Lycoming Alive

Lycoming Christian Church OCTOBER 2012

IT GOES BOTH WAYS

Is anyone familiar with the name Alben Barkley? Well, Alben Barkley was a congressman from Kentucky, a US senator, and finally vice president under Harry Truman. Barkleys most difficult political race was for the Senate in 1938, when he was challenged by a man named Albert Happy Chandler. In the end, Barkley barely won the election, primarily through the support of rural voters. He told a story once about when he was out stumping for votes. He visited a farmer named Jones whom hed know for over 30 years. Early on, Barkly had done favors for Farmer Jones, first as a prosecuting attorney, then as judge, then as a Representative, and finally as a Senator. He even visited Jones in a Veterans hospital when Jones was wounded fighting in WW I. When Jones returned from the war, Barkley helped him get loans from the Farm Credit Administration. Later on, he got Farmer Jones a Federal Disaster loan to rebuild his farm and replace equipment after a flood. He even went so far as getting Mrs. Farmer Jones an appointment as a postmaster. But now in 1938, Barkley is in the fight of his life to hold on to his Senate seat. He comes to Farmer Jones and asks him for his vote, and to his utter astonishment, finds out Jones is planning to vote for Happy Chandler. Of course, Barkley is stunned. He lists all the things hes done for Farmer Jones over the past 30 years! Do you remember those things? Barkley asks. To which Farmer Jones replies, Yeahbut what have you done for me lately? Boy people sure can be fickle. Now, maybe thats standard practice in the dog eat dog political world, but it should never come about in the church. In fact, it should be just the opposite. If I remember my Bible correctly, we are called to forgiveness, compassion, love, and to do the will of God from our heart. In other words to serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men (Eph. 6:7) But it goes both ways LCC wants to provide as many ministries, programs, and services as we can. Although our primary mission will always be to seek and save the lost, we are committed to edifying the saved. We are working hard to do something for you lately. Let me list a few: The Deacons have been working hard to get a transportation ministry up and running. Need transportation to church or a church function? Worried about driving in the up-coming bad weather season? Give the church a call and we will get you in contact with a driver in your area.

To glorify Christ by serving Him together in love and unity

SUNDAY SCHOOL 9 :15 AM WORSHIP 10:15 AM Minister Donald Dennis ELDERS Fred Bryans David Gephart John Getgen David Lomison John Williams SECRETARY Suzanne Gephart

IN THIS ISSUE
IT GOES BOTH WAYS
CELEBRATION 2012

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1 2 PRAYER MINISTRY 3 IT GOES BOTH WAYS (CONT) 4 ADVENT DEVOTIONAL 5

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The big event is almost upon us. As usual, we NEED your help. There are SEVERAL youth and sponsors who need housing. This is not as big of a hardship as you may think. Please talk to people who have hosted sponsors and youth for many years. You pick your individuals up on Friday evening at 10:10 p.m. and return them to the church on Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. Sponsors need a bed, however students only need a carpeted floor. They bring their sleeping bags and pillows. We ask that you give them something for breakfast on Saturday morning. At our house we offer bagels, pastry, and fruit that are easy for them to eat in a quick manner since they usually are slow getting around. Other needs for Celebration include food items. There is a need for vegetables, fruit, cakes and homemade cookies. There are signup sheets at The Source in the lobby for you to sign up to help provide these items. Another great need is help with cleanup after the banquet. The Youth Ministry Team and kitchen crew are very tired by the time Saturday evening arrives, and we need MANY individuals to come to the church at 6:00 p.m. in order to help cleanup from the banquet and put furniture away. The great side to this is that we will invite you to eat the turkey dinner with us before you work! Please sign up at The Source if you can help with the cleanup. Curtis Booher, of Milligan College, TN will be our featured speaker. Curtis is the Assistant Professor of Bible and Christian Ministries at Milligan College. Formerly, he served in youth ministry for over 19 years at Crossroads Christian Church. He graduated from Milligan College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1985. Curtis has a Master of Divinity degree from Emmanuel School of Religion where he received the Joe Dampier Award for excellence in Christian Ministries. Curtis was the main speaker at the teen program of the North American Christian Convention in July 2011. He also spoke at the Family Rally held at First Christian Church in Elizabethton. In October 2011, Curtis spoke at two revivals at First Christian Church in Bluff City and Holston Valley Christian Church in Bristol (TN). He has co-written three articles for the Christian Standard: Teens Matter, Reimagining Youth Ministry and Parents Matter. Marc Imboden has been leading worship and writing songs for the past 20 years. He has traveled throughout the country with his band playing for youth conventions, conferences, teaching workshops, and performing concerts for all age groups. His songs reflect a heart and passion that longs to draw people to a loving and gracious God. You may know him best by his song, You are Holy/Prince of Peace as recorded by Michael W. Smith, Newsong, Bob and Larry of the Veggietales and has been included in the new Baptist Hymnal. He currently lives in Lebanon Indiana with his wife Amy, and 4 children: Nash, Hattie, Zoe and Jet. Over the years, Marc has developed a style of storytelling during worship that draws the crowd to an intimate place of wonder and laughter creating a worship time that will be remembered long after the concert is over. Marc is currently working on a new book called A Kiss Towards, a collection of his stories that explores the daily life of a worshiper. I know God has great plans for Celebration 2012, and I pray that you would ASK for His presence that we may SEEK His will for our lives and that doors of many hearts will be OPENED to Him!

Robert Williams

LYCOMING ALIVE
Mark your calendar! Sunday, October 14th at 4:00 pm Carpenters Farm Children Age 26th Grade and Families Hayride, Pick a Pumpkin, Maze and Hot Dog Roast!! Sign up at The Source.

PAGE 5 Advent Devotional Book Christmas is just around the corner and we are preparing for a wonderful month of Advent for the church family. With that in mind we are asking for volunteers to write a devotional for one of the 31 days of December. Please sign-up at The Source or see Carolyn Myers for more details. We have past copies of devotionals for you to look through and get some ideas. Let God work through you for encouragement as we all draw close to Him during Advent. We pray its going to be a wonderful Christmas.

Family Advent Night On Saturday evening, December 1, 2012, the Youth and Prayer Ministries will be sponsoring a Family Advent Night. We will be gathering in the fellowship hall at 6:30 p.m. to create a family advent centerpiece that will be a focus for you during the month of December. We will encourage you to use the candles to gather as a family each day or night in December to read the devotion, scripture, and pray to help you center your family thoughts on the meaning of Christmas. With the excitement of shopping for gifts, parties, family gatherings, and of course Santa we often lose the focus of Christmas in all of the other wrappings. After we finish making our Advent centerpiece as a family (no creative talent needed) and creating some new ornaments for our church lobby tree, we will have a perfect family snack and then make our way to the church lobby. We will gather around the tree as a church family, put our new ornaments on the tree, sing songs of Christmas, and as a huge family have our first Advent devotion together. We have had these family Advent nights in years past and those who participated as children have wonderful memories of these special church family nights. Please put this on your family calendar now and join us on December 1st to celebrate the Light of Christmas!

Sylvan Hills Christian Service Camp 65th Anniversary Celebration October 20, 2012 2:00 - 6:00 pm Speakers: Don Lomison and other previous campers Come to Sylvan Hills Christian Service Camp and join in this Wonderful Celebration! Fellowship with other campers and reminisce about the camp! Enjoy the memories and see whats new at Sylvan Hills! A light meal is provided along with cake and ice cream. The program will conclude with the lighting of the new cross.

Lycoming Christian Church 20 Chapel Hill Road Linden, PA 17744 (570) 322-9940 www.lycomingchristianchurch.org

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Williamsport, PA Permit No. 359

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REACHING OUR COMMUNITY WITH THE LOVE OF CHRIST!

Lycoming Christian Church

LYCOMING ALIVE A LONELY BIRD

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What are you praying for...Healing, protection, provisions, a better job or just a job, kids (young or old), or for better days? Youve prayed but answers arent coming as quickly as you want and everything seems to be going wrong. Your plans are falling apart and your burdens are heavy. Read Psalms 102-103:5. You know the Psalmist is having a bad day when he says Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry for help come to you. Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. He goes on to say I dont feel your presence Lord. He compares himself to a lonely bird. I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins. I lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof verses 6-7. He goes on to say my enemies taunt me. When I read the Psalms and it says anything about enemies, I think of a debt I cannot pay or enemies surrounding me. Verse 11 continues; My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass. Then in verse 17 comes the hope. He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea. This leads to the writer getting the right attitude. He determines he will change, by the grace of God. So with faith he says, In prayer God, you are the only one who changes things (my paraphrase). As you read on into chapter 103 he gets hope. God gives us hope in His word. When we are at the end of all we are and weve prayed all we can pray, be assured that God will give you the answer or the strength to hold on until the answer comes. The victory comes in 103:5 when he says Our youth is renewed and we can soar. That is the Victory! I hope sharing this scripture has encouraged you today. Keep in mind that the Prayer Group meets the first and third Saturday of the month at 7:00 am. We praise and pray. Come join us. Carolyn Myers

The Junior and Senior High Youth will be collecting shoe boxes again this year for Operation Christmas Child. Everyone is encouraged to fill a shoe box to help them reach their goal. If you would rather have the youth shop for you, please give Sam or Tammy Smith $20.00 and the youth will fill a box. They will be shopping on Sunday, November 4th at 4:00 pm. All youth are Invited.

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD COLLECTION SUNDAY: NOVEMBER 11 GOAL: 65 BOXES

Pack your shoe box with love, send it with prayer, and share the good news of Jesus Christ with a hurting child . . . thats the power of a simple gift.

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The IT (Information Technology) Ministry is working hard to bring LCC into the 21st Century by updating computer software and hardware, by constantly improving the LCC website, and by seeking new and better ways to publish and provide ministry materials. The Trustees. I cant even begin to list everything they have tackled to make our church building one of the most beautiful and well-maintained in the area. And there is much more to come! Theres the Mens Breakfasts, the Small groups, the Sunday Evening fellowship, Womens Bible Study, bi-monthly prayer meetings, and children and youth programs. Plus there are so many more great ideas for ministry just waiting for people to step up and serve and attend. I share all this with you for a couple of reasons: First, because I am positive many of you would love to serve and participate here at LCC in one way or another! You just dont know how or where. Second, because I want you to know what I already know. LCC is a church that has a lot to offer for all people, for all ages, and for all circumstances. So if you arent here during the week at least once outside of worship service on Sunday, Youre missing out. Church life goes both ways, Disciples seeking ways to glorify Christ through service, and the church as a unified body seeking new ways to teach, empower, and encourage the disciples. Looking both ways,

Denny
The Deacons are looking for people willing to provide transportation on Sundays for our members who dont drive. See Ken Scheesley for more details.
Sunday, October 21, at 7:00 pm we will have an old-fashioned hymn sing to benefit the Scholarship Fund. This fund was established in 1989 to encourage youth at Lycoming Christian Church to pursue their college education at a Christian Bible or liberal arts college. The fund relies solely on your donations in order to award scholarships. Please make your gift a matter of prayer and join us for some old-fashioned singing.

New Address for Caryl Lomison:

Eagle Ridge P.C.H. Room #101 2997 Renovo Road Mill Hall, PA 17751

Caryl would love a visit or a letter.