LADIES "LOVE FOR JESUS" GATHERING

All ladies of the congregation are invited to gather on January 29 at 3:00 p.m. for our annual “Love For Jesus” event. Check your church mailbox for an invitation with all the details. Car pooling is available; contact Sherry Mansheim.

REVELATION BIBLE STUDY

When you receive a letter from a friend marked “URGENT!” you don’t put that letter aside without reading it, do you? Through the Apostle John, our Savior sent letters to seven congregations in Asia Minor. These letters were not just urgent for the original recipients, they’re urgent for us as well. Come to our multi-media Bible study on the book of Revelation, each Sunday at 9:15 a.m. and find out what is on Jesus’ mind.  It is never too late to join us! 

NEW TOPIC FOR WOMAN’S BIBLE STUDY!

Pray Christian, pray! We have the invitation and command to pray to God. Yet, sometimes it is a struggle to know what exactly to pray or even how to pray. During the month of February, you are invited (if you are of the feminine gender) to join the Woman’s Bible Study every Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. for fellowship, discussion and the study of God’s Word.  As a group we will be exploring the truths that Jesus has taught us in the Lord’s Prayer along with practical truths concerning prayer in general.  Speak to Pastor Bickelhaupt if you have any questions.

PREPARING FOR EASTER

Choir practices will be starting up again this week on Wednesday, February 1 at 6:00 p.m. Prayerfully consider adding your voice to the choir as we prepare songs for the Lenten season and Easter Sunday! All members are welcome!

FLOWER CHART FOR 2012

The 2012 flower chart has been posted in the narthex to the right of the mailboxes and is ready for those who would like to order altar flowers. Please reserve your date as soon as possible to secure your desired choice. Signing the chart  places an order for a $28.00 bouquet, plus a charge of $6.95 for delivery to the church, or you may supply your own. (The $6.95 delivery charge may be avoided by calling 652-6960 and arranging pick up at Magic City Floral at 19th and Grand.) If you will be providing your own flowers, please indicate this by putting an asterisk (*) by your name. For any other arrangements or assistance, please contact Marlene Hedin. Thank you!

PRESCHOOL EARLY REGISTRATION

Preschool registration for the 2012-13 school year will be open to the public as of February 1. All members or current students wishing to attend should sign up now to ensure a spot in next year’s class. (Our morning 4-5 year old class is Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 9:00-11:30 a.m. and our 3-4 year old class is Tuesday and Thursday from 12:45-2:45 p.m.) Please share this information with a friend who might be interested or speak with Lynette Scott or Pastor Bickelhaupt.

LENT BEGINS

The Lenten season begins on Wednesday, February 22 with our Ash Wednesday worship service at 7:00 p.m. Please mark your calendar and prayerfully consider worshipping with us.

You could also hear singing and recitation of lines as the children practiced for the program.  The children were busy making, painting and decorating Christmas trees.  They also had Christmas tree counting and matching games, made Christmas pictures with different shapes and built and created with our new Magformers construction set.  It was a busy and exciting month!

We learned about angels and made some to correspond with our Bible lesson of the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary. We heard more about them when they appeared to the shepherds on the night of Jesus’ birth.  The children definitely knew the Christmas story and could tell it to us.  They wanted to be like the shepherds and tell everyone the good news….”The Savior is born!"

We had a great turnout when the Fellowship Team invited the families to come in at the end of preschool classes one day and enjoy a time of fellowship and friendship.  They served cookies, coffee, punch and juice in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.  Thank you, Fellowship Team, for providing an opportunity for members and families to get to know one another.

We also had a tremendous turnout for the Christmas program.  The children did a wonderful job of sharing the true meaning of Christmas through greeting cards that told the story of our Savior’s birth.  The large poster cards were decorated by three of the preschool parents- Pamela Shafer, Jacqueline Becktold and Christine Obenauer.  Thank you to these ladies for the beautiful work they did!  The children also made cards to give to their parents at the end of the program.  We again had  time to visit with one another over cookies and beverages.  Thank you to Julia Bollman, Karen Davis, Glenda Feldsien, Bea Leichner, Sherry Mansheim, Lori Stepper and Rosemary Weinhold for setting up, serving and cleaning up after a wonderful evening.  A special thanks to Della Rohlfing for organizing the cookies.

The week after the program we went to work making and wrapping gifts for our parents.  We also went back to work learning the letters with “I i”.  The children had fun doing ice cube art and eating ice cream.  We also learned about winter and made snowmen to decorate the room.  Stop in after the New Year to check them out.

Driving down Zimmermann trail is a neat sight at night.  There are thousands of lights spread out in all directions unveiling the size of our city.  But the lights aren’t there just for decorations (at least most of them).  Lights have a function and a purpose.  The lights that were set in the sky on the day of creation mark the seasons, days and years for us.  The lights around Billings allow us to navigate around town and see in the dark.  The lights of a city indicate that people are living there.  God allows us to see all of the lights at night to remind us that there are many souls who are lost in the darkness of sin and death.  On one trip down the hill a good friend of mine once said, “Wow, look at all of the souls that need to be saved.”

So many souls, so little time.  So much area and not enough man power.  So much darkness and not much light.  Where do you start?  What do you do?  Who do you talk to?  The words from Acts 8 remind us beautifully that evangelism is not about saving one city at a time but one soul at a time.  Yes, we are to go out into the entire world and preach the good news to all creation.  Make disciples of all nations is the command.  But we do it one soul at a time.

Philip did something extraordinary that we would call very ordinary.  He walked along the road until he saw the chariot that God told him about.  When the opportunity presented itself, he asked a simple question.  Then the extraordinary happened.  Philip sat down.  No bolt of lightning ripped through the sky.  No paralyzed man leaped to his feat.  Philip simply sat down.  Philip took time with a man struggling in his faith.  Philip sat with someone who needed to hear the Word of God.  That is truly extraordinary because it was the Spirit who was working through Philip.

So, where do you begin?  We begin by repenting for the missed opportunity to simply sit with a friend and share our faith.  We repent for thinking we are so busy that we cannot reach out to others or that evangelism isn’t our concern.  Repent for being so overwhelmed by the many souls that need to be saved that we forget about the one soul that we come into contact with who doesn’t know Christ.

Start with trusting in the forgiveness that Philip spoke about on his chariot ride.  You are forgiven by the same Savior Philip shared with a complete stranger.  Start believing the good news that you are holy in Christ and God has claimed you to be his child.

Armed with that truth, you can now do the extraordinary and sit.  Yes, ask God to give you opportunities to sit with a friend or a neighbor.  Look for opportunities to sit with someone at Costco who is eating one of those huge polish sausages.  Sit down and be a light for Jesus in this dark world by sharing the good news about your Savior.  Then watch and marvel at how God speaks to a soul whom he loves, through you, as you simply sit and share Jesus.

~Pastor Bickelhaupt

Fellowship Team News

This year the Fellowship Team combined the annual Christmas dinner and the decorating of the church with the Events Team on December 3. A large group helped with the decorations and then stayed and joined those who came to share in the potluck dinner. After that we went into the sanctuary and sang Christmas hymns and enjoyed the beauty of the church. Thanks to all who helped and who brought all the delicious food.

On December 15, we served cookies and punch to the preschool parents. There was a nice group that came from the both the morning and afternoon class. A lot of fathers came this year! Thanks, Karen, for making the punch, to Rosemary and Glenda for serving and to all the team members who brought cookies and helped set up, serve and clean up.

We sent a box to each of our college students with goodies, mittens, gift cards, popcorn, anything to help them feel not too lonesome for their home.

Our ladies Christmas/Valentine gathering will be Saturday, January 29 at 3:00 p.m. More information coming soon - watch the bulletin announcements. Be sure to save a gift you want to recycle or get rid of - we will have the popular “White Elephant” exchange again. Our next meeting is Wednesday, January 4 at 1:00 p.m. at the church.

We want to wish you a blessed New Year and we hope you enjoyed the season of Christmas and got to hear the story of the birth of our Savior.                                 ~Sherry Mansheim