Small Groups Worship

Nov. 2 422 8:30 - 288 11:00 - 200

Café - 86

Nov. 9 369 8:30 - 303 11:00 - 190

Café - 66

Nov. 16 407 8:30 - 258 11:00 - 240

Café - 75

Nov. 23 8:30 - 11:00 -

Café -

Nov. 30 8:30 - 11:00 -

Café -

WOODBURN BAPTIST CHURCH

PO BOX 38

WOODBURN KY 42170

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

NON-PROFIT ORG

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

BOWLING GREEN KY

PERMIT NO. 9

WORSHIP SCHEDULE

Sunday, December 7 [ADVENT 2] w/Communion Sunday, December 21 [ADVENT 4] w/Family Meeting

A.M. Spreading the Gospel (Acts 16.6-15, 40) A.M. God’s Dream for Y our Family (Matthew 1.18-25)

P.M. Mission Speakers, Frank & Carole Jarboe P.M. The Devil Takes No Holiday (Matthew 2.1-20)

Sunday, December 14 [ADVENT 3] Wednesday, December 24 [CHRISTMAS EVE]

A.M. Going and Sending (Romans 10.9-15) 11:15 P.M. Blue Christmas (Luke 2.8-20)

P.M. Choir Christmas Concert Sunday, December 28

(w/Gift to Jesus for the World offering) A.M. Shine Y our Light (Matthew 5.14-16)

P.M. Whom Shall I Fear? (Psalm 27)

CHURCH STAFF

Church Office: 270-529-5221

Office Hours: 8 am - 4 pm, Monday thru Friday

Pastor: Dr. Tim Harris . . . TimHarr is@woodburnbaptist.org . . .cell 270-996-7735

Minister of Education & Administration: Warren Weeks . . . . . home 270-529-3028

E-mail: WarrenWeeks@woodburnbaptist.org

Youth & Young Adults Pastor: Matt Betts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cell 270-202-1244

Email: MattBetts@woodburnbaptist.org

Worship Pastor: Rod Ellis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cell 502-229-0114

Email: RodEllis@woodburnbaptist.org

Director of Children’s Ministries: Nichole Buckman . . . . . . . . . cell 270-405-6165

Email: NicholeBuckman@woodburnbaptist.org

Custodian: Judy Chaffin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . home 270-529-2031

The Steeple

_________________________________________________________________

Gift to Jesus for the World

Missions Offering

Collection on December 14

30% to International Missions

20% to North American Missions

15% to Kentucky Missions

15% to Good Shepherd’s Children’s Home

15% to Indonesia Partnership

5% to Church Planting Network

Woodburn Baptist Church

Christmas Musical

December 13 & 14

6:00 pm

Jesus came for the world. He came for

us. And he came for the rest of the world

too.

Experience Christmas through music, tes-

timonies, and videos.

Sisters and Brothers,

Old Ernest lived alone, deep in the mountains in East Ken-

tucky. When he died, they tracked down his only relatives,

who drove out from the city to collect his valuables. When

they finally got out there, all they saw was an old shack with

an outhouse beside it. The relatives from the city could hard-

ly believe it. Apparently, Ernest slept on a dilapidated cot

with a faded army blanket. He had nothing much of value

from what they could see. A row of jelly jars with nails and

screws, pouches of tobacco, a few pipes, a radio. They picked

up some of the old relics and started to leave. On the way to

the car the woman said to her husband, “Well, Uncle Ernest

turned out to be hardly worth the trip.”

That’s how a lot of people experience Christmas. They push

through the chaos and commercialism, see the humble baby in

the manger, and wonder if he was even worth the trouble. We

take one look at Jesus and move on to other things, the stuff

Santa brings in his pack, the kinds of things on sale down at

Kohl’s. We ourselves may whine about how commercial

Christmas has gotten, but we can be just as quick as every-

body else to trade the trip to the manger for a sit on Santa

Claus’s knee. Too quick.

But not so fast. There’s still time to make this year different.

Slow down. Come to the manger. Linger. Have you been to

the manger before? I mean—in your heart—have you ever

really drawn near to worship the Christ Child?

I remember my first true Christmas experience. It happened

when I was a kid in our church’s annual Christmas program. I

was a shepherd, dressed in an old dusty feed sack from my

daddy’s barn. I did my best, nervous before the crowd. The

angels appeared in the spotlight and told us shepherds to make

haste to the manger. I remember making haste. I remember

falling down on my face like I was told to do, pressing my

nose to the floor. I remember the dusty smell of the burlap,

and I remember worshiping—that part wasn’t an act. It be-

came real to me, Jesus’ coming, his presence, his birth for me.

And I worshiped him. I pressed my face low as I could,

stayed there, quiet, with Jesus.

I was a kid in flip-flops, a towel on my head. It was a third-

rate amateur show, ignored by the world and forgotten by the

rest. Did it matter? Did it matter that I worshiped Jesus, that

I laid on my face and breathed his name and said I loved him?

It mattered very much. Maybe for that moment, it was all that

mattered in the whole world. Here’s my point: Worshiping

Jesus is all that matters, and when it comes to Christmas, wor-

ship is the only thing that can make the celebration true.

Old Ernest’s relatives from the city could hardly believe it.

A row of jelly jars with nails and screws, pouches of tobac-

co. Nothing of value that they could see. As they were

getting in the car, a man came up the drive on a riding

lawn mower with a wagon. He was an old neighbor, a

friend of Ernest. “You folks was kin to Ernest? Looks like

you all have taken all you want of his belongings. Mind if

I help myself to what’s left?” They told him to go right

ahead. The old man walked right in to the cabin over to

the table, stomped his foot on one of the floor boards, and

a board popped up. He knelt down, reached under the

floor, and lifted out 9 large coffee cans. The cans were

full of money—wads of bills bundled with string from

over the last 53 years. It was a small fortune. The old

neighbor loaded the cans into his wagon, and just before

driving off, he turned back to the relatives from the city

and said, “You folks should have known Ernie better.”

This Christmas there is a treasure waiting for you. The

Child in the manger has much to give you, things of great

worth. You must learn to know him better, well enough to

kneel before him, to breathe his name, to worship him.

Nothing else matters.

Merry Christmas.

Tim

Remember Our Shut-Ins

Regus Hopkins Lena Van Meter

Tressie Vice Dorothy Davidson

Dewey & Mabel Pharris Langdon Dyer

Ruth Evans Juanita Tabor

December Homebound Visitation Schedule

1st week - Margaret Ann Adams

2nd week - Joy Bush

3rd week - Don Harris

4th week - Brenda Maxwell

Hopkins Nursing Home Ministry

Dec. 7 10 am - Blue Team Floyd’s SS Class

Dec. 21 10 am - Red Team Spkr. Dennis Smith

I have a lot of friends who don’t go to church. You

probably do too. A pretty big church of my extended

family believes there’s a God, but they have a pretty

low view of the Bride of Christ.

In some ways, it’s easy for me to see their point. And in

other ways, I’m completely baffled by this. Few things

are as amazing as the church when she is caring for her

members or expresses compassion for the poor.

But nearly all of my anti-church friends would say they

think the church is against them. And to be fair, we’ve

too often communicated very clearly how “against

things” we are.

And then I think of Jesus.

In one of those verses tucked away in the shadows ---

probably because it comes right after a verse that is of-

ten spotlighted --- we have amazing words of Jesus:

“God did not send his Son into the world to condemn

the world, but to save the world through him.” (John

3:17)

Jesus didn’t come to be against the world, --- He came

for the world.

And that’s the heart of the original Christmas musical

we have created for our church and community this

year: FOR THE WORLD: A Global Christmas.

We’re going to hear how the church is, with Jesus, for

the world.. We are FOR those in our families, our cit-

ies, and our nations. Jesus came for the whole world.

What does that sound like? Well, you’ll hear music

inspired by Ireland, Southeast Asian, West Africa, Cen-

tral America, and -- of course -- here at home.

What does that look like? You’ll see videos from the

International Mission Board talking about the work our

convention is doing in some of those regions.

What does that mean? You’ll also hear from our own

church folds who have been in those places, taking the

great and glorious news of Jesus (who is for the world,

remember) to people around the world.

Where did this all come from? Simple, really. My first

Christmas at Woodburn was just last year. As I experi-

enced our “Gift to Jesus for the World” intermingling with

the season of Advent, I wanted to find a way to strengthen

that connection in our minds, our hearts, and yes --- our

ears and eyes. And so over the last 11 months, I have been

talking with dozens of people in our church and around the

world, exploring how to bring you most deeply into this

experience.

That’s why I can hardly wait for you to bring your friends

to encounter Jesus through our Christmas musical this

year: FOR THE WORLD: A Global Christmas, Decem-

ber 13 and 14 at 6:00 pm.

Grace and Peace,

Rod

_______________________________________________

Franklin Community Church is seeking a part-time church

administrative assistant. $12-$13 per hour. 20 hours per

week.

Evidence of a mature and growing faith in Jesus Christ, a

life of integrity, and a positive, caring attitude to customer

service are crucial. High school diploma required; addi-

tional education or certification is preferred. Three to five

years of office administrative experience, strong organiza-

tional skills and attention to detail, current computer soft-

ware skills and grammatical writing skills are re-

quired. Previous church experience is preferred. Resumes

will be accepted until December 31, 2014.

Send cover letter, resume, and professional references to:

Church Administrative Assistant Position

P O Box 571

Franklin KY 42135 -0571

A complete job description will be made available to those

selected for interviews.

What’s NEWS with our Youth & Young Adults?

I have had a massive response from teens, leaders, and

parents about recent youth messages. One, in particular,

that really struck a chord was the one on anxiety and

stress among teens. It was pretty amazing and sobering

to see and hear about our teens and how inundated with

stress and anxiety they are.

The top five stressors in the lives of teens are: school

work, parents, romantic relationships, friends’ problems,

and younger siblings. Students are faced with more

stressful situations than ever before. It is our job as par-

ents, leaders, and adults to help teens with their stress

level. We must provide the support, prayer, and guid-

ance to help them deal with stress before stress deals

with them.

Here are a few ways to help your teenager with the anxi-

ety of the teenage years:

Set a limit on your teen’s activities. Too many ac-

tivities is one of the main causes of stress. Teens are

busier than ever before and this causes unneeded

stress in their lives. Good activities are still activi-

ties.

Help your teen be realistic. AP classes, sports, pro-

jects, etc. Help your teen develop realistic expecta-

tions for himself. Your teen is not Superman. He/

she can’t do it all.

Work with your teen on basic problem-solving

skills.

Help your teen take time for fun and relaxation.

Plan family activities that encourage both together-

ness and fun.

Monitor your teen’s sleep habits.

Model Philippians 4:6-7.

Help your teens get their stress under control and you’ll

help them live out the abundant and full life God wants

for them.

Matt Betts

*If you would like to be put on the weekly parent

email list, let me know at:

mattbetts@woodburnbaptist.org or 270-202-1244.

______________________________________________

Youth:

Wednesday, December 17

Teen Christmas Party

6:00 p.m.

Parents, plan to attend with your teenagers.

Catered meal / games / fun

Wednesday, January 28

Fuge Camp Deposit Due

$60 non-refundable

Dates for camp are June 13-17

Space is limited!

DNOW Dates: March 13-15, 2015

************************************** College/Young Adult:

January 2-4, 2015 --- Passion Conference

There are a few spots left!

Email me at mattbetts@woodburnbaptist.org

________________________________________________

CHRISTMAS EVE

SERVICE

11:15 PM

What Have I Learned

in Trying to Lose Weight?

My recent trip to the doctor showed my cholesterol was

just over the limit for what is considered high. So, I decid-

ed the best course of action was to lose 20 pounds which I

hope will lower my cholesterol and help me avoid other

issues down the road. Losing weight certainly sounds easy.

Surprise! It isn’t. It is a struggle to avoid eating too much

and eating the wrong things. The weight does not come off

as easily at 53 as it did when I was younger.

I have learned some things about losing weight these past

few weeks and also discovered some things about myself

and discipleship. I have tried to apply some of these les-

sons to my life. Like losing weight, discipleship is a com-

mitment. Discipleship is not over in a week or in a week-

end retreat. It is a journey where you are always learning

something new. We never finish being disciple . . .it is a

lifelong pursuit. Controlling my weight will be a lifelong

journey as well. There is always a cookie, a piece of cake,

or a piece of candy around the corner to tempt me to leave

the diet behind and give in to what I want. Discipleship is

the same. Temptations will come but they must be avoided

to stay on the path to growing closer to the Lord. Whenever

we conquer one temptation, another new one is discovered.

Learning to avoid temptation and seeking the Lord as our

goal helps us to focus on what is better for us and our fu-

ture. Losing a few pounds has been an encouragement to

lose more as I see some progress. Growing in certain areas

of our spiritual life encourages us to keep going . . .an an-

swered prayer, hearing God speak to us through our Bible

reading, or being obedient when the Spirit prompts us to do

something are all demonstrations that our efforts in disci-

pleship are helping us be like Christ.

There is joy in the journey of losing weight and in disciple-

ship. I am thankful to have discovered some in both of

these pursuits in my life this past month. Is that pumpkin

pie on the horizon?

Serving Together,

Warren Weeks

_______________________________________________

The Senior Adults will be having their

Christmas gathering on December 12th. The

group will be leaving the church parking lot

at 11:15 a.m. to travel to 5 Chefs in Portland,

TN for lunch and fellowship. All seniors

will need to bring a wrapped gift of sweets . .

no more than $5.00 worth (i.e. cookies, a

cake, a pie, or a box of candy . . . . . home-

made or bought, either way is perfectly fine!

to

another item on your checklist. I promise the payoff is far

greater than for some things we trade in our time.

In His Love,

Nichole

_____________________________________________

__________________________________________________

Things in my life seem to be drastically changing these days

– my son is rapidly growing before my eyes, Matt and I are

expecting our little girl’s arrival this month, we’ve started

awesome new small groups for preschool and kids, and

there’s already been snow outside before Dec. 1st got here!

With all of these changes occurring so quickly, I will admit

my relationship with God is what suffers most sometimes,

and when my relationship with Him is off balance everything

else seems to be also. Am I the only one who experiences

that?

One of my biggest concerns is that James, and one day . . our

daughter, will be able to decide on their own where they

stand with God. I know how much peace and wisdom come

when I spend time with God, and I desperately want them to

be able to experience those same fulfilling blessings of a

relationship with Him – on their own, by their own choice. It

seems like such a long time from now when that could hap-

pen, but really it’s not. They won’t get there on their own

either, and that’s where I have to make it a priority and help

demonstrate the fulfillment that can only come from time

with Jesus.

Thankfully, the curriculum that our small groups use on Sun-

day mornings provide us parents with resources. Even

though I’m on staff I’m still fairly new at being a parent,

which means even I could use some helpful tools when it

comes to shepherding my herd. Your child’s small group

leader has these resources every week to help you and your

child build your own relationship with each other and with

God. I’ve started using these with James at home – he still

gives me the same answer when I ask him what he learned

about that day at church (by the way his answer is always

“Jesus.”) When we go over his Bible verse or do one of the

activities though it gives us an opportunity to talk a little. It

lets me see who God is making him to be and how he views

the world he lives in. This time allows us to have fun.

Here’s a snap shot sample of the resources we have. Take a

look, ask one of our leaders, or ask me about them. I know

Christmas can be a very busy time for all of us, but consider

making this spiritual step more as an investment rather than

Prayers & Sympathies to . . . . To the Family of Danny Morgan.

To the Family of John Rimmel.

To the Family of Shelby Jean Coleman.

Pam Mayes, on the death of her aunt, Gertha Holcomb.

For preschool we have a Parent Cue for babies & toddlers as

well as 2 – 5 yrs. old:

For grades 1 – 6 we have a Parent Cue and a four-day stu-

dent devotional called God Time:

Here’s a snapshot of what our preschoolers &

elementary kids will be learning in the month of

December:

More about . . .

Memory Verse

1 Timothy 6:18

Kid’s

Party

on

Dec. 10

@

6 p.m.

Preschool Party on

Dec. 17 @ 6 p.m.

____________________________________________

Wednesday Night JAM City Jr. & JAM City

Many of you know Matt and I are expecting the arri-

val of our baby girl this month. I will take some time

off after her arrival to adjust and get our family situat-

ed. While I am gone, we have incredible leaders who

have volunteered to step up, answer questions, and be

the contact person(s) for the different areas of Pre-

school & Children's Ministries. I have full confidence

in these leaders and am grateful for each of them help-

ing out during my leave.

If you have questions feel free to contact them and

they will help provide you with answers:

Nursery & Preschool Welcome Center

Tasha Tinsley (270) 792-9473

Sunday Morning Preschool Small Groups

Allison Mefford (270) 799-4533

Sunday Morning Elementary Small Groups

Cindy Snazelle (270) 791-4162

Wednesday Night Preschool Small Groups

Kelly Hartsock (270) 792-5886

OR

Nickie Lanham (270) 320-2892

Again, these are incredible volunteer leaders who love

your kids as much as I do. They are skilled at working

within the ministries they are involved along with all

of our volunteer leaders in Preschool & Children's

Ministries, and I will be greatly looking forward to

when I can return to serving alongside them all. Please

continue to pray for all of our leaders during this time

as they minister and serve.

from

Nichole