INDIANA SOUTH INDIANA SOUTH WESLEYAN DECEMBER 2010 The Eckart Family & The Englands Wish You A Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year! A husband waits to find out what his Christmas bonus will be. A mother waits for her pie crust to turn golden brown. A child waits to unwrap the BIG present under the tree. Customers wait in lines. Drivers wait for parking spots. Students wait for winter break from school. People wait for a lot of things around Christmas, but what they wait for now is much different than what they waited for years ago. With great anticipation, Mary waited for the birth of her baby. There is no greater anticipation than that of a mother awaiting the moment when she will hold her newborn child for the first time. For nine months she dreamed of the time she would see the delicate face and tiny hands God has so wonderfully knit together in her womb. The anticipation Mary experi- enced as she carried the Christ Child must have been far greater than the an- ticipation any mother has ever experienced. Within her womb, the Son of God was growing and developing. What her Son would accomplish would far exceed all of her motherly dreams and desires, for the mark her Son would make on humanity would make way for the Salvation of countless lives. Yet, for nine months, all Mary could do was patiently wait for this miraculous birth. With confident expectation, Simeon waited for the Messiah. Not only did Simeon have faith in Old Testament prophecies, but he also had a special assurance of the coming Christ. The Gospel of Luke tells us the Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that the Messiah would come in his lifetime. Because of his confidence in the promise of the Holy Spirit and his belief in the prophecies of the Old Testament prophets, Simeon waited for the birth of Christ with great expectation. In his old age, Simeon was devout worshiper in the temple and had not given up the hope of seeing the promised Savior. Simeon lived his life in expectation of the coming Messiah. So great was that expectation that, after seeing the baby Jesus, his life had come to completion. With devout preparation, Anna waited for fulfillment of God’s mysterious promises. She must have wondered what the purpose of her life was. After a brief marriage, she was widowed, never to marry again. In Biblical times, this would have meant a loss of status and income, because both were dependent on her husband. Anna’s life could have been a time of deep sorrow and begrudging dependence. However, Anna committed her life to something greater. She did not have the assurance of the Holy Spirit as Simeon or the experience of giving birth to the Son of God as Mary did. Rather, Anna committed herself to worshiping, praying, and fasting in prep- aration for the unknown blessing God would bring. Day and night, she wor- Waiting for Christmas by Pastor Kelli Ward Youth Pastor – Evansville Forest Hills Continued on next page
4
Embed
INDIANA SOUTHINDIANASOUTH WESLEYANindianasouth.org/district_paper/1012_ISW.pdfINDIANA SOUTHINDIANASOUTH WESLEYAN ... A Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year! A husband waits to find out
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
I N D I A N A S O U T HI N D I A N A S O U T H
WESLEYANDECEMBER 2010
The Eckart Family
&
The Englands
Wish You
A Merry Christmas
& A Happy New
Year!
A husband waits to find out what his Christmas bonus will be. A motherwaits for her pie crust to turn golden brown. A child waits to unwrap the BIGpresent under the tree. Customers wait in lines. Drivers wait for parkingspots. Students wait for winter break from school. People wait for a lot ofthings around Christmas, but what they wait for now is much different thanwhat they waited for years ago.
With great anticipation, Mary waited for the birth of her baby.
There is no greater anticipation than that of a mother awaiting the momentwhen she will hold her newborn child for the first time. For nine months shedreamed of the time she would see the delicate face and tiny hands God hasso wonderfully knit together in her womb. The anticipation Mary experi-enced as she carried the Christ Child must have been far greater than the an-ticipation any mother has ever experienced. Within her womb, the Son ofGod was growing and developing. What her Son would accomplish would farexceed all of her motherly dreams and desires, for the mark her Son wouldmake on humanity would make way for the Salvation of countless lives. Yet,for nine months, all Mary could do was patiently wait for this miraculousbirth.
With confident expectation, Simeon waited for the Messiah. Notonly did Simeon have faith in Old Testament prophecies, but he also had aspecial assurance of the coming Christ. The Gospel of Luke tells us the HolySpirit had revealed to Simeon that the Messiah would come in his lifetime.Because of his confidence in the promise of the Holy Spirit and his belief inthe prophecies of the Old Testament prophets, Simeon waited for the birth ofChrist with great expectation. In his old age, Simeon was devout worshiperin the temple and had not given up the hope of seeing the promised Savior.Simeon lived his life in expectation of the coming Messiah. So great was thatexpectation that, after seeing the baby Jesus, his life had come to completion.
With devout preparation, Anna waited for fulfillment of God’s
mysterious promises. She must have wondered what the purpose of herlife was. After a brief marriage, she was widowed, never to marry again. InBiblical times, this would have meant a loss of status and income, becauseboth were dependent on her husband. Anna’s life could have been a time ofdeep sorrow and begrudging dependence. However, Anna committed her lifeto something greater. She did not have the assurance of the Holy Spirit asSimeon or the experience of giving birth to the Son of God as Mary did.Rather, Anna committed herself to worshiping, praying, and fasting in prep-aration for the unknown blessing God would bring. Day and night, she wor-
Waiting for Christmasby Pastor Kelli Ward
Youth Pastor – Evansville Forest Hills
Continued on next page
Page 2 / December 2010 INDIANA SOUTH WESLEYAN
INDIANA SOUTH WESLEYAN(USPS 334-970)
December 2010Vol. 37 No. 12
Executive Editor Dr. Mark Eckart
Office Editor Cindy Caniff
Periodical postage paid at Orleans, IN 47452and additional mailing offices.
Publication Office: P.O. Box 174,Orleans, IN 47452
Published monthly by the Indiana SouthDistrict of The Wesleyan Church.
Postmaster send address changes to:INDIANA SOUTH WESLEYAN
PO BOX 174ORLEANS, IN 47452
SUPERINTENDENT’S SCHEDULE
December 2010
3 Pastor’s Annual ChristmasDinner
5 A.M. Blue RiverP.M. Grace Pointe
12 A.M. Terre Haute NorthsideP.M. Terre Haute Hulman St.
25 Merry Christmas!
26 A.M. Faith Pointe
January 2011
1 Happy New Year!
3-7 The Gathering –Jacksonville, FL
16 A.M. Evansville North ParkP.M. Potter’s Shop
23 A.M. MeccaP.M. Prairie Creek
30 A.M. LawrenceburgP.M. Madison
shiped in the temple. Rather than turning from God because of her painand loss, she committed to worshiping Him, preparing herself spiritually,and waiting for His unforeseen blessings.
The Advent season is a time set apart when Christians follow these ex-amples of anticipation. During this time, we reflect on the blessings wehave been given and thank God for the Salvation He has provided. Weprepare for the growth that God means to continue in our lives. It is a timeof expectant waiting while we eagerly seek God’s presence in our hearts,lives, and world. As we spend time preparing for Christmas dinner withour families and dreaming about presents under the tree, let us not forgetto await the celebration of Christ’s birth with anticipation, expectation,and preparation.
Missionaries to SupportFred and Carol Cromer haveworked in Zambia since 1991 in theo-logical education and literacy. Afterministering in Zambia for 18 years,Global Partners has appointed them tomissionary service in South Africa tocontinue in the work of theological ed-ucation in the African WesleyanChurch and to assist in training tutorsin literacy.
God called Fred to missions while hewas in college at Bartlesville. Fred and Carol pastored an inner-citychurch in Kansas City for ten years prior to leaving for Zambia.
Fred and Carol’s goal is to develop Spirit-filled leaders in the AfricanChurch who can lead their people into spiritual maturity.
If you wish to help support them, you can send your money to
Global Partners, P.O. Box 50434, Indianapolis, IN 46250-0434,
Fund # WM04-0172.
If you would like to contact the Cromers, their mailing address isP.O. Box 88, Manzini, Swaziland ortheir email is [email protected].
INDIANA SOUTH WEBSITECheck out our updated website at www.indianasouth.org. There
are some new pictures and a new look to the site. Jon Plank does profes-sional websites such as the Collingsworth family website, and I had him togive ours a new touch as well.
PRAISE THE LORD – HOPE FOR HAITIBy now you have received your cou-
pons to pass out in your church for
Hope for Haiti. We are trusting God to
help us with this project. We have re-
ceived over $800.00 toward this pro-
ject! Here is a note from one of our
churches: Just wanted to share the
good news! We took an offering for
Haiti this morning and raised almost
$600!! Praise the Lord!! –Pastor Aaron, Blue River
MINISTERIAL
CONVENTION 2011
March 7-8, 2011
St. Paul UMC Bloomington, IN
Guest SpeakerDr. H.B. London
UPCOMING SATURDAY
CLASS
February 5 & 19, 2011
Pastoral Counseling
Professor – Dr. Mark Eckart
At Paoli Wesleyan Church
INDIANA SOUTH WESLEYAN December 2010 / Page 3
FAMILY FUN FEST AT GRACE FELLOWSHIP (PRINCETON)
Here are a few photos taken during an outreach project called the Family
Fun Fest. Our best estimate is that about 200 people came out for the event.
We provided free food, prizes, a cake walk, Jesus videos, inflatables for the
kids, and a live band. Only God knows how many seeds were sown that day.
– Pastor Tony Friedman
Here is a picture of Pastor Skip Breeden along with his family and some of
his church family. They dressed up in “pilgrim attire” to celebrate
Thanksgiving. The Medora church rented the community building and many
people from the church and the community as well enjoyed a delicious meal.
Here is a picture of some of the people I had lunch with recently at our
Spencer church. Rev. & Mrs. Jim Knight have pastored there for a few
years now. During that time God has helped them to pay off right at
$50,000.00 in debt. The church owed this debt when they took the church.
They are also current with their U.S.F. payment this year. We praise God for
how HE has helped them with this challenge.
CHRISTMAS FUNNYFrom Swindoll’s Ultimate Book
of Illustration & Quotes
A lady had a circle of friends for whom
she really wanted to buy Christmas pres-
ents. Time slipped away and it was so busy
at work for her she just wasn’t able to get to
the store to purchase those gifts. Time was
running out. So not too many days before
Christmas she decided to give up on the
gift idea and just buy everybody the same
beautiful Christmas card. She went to the
local gift store and hurriedly went through
the now picked over stack of cards and
found a box of fifty, just exactly what she
wanted. She didn’t take time to read the
message, she just noticed a beautiful cover
on it and there was gold around it and a flo-
ral appearance on the front of the card and
she thought, “That’s perfect.” So she
signed all of them, “With all my love.”
As New Year’s came and she had time
to go back to two or three she didn’t send
from that stack, she was shocked to read
the message inside. It said, in a little
rhyme, “This Christmas card is just to say,
a little gift is on its way.”
CONDOLENCEOur thoughts and prayers go out to Rev.
Bence Mil ler and family on the
homegoing of his wife, Cordelia Miller.
Rev. Miller pastors the Columbus Central
Wesleyan Church.
CONGRATULATIONSTo Pastor Wayne & Kelli Ward on the