The Grow Series will start on January 7 at Praise. Join us for four weeks as we look at four of the ways we are called to be disciples of Christ. I’m really excited for this series–whether you are a new or mature Christian, you’ll have the opportunity to be challenged and encouraged in these four areas of growth. Don’t miss it!
This weekend at our worship services we’ll be talking about the state of Praise–we’ll be reflecting on God’s blessings to us over the past year and looking ahead to what lies in store for us in 2012. I hope you can join us this weekend–it will be a very interactive message!
Saturday worship–5:30p
Sunday worship–10:30a
While covering the merchants’ square for our regular “Meet the Merchants” column, this reporter met a merchant who shed some light on recent developments in the religious community here in Jerusalem.
Johnny “The Swindler” of Damascus sells replicas of religious artifacts, ranging from facsimiles of Jewish artifacts to Roman emperor worship idols. When not in jail, Johnny the Swindler often catches a lot of religious gossip due to the nature of his thriving business.
Once a prominent Pharisee and favorite of the Sanhedrin, Saul of Tarsus has been seen back in Jerusalem under an alias.
Johnny the Swindler quickly recognized Saul from his time in Damascus several years ago. Four years ago, around the time the Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus – better known as Caligula – exiled Herod Antipas, Johnny was in Damascus when the Sanhedrin’s top prosecutor of The Way abruptly stopped working for the Sanhedrin after a “divine encounter” and instead began to propagate the message of The Way. Jewish residents of Damascus openly displayed their frustration with Saul, to the point where death threats were leveled towards him. Shortly after that Saul disappeared, with no one knowing if he’d been dispatched by angry Jews or if he’d managed to escape.
Since then a man matching Saul’s description but calling himself “Paul” has been seen in Jerusalem on several occasions. Johnny the Swindler has seen him several times at different locations in Jerusalem. According to the Swindler, he has met with leaders of The Way — first seen with sect leaders Peter and James a couple years ago, then more recently with a broader group of leaders as a guest of Barnabas.
According to the Swindler, local leaders and members of the sect have had difficulty knowing whether they could accept Paul or trust him given his previous involvement in the persecution of The Way.
Members of the Sanhedrin were not available for comment, though this reporter understands that an emergency meeting of the Sanhedrin was called for after speaking with Sanhedrin representatives about Saul’s reappearance.
Local elders at the city gates who are well-acquainted with The Way stress that the addition of a gifted leader like Saul/Paul could be revolutionary for The Way.
(In other news: the sister of Emperor Caligula, Agrippina the Younger, recently gave birth to Nero Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus on 15 December 37AD in Antium, near Rome. More on the back of the scroll.)
As we wind up our Love & Respect Series this coming Sunday, you may be interested in attending a marriage seminar to keep working at your relationship with your spouse. We considered hosting a video conference at PCF but decided against it as we saw the reach and impact we were having with our sermon series, Sunday school classes, and small groups. If you are interested in attending a conference, though, here are some options for you:
Family Life’s “The Art of Marriage” video conference dates & locations
Information on all of Family Life’s marriage conferences
See you this Sunday for the wrap-up of our series!
By now you’ve clearly seen and heard about the devastation in Japan. As a part of Praise, you are part of the mission that the Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America (CLBA) has in Japan. The CLBA has two missionary families in Japan currently–the Nordaases in Takanosu and the Bengtsons in Sendai–at the heart of the earthquake and tsunami damage. Thankfully both families are alright and our sister church family, the Church of the Lutheran Brethren of Japan, reports no loss of life or property damage amongst its congregations. Please keep the ministry in Japan in your prayers.
To follow what is happening, check out the CLBA’s blog here for the latest.
Dear Praise Family,
Here’s some news about the coming Christmas celebrations I want to make sure you have. I hope to see you and worship with you this weekend!
Candlelight Services:
Our Dec. 23 service is at 7pm, and there will be nursery care available for ages birth-3. Our Dec. 24 service is at 5pm and the nursery will not be staffed.
Elder Ordination:
On Sunday, Dec. 26, we’ll be ordaining Phil Havens as an elder during the worship service. This is a very special, exciting event for our church family, one that comes along once every few years. We will be affirming Phil in the role we’ve called him to, and we’ll be celebrating after the service with some refreshments. Our Regional Pastor, Rev. Warren Geraghty, will be officiating. Join us!
God bless you and your family this Christmas. See you in a couple days!
Pastor Ryan
12/19 Worship at 10:30am
12/23 Candlelight Service at 7:00pm
12/24 Candlelight Service at 5:00pm
12/26 Worship at 10:30am
1/2 Sunday school resumes at 9:00am, Worship at 10:30am
PCF friends–we are still having worship at 10:30am today–our lots have been re-sanded and temperatures continue to rise. Please drive safely and walk safely when you arrive–we will also have greeters available to walk you from your car (and we have umbrellas!) We are gearing up for the worship and the church has been decorated for the Christmas season–it will be a great day for worship! See you soon!
Due to inclement weather, Sunday school will be cancelled today. Road conditions are alright, however our parking lots are icy. We’re planning to have worship at 10:30. Puppets of Praise will still take place during our worship service, but the pageant might be postponed until Dec. 19. Please drive safe! We anticipate our lots will be re-sanded and safe for 10:30 worship.
Hey everybody! This Sunday will be a great one–we start the morning with Sunday school for all ages (even nursery care for ages 0-3) at 9am, and we’ll be worshipping at 10:30am. I’m excited for this message because Pastor Kevin Skaret will be preaching about the Holy Spirit. I got to hear Pr. Kevin, our youth director, do a run-through of his sermon today and I’m excited for everyone to hear it. Lastly, after the service, we’ll have refreshments and a business meeting at 12:15pm. The meeting includes some important business, so I hope you can stay. See you in the morning!