THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER

I don’t really go to the gym, but I am told that it is one of the busiest places to be the first week of January. It seems as if everyone has made getting healthier a goal and resolution for the new year. However, as the weeks and months of the new year go on, less and less people can be found at the gym. I wonder if you’ve heard of the 21/90 rule? It is believed that it takes 21 days of doing something to create a habit and 90 days for that habit to become part of your daily lifestyle. It’s why so many people can be seen at the gym the first week of January but not in the middle of December.

I saw a funny video online recently of someone at the gym walking on the treadmill. The person steps off for a moment to talk with someone who passes. I guess they had thought they turned the treadmill off only to step back on and realize it was still moving as they were sent rolling to the floor.

In some ways, I feel as if our church is starting 2023 off with the treadmill already moving. There are a number of things coming up that we are hoping will help folks get connected or reconnected to the life of our church. Jada and I have reformatted our vision for the Monday Morning Preacher podcast to now be a live event. I have a new Bible Study and New Member class planned. Our new board will be hitting the ground running as our new governance structure takes effect—this includes our new Ministry Team officially taking over the implementation of our church’s ministry vision.

Just like our new year resolutions, it will take some time for any of these things to become habits and even longer for them to become a part of our congregation’s ongoing life together. On top of all that, I heard it explained that most congregations suffer from attention deficit disorder—there are only a few things a church can focus on at a time. At the risk of having the treadmill set too high and derailing our hopes of developing new habits, I invite you to find ways to get involved in the life of our church all while you continue praying for our congregation.

Our hope is to continue to work at getting more people involved in the various structures of our church that we might live out the mission Christ has called us toward. I ask that you each consider the ways in which you can work at joining us on the treadmill of ministry in 2023. Maybe you could attend worship more frequently, or join us for our upcoming Bible Study or New Member class? Maybe you could join Jada and I on the Mondays we spend discussing church on Facebook, or you could get involved in one of newly structured Ministries and actively help us in leading the mission of this wonderful congregation.

We will certainly continue to drop some things and fail in all kinds of ways together (sometimes the treadmill is simply moving too fast). Thankfully, the grace of Christ is able to use even our hardest falls for the upbuilding of God’s Kingdom. As the Apostle Paul reminds us, our greatest strengths can be found in the midst of our biggest weaknesses. We have worked diligently the last few years at building a strong foundation for the future of our shared ministry together. I am excited to watch the framework begin to rise forth. I look forward to sharing in a new year of ministry with each of you.

Christ’s Continued Peace,

Rev. David Clifford

          Epiphany: Not about Three Men on Camels

By Barbara Kammerlohr

Here is a surprise for those who thought Christmas was over. Tomorrow, January 6, marks the final celebratory day of the Christmas season—the 12th day of Christmas—Epiphany. This is true even though Epiphany will be celebrated in most churches on Sunday, January 8. Epiphany commemorates the revelation of the baby Jesus as Christ, the son of God.

There are various accounts about the revelation of Christ as the son of God. The two most reliable come from Matthew 2:1–12 and Luke 2: 39–52. Matthew’s version may be the most fascinating because of the arrival of the three wise men from the East, variously referred to as kings, astrologists, and simply wise men. They present their very expensive gifts to the newborn king and depart. After this, Joseph is warned in a dream to take his young family to Egypt because Herod wishes to kill the little baby. Joseph complies.

Luke is not so dramatic. In his version, shepherds are the first to recognize Jesus and spread the word of his divinity. When the time prescribed by Jewish law came, Joseph and Mary took the young child to the temple for consecration to the Lord. While there, they were confronted by two prophets who proclaimed the special mission from God the youngster had come to fulfill.

“When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by law, they returned to…Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was on him.” (Luke 2: 39–40.) Note that in this version there is no mention of wise men on camels, trips to Egypt or slaughter of young babies.

Shortly before Christmas, Barbara Chaney and I were discussing Epiphany and such questions as: “From where did the three visitors from the East come? Egypt?, Arabia?” “What was the timeline—12 days after Christ’s birth; two years later?” “Were they kings? Astrologers? Simply wise men?” As the conversation progressed, we agreed that it might make an interesting feature story for the Spirit. (Thank you, Barbara. I needed an idea)

 Doing the research to answer such questions was an interesting task. There were many stories, theories, proclamations but most of them started with the phrase, “It is believed…The information in the first few paragraphs above and other stories about the baptism of Christ as a young man, is the only valid information we have about Epiphany. The passage of 12 days between Epiphany and Christmas was a guess. The originator believed that the wise men came from Egypt and that was a 12-day journey by camel. What if the wise men came from Arabia or another country to the East? Who can choose between the differing accounts of Matthew and Luke about where Joseph and Mary took the young child after the revelation about his divinity? If we accept Matthew’s version, were they wise men, astrologers or kings? Whatever we think, they returned to their home country and did not reappear again in the history of Christ’s life.

The Feast of Epiphany predates the Celebration of Christmas. In the early church, particularly in the East, Christians celebrated the advent of Christ in one feast which included the Nativity, Visit of the Magi, Baptism of Christ and the Wedding at Cana. By the fourth century, both Christmas and Epiphany had been assigned separate feast days.

In the midst of all the stories and theories, there is one truth we must all take to heart: God was proclaiming to the world that this was his son with a mission to share the nature of God’s love with everyone. This is a truth deeper than details such as camel’s, mangers, and donkeys. No matter if the pope who established the date got it wrong; finding a specific time for God’s people to reflect on the immense importance of Christ’s mission is of greater importance than any other truth we can imagine. This is truly a day for prayer and reflection.

Upcoming Events

Pastor’s Bible Study

Rev. David Clifford will be teaching a Bible Study focused on the Gospel of Matthew on Wednesdays at 6 pm, starting January 25^th and going until May 31^st. The Gospel readings for this year’s lectionary text come primarily from Matthew’s Gospel. This class will be an opportunity to dive deeper into many of the readings you will be hearing in worship this year. Over the course of this class, we will focus on the unfolding plot of Matthew’s Gospel, the context in which the Gospel was written, and the Gospel’s role in our own faith formation. We hope you will consider exploring the Gospel of Matthew with us.

New Year, New Member?

Rev. David Clifford is in the process of setting up a New Member class at First Christian Church. This will be a one-day (or evening) class in which we explore what it means to become a member of First Christian Church. We have a number of new faces at First Christian and would like to invite anyone who has not yet joined our church to sit in on this class. There is no requirement or expectation to join the church if you take this class. We are merely exploring what membership at First Christian looks like, some topics of discussion will include: our denomination and church history, church structure and polity, what membership means and how to join, and how our church has been changing the past few years. We would love to have some discussion around how you can help us accomplish our called ministry together. Please contact the church office if you are interested. We will set a date and time for the class once we know availability of all interested parties.

Church Leadership Meeting

Board Chair, Nic Womack, and Rev. David Clifford would like to have a church leadership meeting with our new board members and ministry team members to help kick-off the ministry of First Christian for 2023. We are hoping to have this meeting on Sunday, January 15, directly following worship. Pizza will be provided for lunch. If you are not able to attend, please contact the church office as soon as possible. If we have too many scheduling conflicts, we will reschedule this most important meeting.

Same Podcast, New Format

Rev. David Clifford and Jada Hamby have been working on making the Monday Morning Preacher podcast connected more to our shared church ministry and worship. They will soon be launching the podcast in a new format. While the schedule is still to be determined, the podcast will be streamed live on Facebook on Mondays with the focus being a deeper exploration of a continued theme from the previous Sunday’s Worship Service. We hope this new format will allow for more connections with the Sunday worship service and more interaction from our live audience. Be looking for more information to come.

ANOUNCEMENTS

The Christian Women’s Fellowship will be collecting toothpaste and toothbrushes throughout January

for the Christian Community Outreach.

CMF will not meet for breakfast in January. We will have an all-church breakfast in February.

CWF Planning Mtg will be Tuesday, January 10 @11:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall.

Monday, January 16, the church office will be closed in observance of Martin Luther King Day.

The Senior Saints luncheon will not meet until February and it will be a Valentine event at FCC in February.

FCC Board meeting will be held Thursday, January 19, @ 6:30 p.m.

West Area Youth Annual Ski Thing 2023! This is a trip open to all student’s 6th-12th grade and will take place February 10-12. FCCH Youth: if you are interested in this, please contact Rev. David Clifford or the church office.

   Epiphany Sermon Series: New Year, Same Promises

A Six-Week sermon series focusing on God’s promises.

Series Overview: “New Year, New You”: this is the message we get from pop culture, year after year. We vow to make changes to our diet, exercise habits, or lifestyle, but in spite of those resolutions, most things stay the same. This may be cause for disappointment, but there is some consistency we can celebrate. God’s promises to us do not change with the calendar or the latest fitness trend. Rather than focusing our energy and attention on making (and in all likelihood breaking) promises to ourselves at the start of a new year, let’s spend the first part of the new year appreciating God’s unbreakable promises.