The Christian Church of Midland Exists to Make More and Better Disciples

I love the Story of Christmas. I mean the real Story of Christmas. The Christmas Story is filled with

mystery, intrigue, deceit, murder, and suspense. It reads like a Jason Bourne novel. Who is this child

that brings such controversy into the world? Wait Steve, I thought that Jesus brings peace to the

world. Isn’t that what the angel said in the Gospel of Luke? The angel did say, “on earth peace to

men on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14). That’s true, God’s peace, or salvation, is given to men.

Jesus does bring salvation to a sinful world.

However, the Story of Christmas raises all kinds of questions. The questions would cause controversy

in our modern Christmas plays. I’d like to share a couple of questions for you to think about and

meditate upon. Joseph and Mary went back to Bethlehem, Joseph’s home town, for the Roman

Census while Mary was ready to give birth to Jesus. Assuming that Joseph had family in his

hometown, why didn’t his family make space for Mary? Why did she have to give birth in a barn

filled with animals? There were probably several animals in the area because of the travelers. Why

didn’t one of the guests help the pregnant Mary? Wasn’t that a violation of Jewish customs of the

time? Just wondering.

What exactly did Joseph do the night of Jesus birth? Did he sit outside with the other men while Mary

gave birth? No! Joseph probably delivered Jesus, was the soothing voice in Mary’s ear as she had

contractions. He probably found the cleanest hay and made the bed for Mary and the baby. Joseph is

the forgotten character in the Christmas Story. A righteous man who obeyed God even among the

scorn and ridicule of his coworkers, friends, and family. I admire him. He was a faithful example for

all of us today.

I have several other questions about this scandalous story. We will study the story that most of us

know so well, or at least we think we know the story. I want to challenge you to read the story again,

for the first time. I also want to see you with a friend in church services this Sunday. Don’t get so

busy celebrating Jesus’ birth that you forget about worshipping with His Family on His Day around

His table.

See You Sunday,

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3 PEOPLE 1 TIME A DAY FOR 6

DAYS

Pray For: Our Relationship

Our Conversation

Their Response

Prayer Card When we have an emergency, we call 9-1-1. When we

want to dig in our yard, we call 8-1-1. When we need

information, we call 4-1-1. This year we want everyone

who comes to CCM to practice 1-1-1. At a minimum

we want you in:

1 hour of worship each week.

1 hour of Bible Study each week.

1 hour of Christian Service each week.

This Fall we are attempting to “Fill Up The Wall” in the Education Hallway. Each week we will be given a new challenge so that we can impact our neighborhoods.

After finishing the challenge, please fill out a Challenge Card located at the Welcome Center or in the Sanctuary in the cups on the tables or in the seat back pockets of

the chairs. Please turn in the cards at the Welcome Center or place in the offering plate

This month as a Church family we would like the Church to read Matthew 6:9-15 (The Model Prayer), everyday, think about the verses, and pray that the Lord’s will be done at

CCM. Pray that God will clearly give you an opportunity to pray

for one person.

Sudden news is almost always bad news. If you are awakened at

3:00 a.m. by the ringing of the phone or a knocking on your door,

you think the worst. What happened? Has a loved one had an

accident? What's wrong? Those questions race through our minds.

But not that night. The sudden news from the angel was "Good

news for all people." The good news became classic news. Join us

as we celebrate the "Good News" that the shepherds received that

night. The sudden news is good news for us.

Christmas Eve Service Saturday, December 24th at 5:30 p.m. CCM will have a service that will help us remember why we

celebrate Christmas. The service will help us stop from the hustle and running and busyness to

remember the “one who was born, Immanuel, God with us.” Take time to remember one more thing,

invite a neighbor, friend, and family member to join you.

New Wednesday Format begins January 4, 2017 CCM will begin a new ministry called, Wednesday ReNew in January 2017. We will begin with a

fellowship meal at 6:00 p.m. The new format begins at 6:30 p.m. Take time to be refreshed and Re-

Newed each Wednesday.

Take A Day To Pray Saturday, December 31, 2016 (New Years Eve) from 6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. CCM will have a twelve

hour prayer vigil. CCM wants to end the year and begin next year seeking God’s forgiveness, bless-

ings and guidance. There is a sign-up sheet at the Welcome Center located at the Fellowship Hall

Entrance.

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Elders Meeting

Tuesday, December 6th @ 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, December 10th, 2016 Church Under the Bridge is a ministry outreach to the homeless in

Midland. CCM will be preparing breakfast for the Church Under the Bridge on the 2nd Saturday of each

month. Meet at the Church Building at 8:30 a.m. If you would like to help or have any questions, please

contact Cindy Barkley: (432)352-9443 or Marcy Schulte: (520) 236-9047.

Also please remember that donations are needed for Church Under the Bridge. (Bags of Hope) There is a

list of items needed at the Information Center and also in your bulletins. We will be collecting through

Wednesday, December 7th to distribute at the Saturday, December 10th CUTB Breakfast. If you need

more info, contact Dawn Handley at 210-2793

A BIG Thank You to CCM prayer warriors, chefs and bakers for your prayers and great food while I was having

and recovering from shoulder surgery. My surgery was very successful and pain was minimal compared to what I

expected; my recovery is on target because God answers prayer. The delicious food provided meals for several

days. There’s nothing like having good friends and Church family and we appreciate it more than you know.

In His service, Teresa and Quay Clark

Senior Saints Luncheon

A great turnout of 14 people attended our luncheon on Friday, November 4th at The Cattle Baron. Those

attending were: Bill & Carmen Thurmon, Henry & Joleen Patke, Maria Freisen, Faye Malone, Georgia

Pruitt, Sue Wray, Steve & Lisa Knisley, Ken & Kay Weaver, and Eddy & Peggy Willmon. The service

was terrific, and a great time of fellowship was enjoyed.

Our December destination will be Abuelo’s Mexican Restaurant. See everyone on Friday, December

2nd around 11:00 a.m.

Midland Soup Kitchen CCM will be collecting $25.00 gift cards, puzzles, coloring

books/crayons, card games, trucks and dolls for the Soup Kitchen

through Sunday, December 18th. Please bring them Unwrapped.

Please deliver gift cards to Becca in the church office.

Christmas Meal

Sunday, December 11th

Turkeys: Linda Bradshaw & Sue O’Banion

Hams: Carmen Thurmon, Lisa Knisley & Kay

Soderstrom

Dressing: Georgia Pruitt

Everyone else is asked to please bring sides,

salads & desserts to share.

Huddle, Board & Calendar Planning & Meal

Tuesday, December 13th @ 6:00 p.m.

A meal will be provided. A member of each ministry is asked to

bring any items they want included on the 2017 CCM Calendar.

All-Church Progressive Dinner

& White Elephant Exchange

Friday, December 30th

6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Appetizer - Jim & Sue O’Banion’s home

Entrée - Chris & Pam Morphew’s home

Dessert & White Elephant Exchange - Danny &

Georgia Pruitt’s home. Please contact one of the

above people if you can help provide food for the

meal. Please let Kay Soderstrom know if you will be

utilizing the Nursery at CCM.

Midland Soup Kitchen Food Drive

Thank you for your continued support for the Midland Soup

Kitchen. Our Goal: 125 cans. Total Received: 158 cans

Faith Promise

Although we had a lot of our members out

of town Faith Promise weekend, our 2017

Faith Promise cards turned in so far have

added up to $53,736.00. Thank you for

your continued support of Faith Promise!

Wednesday Evening

(6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.)

6:00 p.m. - Brown Bag Fellowship Meal. You are invited to bring

your meal and enjoy a time of fellowship before the Bible Studies.

(Please Note: The first Wednesday of each month we share a Potluck

meal.)

6:30 p.m. - Men's, Ladies, Youth Bible Studies, and Childcare.

Men’s Study

The Truth Project

Location: Room 2 (The Cave)

Leader: Dean Soderstrom

Ladies Study

The Ladies Bible Study, “The Armor

of God” by Priscilla Shirer. This is a

video Bible Study. Workbooks are

provided.

Location: Sanctuary

Leader: Sue O’Banion

Youth Gathering

Life Application Studies: How

Christianity Is Different

Location: Jr. High Room 2

Leader: Steve Knisley

Come and enjoy a time of fun, fellowship and learning.

1st Wednesday Potluck Meal The Monthly Potluck will be on Wednesday, December 7th at 6:00

p.m. We will be having Baked Potatoes with toppings, sides and

desserts. There is a sign-up sheet on the large bulletin board in the

Education Hallway. Please sign-up to bring an item for the meal. At

6:30 p.m. will be the Men’s, Youth Bible Studies and the Ladies

Monthly Meeting. In addition, the ladies will be packing “Bags of

Hope” immediately following the meeting. A list of items needed for

the bags is located at the Information Center or in the bulletin. A

Nursery is provided. Hope to see you there!

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Sunday Mornings @ 9:30 a.m.

Dates: Ongoing thru December 25

Location: The Sanctuary

Instructors: Jim O'Banion & Steve

Knisley

We will take a new look at an old

story. We will discover that the birth

of Jesus is often different from what

we think.

Dates: November 20 - December 4

Location: Parlor

Instructor: Cary Richmond Have you lost your joy as a

Christian? You are not the only one.

That has been a struggle for

centuries. Let’s explore how to

rediscover that joy. Paul desires

every Christian to have joy in their

lives. This verse by verse study will

deepen our faith.

Ages 3-5 - Jesus and Me Location: Heritage Annex,

Leader: Kay Soderstrom

1-3 grade - Life of Jesus Location: Room 3,

Leader: Liz Richmond

4-6 grade - God’s Care for Us Location: Room 103,

Leader: Meghan O’Banion & Lauren Weerstra

Jr. High and High School Location: Room 2, Samantha Lozano

Tuesday Truth Seekers

Dates: Ongoing

Time: Tuesday 9:30 a.m.

Location: The Parlor

Instructor: Ken Weaver

Learning to fall in love with Jesus all over again. There are

times when we take our faith for granted and we need to

look again at Jesus. This is a verse by verse study of the

Gospel of Matthew where discussion is encouraged.

Please NOTE: There will NOT be studies on Tuesday

December 20th or December 27th. Study will resume on

January 3rd.

Ladies Bible Study on Wednesday Evenings

‘All day, everyday, an invisible war rages around you. A cunning,

devilish enemy seeks to wreak havoc on everything that matters to

you - emotions, your mind, your family, your future.’ “The Armor of

God” by Priscilla Shirer, at 6:30 p.m., lead by Sue O’Banion will

address these issues and more. Join Priscilla Shirer for a Bible Study

that will bring to light the war around you and challenge you to suit

up, stand firm, and secure victory in your life. Workbooks are

provided.

Ladies Monthly Meeting The December Ladies Monthly Meeting will be on Wednesday,

December 7th at 6:30 p.m. There will be a short devotion, by Pam

Morphew. We will be discussing upcoming events, as well as,

packing “Bags of Hope” immediately following the meeting. Come

and enjoy a time of fellowship!! Sunday Morning Worship

Nursery Helpers 1st Sunday - Faye Molone

2nd Sunday - Molly McMahon

3rd Sunday - Christy Reynolds

4th Sunday - Liz Richmond

5th Sunday - Linda Bradshaw

3’s - 5’s Children’s Worship 1st Sunday - Kay Soderstrom

2nd Sunday - Marsha Brown

3rd Sunday - Liz Richmond

4th Sunday - Marsha Brown

5th Sunday - Need Someone

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Plastic Grocery Bags We are collecting plastic grocery bags for the Midland Soup Kitchen. They use the bags for people to take

home bread and bakery goods that have been donated by H.E.B. Please put your bags in the plastic

containers in the Fellowship Hall.

Box Tops for Education CCM is collecting Box Tops for Education for Cookson Hills, one of the missions supported by The

Christian Church of Midland. Cookson Hills provides Christ-Centered residential care, education and

therapeutic services for at-risk children ages 5-17. The box tops help provide basic necessities for Cookson

Hills. Thanks to everyone for their contributions.

Easy Ways to Help Heritage There are 2 easy ways that you can help Heritage Preschool. You can bring your empty ink cartridges from

your printer and place them in the basket in the Fellowship Hall. Dana Roepke will turn these in to Office

Depot. Also, whenever you purchase anything at Office Depot, you can give them Dana Roepke’s home

phone number, 687-3726. Credit from your purchases and from the ink cartridges that are turned in will be

put on a reward card for Heritage to use for purchasing items.

Bags of H.O.P.E. (Helping Others Persevere Everyday)

We are continuing to collect items for the “Bags of Hope” which we are donating to the Church Under the

Bridge for the homeless in Midland. Items needed are: Gloves (Men, Women, Children), Winter Hats (ie:

toboggans), Wet Wipes, Hand Sanitizer, Socks (Men, Women, Children), Gum, Shampoo, Lotion, Hair-

brushes or Combs, Sunscreen, Chapstick, Q-Tips, Soap, Heat Packs/Hand Warmers, Snacks (ie: peanut but-

ter/Nutella snack packs, crackers, soft granola/cereal bars, pudding, fruit cups, Vienna sausages, etc.).

Church Under the Bridge Saturday, December 10, 2016 Church Under the Bridge is a ministry outreach to the homeless in Midland.

CCM will be preparing breakfast for the Church Under the Bridge on the 2nd Saturday of each month. Meet

at the Church Building at 8:30 a.m. If you would like to help or have any questions, please contact Cindy

Barkley: (432) 352-9443 or Marcy Schulte: (520) 236-9047.

Refreshments for Sunday Morning There is a sign-up sheet on the large bulletin board in the Education Wing for anyone who would like to help provide

refreshments on Sunday morning during the fellowship time from 9:15 a.m. - 9:30 a.m., prior to Sunday School.

Muffins, donuts, sweet bread, fruit, etc. or any items that you would like to provide would be great.

December 4th - Georgia Pruitt

December 11th - Marsha Brown

December 18th - Dawn Handley

December 25 - Molly McMahon

Financial Update

Our 2016 actual giving through November 20th is $6,922.00 below our 2016 budget need. Our weekly budget need is

$4,433.00 and our actual offerings are averaging $ 4,287.00 weekly. Year to date budget need through November

20th is $208,351.00. Actual year to date giving for that period is $201,439.00. Any tax exempt donation check dated

before January 1st will be credited to your 2016 giving statement.

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9th Ken Weaver

12th Eddie Taylor

20th Carmen Thurmon

21st Christopher Brown

21st Janet Taylor

25th Susana Alvarado

31st Kay Soderstrom

31st John & Cindy Barkley

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Prayer Request If you have a prayer request, we would love to pray for you! Members of The Christian Church of Midland are

available thru e-mail contacts to pray on a moments notice. Please e-mail your request to Becca, the church

secretary, @ beccam@ccofm.com or call her at 684-7681. Becca is in the office Monday - Thursday,

8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. and Friday 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. For prayer requests on Friday afternoons, evenings and

weekends, please call Kay Soderstrom @ 432-687-1115 (home) or 432-770-8028 (cell) or you may

e-mail her at soderstrom21@gmail.com

December 4 December 11 December 18 December 25

Meditation

Communion Prayer

Closing Prayer

Steve Knisley

Meditation

Communion Prayer

Closing Prayer

Brian Weerstra

Meditation

Communion Prayer

Closing Prayer

Rick Green

Meditation

Communion Prayer

Closing Prayer

Cary Richmond

Servers **Eddy Willmon Cary Richmond

Quay Clark

*Gail Webb *Bill Thurmon *Ken Weaver *Dave Bradley

** Team Leader *Alternates

Servers **Alvino Robles

John Barkley Ken Brown

Richard Reynolds

*Dean Soderstrom *Jim O’Banion *Rick Green

*Brian Schulte

Servers **Bill Thurmon Ken Weaver Gail Webb

Dave Bradley

*Cary Richmond *Quay Clark

*Eddy Willmon

Servers **Rick Green

Dean Soderstrom Jim O’Banion Brian Schulte

*Alvino Robles *John Barkley *Ken Brown

*Richard Reynolds

For those who are shut-in or unable

to attend church services, if you

desire Communion, please contact

the church office and we will make

arrangements to have

Communion brought to you.

Communion Preparation

for December 4th & 11th Linda Bradshaw

18th Dawn Handley & Christy Reynolds

24th & 25th Janet Taylor

TOPS will be meeting at CCM on Thursday evenings. Our weighin is 5:30 to 6:30 pm, meeting 6:30 to 7:30. TOPS is a non-profit weight loss group, very affordable. We are basically a support

group for people who would like to lose weight. We have both men and women in our group and would be glad for anyone to visit once

with no obligation to join. For more information contact Clara Gleghorn (432-694-8643) e-mail address

claragleghorn@outlook.com

Greeters for December Front Entrance: Bill & Carmen Thurmon

Side Entrance: Richard & Christy Reynolds

2017 Communion Meditation List

Thank you Brian Weerstra for joining the seven other men at

CCM that are committed in doing a 1–3 minute communion

meditation.

Important: If you are not going to be in church on your

meditation week, please trade places with another person on the

list. Please let Becca know about the change.

The person doing the communion meditation, will also have the

communion prayer, and closing prayer.

Jan. 01 - Bill Thurmon

Jan. 08 - Gail Webb

Jan. 15 - Dean Soderstrom

Jan. 22 - Jim O'Banion

Jan. 29 - Steve Knisley

Feb. 05 - Brian Weerstra

Feb. 12 - Rick Green

Feb. 19 - Cary Richmond

Feb. 26 - Bill Thurmon

THE OASIS

Christian Church of Midland

2608 Neely

Midland, TX 79705

432-684-7681

Website: www.ccofm.com Steve Knisley, Minister

Our Sunday Worship Times Are:

9:15 a.m. Refreshments & Fellowship Time

9:30 a.m. Sunday School

10:30 a.m. Worship Service

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• The Oasis (USPS 343-950) is published monthly Periodical’s postage

paid at Midland, Texas

• By the Christian Church of Midland, 2608 Neely, Midland, TX 79705.

Subscriptions are FREE.

• POSTMASTER: send address change to THE OASIS, 2608 Neely,

Midland, TX 79705-7345

1 TOPS 2 Senior Saints Luncheon

3

4 Regular Service/Vote on Deacons & Elders for 2017

5 Visitation 6:30 p.m.

6 Adult Bible Study 9:30 a.m./Elders Meeting 6:30 p.m.

7 1st Wednesday Potluck, Men's, Youth Bible Study & Ladies Monthly Meeting & Childcare

8 TOPS 9 10 Church Under the Bridge Breakfast

11 Regular Service/Christmas Dinner

12 Visitation 6:30 p.m.

13 Adult Bible Study 9:30 a.m./Huddle, Board & Calendar Planning Meeting Meal Provided 6:00 p.m.

14 Men's, Ladies, Youth Bible Study & Childcare

15 TOPS 16

17

18 Regular Service

19 Visitation 6:30 p.m.

20 NO Adult Bible Study 9:30 a.m.

21 Men's, Ladies, Youth Bible Study & Childcare

22 TOPS 23

24 Christmas Eve Service 5:30 p.m.

25 Christmas Service

26 Visitation 6:30 p.m.

27 NO Adult Bible Study 9:30 a.m.

28 Men's, Ladies, Youth Bible Study & Childcare

29 TOPS 30 All-Church Progressive Dinner 6:00 p.m.

31 Prayer Vigil 6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. @ CCM

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY