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Silence is powerful. Silence is consuming. Silence is deafen-

ing. For 400 years between the

close of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Tes-

tament, God had seemingly been silent. The last prophets’

voices had been still for centu-ries. The priests and kings were

powerless to bring the people

hope. And Israel, once united was not only divided but scat-

tered to the ends of the earth, exiles in a foreign land. Prayers

didn’t seem to make it past the

lips of the pray-ers, let alone reach the ears (or heart) of

God. It was a desperate and dark time. BUT, God was not

finished with humanity. All of Heaven was awaiting His

(Jesus’) departure from there

and arrival on earth. An ancient prophesy in Isaiah

says, “Behold a virgin shall con-ceive and bring forth a son and

his name will be Emmanuel,

meaning God with us.” The God who had seemingly been silent,

or gone missing or was per-ceived to be hiding, was com-

ing, coming NEAR.

And so, on that night in Bethle-hem, the angels sang of his

birth. Shepherds rushed to see and then went to tell. The God

of heaven not only was speak-ing, his WORD became FLESH

and was dwelling among us.

Jesus, “moved into the neighborhood” (as Peterson

says in The Message). Shout it, cherish it, believe it, receive it:

“Christ the babe was born—-for

Firs

T you, for me, for us all. God’s heavenly agenda is ex-

pressed in John 3:16, “God so

loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever

would believe in him, should not perish but have eternal

life.” Notice the next verse (17). “For God did not send his son

into the world to condemn the

world, but that the world through him, might be saved.”

The angels’ message to the shepherds was, “A SAVIOR has

been born to you.” God’s mes-

sage to us is: Jesus saves. He saves us from sin, and broken-

ness, and hurt, and pain, and sorrow, and selfishness. Jesus

came to tear down anything separating us from God. The

message of Christmas is: God is

WITH us and FOR us. God sent Jesus on a mission to bring us

back to God. The silence was broken with a baby’s cry and

God’s WORD arriving, with skin

on —it is the dawn of a new way of knowing God.

For every dark night there is a light. That is why we cele-

brate the LIGHT of the world.

That is why we sing: “Silent night, holy night, Son of

God, Love’s pure light; radiant beams from thy holy face, with

the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord at thy birth, Jesus,

Lord at thy birth!”

Come lift your voices and your

hearts as we celebrate Jesus’ coming! ~jimd.

“Tis the Season! In Advent we light candles to signify Jesus as the light of the world. We sing carols, we tell The Story of His first coming and look forward to His coming again. We begin the Christian year with a celebration of God’s coming into our world. Join us for the ADVENTure ahead.

IITT’’SS DDAWNINGAWNING ONON MMEE......

AADVENTDVENT PPRAYERRAYER Everyone is invited to join in a short time of prayer in the Fidelis Classroom (Downtown location) during the Advent Sundays (thru Dec. 20). Prayer time begins at 12 noon.

MMEDICINEEDICINE BBOTTLESOTTLES The Care Ministry is no longer collecting pill bottles for the Malawi Project. There have been enough collected nationwide for the clinics to use for a long time! (We suggest you continue to re-move the labels or black them out and place them in the city's recycling bins for plastics.) We have been overwhelmed by your sup-port of this short mission pro-ject! Watch for other oppor-tunities to help others in sim-ple ways.

HEARTBEATS

Children’s Worship Time—DT Kid’s S.S. Teachers Needed Join the Technology Team

We are launching a new ministry at our Downtown location for our chil-dren. A Children’s Worship time will begin on January 3, 2016 as part of our 10:50 worship service. Children’s Worship will be in our new downtown Sunday School Classroom for ages 4 yrs old to 4th grade. The kids will be dismissed immediately following our choir's worship time, with Madalyn Cramer leading our children in songs, les-sons and activities. If you have any questions, please contact Lancy Ulrich at 660-287-3496.

YYEAREAR EENDND TTAXAX DDEDUCTIONSEDUCTIONS

All donations postmarked by De-cember 31st are eligible to be con-sidered for tax deductions as chari-table gifts for 2015. Any received after that date must be counted for 2016. (Keep in mind that the church office will be closed during the holidays.) Thank you for all of your generous support of this min-istry throughout the past year!

CCHRISTMASHRISTMAS OOFFERINGFFERING This year’s Christmas Offering goes to People in Need (local re-quests) or to our Covenant Church, Mangumo, UMC. Please mark your check payable to First UMC with either “People in Need” or “Mangumo” in the memo. For your convenience, a Christmas offering envelope is available at the back of the Sanctuary, and at the Welcome Centers.

Would you like to be able to conveniently give electroni-cally through your smartphone or online? YES!Give, powered by SecureGive, is for you! Infor-mation sheets are available at the welcome centers. See how you can conveniently support our ministry financially. Our next 50+ Fellowship (3rd Friday of every month) will be held on Friday, December 18th at 11:30 a.m. at the Cele-bration Center (First Family Room). Bring a dish to share and come enjoy the food, fun and fellowship. Youth Group meets every Sunday evening from 4:30 to 6 p.m. On Sunday, December 20th it will be held downtown. At 6 p.m. our youth can attend the Francesca Battistelli concert together at the Smith-Cotton Junior High School. For confidential, spiritual, and emotional support in a 1-on-1, caring relationship, contact a Stephen Minister at 620-4484.

If you are looking for a way to serve the Lord and would like to learn a new skill, we can help. We are look-ing for people to help with technology during Saturday and Sunday ser-vices. We are in need of people to run lights, sound, cameras and com-puters. We have upgraded our equip-ment and expanded or outreach to touch more people all over the world but we need your help in doing so. You can sign up on this weekend’s blue card (bulletin insert).

PPRAYRAY FFIRSTIRST We’re starting the New Year with a new focus called Pray First, an effort to lead each one of us into a deeper relationship with Christ through a life-style of prayer. All are invited to come to the sanctuary at the Cele-bration Center for prayer and worship from 6:00-7:00 am and 6:00-7:00 pm the first week of each month. We’ll begin January 1-7…See you there! What a great way to start the New Year!

CCHURCHHURCH HHOLIDAYOLIDAY OOFFICEFFICE HHOURSOURS:: The Church Office will be closed Thursdays and Fridays on Dec.24, 25, 31, and Jan.1.

The staff would like to thank the con-gregation for their thoughtfulness and generosity throughout the Christmas Season. We are grateful to God for each of you and we are thankful to be in ministry with you!

Have a Very

Merry Christmas!

If you have a desire to impact the lives of children and to share God’s word, the children’s ministry is looking for teachers who are willing to give one or two Sundays a month in our 4 yr olds thru 4th grade classes. Qualifications are to have a sincere desire to impact the lives of our children and to share God’s word! If interested or if you have any questions please contact Lancy Ulrich 660-287-3496.

Dec. 20 Landon Knight, Rebecca Kruckow, Aaron McMullen, Cindy Mueller, Melanie Schlup Dec. 21 Nancy Lukacs, Brandon Prather, Ryan Swearingin, Nicky Davis, James Gregory, Jan Bartholomaeus Dec. 22 Blaine Arnett, Hunter Arnett, Cheryl McCollester, Mason Pierce, Maisie Richardson, Brittany Tallman, Christopher Bennett, Logan Sunnarborg, Courtney Balke, Jayden Douglas Dec. 23 Lorraine Arnwine, Lindsey Brosch, Brenda McGinnis, Caleb Rothganger, Jason Trauschke, Sara Verscha Dec. 24 Brooke Moriarty, Sherryl Pine Dec. 25 Larry Claycomb, Timothy Iuchs, Merry Moore, Sally Tompkin, Janice Hoover, Brooklyn Severa Dec. 26 James Benner, Katelin Knight, Leslie Lane, Allen Pfremmer Dec. 27 Alix Duncan, Margie Kendrick, Robin Lorenson, Richards Lyles, Riley Ditzfeld, Pam Wallenburn, Brian McLemore, Raymond Tackett, Manuel Williams, Eric Fudge Dec. 28 Trish Henson, Mac McKinney, Deana Pomajzl, Jamie Napier, Chaz McAloose, Judy Davis, Jase Hinshaw, Travis Johnson Dec. 29 Vada DeMotte, Joshua Ger-rish, Brody Rayl, Brody Riley, Keaton Mateja, Blake Jackson Dec. 30 JoMikeal Mugg, Terry Fowler, Denny Houk, Christian Wolfe, Bailey Yeater, Brenda Bohling, Justin Kyle, Jordan O’Connell Dec. 31 Helen Smith, Brett Grupe, Sue Coleman, James B. Rice, Dwayne Shive Jan. 1 Rose Boone, Bryce Privitt, Kena Jeffrey Jan. 2 Derek Jackson, Tracy Harrison, Ray Pollard Leadin

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FIRST STEPS

Dec. 5-6, 2015 Sunday School 73

Worship 653

Amt. Rec’d for

Ministry $ 14456.17

Building 2430.50

Special 1251.41

Dec. 12-13, 2015 Sunday School 63

Worship 647

Amt. Rec’d for

Ministry $ 11179.25

Building 1723.00

Special 919.40

Our Family

Our Prayers for: Betty Rose Thompson, Steve Emory, Darlene & Virgil Bur-gess, Kenneth Burgess, Sue Coleman, Jacob Gerken, Cansata Arnold, Annabell Hackman, Clifford Smith, Jennie Cheffey, Glenda Horne, Bob Salmons, Kristina Johns, Sandy Smith, Jo Peru-sich, Leonard Craig, Steve Goldsmith, Beverly Hoehns, Patty Smith, Our Military Families, Strong Tower Haiti Orphanage, and our covenant churches in Mozambique.

Our hearts go out in Christian love and sympathy to ~Laura Taylor and family in the death of her mother, Bev-erly Lackman, on Dec. 6, ~Bill & Karen Dennis and family in the death of his mother, Evelyn Dennis, on Dec.10, and to ~Gene Page and family in the death of his brother-in-law, Jim Burnett, who passed away Dec. 12.

WWEE CCELEBRATEELEBRATE THETHE DDAYAY YOUYOU WWEREERE BBORNORN If your birthday is not listed, please let us know so it can be added!

WWELCOMEELCOME NNEWEW MMEMBERSEMBERS

If you would like additional

information about the church

attendance or finances, please call

the church office (827-2993).

TTHANKHANK YYOUOU:: (On display at Welcome Center Bulletin Board)

We received a thank you from: Blaire Lazenby & Carolyn Walters

NNEXTEXT STO MSTO MISSIONISSION TTRIPRIP The next mission to Strong Tower Orphanage in Caracol, Haiti will be Feb 26-March 5. On this mission, the team will worship at Church of the Re-deemer, build relationships with the girls at Strong Tower, and prayer walk through the village. Some team members can also do some concrete and electrical work, distribute dresses in the community, and help develop plans for the new chicken house. The approximate cost of the mission is $1200. Mission Applications are available at the Welcome Center and http://www.strongtowerorphanage.com/#/get-involved Deadline is Dec. 31. Call Lorie Holt for more information 620-0866.

CCONGRATULATIONSONGRATULATIONS TOTO . . .. . . ~Lilah & Zoe Rogers who were baptized December 5th. Lilah & Zoe are the daughters of Dustin & Callie Rogers, and ~Carter Edwards who was baptized December 12th. He is the infant son of Kim & Kevin Edwards, and to ~Landon Sleeper who was baptized December 12th. He is the infant son of Ashley & Jonathan Sleeper, and grandson of Dennis & Barbara Henderson.

YEsToday Bookstore Hours:

Sat. 4-7 pm Sun. 8-11am

Bird ~Richard & Florence 660-366-4774 5222 Hwy 135, Otterville, MO 65348

~Stanley 1111 Watertower Road Apt. 12 Sedalia, MO 65301

Downtown, 4th & Osage Worship //Sunday 10:50am Celebration Center, 1701 W. 32nd St Worship //Saturday 5:30pm //Sunday 8:35 9:45am & 12:30 pm Listen on the Radio at 1490AM Sundays 10:05am or on our Website at www.firstsayyes.com (messages) Email us at email@firstsayyes.com Phone // 660.827.2993

First United Methodist Church Office: 1701 West 32nd Street

Sedalia, MO 65301

Non-Profit Organization

US POSTAGE PAID

SEDALIA, MO 65301

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FirsT

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

TTRAVELERRAVELER’’SS SSERVICEERVICE We will again be adding a service to our Christmas Eve line up this year for people who may be heading out of town over December 24. Our Traveler’s Service will be held on

Thursday, December 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the Celebration Center. It will be just like all of the other Christmas Eve services which will be held on

Thursday, December 24th at 10 a.m., 5, 7 & 9 p.m. at the Celebration Center AND 11 p.m. Downtown.

CCHRISTMASHRISTMAS MMUSICALUSICAL The downtown chancel choir will be performing a Christmas

Musical entitled “Shine on us” on Sun., Dec. 20, 2015 at 4:30 p.m. downtown There will be a covered dish dinner immediately follow-

ing the musical. Everyone is asked to bring a dish to share. Drink and table service will be provided. Invite a friend and make plans

now to attend.