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This newsletter contains articles written by Denny Dennis & Chase Rotman and shares news updates and upcoming events.

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Published by leonard801b, 2019-11-30 20:32:10

Coe Church of Christ December 2019 Newsletter

This newsletter contains articles written by Denny Dennis & Chase Rotman and shares news updates and upcoming events.

Keywords: News,Newsletter,Religious News

Staying in the

Loop

“Whoever serves me must follow me...My Father
will honor the one who serves me.”
John 12:26

Like the details of a Thomas Kincade
painting, I can bring it to mind in-
stantly. I see the stacks of lumber
piled around the walls; partially fin-
ished projects sitting on the benches,
and little piles of sawdust scattered
around the floor. I can still smell it.
The aroma of oak, pine, and cedar
fills the air. I feel the heat from the
large wood stove in the corner. I
hear the soft comforting sound of good music from the radio next to the wood chisels. As
the day begins to fade away, I look outside at the snow falling on the trees. It’s getting
dark and I can see through the lit window of my warm home and see Kathy sitting at the
piano. My dog lies contented at my feet, and I am overcome with emotion as I realize
how happy and contented I am. This haven nestled in the maple trees was my little piece
of heaven on earth, and my woodworking shop was my sanctuary.

I loved it there; I was safe there; I was home. But as much as I love it, I knew I couldn’t
stay. There was a yearning that wouldn’t go away, a hunger for a higher purpose. It was-
n’t long before Kathy and I were to sell our belongings, leave our families, and forfeit our
home to enter full time ministry. I was being called beyond my comfort to a higher pur-
pose.

For those who have never ventured outside the comfort and security of their home town,
or have spent their entire lives in view of where they were born, little thought is given to
the implications that leaving home entails. You love where you live, and that’s wonderful!
Life is good!

But, let’s go back 2000 years
and try to imagine Jesus leav-
ing the heavenly home that
He loved. Our homes here on
earth are nice, but they’re
not heaven. In the book of
Hebrews, Christ is described
as the high priest, one who
sat down at the right hand of
God in the place of highest
honor in heaven. Life was
good there, but the Lord wanted more. He wanted a relationship with his creation, but our
humanness makes that impossible. God is above us and we can never obtain Christ’s perfec-
tion. We can never relate to him on his level. So therein is found Christ’s higher purpose.
Hebrews 2:17 says: Therefore it was necessary for Jesus to be in every respect like us, his
brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God.
He then could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.

The greatness of Jesus’ purpose was not the comfort of His lofty position in heaven, but His
willingness to leave home and come down to dwell with us in the depths. Christ lived as we
live, felt what we feel, dealt with everyday life just as we do, and for almost thirty years, He
worked in a woodworker’s shop “just like me.”

The high purpose of Jesus is the High Priest that offers the perfect sacrifice…His sinless

Christ’s coming into blood. It is the blood that washes us clean of sin and makes us pre-

the world was that sentable to God. Christ, who knew no sin offered his blood for our re-
he might offer up his
life as a sacrifice for demption and as a gift of salvation that lifts us up.

the sins of men. He In this season of gifts, there is no greater gift than the mercy and
came to die. This is

the heart of Christ- grace salvation gives us. Jesus entered our lives with a divine pur-

mas. pose…to be like us. He suffered and sacrificed his own blood for an

opposite purpose…for us to be like Him.

I wish everyone a blessed and joyful Christmas. May the love of the

Holy Spirit be with you and your loved ones as you remember the

great sacrifice Christ made personally for you, and may you discover your own

higher purpose, celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Denny

SUNDAY SCHOOL/WORSHIP CONGREGATIONAL
9:00 AM/ 10:00AM MEETING

MID-WEEK STUDY and
6:00PM
State of the Church
SENIOR MINISTER Address
Donald (Denny) Dennis
A message celebrating the achievements of last
DISIPLESHIP/EDUCATION MINISTER year and outlining our goals for 2020.
Chase Rotman

ELDERS
Phil Leonard (chairman)

Dennis Fowler
David Gilpin

DEACONS
Empty

OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR
Janet Fowler

“Coe Church of Christ ex- Fellowship meal immediately
ists to reach out to the following morning worship!
lost, and to train people
to maturity in Christ Don’t Miss it! December 15th

through discipleship, wor-
ship, and fellowship, com-

pletely following God’s
Word.”

TWENTY SECOND SERMON:

“Unto you is born in the city of David a Savior for all. Glory to God!
Amen!”

Directed by Kathy Dennis

Sunday, December 15th @ 5:30PM, First Church of Christ , Mt Pleasant
Sunday, December 15th @ 7:30PM, Coe Church of Christ

COE KIDS

For the month of December, elementary students will learn the application of Joy by looking at the
birth of Jesus. The students will learn that God is our source of joy and we are able to connect with
him because of Jesus.

And speaking of joy...our next Family Experience is December 11th at 6pm! This will be a HUGE
Christmas party for the whole family! Please invite friends and families to join us! We’ll follow the
theme from the month, Joy, and encourage all of our families to implement it in their lives.

On top of that, our students will continue putting faith into action by raising money to provide fami-
lies in third world country with livestock to provide a way of income and food for the home. We will
be calling this the Barnyard Project. This is done through Compassion International and it will be a
great way to see kids get excited about serving God. We have egg cartons and plastic eggs to fill.
Each egg carton should have $40. Our goal is to gather 10 egg cartons to supply 10 chickens to
families overseas.

Lastly, our Coe Kids area needs volunteers to serve on a monthly basis. We currently have a rota-
tion of three leaders per area, but the need for more is ever present. I would like you to prayerful
consider taking on an opportunity to serve God in a unique way. Please reach out to me for any
questions.

Grace and Peace! Chase

We’ve been in a series on identity this month called The
Haves and Have-Nots focused on our identity. Looking at
what is in our past, who we are now, what we will be, and
how we can look to God through it all. The narrative that
we matched up with was that of Moses from Exodus 3-20.
Moses had a checkered past, Moses did not think he was
enough in the present, and he had the vision to see a fu-
ture with God.

Starting December 1st, we are beginning a series titled:

Teen and Youth Ministry Unwrapped. When you think of Christmas, you probably

think about an event — an event that is (hopefully) filled

with gifts, food, family, and fun. But what happens when that event isn't as joyful or peaceful as we wish it

were? And is the "event" even what Christmas is about anyway? In this 4-week series, we'll discover what

this season is truly about. It's about getting ready to receive God's gift of Jesus, sharing that gift with others,

rejoicing in the surprising gifts God gives us, and taking time to enjoy God's presence.

Upcoming events include the following:

December 15th – Youth Group Christmas Party!

January 3-4 – Lock-In!

March 6-8 – Statewide Convention!

Parents, be on the

look out for a FB invite to
a Parents Group for
youth group. This will be
a great place to find par-
enting resources, events
for youth group, camp,
or any other conference,
and information regard-
ing what topic we are
covering at youth group.

Last Christmas, We started a wonderful tradition of exchanging Christmas cards
within the entire congregation. A large box is placed in the foyer and you can send
cards to everyone without having to pay postage or travel to the Post Office. It gives
us all an opportunity to wish more people a personal “Merry Christmas” than we
might otherwise afford. But this year, lets do more. Instead of just signing your name
on a card, write a short note to the person and/or family of how they have touched
your life. I know that once we all get to heaven, there will be great rejoicing with the
Lord, each other, and with people whom we have touched their lives and not known
it. Why not tell someone this Christmas how their life has inspired you now while
there is still time?

Watch for the Christmas box in the foyer starting December 1st!

OUR “GOING INTO THE GUTTER” GOD

Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man, “Be clean!” he said.
(Mark 1:41)

When I was a youngster growing up on my family's dairy farm (and being the boss’s son),
our hired men had a game they would play with me that amused them to no end. They
would throw coins into the manure gutter behind the cows and laugh as I eagerly dug them
out with my bare hands. I had no problem getting down and dirty in search for a coin that
apparently held no value to the hired help once it
was encased and buried in the … well, you know.
To me, those coins and my hands could always
be washed, and besides that, every nickel, dime,
quarter, and the occasional half-dollar I pulled out
meant more money for me! They hee-hawed
particularly hard whenever it was a single penny I
diligently dug for. In their perception, a penny—a
single penny—wasn’t worth the effort or the indig-
nity of “going into the gutter” to rescue.

Today, though I’m not around cow gutters, I still
go out of my way to retrieve a lost penny I might
spot on the ground. No matter where it lies or what it’s covered or coated with. Not be-
cause I’m thrifty, but because it is an opportunity to be reminded of the One who viewed me
as valuable and worthy of getting dirty for.

What a wonderful and compassionate Savior we have! On that Christmas day so many
years ago, God made the effort. He accepted the indignity of going into the gutter to rescue
us. With compassion and love, Christ willingly came down, reached through the muck of
our sin-filled life, pulled us up, and with His blood washed us clean.

Jesus came into this world to save you from living in the filth of a Denny
sin-filled world. Remember this the next time you bend down to

pick up a lost, dirty coin.

Comments, suggestions and contributions to CCC’s “Staying in the Loop”
newsletter are always welcome. The church office, Denny, and overseeing
elder do however reserve the right to edit, omit, or enhance any contribu-
tions or pictures to be published.


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