Schedule of Worship: Saturday 5:00 p.m. Sunday 9:00 a.m. Sunday School 10:30 a.m. Holy Communion Every Service Contact Us: Email stpeterlch@sbcglobal.net Website www.stpeterhallettsville.org Church Office 361-798-2808 Pastor Andy Taylor 361-772-6363

january 2015 newsletter

Congratulations

Tracy and Brad Leopold on the birth of their son Adam Joseph December 19. Stevon and Melinda Poeling on the birth of their daughter Finley Rowyn Poeling on December 23. John Jr.and Malissa Mieth on the birth of their daughter Brentley Ann Mieth on December 17.

Women’s discussion Group Beginning January 8th. We currently have 17 ladies signed up from our church and other local churches. If you are interested in joining us, we will meet every Thursday beginning January 8th with an option of 12:30 pm or 6:00 pm.

2015 Coffee and Conversation 1st Sunday of each month starting in February February is hosted by Women in Mission March is hosted by the Men in Mission April is hosted by Stewardship May in hosted by Add Value June is hosted by Learning July is hosted by Property August is hosted by Outreach September is hosted by Worship October is hosted by Women in Mission November is hosted by Men in Mission December is hosted by Stewardship

Readings for January January 4th – 1 Kings 3:4-15, Ephesians 1:3-14, Luke 2:40-52 January 11th – Genesis 1:1-5, Romans 6:1-11, Mark 1:4-11 January 18th – 1 Samuel 3:1-10, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, John 1:43-51 January 25th – Jonah 3:1-5, 10, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, Mark 1:14-20

Personal Care Kits Item of the Month

January – Dark lightweight towel (52x27) February – Soap (4-5 oz.)

Our Prayer List: Please send your prayer requests to be included in the Sunday Bulletin to Kellee Evans in the Church office 798-2808 or email stpeterlch@sbcglobal.net Concern for: Lelia Hemmi Gertrude Burrow Ernest Cooper Dorothy Lorfing Sue Thompson Dick Lee Oscar Harper Eunice Lorfing Evelyn Lishinski Raymond Russ Jason Ward Joshua Thompson Samatha Pohl Clorissa Hartensteiner Melody Wells Rita Zapalac Kirk Remmers Bill Gertner Billy Laqua Nicole Mackey Families in Grief: Carol Jean McGehee Turk Farley Dorothy Treptow Elroy Fertsch Doris Stock

Movie Night – Divided Young people are leaving the church at an alarming rate. Some studies say 50 to 60% are already gone by the time they reach middle school in their minds, if not also with their bodies. A large majority of Christian young people don’t have a Christian world view even though they have been “raised in the church.” All this even though millions are being pumped into church youth programs and the like – so is modern youth ministry multiplying for dividing the church? In the movie, “Divided,” follow a young Christian filmmaker on a revealing journey as he seeks answers to what has lead his generation away from the church. We will be watching the DVD, “Divided,” on Tues., Jan. 20th at 7pm to begin the discussion on how to best help our young adults know Christ.

1/6/02 – Emily Claire Evans 1/7/51 – Charlotte Murphy 1/12/92 – Vanessa Vasek 1/13/01 – Jena Appelt 1/14/01 - Kayla Appelt 1/15/89 – Megan Schaefer 1/15/95 - Reagan McAda 1/22/95 - Daniel Alvin Mikulenka 1/16/97 – Brett Garner 1/28/56 – Pastor Herb Beyer 1/19/95 - James Maikoetter 1/30/05 – Emma Briann Boethel 1/31/82 – Kirsten Grindeland 1/31/88 – Adriane McAda 1/15/89 - Megan Ripley 1/30/00 – Claire Teltschik

1/3 Claire Teltschik 1/23 Kypher Jahn 1/3 Jarrod Cervenka 1/28 Betty Clark 1/6 Dorothy Ehler 1/28 Donald Wilson 1/6 Leon Klekar 1/28 Larry Fiedler 1/7 Julie Rose 1/29 Emily McAda 1/10 Patricia Vollintine 1/30 Leon Koehne 1/12 Ryan Rose 1/31 Barb Koehn 1/13 Robert Russ 1/13 Lisa Fiedler 1/14 David Ehler 1/15 Dobi Garner 1/15 Aurora Furnace 1/17 Hunter Mischer 1/19 Trenton Teltschik 1/22 Richard Renger

Thank you to the Women in Mission and to all the other parishners of St. Peter that have me the gift of money for Christmas Your thoughtfulness is greatly appreciated. Again Thanks, Patsy Klekar

I would like to thank the members who gave gifts, cards, and money for Christmas to me. Your kindness and thoughtfulness is appreciated. I feel very fortunate to serve in such a great church with such great members. Wishing you all a Happy New Year. Thank You, Kellee Evans

Liz, Abigail and I want to say a tremendous thank you to all the saints of St. Peter that have supported us and helped us so much during our time here at St. Peter. Thank you for your generosity and your willingness to give of yourselves, your time and your talent. We very much appreciate all that you do. Thank you so much! May God bless you mightily as you continue to grow in the knowledge of His wonderful love.

In His Agape, Pastor Andy Taylor +

.

Church Council Meeting

Church Council Highlights from 12.8.14 Meeting: - Election of the following Officers for 2015

Tommy Brandenberger, President, Rusty Wallace, Vice President, Carol Drozd, Secretary - Approved 40 hrs of technical help for computer conversion of church records - Designated Advent meal offerings to be used to purchase a camera for the church - Approved Relay for Life Participation - Approved Bill Moberly from Eastern European Missions to hold services Jan 10-11 - Approved Pastor to attend Bible Study continued education Jan 12-16 in Seguin - Approved David Ehler and Cal Bonzer as new members on Property Commission - Approved contractors to test the floor in the basement for asbestos while they are currently in town

working on another project.

RE : THANK YOU FROM ST. NICHOLAS MINISTRY We appreciated the volunteers and those who supported us with the donation of canned foods, toys, gifts and checks for St. Nicholas Ministry. With your help, we were able to provide for over 150 families on our distribution day, 12.13.2014. Thank you so much. Merry Christmas and a Healthy 2015. Blessings Pastor Herb Beyer #361-798-0155

We appreciate and are very grateful to all the volunteers who supported our bake sale on December 20th (baking and making their homemade goodies and specialties, their valuable time and efforts and generous contributions. We made $717.71 and it will go towards our team – St. Peter Holy Sneakers for our Relay for Life of Lavaca County for the AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY. Thank you and we look forward to your continued support. Our team captains are the same as last year, Mary Schroeder and Lucille Drozd. Merry Christmas and Healthy New Year. Love and Blessings, Judy Winfield and Barb Koehn Please call Judy Winfield #361-258-1167 or Barb Koehn #361-772-7498 Email : Judy.Winfield@Hotmail.com

A well-balanced church

The owner of a new puppy got a good laugh when the little dog, out for a walk, had an itch. The trouble was

that the itchy spot was accessible only to a hind leg. So, while still walking, the pup tried to scratch and

tumbled over, rolling a couple of times before coming to rest.

In several places throughout Scripture, the apostle Paul writes about the church as the body of Christ, and of

the importance of each member. Just as the dog needed each leg to stay balanced while walking, so the church

needs all the different God-given gifts of its members: preachers and teachers, friendly visitors, generous

givers, musicians and singers, wise parents and imaginative children, people to produce and distribute meals,

newsletters, lesson materials, and on and on.

When we start thinking that some part of Christ’s body isn’t necessary, we risk taking quite a tumble!

“Behold Your God” study

Behold your God

We want to introduce to you the series that we will be starting in Lent on Feb. 25th (Ash Wed. is Feb. 18th). This will be a 12 week study, so it will carry on past Lent and even Easter until the 20th of May. There will be a workbook that goes along with the study that participants will work in for 5 days a week before the next DVD. The cost of the workbook is $14.99, but we don’t want the cost of the book to keep any from participating. If you can’t afford it, the church will find a way to pay for it, as we want you to know your God; but we did want to let you know the cost so some of you could be saving toward getting a book. During Lent, we will have our meal at 6pm, start singing at 6:30pm and then start the DVD at 6:45pm. The DVD is about 55 minutes, so this will allow for discussion time afterward and still get us out by 8pm. There will be no study on April 1st which is Holy Week. We will resume on April 8th at 6:30pm for singing and 6:45 DVD till May 20th. Below is a description of the study; for more information, go to www.beholdyourgod.org.

Are we sure that the God we serve is the God described in Scripture? Is rethinking Him

biblically really necessary? How do we do it? How would it affect our views of Christ, the gospel, holiness, worship, evangelism, service, and revival? Behold Your God: Rethinking God Biblically, led by Dr. John Snyder, is a 12-week multimedia study that focuses on God’s self-revelation in the Bible, helping the believer to apply the descriptions of God to all of life.

The Behold Your God study is centered around a twelve-week workbook and is designed to be used in conjunction with the 13 DVD lessons. Each week the student will work through the workbook (five days per week) in preparation for watching the DVD. Behold Your God can be used as an individual, family, group, or church-wide study. Each week's DVD is made up of three segments. The historical introduction is a short biographical sketch of the life of a significant figure from Christian history whose ministry illustrates the truths that

you have been studying that week. These were all filmed on location in Wales, England, Scotland, and North America. They include:

x A. W. Tozer in "Week 1 - Beholding God: The Great Attraction" (Chicago, IL) x Timothy Dwight in "Week 2 - Beholding God: Clearing the Way For Our Return" (Yale

University) x George Muller in "Week 3 - Beholding God: In the Bible" (Bristol, England) x Samuel Rutherford in "Week 4 - Beholding God: In the Face of Jesus Christ" (Anwoth,

Scotland) x George Whitefield in "Week 5 - Beholding God: In the Work of Salvation"(Newburyport, MA) x Robert Murray M'Cheyne in "Week 6 - Beholding God and the Response of Personal

Holiness" (Dundee, Scotland) x Charles Spurgeon in "Week 7 - Beholding God: Restoring Worship in Our Lives" (London,

England), x Daniel Rowland in "Week 8 - Beholding God and Evangelism" (Llangeitho, Wales) x Amy Carmichael in "Week 9 - Beholding God and Our Christian Service" (Keswick, England) x Charles Finney in "Week 10 - Beholding a Lesser God?" (Anytown, USA) x D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in "Week 11 - Beholding God: Avoiding the Lies of

Pragmatism"(London, England) x Jonathan Edwards in "Week 12 - Seeking the God We Are Beholding" (New Haven, CT)

After the introduction, a sermon from Dr. Snyder reinforces what you have been studying in the Bible that week. Finally, you will be able to listen to highlights from interviews with contemporary ministers whose lives and labors reflect these same truths. These include Paul Washer, Richard Owen Roberts, Jordan Thomas, Anthony Mathenia, Dr. Eifion Evans, Andrew Davies, and Conrad Mbewe. Comments from men whose gospel labors range from Peru, Ethiopia, Virginia, and Memphis to New Zealand, England, Wales, Ireland, and Zambia help to show that these are eternal truths about an eternal God who is not altered by any temporal or geographical context.

Many in our day are tired and disillusioned because they have consistently hoped in the next new idea. It is just this kind of day that makes Christians stop running on their religious hamster-wheels and ask “Why are we doing these programs?” and “Why doesn’t God ever really seem to show up and effectively work in our churches?” Hard questions often lead to right answers. This study is written with the conviction that our fundamental need in Western Christianity is to repent of our low and unworthy views of God, to return to the biblical descriptions of the true God, and to risk it all in order to live upon Who He is. Nothing in this study is new truth. The devotions and exercises in the workbook, and the intros, sermons, and interviews in the videos are meant only to help the reader to take the biblical descriptions of God seriously and to see how they form the foundation of Christian living.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Life Sunday – January 18, 2015

St. Peter Lutheran Church will be observing Life Sunday on January 18th as well as at our 5pm service on Sat. the 17th. We will be joining with congregations around the country and globe as we celebrate Life and battle against the forces that would seek to promote death and darkness. Please come out on this important Sunday to stand with Christians around the world to say that God is a God of Life, Love and Light. We will have special readings for this day as well as a time to pray for those that have been hurt by abortion. At least 56 million of your brothers and sisters have been killed since 1973 through abortion – if you don’t think this affects you, it does. Plan to attend, Jan. 17th and 18th.

Texas Rally for Life 2015 The Texas Rally for Life is scheduled for Sat., Jan. 24th this year. We are hoping that many from St. Peter Lutheran will come out and support Life in 2015. For those who haven’t participated before, the Texas Rally for Life is a gathering of thousands and thousands of Texans in Austin who support Life. Everyone will meet at 1pm at 17th and Congress and then once everyone is assembled, march to the south steps of the Capitol for a Rally that will go from 2 to 3pm. The Governor and many other pro-life officials will speak and give testimony to the value of Life that God has blessed us all with here in Texas and the United States.

Those that would be interested in car-pooling to the Texas Rally for Life should be at St. Peter Lutheran by 10: 45 am. Liz, Abigail and I will be going, so we would love for you to come along for the fun (Abigail went last yr. – if she can do it, I think some of you can as well-). Many of you love the joy Abigail and other young ones bring to our congregation. Come support these little ones and help to prevent the 72,000 of them that are killed here in Texas each year and the more than 56 million that have been killed in the US since 1973. Come out and show your support for Life and the God of Life who loves the little children. For more information, call Pastor at 361-772-6363 or go to www.rallyforlife.org.

Bible Study to resume on January 14th, 2015

We will resume studying God’s Word on Wed., January 14th at 7pm. The content will be a Bible Study Methods Class, where we will explore how to study the Bible for yourself. We will be using the Book of Jude as our base text for this study. There will be no Bible study on Jan. 28th due to the Chamber Banquet. The study will go until Feb. 11th, since Ash Wed. is Feb. 18th. Hope to see you there as we continue to explore God’s Word together.

Confirmation to Resume on January 14th, 2015

Confirmation will resume on January 14th at 5:30pm. Parents and Confirmands will need to bring their Bibles, catechisms and workbook to the session on the 14th. Questions or issues, please call Pastor Taylor at 361-772-6363.

3rd Annual Three Days of Prayer

LCMC (Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ) is calling on every congregation, member and pastor to set aside some time each day of January 6, 7 and 8, 2015 for prayer. We will be responding to this call at St. Peter by providing you with opportunities each of these days to participate in prayer together. We will have Morning Prayer at 6:30am on Jan. 6 -8th for those who would like to participate. This will not be a lengthy prayer session, so persons should easily be able to get to work if they work locally. If these times don’t work for you, know that the Prayer chapel is always open, 24 hours a day, for you to utilize – or pray wherever might be most convenient for you during these days of prayer.

LCMC has organized a theme for each day as follows:

Day One: January 6

This is a day focused on confession. We have made our lives, our relationships and even the church -- in our own image. We confess that the church belongs to Jesus and not to us. We gather to lay down our pride, our sin and our agenda and ask the Lord of the church for forgiveness, which He gives freely and with mercy.

Day Two: January 7

This is a day of petition. Pray for your congregation, for the pastor, for the leaders, for those who carry out ministries, for the Sunday School teachers, for the Confirmation leaders, for those leading adult Bible studies and for those leading small groups. Pray for those in hospital and nursing home ministries. Pray for all those connected to your church that they might know God’s redeeming love for all in Christ.

Day Three: January 8

This is a day for vision. Pray that the Holy Spirit will again move through the hearts and minds of leaders and pastors that God’s vision for His church might be revealed and fulfilled. This is a time of prayer for renewal, revival and encouragement. Pray for God’s vision.

Our attitude toward prayer has often been characterized by saying, “well, all we can do now is pray!” Prayer is not the hopeless act of desperation. Prayer is a gift that God has given to us as a means to approach the throne of grace with confidence -- like that of a child coming to her parents sharing concerns, victories, defeats and every part of life. It is an opportunity to express the deepest heartache and the greatest joy. Prayer is a conversation between the Creator and the created…and the conversation began with God, for us, in Jesus Christ. Let us take advantage of this time set apart for prayer by LCMC. May God bless your time in His Presence, and may we all make more time for prayer in 2015.

Solid Rock – January 2015

“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:1 - 2). A New Year is upon us once again. The beginning of a new year is when many people do some evaluating of the previous year and take stock of how they “did” in the previous year. “Taking stock” is a wonderful activity to engage in and many times leads people to make “resolutions.” Persons are resolving to change things, to do things differently this year. Sometimes the resolutions may take the form of resolving to exercise more, spend more time with the family, read more, watch less TV, start a diet, call friends and family more, spend less time on Facebook, and the list goes on and on. As mentioned, this is a good task to undertake, but often times the resolutions are short-lived. Why? Many times it may be because the resolutions mean changes need to be made for the person to live more effectively, and few of us like change. Change always creates conflict because it means old habits have to be broken and new habits have to be formed. The above reality mentioned is true in our physical lives as well as in our spiritual lives. If we are to move forward, it is going to mean changes have to be made. The Scripture passage that heads this article embodies this reality, too. If we are going to present our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to the Lord, it will mean that we are going to have to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds.” We will have to start thinking and acting differently. This means a transformation or metamorphosis will have to take place in our thinking. The Holy Spirit is in the business of helping this to happen, but we have to participate in the process. We have to decide we are not going to be “conformed to this world,” squeeze into its mold, but be transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit wants to mold us into God’s vision for us, a pure, spotless Bride. So the Holy Spirit can coach us in this process just like the new trainer you use at the local gym or on a DVD. The key though, whether in Gold’s Gym or the Holy Spirit’s gym, is that you have to listen and obey the trainer. If you simply listen but then don’t do the exercises, you are not going to get fit. You can watch the P90X DVD all day or buy all sorts of exercise equipment, but if you don’t use the information or equipment, it is not going to transform you much, except for maybe another place to hang your clothes. So what is some of the basic “workout” equipment that the Holy Spirit has in His gym. There are many pieces of equipment, but in Acts 2: 42, He lists some of His basic workout plan: the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer. This is part of the Holy Spirit’s regimen for strength and vitality, to help transform and renew your mind, which will in turn, many times renew your body. So let’s look at these components briefly. The apostles’ teaching is their teaching about Holy Scripture. For them, they mainly had the Old Testament, as their teaching on the Old Testament and Jesus were to become the New Testament books of the Bible. So we are more blessed than they in some respects, as we have both the Old Testament and New Testament witness. We don’t just have these teachings on their own though, the Holy Spirit actually brings them to life and light, as He is the true Author of the books, working through these men. The Bible is the revelation of God about Himself. He is the main Actor and Subject. The Holy Scriptures are the first piece of “equipment” that the Holy Spirit wants to use to get you fit. You will have a number of opportunities to study and/or hear directly from Scripture here at St. Peter in the new year. As always, the Sat./Sunday sermons will come from Holy Scripture, and we will be printing in the bulletin the Scripture readings for the following Sunday so you can read ahead and prepare your heart for what the Holy Spirit has to say to you that day. There will be an Epiphany Service on Jan. 6th at 7pm so we

can fill out our liturgical year with this great feast that has been neglected by much of the Church for too long. It will be a service to hear about how the Word of God came to us Gentiles as we enter into the season of Epiphany. Bill Moberly, from Eastern European Mission Network, will be with us on Jan. 11th to bring us the Word of God and what is happening by the guiding of the Holy Spirit in Eastern Europe.

Sunday School will resume Jan. 11th, so this is another great opportunity for you to study Scripture. The lessons will start with teaching on Isaac and Rebekah in Gen. and go through Joshua, Caleb and the spies in Numbers. Maybe you have never attended Sunday School; now is the time to start. It does little good for us to tell our children and young adults that Sunday School is important, if we don’t go. This message is not only one that is sent by parents, but by all adults, for good or for bad. If you attend Sunday School, you send a good message, if not, you send the opposite. Adult Sunday School is made up of high school students and above – just because you are out of high school, does not mean that the Holy Spirit doesn’t want you in Sunday School, He does! Wednesday night Bible study will give you two unique opportunities to study God’s Word this year. Starting on Jan. 14th, we will be learning how to study the Bible for ourselves with a Bible Study Methods Class. We will be using the Book of Jude as our base book for this study. After Ash Wednesday on Feb. 18th, our Lenten series will start on Wednesday, Feb. 25th, featuring the study, “Behold Your God.” This study will look at the attributes of God and who God has revealed Himself to be in Holy Scripture. Please see the article in this newsletter for details on this study. Prayer is another of the items listed in Acts 2: 42. LCMC has set aside Jan 6th thru 8th for the 3rd Annual 3 Days of Prayer. We will participate by having Morning Prayer at 6:30am on each of those days. See more details in the article in this newsletter. St. Peter Lutheran has also set at time for regular prayer on Tuesdays at 7pm. Praying is one of the most important things you do in any day. Prayer literally changes history. Prayer changes us as we come into the Presence of our God who can change all things, as He is the all-powerful and all-merciful One. Our church will only be as strong as its prayer life. Mark Van Tuig, Service Coordinator for LCMC, is fond of saying, “The Church will never rise up until we first get down on our knees.” May you get into the gym of prayer with the Holy Spirit this new year. Finally, we break bread together each week as a church in the Eucharist or Holy Communion, so that we can receive of Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Anyone training in athletics knows that your diet affects you. You are what you eat – we eat Jesus on a regular basis to help keep us strong and healthy. We also have potlucks and other times to engage in Godly fellowship through 1st Sunday gatherings and through other groups in the church. I would encourage you to form other groups and times for Godly fellowship and to think and talk about the things of God. Our secretary, Kellee Evans, has done just that by organizing a Women’s Study that will be looking at the book, “Becoming a Woman of Love” by Cynthia Heald. They will meet on Thursdays at 12:30pm and 6pm. As you look over your past year and make resolutions for the one that lies ahead, what are your plans for your relationship with God? Hopefully you will take time for some of the opportunities we have available at St. Peter Lutheran. To make these changes though, usually something will have to be let go of to make time for something new. It will mean leaving behind some things of the world, putting on some of the things of God -- getting rid of those things of the world that have been pushing you into its mold, and being transformed into a new mold of Christ. May the Potter have His way with you, the clay, in this new year. In His Agape, Pastor Andy Taylor +

WORSHIP NOTES FOR JANUARY 2015

by Daniel Drozd, Worship Commission

As people who bear the name of Christ, we are clothed with garments of salvation and covered with righteousness. This lavish wardrobe is given to the children of God, Jews and Gentiles alike, who, to utter joy, cry out “Abba! Father!” In Jesus, we see the salvation and righteousness of God, just like Simeon and Anna. What a wonderful inheritance – to know, to be known by and claimed by the Son sent from God! January 4. Luke 2:40-52. The Boy Jesus in the Temple. Joseph, Mary and Jesus journeyed from Nazareth to Jerusalem to attend the annual feast of the Passover as was required by law. Jesus is among the teachers in the temple, listening to them and asking questions. Jesus was 12 years old, at 12 Jewish boys began preparing to take their places in the religious community. Upon returning Joseph and Mary noticed Jesus was not with them. They went back to search for him and found him in the temple among the Rabbis. When they found him Jesus’ response to Mary and Joseph was: “Didn’t you know that I had to be in my Father’s house?” At 12 years of age he was aware of his unique relationship to God. However, he was also obedient to his earthly parents and went back with them to Nazareth. Being in the nature of God, Jesus loved, honored, served, and obeyed his parents. Being God he could not do otherwise. Jesus was taught by his parents and brought up with a knowledge and understanding of the Jewish teachings. As God’s people today, may we follow in those footsteps so that through our parents God can give us life, protection, wisdom and training in obedience and the way of Christian living. January 6. Matt 2:1-12 The Epiphany of our Lord. Paul preaches Christ to the Gentile nations. No longer is Jesus of Bethlehem to be renowned in Israel alone. He abolishes the darkness of all peoples. Nations come to his rising. It is the bright Epiphany star that guides eastern Wise Men to the Christ Child. They worship Him, give Him extravagant treasures. Now it is Christ who bestows His divine riches on all peoples that confess His name. All we need to do is open ourselves to the miracle that God continues to work in and through Jesus Christ. “Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you.” These are the words that we encounter on the Sunday of the Epiphany of our Lord. We are inspired by the Magi who adore the Christ Child in Bethlehem. Let us pray that God’s light will shine through us to bring peace to our families, our neighborhoods, and our world. January 11. Mark 1:4-11. The Baptism of Jesus. In the aftermath of Christ’s Baptism, the Father’s voice from heaven speaks to Jesus, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased! All goodness proceeds from God’s Word. It creates, separating light from darkness; it redeems, burying us in Baptism and raising us to new life; it sanctifies us that we may be alive to God in Christ. Through God’s Word in Baptism we too are claimed to be His own, clothed with the righteousness of Christ. January 18. John 1:43-51. The Lord persists. He speaks, we listen; by faith we are able to respond. Samuel is roused from his sleep repeatedly and is finally encouraged to respond, “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.” Jesus bids Philip to follow, and he does. Jesus claims to have known Nathanael, and in turn Nathanael confesses that Jesus is the Son of God. We too can only be responsive to God’s will once we have heard His Word and believe. January 25. Mark 1:14-20. Repent and believe. This is today’s refrain. The people of Nineveh, in sackcloth garments, turn away from evil. In response, God turns aside and does not pass judgment. Jesus preaches the same thing: repent and believe! Turning away from all sin, worldly distraction, and even daily labor is difficult. And yet we ought to be aware of the urgency to leave all things behind and follow Jesus, for the kingdom of God is near. As Ordinary Time opens before us we hear the Lord Jesus calling the disciples to follow him. In the same way today we hear the Lord Jesus call each and every one of us through his Holy Word into service for the sake of God’s Kingdom. Let each of us respond to his call by saying – HERE I AM LORD, I HAVE COME TO DO THY WILL.” Let us make it our objective to become more dedicated Disciples of Christ. Amen

Christmas Chronology 7 BC – Jupiter and Saturn form conjunction of planets in the constellation of Pisces with a resulting “new star” forming in the head of the infant in the first decan of Coma (a woman sitting holding and admiring a baby on her lap). Coma is the first decan of the constellation Virgo. [only forms every 800 yrs. or so – forms 3x’s this year – in May, Oct. and Dec.] 6 BC – Mars joins the conjunction of planets listed above. (Chinese tables agree with this information as well. Kepler sees same phenomena in 1603-4). Oct. 2nd – 9th, 6 BC – Zacharias on duty as priest in temple – angel Gabriel appears and announces birth of John the Baptist. 6th month (Adar – March), 5 BC – Gabriel appears to Mary and announces birth of Messiah, Jesus, will come through her by the Holy Spirit. Spring (March/April), 5 BC – Mary visits Elizabeth (baby John leaps in womb at Mary’s greeting). Summer, 5 BC – John the Baptist born to Elizabeth and Zacharias in their old age. Angel visits Joseph in dream Dec., 5 BC/ Jan., 4 BC – birth of Jesus – traditional date is Dec. 25th, 5 BC. (Using the traditional date of Dec. 25th, the chronology would continue as follows). Jan. 1st, 4 BC -- Circumcision of Jesus 4th/5th of Feb., 4 BC – earliest date could come for Mary’s purification (41 days for boy [Lev. 12]); redemption of 1st born son, Jesus (31 days earliest [Numb. 18:16]) – persons often combine these two actions as in Luke account in Luke 2: 22, 23. Simeon and Anna would also appear on this date in the temple (Luke 2:25-38). After 4th/5th of Feb., 4 BC – Visit of Magi (Matt. 2) – Magi visit has to follow purification as Holy family will flee to Egypt directly after Magi visit due to angel’s warning to Joseph in a dream (Matt. 2: 13). Holy family in a house by time of Magi visit (Matt. 2: 11). Planet and star formation mentioned above reappears in Feb., 4 BC. Killing of Innocents in Bethlehem by Herod – 2yrs and under due to first appearing of “star” to Magi (“at its rising” is literal translation of Matt. 2:2 rather than “in the east”). Probably not more than 20 children due to size of Bethlehem at the time – still first “martyrs” for Gospel of Jesus Christ. Mar. 29th - Apr. 11th, 4 BC – Herod dies between these dates at age of 70. Mar. 12th Herod burns 2 rabbis and 40 followers; March 12/13th Lunar Eclipse; Herod dies 7 to 14 days before Passover, 4 BC; 34th year of Herod’s reign starts Mar. 29th, 4 BC; Herod kills his son, Antipater, 5 days before his own death. Spring, Passover 8 or 9 BC – Jesus in temple at 12 yrs. old