.

Please make plans to join us for this special

Candlelight Service with Communion.

We will also have the Christmas Youthville Offering.

DECEMBER, 2009 / JANUARY 2010

Messenger The

Church 620-492-6850

Parsonage 620-492-2495

F I R S T U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T C H U R C H 2 0 2 S . N I P P S T . , J O H N S O N , K S 6 7 8 5 5

“ O U R M I S S I O N I S T O B R I N G G O D T O P E O P L E , A N D P E O P L E T O G O D ”

Inside this issue:

From The Pastor 2

Celebrations; Prayer List;

Financial Report; Office

Closed

3

Finance Committee; UMW

News; Preschool News

4

Kid’s Page 5

Recipes, Staff 6

Inserts: December &

January Calendars

Plan Options:

1. (Adults) Old & New

Testaments

2. (Adults) New Testament,

Psalms,& Proverbs

3. (Youth) New Testament,

Psalms, & Proverbs

4. (Children) New Testament

Highlights (Parent

may read to child)

Reading Plans are available in the Foyer at the Church

or on the website at: www.fumcjohnson.com

Read God’s Word 15 minutes a day in 2010

F I R S T U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T C H U R C H

Each time I read Luke 1:26-38 I am amazed. This is the story of the angel Gabriel telling Mary she will

give birth to the Messiah.

I am amazed at what Gabriel tells her: that she will conceive and bear the Son of the Most High, and that this conception will take place by the Holy

Spirit.

What a weighty proposition! How incredible to be

told you will be the mother of the Son of God!

Mary was very young—not too young in terms of Jewish women having children—but though we don‟t exactly know her age, it is probable she was

between the ages of twelve and fourteen.

Even more amazing to me than the news told to Mary, is her immediate response. She doesn‟t say, “Let me think about it and I‟ll get back to you.” No. She says, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it

be with me according to your word.”

Consider the hardships associated with this arrangement. Though Mary is betrothed to Joseph, this will not be his child. He will think Mary has been unfaithful. God will take care of this. Gabriel will speak to Joseph in a dream and tell him the child is conceived by God miraculously and that the child will be the Messiah. Joseph is instructed to go

ahead and take Mary as his wife.

Mary and Joseph will know these things, but others will not. People will talk. Two families will have questions. The synagogue community will raise eyebrows. Under Old Testament law, Mary being betrothed to Joseph, she could be charged with adultery and punished with death by stoning. All of this was portrayed vividly by the 2006 movie:

The Nativity Story.

But things for Mary and Joseph would not only be difficult because of people wondering about the child‟s origin. Things would be difficult because of the identity of this special child. Satan would want him destroyed. The first attempt came when King Herod ordered the slaughter of all baby boys under the age of two in Bethlehem. Again God took care of Mary and Joseph and Jesus, warning Joseph in a

dream to take his family to Egypt.

How does one parent the Son of God? We read

the story of Jesus at age twelve in the temple in Jerusalem. The family left to return home to Nazareth, and discovered on the second day of the trip home that Jesus was not with the group traveling together. They returned to the temple and found him. Mary said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” Jesus replied, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father‟s house?” Surely being his mother brought

special challenges.

Then as a grown man, Jesus would begin teaching, healing, and drawing large crowds. His home town neighbors in Nazareth would again question his origins. By this time Joseph had died, and though Jesus, her oldest son, trained in Joseph‟s trade as a carpenter, left home to preach. She, and her other children were on their

own.

When Jesus was presented in the temple at the age of eight days old, Mary was told this prophecy, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2:34-35). Ultimately Mary would see her son Jesus, hang on Calvary‟s cross. She

would weep at his side and watch him die.

Of course Mary could not have known all these things when she answered Gabriel, when she said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” What she did know was that this was a clear word from God, and that she trusted God. She believed and she understood that with faith comes obedience. Whatever the cost might be to her, she knew that God would bless her more. She trusted God and obeyed. And because she did, great things have

come to us. The Savior of the world was born.

Think of Mary‟s faith and obedience. It is an example for us to follow. What great things does God want to do through you. Take the same stance as Mary. “Here am I, the servant of the Lord, let it be with me according to your word.” Amazing! God still works through people with

faith who will act in obedience. —Don Hasty

FAITH AND OBEDIENCE

Page 2

T H E M E S S E N G E R

Dec. 6 JC Chapman

Dec. 13 Floyd & Girtha Chenoweth

Dec. 20 June Cockrum

Dec. 27 Darrell & Wynn Cockrum

Jan. 3 Ronald Cockrum

Jan. 10 Al Collingwood

Jan. 17 Jeff, Pam, Logan & Darbi Cook

Jan. 24 Ann Cooper

Jan. 31 Lorenzo, Kim, Brian, Dalton,

Whitley & Reuben Cruz

December Birthdays: 1 Seresa Parton, Jim Dimitt 2 Dodie Martin 3 Chris McKinney, Gary Floyd 7 Angela Black, Jo Scott, Glenn Pauls, Jonathan Martin 8 Dalyn Figgins 9 Lori Overturf 11 Jayden Rios, Jordan Hasty 12 Denise Smith, Betty Barber 13 Sofia Sierra 16 Steve Sierra, Kyle Rodriguez 19 Jeanie Tomson, Kecia Seyb 20 Lester Lucas, Terri Daniels 21 Kim Walker, Al Collingwood 26 Steve Arnold, Glen Teeter 27 Mandy German 28 Dusty Barber, Jim Puyear 29 Tyson Wiens, Greg

Garrison 30 Ellen Collingwood 31 David Black December Anniversaries: 10 Roger & Delomia Hurst 16 Chris & Dara Floyd 19 Larry & Charlene Walker 20 Greg & Sheryl Fiss 22 Mearl & Mona Morris 29 Kenneth & Lois Hudgens 31 Gary & Marla Floyd; Brad & Susan McKinney

The Church Office will be Closed

Friday, December 25 and

Friday, January 1

in observance of

Christmas and New Year’s Day

Capital Campaign: (including 2008-2009):

Received: Expensed: Needed:

$193,462.00 $114,172.00 $ 26,538.00

Daily Operations:

Income: Expenses: Behind:

$271,930.00 $295,104.00 ( $ 23,174.00)

FINANCIAL REPORT A S O F 1 2 - 1 5 - 0 9

Page 3

CHURCH FAMILY

PRAYER LIST

DECEMBER & JANUARY CELEBRATIONS

January Birthdays: 2 David Walker 3 Debbie Roth, Lewis Shore 4 Connie Moser 6 Emily Toews 7 Jacob Dickson 8 Ann Davis 9 Tye Barber 10 Scott Tucker 12 Barbara Morris, Marjorie Snell, Dakota Limon 13 Pat Crawford, Bernice Seyb, Bret Kendrick 15 Faydean Fiss, Cort Peterson 17 Delomia Hurst 18 Nick Shirk, John Dickson 19 Floyd Chenoweth 20 Beulah Edmisson, Moran Tomson, Jaxson Rios 21 Troy Adams, Spencer Walker 22 Jim Cartwright 23 Oreta McKinney 24 Leon Barton 25 Mary Guy 26 Katherine Julian, Carter Seyb 28 Shawn Peterson, Cheryl Adams 29 Coy Martin

30 Ronda Ford, Darbi Cook 31 Leaura Plummer, Peyton Peterson, Chris Sierra, Kraig Thompson January Anniversaries: 1 Tom & Dawn Tucker 2 O.W. & Nancy Josserand 16 Jim & Polly Cartwright

We would like to clarify for everyone the deadline for making tax deductible gifts for the 2009 tax year. Church office hours will be 8:00 a.m. till noon December 28-31. We will make a last bank deposit for 2009 on the afternoon of December 31. Please have your gifts to the church office no later than noon on Thursday, December 31. If

you miss this deadline, you may still make a 2009 gift by mailing it to the church, P.O. Box 179, before the Post Office closes on December 31. Any gifts postmarked after December 31 will have to be recorded as 2010 giving. Thank you for your faithful and generous giving. †

FROM THE FINANCE COMMITTEE:

meeting. We are blessed to have this outreach in

the community and are thankful that several

women of our church are dedicated to this out-

reach.

Thank you to everyone who supported our annual

Bazaar in November, again making it a successful

event. The money we raised will got for various

missions in our church, community, state and

around the world throughout the year.

†

UMW NEWS C H E R Y L A D A M S , P R E S I D E N T

Our monthly UMW meeting is scheduled for the

2nd Thursday of each month at 12:00 p.m. All

women of the church are invited to attend.

At our January meeting, we will enjoy lunch at the

Senior Center, followed by a short business meet-

ing. We will then travel to Manter for their 2:00

p.m. Prayer & Self Denial program. We can car-

pool if needed. We hope you will join us!

We enjoyed having some of the MOPS ladies

share their program with us at our December

Page 4 T H E U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T C H U R C H

The Preschool has thoroughly enjoyed November. We practiced being quiet for „Q‟, made and ate

gingerbread men for „G‟, and planted green grass for „G‟. We also had fun preparing lots of fun crafts for our

fall program, which was a big success!

December will bring lots of learning about Christmas, Jesus, and of course Santa. We are studying

brown, letters „S‟ and „J‟, and the star. Some of our favorite activities are puzzles, markers, cutting, and play

dough. We will bake and decorate cookies, have a gift exchange, and hopefully have a visit from Santa.

The last day of preschool will be Thursday, December 17. We will then resume on Tuesday, January

5, 2010. Happy Holidays to all of you!! †

PRESCHOOL NEWS B Y C H E R Y L B E R E N S , D I R E C T O R

DO YOU HAVE A RECIPE

TO SHARE IN THE

NEWSLETTER? Please

email it to: jumc@pld.com

or drop it in the mail to:

First UMC, Box 179,

Johnson, KS 67855

202 S. Nipp St.

P.O. Box 179

Johnson, KS 67855

F I R S T U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T C H U R C H

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

UMW

CENTENNIAL

COOKBOOKS are still

available to purchase!

$15.00 each; or $20.00 (if

mailed-includes postage.

Contact the church office,

620-492-6850. †

First UMC Staff: Pastor: Don Hasty

Associate Pastor: Will Kenyon

Secretary: Shari Wiens

Treasurer: Mandy Shirk

Custodian: Victoria Garcia

Music Coordinator: Vicky Neely

Nursery: Wendi Adams

Preschool Teacher: Cheryl Berens

Youth Coordinator: Will Kenyon

Community Developer: Jose` Olivas

WASSAIL

CAPPUCCINO MIX

1 c. powdered non-dairy creamer 1/2 c. white sugar 1 c. instant chocolate drink mix 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 3/4 c. instant coffee granules 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

In a medium sized glass jar, combine the non-dairy creamer, chocolate drink mix, instant coffee, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg; mix well.

To prepare, place 2 tablespoons mix in a mug, pour in 3/4 cup boiling water, and stir until dissolved. Serve hot. HOT SPINACH DIP

1 10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach 1/2 c. sour cream thawed & drained 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 c. red bell pepper, diced Salt & ground pepper to taste 1 Tb. Minced garlic 1/4 c. heavy cream 1 jar artichoke hearts, drained & mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together spinach, bell pepper, garlic, artichokes, sour cream , and parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Mixture will be thick, add cream to thin to dip consistency. Spoon into a 1 quart baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly. Serve with crackers.

REC IPE S FR OM TH E K IT CH EN

1 1/2 cups white sugar 1 1/2 cups orange juice 8 whole cloves 1 cup lemon juice 3 cups water 1 gallon apple juice 3 cinnamon sticks

In a saucepan, combine the sugar, cloves, water, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, and continue to boil for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and allow to cool for 1 hour.

Stir in the orange juice, lemon juice, and apple juice. Return to the heat, and boil for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove cloves and cinnamon sticks before serving.