Partnership with God

God offers great blessings to us when we wisely invest what He has entrusted to us. God's faithfulness moves us to trust in His promises and grow in our partnership with God by committing the first portion of our income. Many completed Partnership with God commitments and offered them to the Lord. If you have not done so please click on the link above and print it, or pick one up from the Info table this Sunday, complete it and place it on the altar or in the offering box.

When does $13,000 = $26,000?

Now! For every dollar you give to our Building Fund until the end of 2010, the Texas District LCMS has generously offered to match it up to $100,000. What a great way to double the impact of your contribution! If you give before the end of the year, you may be able to save on your 2009 income taxes. As a bonus your donation will receive a high rate of return in the coming year through our Texas CEF Building Fund which is currently paying 2.53% apy. Just write "Building Fund" in the memo line of your check or place your gift in a Ministry Facility Fund envelope.

Building a Bigger Heaven in Texas

In our prayers this week, we’re lifting up missionary pastor George Masih and the ministry of Grace Community as they reach out to people in Plano, Texas and beyond. We support their work through the gift of 10% of our Sunday morning offerings to Texas Partners in Mission. To find out more, visit www.txdistlcms.org/tpim.

Giving Tree

Thank you for selecting all of the names off of the Giving Tree last Sunday. Please remember to attach the gift tag to your wrapped gift and return it to church by Sunday, December 20.

Advent Devotions

Advent is a great time to get into the habit of doing daily devotions or to vary your current routine. A great source for these in online, audio and podcast editions is available at: http://www.adventdevotions.net/dailydevotions.asp

Congregational Assembly

A Congregational Assembly will be held on Sunday, December 13 after worship (around noon) for the purpose of seeking the Spirit's guidance and calling a pastor. Pastor Ken is currently called by the Texas District and serves Word of Life on District's behalf. At a previous Congregational Assembly, the decision was made to move forward with a one-candidate, fast track call process, that candidate being Pastor Ken. The only item on the agenda for the upcoming meeting is to actually call Pastor Ken as our pastor.

Q. Please explain "divine call" to me. Is there a biblical reference, or is it a manmade concept?
A. Article 14 of the Augsburg Confession (one of the formal Lutheran confessional writings) says, "It is taught among us that no one should publicly teach or preach or administer the sacraments in the church without a regular call." Traditionally in the Lutheran church this has been described as a "divine call" because: 

• It is God who has instituted the pastoral office in order that the Word might be preached and the sacraments instituted in an orderly way (Luke 10:16; Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:1-2; Timothy 3; Titus 1; Eph: 4:11, 14; Col. 4:17; 1 Cor. 4:1; 1 Cor. 14:40; 2 Cor. 2:17); 

• It is God who has given congregations the right to call a pastor to carry out this work in their midst and on their behalf (Matt. 28:18-20; Matt. 16:13-19; 18: 17-20, John 20:22, 23; 1 John 4:1; 1 Peter 2:5- 6; 4:11; Acts 6:6; 1 Tim. 3:10; 4:14; 5:17; Titus 1:5; Acts 1:23; Heb.13:17; 1 Thess. 5:12).

The specific process by which a congregation extends a call to a pastor is not set forth in the Scriptures, and so this process may vary from time to time and place to place. In the interest of doing things "decently and in order" (1 Cor. 14:40), however, the various districts of the Synod have established a set of procedures which is intended to help congregations: 1) identify potential candidates for a call, and 2) follow the steps by which the congregation may extend a call to the individual whom they believe would be best suited to ministry at that place. Source: http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=2703

LifeGroups

For Women
Wednesdays 9:00 a.m.
Dive into the Bible to discover the treasures and answers it holds. Learn key concepts of our faith and break down the Bible to make it come alive! Great for new believers and those unfamiliar with Scripture. Meet Wednesday mornings at the Smith home, 3309 Dusty Crossing, Schertz. Questions? Call Sherri Smith, 659-2585.

For Readers
Wednesday 6:45 p.m.
We’re reading, “A Redbird Christmas,” by Fannie Flagg. Join us for a book discussion on Wednesday, December 16, at the Schertz Library, 608 Schertz Parkway. Questions? Patti Mitschke, 566-1650 or Patti@WordofLife4u.com.

Christmas Progressive Dinner & Youth Fundraiser

Saturday, December 19, 5:30-9:00 p.m.
Come celebrate the Christmas season with a special evening together. Invite your friends to join us at the Peterson’s (2839 Pond Apple Dr.) for appetizers. Then, we’ll head to the Molina’s/Stemmermann’s for the main course and finish with Dessert & Christmas music at Betty Tolsma’s home (2705 Star Light). Tickets are available this Sunday from Donna Molina. Space is limited, so purchase your tickets today! To help keep costs low, we’re asking attendees to bring either an appetizer or dessert to share. Desserts can be dropped off at Betty’s home. Appetizers should be brought with you to Petersons.

Youth Fundraiser—Babysitting
While the parents join the progressive dinner party, children may stay at Peterson's to be supervised by our youth. The kids will have pizza, movie, dessert and maybe a craft or two. Freewill donations will be accepted for babysitting. All donations will help our youth attend the National LCMS Youth Gathering in New Orleans.

Christmas Parties

For Youth (7—12th grade)
Join us on Sunday, December 20 at the Stemmermann’s (1013 Gate Creek) for this special annual event. We’ll meet at 5:00 p.m. for our fun-filled white elephant gift exchange. Bring a gift ($5 value) to exchange and a snack to share. Be sure to invite a friend! (And be thankful that the jar of BBQ pork left with the Scotts!)

For ‘Tweens (9—12 years old)
Join us on Sunday, December 20 at the Peterson’s (2839 Pond Apple) for a fun-filled evening just for you! We’ll meet at 5:00 p.m. for special Christmas crafts, snacks and more. Bring a friend or two!

Christmas Eve

Join us on Thursday, December 24 at 6:30 p.m. for our Christmas Eve worship service. Be sure to invite your friends and family to be a part of this special celebration. There will be lots of wonderful music, special readings and times of reflection as we welcome the infant Christ into our hearts.

Those who are involved in the Christmas Eve worship are asked to stay after worship on Sunday, December 20 for lunch and rehearsal. Questions? Contact Patti Mitschke, 566-1650.

Thank You

This week we received a sweet, hand-made thank you card from one of our sponsored families. The card depicted a night scene with a church and a shining star - complete with glitter accents. The note read, “Have a blessed season. Merry Christmas and thank you for everything.”

Wanted: Administrative Services Provider

Pastor Ken is looking for an administrative services provider who can work about 1/2 day each week on a contract or volunteer basis doing detail oriented administrative tasks to assist Word of Life Fellowship in building a bigger heaven and better lives. For more information, click on the following link or pick up an Administrative Services Expectations description from the Info table and contact Pastor Ken, 566-2237 or Ken@WordofLife4u.com.

Lutheran Inter-City Network Coalition (LINC)
San Antonio

Lutheran congregations, ministries and individuals are combining efforts and resources to reach the multi-cultural and urban people of the San Antonio area with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We plan to equip and train servant leaders for ongoing ministry to care for the spiritual and physical needs of our neighbors in the name of Jesus. The Texas District has agreed to help in this endeavor by providing a $50,000 matching grant. To find out more, click on or pick up a new LINC flyer from the Info Table. You may make a donation directly or by writing a check to Word of Life with LINC in the memo line.

Ministry Builders Saving Program

If you shop at Family Christian Stores, please ask about their Ministry Builder stamp program. It's like the old green stamp books, but it is NOT to be confused with getting your card 'punched' for future savings. At each purchase, let the cashier know you want to collect stamps. They’ll give you a booklet and a number of stamps, depending on the amount of your purchase. Just peel & place the stamps in the booklet. Once a booklet is full (20 stamps) pass it on to Pastor Ken or drop in the offering box. Word of Life gets $5 towards a Family Christian Store purchase for every booklet filled. This discount can be used on Sunday School supplies, Youth materials, Bible studies, Bibles and more.

Online Calendar

You've read through the WordofLife4u. You sense what God wants you to do, but how do you keep track of events to invite your friends and neighbors to, groups where you can grow, and ministries where you can use your gifts to make a real difference? Check out our online calendar at: www.WordofLife4u.com/calendar.

Listen Online to Worship at Word of Life

If you have a broadband internet connection, you can listen to audio streams of recent worship services at Word of Life, or you can download a recording of the service to your computer or mp3 player and listen whenever you'd like. Click here! and you'll be directed to our Worship at Word of Life page. Left-click on "Stream" to listen to a service right away or click on "Download" (some require a right-click) to download a service to your computer and/or connected mp3 player to listen to later. You can view, save or print a copy of the LifeLesson notes too.

"Better Life" Links

Yabba-ka-doodles! - "I'd begun to think of joy as a hard taskmistress, and of Christmas as her nasty elder sister..." [more]

Henry Schwan's Christmas Tree - "Schwan's Christmas tree was the talk of the town, and the talk was not good. A prominent local newspaper called it 'a nonsensical, asinine, moronic absurdity'..." Scroll down for the story. [more]

Back to Bethlehem - "I wrestled with the idea of giving up the Christmas play but struggled to find a fitting substitute to help us focus on the Savior’s birth. As I watched Elisabeth at play, an idea began to stir in my thoughts..." [more]

Prayer Requests and Thanksgivings

We Thank God…

• for the greatest news ever, for real, lasting joy, for giving us joy through all kinds of circumstances

• for over $13,000 given by Word of Life members last month which will be matched by our Texas District to become over $26,000 to help build a ministry facility to reach out to our community

• for healing Marcia Waldgeir through chemo and prayer

• for blessing Phyllis by calling her back to work

• for blessing the sale of Daniel Sanchez’s business

• for our nation and our leaders

• for standing guard over our troops and their families

• for those who have sacrificed life and limb defending us

• for all the resources God has entrusted to our care

• for His promise to multiply our tithes and offerings to help build a bigger heaven and better lives.

We Ask God…

• to inspire and empower us to affirm His gift of joy, to choose joy and to multiply joy by sharing the Good News with others

• to bless missionary pastor George Masih and the ministry of Grace Community as they reach out to people in Plano, Texas and beyond

• to direct the purchasing of a property to help us reach our community with the Gospel

• to comfort the victims of persecution, terrorism and disaster

• to bless our leaders with godly wisdom and guidance that they would lead according to His will

• to direct our Congregational Assembly as they seek the Spirit’s guidance and call their first pastor

• to call Pastor Mark Hotopp soon to the ministry You have chosen

• to bless those who struggle with depression, loneliness or grief during the holidays, and move us to be a blessing to them

• to bless students, especially during finals and term projects

• to bless David & Ana Koester and Chuck Tolsma with employment and to bless Stacy Kohan’s struggling business

• to protect our troops abroad, especially Logan Christiansen in U.A.E., Erik Moore in Iraq, Juan Pizarro in Indonesia and Jason Leible & Julie Astrachan in Afghanistan

• to comfort the family and friends of Nici Bahn as they mourn her death, to comfort Quint & Chris Wortham who lost their daughter and to comfort Ruby who found her close friend dead

• to heal Nita Bowden, David Koester, Lisa Flowers, Debra Gutierrez, Erin Hunter, Reilly Hunter, Courtney McCullough, Tara Wimberly, and to heal those battling cancer: Chase Bargsley, John Dury, Rachel Midgett, Kayla Nunnery, Alden Malachowski, Sadie Norris, Matthew Provencio, Manuel Coloura, Zach Vangundy, Amanda Conniff, Pam Smith, Kurt Bickel, Susan Doering and to comfort and strengthen their families

• to bless each of our 1-1-1 commitments and our important participation in God’s work at Word of Life and beyond

• for financial and people resources to enable His vision to come into being through us

• to empower us to build a bigger heaven and better lives.

Join us in prayer wherever you are! You may leave prayer requests at 566-2237 or Ken@WordofLife4u.com.

Christmas Preparation Fun

Planning a Christmas weekend of entertaining guests, I made a list of things I needed to do, including taking food out of the freezer and grocery shopping. As it happened, a friend whom I had been promising to take to lunch asked if we could make it that Friday. So, hopping into the car, I taped my "to do" list to the dashboard and went and picked her up. As she settled into the car, her face dropped. "Thanks a lot!" she sulked. Then I glanced at my list and saw the first item: "Take out the Turkey."

Just a Thought

"There is a joy which is not given to the ungodly, but to those who love Thee for Thine own sake, whose joy Thou Thyself art. And this is the happy life, to rejoice to Thee, of Thee, for Thee; this it is, and there is no other." -Augustine

"Joy is not the absence of suffering. It is the presence of God."  -Robert Schuller

We're building a bigger heaven and better lives!