!

December 9th

COMMUNITY
FREE CHURCH

WEEKLY

SERVE TOGETHER
December 16th and 17th
from 5-7pm (we will meet
at the church at 4:45)we
will be serving Salt and
Light in their Two Trees
holiday shop!
You can be a greeter,
gift wrapper, host, or
just a happy holiday
face wishing everyone
a Merry Christmas!
Dinner will be provided afterwards at McDonalds
for those who serve! Come out and give the gift of
yourself to those in our community!

CHRISTMAS BASH!

THIS WEEK AT YOUR CHURCH

Tuesday 12/9
Community Group 7:00pm

Wright Home: Studying Luke

Schifo Home: Studying the Exodus
Everyone is Welcome!

Wednesday 12/10
Student Ministry 6:00pm
Community Group 6:15pm
Piasecki Home
Everyone is Welcome!

Thursday 12/11
Worship Practice 7:00pm
Friday

12/12

**The Christianity and Islam discussion has been

postponed to 1/16 and 1/23 to give more time for
this important topic.

Saturday 12/13
Mens Breakfast 7:00am
Then stay for -

Basketball 8:30am
Sunday
12/14
Christian Education 9:30am

Rachel Ross will be sharing in

the Sunday School hour.
Womens Study Group
Jr and Sr High School

EVANGELISM AT

MARKETPLACE MALL

On December 20th at 11:45am,

we will be sharing the Gospel at
the Singing Men of WGNN open
air concert at Market Place Mall.
We will have a table and hand
out copies of The Story, Bibles, and sharing with
people the greatest gift ever given: Jesus Christ!
Unsure about sharing your faith? On Thursday
12/18 from 6-7:00pm we will have a short class on
Sharing Jesus - Come get equipped for mission!
Please sign up to help at the back table in the
!
sanctuary
Sunday Morning to attend both!

Childrens Church 10:45am

Worship Gathering 10:45am
Read Luke 1:26-80 and
Matthew 1:18-25 to prepare!
Rachel Ross of Forget-Me-Not Ministries will
be updating us her work with Romanian
orphans and leading us in advent reading

AWANA! 6:00pm
Monday
12/15
Martial Arts 6:00pm- Free

Advent Reading
This past weekend we handed out 25 advent
calendars and reading lists to families urging
them to read the Christmas story daily with
their kids and grandkids.

It says in Luke 1:13-16, that John was called to

turn the hearts of the Fathers to their Sons, and
to prepare a people for the Lord. We have a
similar calling as we turn off the television, say
no to other things, and yes to a time of sharing
the Christmas story of Christ with our kids and
grandkids!

Third Week 12/14-12/20

Sunday Luke 1:5-13
Monday Luke 1:14-17
Tuesday Luke 1:18-25
Wednesday Luke 1:39-45
Thursday Luke 1:46-56
Friday Luke 1:57-66
Saturday Luke 1:67-80

Fourth Week 12/21-12-27

Sunday Isaiah 7:10-14
Monday Luke 1:26-35
Tuesday Isaiah 9:2-7
Wednesday Matthew 1:18-25
Thursday Luke 2:1-20 (Christmas Day)
Friday Matthew 2:1-2
Saturday Luke 2:21-35
Advent Reading Focus on the Family

CHRISTMAS EVE AT
THE SCHIFOS

Dont have anywhere to be Christmas Eve?

We would love to have you join us from 6-7pm at
the church, and then come to our home to enjoy
friendship, treats, and lots of laughs together. Bring
an appetizer to share! Everyone is invited!
We are at: 1206 Windwood Lane, Mahomet

Prepare your heart for Sunday Worship by reading

the passages for the weekly message.
December 7th
Luke 1:18 (Read Luke 1:1-1:25)
And Zechariah said to the angel, How shall I know
this?
December 14
Luke 1:37 (Read Luke 1:26-80; Matthew 1:18-25)
For nothing will be impossible with God.
December 21
Luke 2:10 (Luke 2:1-21; Matthew 2:1-12)
And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I
bring you good news of great joy that will be for all
the people.
December 24
Luke 2:14 (Luke 2:13-15)
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace
among those with whom he is pleased!
December 28
Luke 2:30-31 (Luke 2:22-38)
for my eyes have seen your salvationthat you have
prepared in the presence of all peoples,

WHAT DO WE DO WITH

Santa Claus?
Just this past week someone asked
me about Santa Claus. Now that
is not such an odd thing, right? It
is Christmastime and central to
the secular presentation of
Christmas is Santa Claus. So, the
question was:
As a Christian is Santa Claus bad
for my children?
It is an interesting question,
because it is an and/both. Yes,
Santa Claus is bad for your
children if you as a parent do not
want to be vigilant in defining
who Santa Claus is for your kids.
Just like with sex, marriage, right,
wrong, moral and immoral
someone will define these things
for them. It is not a question of if
it will happen, but instead, if it
will be you or the culture who
will do it, and keep in mind that
culture is more than willing to do
so.
So, lets properly define Santa
Claus with a some history...
St Nicholas was a Christian
Bishop born in 280 A.D. in Patara
of Lycia, in Asia Minor. He
became the gift giver of Myra. His
gifts were given late at night, so
that his identity as gift giver would
largely remain a secret. St
Nicholas was eventually named
the patron saint of children in
Russia and Greece.
How did we then get to the Santa
Claus we see today?
Thomas Nast invented the
image we have popularly come to
recognize as Santa Claus. He first
penned Santa Claus in 1862 for

the Christmas edition of the

Harpers Weekly to memorialize
the family sacrifices during the
darkest days of the Civil War.
Nasts ideal was for Santa to
appear as a kindly figure
representative of Christmas, and
the celebration of the birth of
Christ.
When he created his image of
Santa Claus he was drawing on
deep German tradition
concerning Saint Nicholas, known
for his kindness and generosity.
Even today in German Christian
tradition December 6th is known
as Saint Nicholas day, a time
honoring Saint Nicholas and
generous gift giving. Therefore, the
Santa Claus we see today was
brought forth fromcenturies-long
tradition of a real person who
embodied the generous and
sacrificial nature of the season.

Lets look at this now...

First of all, Saint Nicholas was a
real person. That is important
because it means that he was in
the same position that we all are
in, hopelessly fallen and in need
of a Savior. I have to believe that
he himself would have graciously
sidestepped the secular notion
that idealized his actions as the
ideal for Christmas. For Saint
Nicholas, the ideal of Christmas is
and always was in Christ.
That means that the problem isnt
Santa Claus per se, but instead
how our own hearts idealize him.
We love the thought of someone
who embodies all that we struggle
to be. For many, Santa idealizes
all the generosity, warmth, magic,
love, and wonder of the holiday
season.

It wasnt until the 1940s that the

Santa Claus we know came to be.
The images drawn by Haddon
Sundblom did more than just raise
Coca Colas lagging winter sales,
he created an image of Santa
Claus that was accessible and
lovable.

Its in that place we make Saint

Nicholas the ideal and idol that
he never intended to be. The
definition of an idol is taking a
good thing, which Saint
Nicholas was, and making it a
God thing. Something we
worship.

A disarming jolly ideal of what

Christmas should be, according to
a secular culture. It is that image
that drove holiday images, sales,
and created classics like A
Miracle on 34th Street.

Paul had that similar struggle in

Romans 7 in keeping what he
thought was the ideal of the law.
He saw it, he strived after it, he
tried as hard as he could, but in
the end he could not do what it
was he wanted to do. A good
thing, the scriptures, became a
God thing that was worshipped in
a greater way than the creator
who wrote them.
At the pinnacle of Romans 7, Paul
essentially cries out: I cant do it It doesnt work! Which is followed
by, Thanks be to our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ!
continued on next page...

WHAT DO WE DO WITH

Santa Claus?
Continued...

Lord of the covenant and promise.

Savior who would save from sin.
Jesus the anointed One.
Christ who is the Messiah.
When we look at how Paul gives
thanks in Romans 7 we see the
power in which he now stands.
We have to get beyond the idea
that we ought to side step or run
away from secular idols. Instead,
we have to be like Paul who stood
in the power of the gospel, in a
sea of idols in Athens, and
properly defined them and then
lifted up the Savior.
Someone will define the ideal for
your kids, so it better be you or
someone powered with the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
One last word on Santa Claus...

Last year, I noticed that the image

of Santa Claus knelt by the
manger was becoming very
popular. I started seeing it on
cards, statues, and art prints. It
made me think of Philippians 2:
Who, though he was in the form
of God, did not count equality
with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied himself, by taking the
form of a servant, being born in
the likeness of men. 8And being

found in human form, he

humbled himself by becoming
obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross. 9Therefore
God has highly exalted him and
bestowed on him the name that is
above every name, 10so that at
the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, in heaven and on
earth and under the earth, 11and
every tongue confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father.
Philippians 3:7-11
The Bible tells us that at the
culmination of all things, every
knee will bow before the Christ.
Every knee, including the idols
ideals as the true perfection of
Christ descends from the clouds.
As we think of it in this way,
suddenly that picture of the Santa
Claus bowing in the manger starts
to make much more sense.
Just before this passage Paul talks
about the quality of true believers
which include: comfort from love,
participation in the Spirit,
affection and sympathy, complete
joy by being of the same mind,
the same love, and in harmony
born out of humility by seeing
others more significant than
ourselves
What Paul, under the inspiration
of the Spirit of God, describes for
us is the very embodiment of who
Saint Nicholas was and every
believer can be in Christ. So, we
dont have to fear Santa Claus, but
instead properly define him to
understand that through Christ, by
Christ, and for Christ we each can
be a type of St. Nicholas to a
watching world.

History of Santa Claus at: http://

www.history.com/topics/christmas/santaclaus

Why
Christianity
and Islam
Cannot

in Serving
God
Together.
December 12th
7:00pm
I have postponed the upcoming
class: Why Christianity and
Islam Cannot COEXIST in Serving
god Together, till January 15th
and 22nd. With the breadth of
material and discussion an extra
class night was needed which
was impossible during the month
of December. Looking forward to
looking at this with you in
January!

Looking to stay current on news

from a Christian worldview? Check
out the briefing with Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary
President, Albert Mohler.
http://www.albertmohler.com/
category/the-briefing/

HOLIDAY CALENDAR 2014

November 30th

December 1st

December 2nd

December 3rd

December 4th

Advent Begins
Expectation of
Christ
10:45am

Martial Arts
6:00pm

Womens BSF
9:15am

Student Ministry
6:00pm

Worship Practice
7:00pm

Mahomet Seymour
Madrigals

December 6th

Mens BSF
6:45pm
Church Office
Closed

Prayer Training
9:00am
Basketball
8:30am

6:30pm
Dinner Provided

**No AWANA
December 7th

December 8th

December 9th

December 10th

December 11th

Christmas
2014 Words
that Bring Life
10:45am

Martial Arts
6:00pm

Womens BSF
9:15am

Student Ministry
6:00pm

Worship Practice
7:00pm

**Helping Hands
Gift Collection

Church Office
Closed

Mens BSF
6:45pm
Gift Collected to
deliver to Living
Alternatives

December 12th
Why
Christianity
and Islam
Cannot

in Serving
God
Together.
December 12th
7:00pm

AWANA 6:00pm
December 14th

December 15th

Christmas
2014 Words
that bring Life
10:45am

Martial Arts
6:00pm

Special Guest:
Rachel Ross

December 5th

(Updated)

Overseer Mtg
7:30pmn

December 16th

Community
Groups serve
5-7pm at:

December 17th

Students Serve
5-7pm at:

Mens Breakfast
7:00am
Basketball
8:30am
Coffee for Rachel
Ross of Forget me
Not Ministries
10am at the
Woods Home

December 18th

December 19th

December 20th

Worship Practice
7:00pm

Christmas Bash!
5:00pm

Basketball 8:30am

How to Share your

Faith Fearlessly.
7:00pm

Caroling-Food-Fun

JESUS

Church Office
Closed

December 13th

Evangelism during
the Singing Men
Christmas Concert!
Marketplace Mall
12 noon!

JESUS

AWANA 6:00pm
December 21st

December 22nd

December 23rd

Christmas
Service
10:45am
Communion

No Student
Ministry
Christmas
Eve Service
6:00pm
Open invite to
come to the Schifo
Home
7:00-9:00pm!

Church Office
Open

**No AWANA
December28th

December 29th

Christmas
Words that
Bring Life
10:45am
Special Guest:
The Caziers

December24th

December 30th

December 31st
No Student
Ministry

Church Office
Open

December 25th

We want to
wish you and
yours a very

January 1st

December 26th

December27th

Church Office
Closed

Mens Breakfast
7:00am
Basketball
8:30am

January 2nd

January 3rd

Church Office
Closed

Student Ministry
Lock-in 7pm-7am!
Prayer Training
9:00am

**No AWANA

Basketball
8:30am