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New Year's Day Service at 11 am An opportunity to review your goals from the past, hit the reset button, and renew your efforts to grow spiritually in 2017.
Almost any moment is a good time to hit the spiritual reset button. As I like to quote Will Bowen, "There's no shame in day 1." And there can be added value in an environment of support for personal growth. This Sunday I welcome you to worship with others and to invite the Lord into your heart and mind as you begin a new calendar year on this planet.
The Biblical focus will be on the Wise Men searching for Jesus. It took them time and dedication to reach their goal, and when they saw the star above the house where Jesus was, "they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy."
As we begin this new year together, my hope and prayer is that we - individually and as a congregation - in good time and through dedicated efforts - experience heavenly joys through spiritual growth.
OTHER IMPORTANT NOTES: Holy Supper - This Sunday, January 1 New Years Day is an excellent time to share the Holy Supper as a way to encourage a deeper connection with the Lord. Join together in prayer for strength and hope as we launch into 2017!
YUM! Special luncheon on New Years
Day
Elise and I are looking forward to providing a special luncheon of delicious homemade soups and salads in Friendship Hall in celebration and gratitude for our wonderful community! Please join us for this delectable feast!
With love and
respect,
Nathan
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UPCOMING CHURCH ACTIVITIES: EXPERIENCE HEAVENLY JOY THIS NEW YEAR!! 10 am Music rehearsal 11 am New Year's Day Worship Service - Nathan Gladish + Holy Supper
12 noon Luncheon today - Homemade soups and salad by Elise and Nathan
MONDAY 1/2/2017
11 am Tai Chi Class
12:15 pm "Go for it" Meeting
TUESDAY
1/3/2017
6:30 pm Bereavement Support Group
WEDNESDAY 1/4/2017
9:30 am Sermon Writing
Team
THURSDAY 1/5/2017 11 am Tai Chi Class 7 pm Women's Group - Contact Elise Gladish, Betsy Gladish or Kelly Woofenden for the meeting's topic and
locationSUNDAY 1/8/2017
10 am Music rehearsal
11 am Worship Service
12 pm Luncheon + 30th Anniversary Celebration Planning Meeting
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Matthew 2:1-12
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
When King Herod heard
this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.'”
Then Herod called
the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his
mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Why the Wise Men Could See the Star (but Herod Could Not)
True Christianity 231 - Emanuel Swedenborg
Enlightenment comes from the Lord alone and affects people who love truths because they are true and who make them useful in their lives, because these people are in the
Lord and the Lord is in them. Other people do not have enlightenment concerning the Word. The Lord is truth itself. Loving the Lord is living by his divine truths, that is, doing useful things with those truths, as we read in the following words in John:
On that day you will recognize that you are in me and I am in you. The people who love me are the people who have my instructions and follow them. I will love them and will manifest myself to them. I will come to them and make a home with
them. (John 14:20, 21, 23)
These are the people who are enlightened when they read the Word. For them the Word shines and becomes translucent, because the details in the Word have spiritual and heavenly meanings inside. These meanings are in the light of heaven. The Lord flows through these meanings and their light into the Word's earthly meaning and its light in the people. As a result of this light, the people first acknowledge the truth with deep perception and then see it in their
own thought. This happens whenever people have a desire for truth because it is true. This desire, you see, leads to perception, and perception leads to thought. This process leads to the acknowledgment that is known as faith.
“Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep
it."
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Helping people experience heavenly joy through spiritual growth
www.sunrisechapel.org
nathan@sunrisechapel.org Office 520-298-1245
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