You are on page 1of 6

Lamplighter

Vol. 4 Issue 12 December 2011

The

Our Church Staff


Gary Burden
Senior Pastor 919-631-6789

Christmas at Bethesda
December 4th: Festival of Trees - 4-5 PM - Johnson Medical Mall December 18th: Adult Choir Christmas Musical - 10:30 AM Childrens Christmas Program - 6:00 PM Childrens Christmas Party - 7:00 PM December 21st: Church-wide Christmas Caroling - 6:00 PM December 25th: Worship Service Only - 10:30 AM

Landon Orr
Minister to Students 919-229-9379

Debbe Langdon
Music Director/Pianist 919-410-0271

Kathy Welch
Office Coordinator

Michele McLaughlin
Admin. Assistant - Finances

Pat Baucom
Admin. Assistant - Publications

The Church Christmas Play


Church Christmas plays are quite often a part of the Christmas landscape. Various church members will portray different Bible characters. The individual actors, their roles, and how they get along during arduous rehearsals and the actual presentations often portray something of the church they represent. Along that line, could it also be that the actual players in the original story might offer insight into how we as a church ought to function as we together fulfill our mission and ministries. Lets first dismiss as role models men like Herod and the religious scribes. Herod epitomizes anger and hatred for all things Christianthreatened by any Messiah Who questions his ungodly lifestyle. The religious scribes illustrate those blinded by their own man-made religious system, showing apathy toward the true Gospel, and feeling threatened by a Messiah Who rocks their religious boat. However, take Mary. She models humble submission to Gods will. Without having to understand fully how God would fulfill His promise, she put aside her personal agenda, preferences, and conveniences for the cause of redemption and for the good of others.
Continued on page 2

The Lamplighter FROM THE PASTOR (CONTD)

Page 2

Consider Joseph. Also not fully knowing how the Lord would pull off His promises, he was willing to trust Mary and give her the benefit of the doubt, as opposed to suspecting her of immorality and discarding her. He showed mercy even when his feelings showed potential betrayal by his wife-to-be. He trusted Gods facts rather than his feelings. The shepherds demonstrate a united, common focus when confronted by the supernatural newscast and concert of heavenly angelic praise. Their individualistic turfs and shepherding enterprises were suspended for worship and witness. They made the effort to gather at the stable for worship, and then they intentionally returned telling others the Good News. They demonstrate the mission of the church in praising the Lord and in proclaiming the Gospel. The wise men who came later simply wanted to see Jesus! And they made the sacrifice to do so as seen in their difficult journey, in spite of Herods threats, and with generous gifts for their Lord. They had a hunger to know Him and to make Him known--whatever the costs. Can we all learn something of the character qualities from each of these players that should characterize usHis players on todays stage of lifewhether in those times we gather to worship or scatter to witness? Also, in this season of giving, can we all give our best Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions yet? I believe we can! Because He came and because Hes coming again! With love from our family to yours!

Recently I have been dealing with a pretty major issue: writers block. For some reason Ive been lacking my motivation and inspiration to write, which for a typical person wouldnt be a bad thing, but when you have to write thousands upon thousands of words a semester it creates a problem. It doesnt seem to matter what I do. I just cant think of creative ways to word things, I struggle in my development of theses, and my arguments and supporting points are tending to be quite weak. Even writing my monthly article for the Lamplighter has been tough recently as I am stumped as to what to put down on the page. I have entered into a low season as a writer. As Christians we have highs and lows also. Sometimes we feel like we are on top of the world: we are having regular quiet times; we find ourselves praying a lot; we can feel our relationship with God growing and moving. Sometimes we have low points in our faith: it is hard to open our Bible at home; we find ourselves blaming God for things going on; and we just generally feel no motivation to serve. As we enter these seasons we need to acknowledge that they are normal and typical of any Christian, and we need to try to get seasons to change. What better time to move out of a spiritual funk than Christmas. I know that for some people the holiday season brings with it memories that can cause sadness, but Christmas also brings with it hope, and from this hope stems joy because we know that our Savior was born. In that fact we can rejoice forever. So as we begin hearing those familiar Christmas tunes on the radio let us always remember why we are celebrating and let us use that remembrance as a joyful motivation to continue serving our Lord.

Gary Burden

Landon

Merry Christmas From your Ministry Staff

Gary, Landon, Debbe Kathy, Michele & Pat

The word Advent means coming orarrival. The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in His First Advent and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in His Second Advent. In the Spirit of Advent, we will celebrate the Season each Sunday morning during the month of December.

The Lamplighter

Page 3

Our Awana Awards program will be Wednesday, December 14th at 6:30 PM. You are invited to come and share this special time with our children. Also during the month of December the Awana Program will be on December 7th and 14th only.

Samaritans Purse (Christmas Child) Shoe Box Collection

CHRISTMAS PARADE
The Clayton Christmas Parade will be held on Saturday, December 10th beginning at 3:00 PM. Our church will have a float with the theme of Happy Birthday Jesus. You are invited to join us, ride on the float and distribute candy along the parade route. The children have been hard at work preparing for a special presentation for you! Please join us Sunday evening, December 18 to celebrate the birth of Christ with our children. Afterwards, we will gather together in the Fellowship Hall to share refreshments and hear the story as it is written in the Book of Luke. You are encouraged to bring your favorite holiday cookies to share! Once again, I ask for you to consider our childrens ministry. Our classrooms are overflowing with children! We have had to split some grade levels which means we need more teachers for Sunday School as well as Kids Worship. We are making it each week in Kids Worship with an average of 22 children. We have had to move them to a larger room without tables and make some changes in how we use the time during Kids Worship. We want to prepare them for worship in the sanctuary. We need a few volunteers who are willing to lead music for them each week. We would also like to have some guest speakers. If you would like to share your testimony or a story from your childhood please let us know. The kids would love hearing from you and you would only need to speak for maybe 15 minutes. We look forward to hearing from you!

Praise the Lord. We received 190 boxes of our 200 box goal. Christmas is a season of giving and you helped to give a gift that can last for eternity. Each shoe box is a simple gift with an eternal message. Operation Christmas Child brings joy and hope to children in desperate situations worldwide through gift-filled shoe boxes and evangelistic material that tell the Good News of Gods love for them. Please continue to pray that the shoe boxes will be delivered safely and that lives will be changed for Gods Glory. The Lighthouse Class would like to thank everyone for their participation in this church-wide mission project. We wish you all a Blessed Christmas.

DIRECTOR NEEDED
Vacation Bible School Director. Must be organized, willing to delegate, able to make decisions, love the Lord and loves children. Please notify Wendy Gatewood if you are willing to help.

We had a great time fellowshipping and fishing in November. We found that the sea was quite rough and those of us who made it found it hard to keep the bait out in the ocean. Will Smith was able to catch our one and only fish. We had a great time. Just a reminder to all men, our Baptist Men of Bethesda Baptist Church is open to all men in and outside our church walls. Keep a lookout for more upcoming event information and opportunities. We hope to start another Bible study in January on Sunday nights.

The Lamplighter

Page 4

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday
1

Thursday
2

Friday
3

Saturday

4 Brkf. Fellowship Weekly Sunday Service

6 Ladies Bible Study 10 AM Deacons Meeting

7 Awana Weekly Wed. Schedule 14 Awana Awards Weekly Wed. Schedule

10
Clayton Christmas Parade 3:00 PM

Festival of Trees 4-5 PM


11 12

13 Ladies Bible Study 10:00 AM

15

16

17

Weekly Sunday Service

Ladies Lock-in

18 Christmas Musical Childrens Christmas Program 6:00 PM 25

19

20

21

22

23

24

26

27

28

29

30

31

Church Office Closed 10:30 AM Only

No Activities

Youth leave for WinterFest

Weekly Sunday Schedule


9:15 am .............................................................................. Bible Study Fellowship 10:30 am ................................................................... Morning Worship Celebration 6:00 pm.................................................. LifeLine...Get Connected (Small Groups)

Weekly Wednesday Schedule


6:30pm.................................................................... Awana, Youth Bible Study 6:45 pm.............................................................. Adult Prayer and Bible Study Choir Rehearsal

Student LifeLine SPK CHOIR (Shout Praises Kids) - Grades 1-5

The Lamplighter

Page 5

Do you hear what I hear? The sounds of Christmas music bring joy to my heart, reminding me of favorite Christmas traditions and the most wonderful gift of all the birth of Jesus! Bethesdas choirs are preparing special musical programs to celebrate this most wonderful time of the yearand we invite you to be a part of each one! As a matter of fact, please invite your friends and families to join us!! On Sunday, December 4 @ 4pm, our Adult Choir will present a 30-minute program of Christmas music during the Festival of Trees at Johnston Medical Mall. Sunday, December 18, will bring a day full of Christmas music and celebration. The Adult Choir will present our Christmas musical Mary Did You Know? during the morning worship service, and the ShoutPraiseKids Choir will present For the Glory of the King at 6pm. Youll enjoy hearing some old familiar carols along with some new melodies, all proclaiming this timeless message.
This is the season where hope is strong With joy and peace and love and song, A glorious, blessed unparalleled season The coming of Christ to the world. This is the reason Enough for each carol and candle-lit service, So we gather with only one purpose To celebrate Jesus and think of His birth, This is a time to remember on earth, To reflect on His coming, to stop and look back And think of that story so long in the past.

DECEMBER EXTENDED SESSION AND KIDS CHURCH


Sunday, Dec. 4 - AM Babies: Kathleen McLamb & Cherilyn Murphy 2s: Heather Henry & Tori Smith 3s/4s:Wendy Beasley & Diane Duncan K-3rd Kids Church Frances Burden & Angel Duncan 4Sunday, Dec. 4- PM Sharon Johnson & Sharon Levin Wednesday, Dec. 7 Sunday, Dec. 18 - AM Babies: Sondra Gatewood & Jane Gatlin 2s: Diana Lee & Sis Godwin 3s/4 s: Leigh Smith & Jennifer Harrison K-3rd Kids Church Christmas Musical Sunday, Dec. 18 - PM Larkin Creech Wednesday, Dec. 21 Church-wide Christmas Caroling Sunday, Dec. 25 - AM Babies: Faye Wells & Shalee Sams 2s: Laura & Shane Benson 3s/4s: Julie Brueggen & Sara Orr K-3rd Kids Church Wendy & Chris Gatewood Sunday, Dec. 25 - PM No Activities Wednesday, Dec. 28 No Activities

Frances Burden & Louise Gilmore


Sunday, Dec. 11 - AM Babies: Brigitte Creech & April Lengel 2s: Brandi & Tobi Sauer 3s/4s: Kristol Flanigan & Kristen Duncan K-3rd Kids Church Nicole & Michael Ritchie Sunday, Dec. 11 - PM Jane & Johnnie Gatlin Wednesday, Dec. 14 David Duncan & Shannon Coomer

He is the reason we have a song to sing!


God bless.Debbe

Preschool Regis. Desk


1st Sunday: Brigitte Creech 2nd Sunday: Diane Duncan 3rd Sunday: Diane Duncan 4th Sunday: Wendy Gatewood 5th Sunday: Brigitte Creech

Facts & Figures for October/November 2011


Date Oct. 30 Nov. 6 Nov. 13 Nov. 20 Total Avg.
S.S. AM Worship Budget Offering His Vision Our Mission

110 145 107 117 479 120

163 182 176 171 692 173

3,719.90 9,508.82 4,649.31 5,060.20 22,938.23 5,734.56

963.00 1,740.00 745.00 605.00 4,053.00 1,013.25

Average Attendance & Offerings for November 2010 Avg. 104 152 6,580.86

The Lamplighter

Page 6

4967 Highway 70 West Business Clayton, NC 27520 Phone: 919-553-7678 Address Service Guaranteed

2011 Lottie Moon Theme HIS HEART HIS HANDS HIS VOICE I am Southern Baptist missions
Southern Baptist churches collect the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for the sole purpose of supporting international missions. Every penny of the offering goes to the International Mission Boards overseas budget, thus supporting our missionaries and their work. The International Mission goal for this year is $175 million.

Were on the web!


www.bethesdaclayton.com

Our church goal is $5000.


Jesus has commissioned us to be His heart, His hands, His voice. Through praying, giving and going, Southern Baptists have fulfilled this legacy for more than 160 years. Yet billions remain lost and time may be running out for them. Our churches must take direct responsibility for helping reach the nearly 3,800 unengaged, unreached people groups that missionaries may never be able to get to.
Chris & Wendy Gatewood Tobi & Brandi Sauer Tommy & Betty Jones Larkin & Brigitte Creech Jerry & Betty Jo Dalton Gary & Frances Burden Bob & Brenda Jones 9th 13th 15th 21st 21st 29th 29th

December Birthdays

Rebecca Johnson Kaye Peele Ann Harper Ray Carroll Linda Little Mandy Windham Bobby Godwin Brian McLamb Judy Beal Bob Jones Jean Wilkins Edward Sasser Shelton Johnson Dennis Kennedy

2nd 2nd 3rd 5th 5th 6th 10th 13th 17th 17th 19th 27th 31st 31st

LADIES TUESDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY


On Nov. 29, we will have finished our home study on 2 Peter and Jude, "Living With Discernment in the End Times" by Kay Arthur, David Lawson, and Bob Vereen (Precept Min. Int.). Many times in these short, but powerful, epistles Peter and Jude both speak urgently and passionately of "reminders" to their recipients, true believers in Jesus Christ--the church: "I will always be ready to REMIND you of these thingsto stir you up by way of REMINDERI am stirring up your sincere mind by way of REMINDERI desire to REMIND you (2 Peter 1:12;3:1; Jude 5). And what are Peter and Jude urgently reminding God's people of? In summary--the Truth about God, His Word, and what we have been given in Jesus Christ our Lord, AND the stern warning to guard ourselves and be discerning about FALSE teachers who, as the Holy Spirit of God had Jude to put it "have crept in unnoticedungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 4) By the way, "licentiousness" means "wantonness, absence of moral restraint, indecency"--a "do as you please" or "its all about me" attitude and lifestyle. These men (& women, too) have infiltrated the church, so the apostles and Jude give us bold, strong examples and descriptions as to what to beware of. As Jude did, we need to "contend for THE faith"---salvation in no other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of Man! Keep in the Word and wait "anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life." (Jude 20-21). Because of the many activities here at Bethesda, we will postpone our home Bible study and prayer time until first week of March, 2012. Watch and listen for more information later. However--please never, never postpone your personal time with the Lord in His Word and prayer! Now, "to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. AMEN!" (Jude 25) --Your sister in Christ alone, Sharon Levin

Happy Birthday

You might also like