The Christian Messenger

Fifth Avenue Church of Christ

115 W. Fifth Ave. Lancaster, OH 43130 740-654-0626

December 19, 2011

OUR PURPOSE WE EXIST TO
Exalt Gods Greatness; Evangelize Gods Work Equip Gods People Express Gods Love through Jesus Christ

Christmas Eve Service

Saturday, December 24th at 7:00 p.m.

OUR MISSION

Christmas Worship
Sunday, December 25th at 10:00 a.m.
(one combined family worship service)

To Love God and Love People! Brad Seevers

Senior Minister (740-550-9882)

David Tingler
Associate Minister

Nursery, Hosanna, and Sunday School will be suspended so the entire family can worship together

Glen Shady
Youth Minister (740-438-5257)

SPIRITUAL STATISTICS December 18, 2011

BITS FROM BRO. DAVE

KEENAGERS EVENTS: Our next event is coming in January. Watch for announcements. WEDNESDAYS: Our 10:00 AM and 6:30 PM study groups will be meeting on December 21 but we will dismiss for December 28. This weeks focus is chapter 12. On January 4, we will complete the current study of II Corinthians. SUNDAY EVENINGS IN THE SANCTUARY: I have decided to continue the Hard Sayings of Jesus series through the month of January. We will not be meeting on December 25. However, we will resume on January 1 with a look at Luke 22:36 and The Case for Conceal-Carry. On January 8, we will examine Physical Mutilation for the Sake of the Kingdom based on sayings of Jesus found in Matthew 5:29 and 19:12. GIANT PRINT BIBLES: Once again, I have on hand, a supply of GIANT PRINT Bibles. They are soft cover in the new International Version and will sell for $12.50. You may purchase one by contacting me or stopping by the church office. If you want to pay by check, make the check payable to me. FINAL THOUGHT: You can patch a pair of pants or a shirt or a reputation, but its pretty hard to keep the patch from showing.

Sunday School 1st Morning Worship 2nd Morning Worship Total Morning Worship Evening Worship Family Reunion (12/14) Weekly Budget Budget Received Christmas Food Pantry Poinsettias Book Nook

77 102 83 185 38 46 $ 4,471.00 $ 5,524.00 $ 160.00 $ 20.00 $ 205.00 $ 8.50

SERVING SCHEDULE December 25, 2011 (combined family worship at 10:00 am)
At the Table Serving Pastor of the week Fred Griffith and Tom Puckett Larry King, Dale Thornton, Ned Tomlinson, Rod Troutman Fred Griffith

COMMUNION PREPARATION Dan and Janet Brown GREETERS Jim and Bev Puckett VISITOR CENTER Cindy Cox SECURITY George Lambert

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year! From the Church Staff Brad Seevers Dave Tingler Glen Shady Debbi Hoagland Dale Thornton

Special C hristmas O ffering

The C hristmas offering will be sent to C incinnati C hristian U niversity to be used in their Beyond the W alls campaign for campus renovations of current buildings, construction of a L eadership C enter, funding of new preaching scholarships, and additional funding to existing scholarships.

New address
Juanita Harmon 963 Prestige Blvd. Apt. 218 Lancaster, OH 43130 End of the Year Party
December 30, 2011 6:00pm - 11:30pm This event is for any student in 6th-12th grade and will basically be a half night lockin. A meal will be served. A few dollars per person is appreciated. If you would like to help or have any questions, please contact Glen Shady.

Thank you
Thanks to everyone who attended my 90th birthday party. It was a very enjoyable day and friends were there whom I have not seen in many years. A special thanks also for the many cards and gifts. ~ Dorothy Herman Many thanks to Brad Seevers, Lowell Trimmer, Joe Hoagland, Scott Brown, Tom Puckett, Fred Griffith, Earl Chambers, and Joe Haley for moving me on up. What a great job you all did! You are so much appreciated. I am blessed to be a member of the 5th Avenue Church of Christ family. May God Bless each of you! Visitors welcome! ~ Juanita Harmon

Winter Wonderland Party

January 13, 2012 5:30pm - 9:00pm For elementary students (PreK - 5th Grade). Wear a wintery sweater, tie, hat, or pj's to this exciting evening. We will be playing games, doing crafts, and learning lessons that all have to do with this frigid time of year. A meal will be served. If you would like to help or have any questions, please contact Glen Shady.

Something new for 2012 Beginning January 1st, we will no longer produce a bulletin and a newsletter separately. Rather than being redundant, this will allow us to be better stewards of the financial resources that God entrusts to us at Fifth Avenue. We will combine the two and distribute them on Sunday mornings for all to enjoy. This means there will be no newsletter distributed on Mondays. This newsletter/bulletin will be made available on Friday on our webpage and Sunday mornings as our hard copy.

Apologetics Class
Glen Shady will be teaching a series on apologetics starting January 1, 2012. This is an adult class that will meet in room 214. 1 Peter 3:15 says, "Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you." (ESV, italics added) The Greek word for defense here is apologia and that is the general scope of this class. We will look at scripture, philosophy, and science to see how we can defend our faith to others in a way that can constructively bring them closer to God.

Winter Address for Nancy Speakman: Labelle Woods RV Resort 620 Main Street Labelle, FL 33935

SERVING SCHEDULE January 1, 2012

At the Table 1st Larry Bussey and Dick Shumaker Larry King, Ray Ayers, Jerry Baker, Serving 1st Richard Boyer Tom Puckett and Ned Tomlinson At the Table 2nd Larry King, Mike Bussey, Serving 2nd Josh Czich, Nick Hinson Larry Bussey Pastor of the week Larry King PM Deacon COMMUNION PREPARATION 1ST Worship Ray and Margie Ayers 2nd Worship Norma Holtom GREETERS 1ST Worship 2nd Worship NURSERY Sunday School 2nd Worship

Core Values...
Values central to the life, mission and vision of Fifth Avenue Church of Christ are:

Christ-Centered Worship
We make it a priority every Sunday to celebrate Jesus through our music. (Romans 11:36-12:1-2). We focus on Jesus through grace-based preaching and teaching & understand the Bible is our authority (2 Timothy 3:16).

Church Health and Biblical Balance

Church health becomes reality when God's people seek harmony & live consistently. We expect every member to protect the unity of Christ's Church. (Romans 12:16; 1 Peter 3:8)

Ruth Andrews and Jeanne Noble George and Alberta Ellis

Global Evangelism
Margie Ayers and Hannah Ross Samantha Hendricks and Jean Azbell Carolyn May

We are constant to our founding call to worldwide evangelism, proclaiming to all that Jesus Christ is the Savior, Healer, and Soon-Coming King (Acts 20:27).

Sunday School Helper Visitor Center 1 Worship Visitor Center 2nd Worship SECURITY 1ST Worship Bible School 2nd Worship Evening Worship
st

Fellowship and Ministry

Sue Tingler Marie Huffman

Paul Alexander Carmel Marsh George Lambert Jim Puckett

After people begin their journey with Jesus, we will equip them to find a ministry based upon their strengths. We want everyone to serve in some capacity. (1 Corinthians 12:12-27) We also want His church to be the living evidence of His love and power to the world.

Discipleship
We do not want you to "get religion" here at Fifth Avenue Church of Christ in Lancaster. We are all about teaching you that Jesus seeks a daily relationship with Him through a life of obedience. In other words, we want to see the things you are taught actually change your lifestyle & your daily decisions.

OFFERING ENVELOPES AND CALENDARS FOR 2012 Offering envelopes and calendars for 2012 are available in the parlor. If you do not currently receive offering envelopes and would like to, please contact Marg Shumaker or the church office.

Social Conscience
We place high value on the sanctity of human life, of Biblical marriage and morality, and we welcome ethnic diversity (Isaiah 56:7; Philippians 2:15-16).

Prayer Requests

Pam Dykes Luriene Hoyt Liz Reed Sharon Britch Ron Young Anne Watson Ron Ogden David Grimm Jan Foss Debbie Wright Family of Suzanne Hart

Jeane Goldfarb Dorothy Henderly Dorothy Herman Bruno Dipietrio Becky Wileys Family Ed and Norma George

Mark Conrad Wanda Dickson Donnie James Reta Conrad Our Troops Mary Marsh

A Note from Brad

Merry Christmas everyone! Allow me to say thanks for those who serve here; every Staff person, every leader, every teacher, every nursery worker, every greeter, musicians and singers, the list is too numerous to continue. Every Sunday people give of themselves to accomplish so much. Many things are done behind the scenes that most of you would never know about. Keep up the good work. I also want to say thank you for everyone who has been generous to my family during this Christmas season. Your thoughtfulness is greatly appreciated. It is truly a joy to serve this church. Special note: Our Christmas Eve service will start at 7:00 PM. It is going to be a wonderful opportunity for the whole family to prepare their minds for Christmas day as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We have some very special musicians, Eli & Sam Maffit who will share instrumentally with us. We also have something special planned for our children of the church. I want to encourage our preschool and elementary parents to join us as Glen will call your children to the stage for a reading of The Crippled Lamb. You will be glad you attended. On Christmas morning, please note we have intentionally planned so you could spend time early in the day with your family. We do hope you will plan to also spend time with your spiritual family as we worship together in one service @ 10:00 AM. We are calling this, An Old-Fashioned Christmas Day. As we sing familiar carols and read the Christmas story together, we will truly honor the Christ child. There will be no Power Point, and there will be no frills. We simply want to keep things simple and honor Jesus. Life Groups begin the week of January 15-21. You will have three options to consider as you continue to grow in your faith and seek to become a totally devoted follower of Christ. They are: Sunday Night @ 6:00 PM - Forgotten God We will discover the role of the Holy Spirit in your life and hopefully assist you in recognizing His daily presence to get you through the day to day challenges. We will meet at Tim & Marie Huffmans. This group will be led by Brad. Monday Night @ 7:00 PM - Joy in Christ: A study of the book of Philippians This group will do a chapter by chapter study of this book of the Bible. Scott Brown will facilitate the group and the study will be held at Larry & Phyllis Busseys . Tuesday Night @ 6:30 PM. - Mens fraternity. Our first study is entitled: What Men Need to Hear. More to come later. In His Service, Brad Eph. 3:20-21

Children of God...
"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." -Proverbs 22:6 ABC Memory Verses
This week the children's and youth ministries will be making a strong focus on memory work. The main foundation of this effort will be our ABC verses. Whether you are a parent, worker, or just interested congregant, it would be a great support to the kids and teens for you to take on the challenge of memorizing these verses.
A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. L. M. N. O. P. Q. R. S. T. U. V. W. X. Y. Z. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved (Acts 16:31) Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right (Ephesians 6:1) Depart from evil, and do good (Psalm 34:14) Even a child is known by his actions (Proverbs 20:11) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23) God is love (I John 4:8) How awesome is the LORD Most High (Psalm 47:2) I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies (John 11:25) Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me(John 14:6) Keep your tongue from evil (Psalm 34:13) Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30) My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge (2 Samuel 22:3) No one can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24) O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever (Psalm 118:1) Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God (Psalm 147:1) Quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools (Ecclesiastes 9:17) Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38) Seek the Lord while He may be found (Isaiah 55:6) Take my yoke upon you and learn from me (Matthew 11:29) Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. (Psalm 127:1) Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name (John 16:23) When I am afraid, I will trust in You (Psalm 56:3) Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5) You are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14) Zion heard, and was glad (Psalm 97:8)