Announcements
CONGRATULATIONS: to Gary & Rita Livingston on the birth of their great-grandsons (twins) Wyatt & Tanner Livingston, on Tuesday, December 5, in West Virginia. The twins need our prayers; they were born prematurely and are still in the hospital. The proud parents are Ryan & Megan Livingston.
IN MEMORY: The flowers on the organ are in memory of Robert Chrest, who passed away on December 22, 2019.
THANK YOU: for all the help, encouragement, prayers, cards, and calls we recently received. Our God is wonderful! The image of Christ is seen in the believers at COD. To God be the glory, great things He has done. Prayer is the greatest contribution that we can make to the life of another. (Philippians 4:19) The Kitzmillers
CHRISTMAS OUTREACH: Gifts are due today! If you took a tag from the tree, please make sure your wrapped gift has been dropped off at the Welcome Desk. Thank you!
NURSERY WORKERS: Please stop by the Nursery today to see Anne-Marie. Thank you for all you do to support the Church Nursery!
OFFERING ENVELOPES: for 2024 are available for pick-up in the Church hallway. Anyone who would like to request tithing envelopes may contact the Church Office at (410) 876-3838, ext. 303.
From My Heart
Tonight, we are having our Christmas Cantata! We have been enjoying some of the music for the last couple of weeks, and I am looking forward to hearing the complete cantata, along with the narration. This is a great opportunity for you to invite folks to come to church with you. They may not come for a regular service, but for some wonderful and beautiful Christmas music, they might come with a smile on their face.
In the 28 years I have been pastor of the Church of the Open Door, we have not had any efforts to raise funds for big projects. The Lord has blessed us and always meets our needs. The truth is however, our buildings are getting old! And we know things do not last forever. The school building’s heating and air-conditioning has been slowly dying for several years. We have put band-aids, splints, casts, and done several quick fixes trying to keep things working!
There are several projects we have done in 2023, including switching to LED lighting and automatic dimmer switches, a new HVAC system for the library (which had stopped working), repairing broken roof joists in the Boese building, digging up the big fuel oil tank in the front yard of the church building, installing a new upright above-ground fuel oil tank, and several other smaller projects. As I said, “Our buildings are getting old.” But these few remaining expenses would inflate our budget if we tried to take them out of the weekly giving. So, the Men’s Council agreed to try to go to our folks to raise the money for these items.
Looking at everything we need to do we are thinking 245 thousand dollars will enable us to do these projects. As we all know too well - inflation has caused everything to go up, and that is certainly the case with HVAC units. Everything is so much more expensive today than it was just a year ago! So, if you can help with these projects, you can designate your offering to “The Next Step Fund.” And please remember we are asking for an offering over and above your regular tithe. Karen and I are going to give towards our goal today, and I trust others will join in and help.
Have you ever wondered what happened to those shepherds who came to Bethlehem on the night Christ was born? Luke 2:17-20, tells us, “They made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning the child.” I could easily imagine these shepherds became great ambassadors of the newly-born King. There is no record of these men, their names are not given anywhere in the Bible or in any other writings. But this had to have been a life-altering experience for them. Do you think these fellows would have ever been the same again?
Have a great day and let’s allow the Lord to draw us closer to Him.
Pastor Norris