D e c e m b e r ...

the
GracePlace
D u n c a n v i l l e Church of Christ
A SpiritSpirit-led family seeking to know God, grow in faith, serve others, and share Jesus Christ.
Christ
December 3, 2006
An enduring devotion to the redeeming
work of Jesus hallmarks Christian
worship. Believers gather regularly with
one heart to praise and glorify God for
His mighty acts and tender mercies,
chiefly
the
great
personal
love
demonstrated at the cross. We seek to
honor our Creator and Redeemer by
worshipping in Spirit and truth with the
attitude of humility displayed in Jesus.
Because the life, death, and resurrection
of Jesus are central to gospel faith, we
emphasize participation in the Lord’s
Supper (Communion) as the core of our
worship experience. Here we consider
and remember the sacrifice of Christ and
appreciate the divine unity it affords all
disciples. We invite all people of faith to
share the bread and wine. We believe
God has revealed Himself in scripture,
and thus we must learn to know and trust
Him through study, exposition, and
contemplation of the inspired text. We
read the scriptures publicly and listen
actively to the preaching of the Word so
we may grow in the grace and truth of
Jesus. We desire “that the Word of Christ
richly dwell within us.” We invite your
personal response to the Lord and His
Word. Corporate worship on the Lord’s
Day cultivates an open heart that hears
and obeys the Holy Spirit in ways that
equip us for Monday through Saturday
service. Genuine worship sponsors holy
living. Divine communication is a twoway process, and that makes us a praying
people. We believe God inhabits our
praises and hears our petitions. We pray
believing “God is and that He rewards
those who seek Him.” Our assemblies
ring with songs of joy as we praise God
with “the fruit of our lips.” Like the early
church, we “praise God and teach and
encourage one another in psalms, hymns,
and spiritual songs.” By following the
pattern of the primitive church, we sing
acapella without the accompaniment of
instruments. Also in agreement with the
First Century church, we take opportunity
during the assembly to return a portion of
our physical blessings back to God as an
expression of thankfulness. We offer God
not only our hearts, but our first-fruits as
well. Until the Lord returns, we faithfully
worship.
CALL TO WORSHIP: JACOB LOWE & RYAN PETERS
153 .............................. Come Let Us Worship and Bow Down
63....................................................I Will Call Upon The Lord
538.................................... My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less
718 ............................................................. We Shall Assemble
WELCOME
470..................................................................Victory In Jesus
76............................................................ How Great Thou Art
47................................................................. Holy, Holy, Holy!
PRAYER: BRENNAN UTLEY
62...........................................................................I Exalt Thee
Screen.....................................................................Father God
COMMUNION: SPENCER DAVIS
356................................................................ I Believe In Jesus
CONTRIBUTION: RONNIE WRIGHT
CHILDREN’S MOMENT
DEVOTIONAL: KYLE GLAESER
SERMON: “THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS?”
SCOTT THIBODEAUX
96.................................................................. I Stand In Awe
Sundays: Bible Classes (all ages) 9:00
Morning Assembly: 10:15
Wednesdays: Bible Classes (all ages) 7:00 pm
PASTORAL PRAYER
Evening Assembly: 6:00
CARLSON’S CORNER...
...OUR PRAYER CONCERNS
We are delighted once again to have our teens active in leading our public worship.
Scott and others have done a great job in preparing them for service. It is important that
our young folks develop a personal, authentic faith during their formative years. We
want to position them for spiritual success...Beginning next Sunday morning (Dec 10)
and continuing for a second week, I will lead a class designed especially for visitors and
new members. We will meet upstairs in Room 218 and fresh coffee and treats will be
waiting for you. I'll try to answer any questions you might have. We want to make your
transition into this church family as smooth as possible. It's a pleasure to have you
among us. And remember, we are here to serve you...Please note the Holiday schedule
posted elsewhere in the bulletin. Of particular note is Dec. 17, when we will have an 8
am early service and then at 10:15 am we will have our annual Christmas musical
presentation. Hopefully, the early service will help us accommodate the crowd at 10:15
am. Remember that Evening Services are cancelled, and we will accompany our chorus
to a community praise and singing service at DFB at 6 pm. Dec. 24 we will host a 9 am
Holiday Coffee, and there will be no Bible classes. Evening services are cancelled, but
Jeff is planning an untraditional candlelight service...Our Monday Night Discussion
class will begin a study of two C.S. Lewis classics in January. We will begin with The
Screwtape Letters and move onto Mere Christianity. Books will be on the foyer counter
next week. Please join us... Remember that we move to a second assembly on Jan 14.
Rumor is that we may do it with new carpet on the floor!...Ya' know I love ya'! ~Ron
SERVING TOGETHER...GREG’S GRAFFITI
SERMON NOTES...
Once again God has blessed this congregation. The Lord has given the Duncanville
Church another 56 men to minister to out at the Hutchins State Jail. Starting in
February 2007, we will be involved in another “God Pod”. The reason I said that God
has blessed us is I have found the He never gives anything to anyone that they can’t
handle. Evidently the Lord has looked into our hearts and has seen that we are able and
willing to take on the next phase of this prison ministry. I have been privileged to serve
with you all. I want you to take a moment and consider what God has placed in our
hands through this ministry that He has given us. At the Dawson State Jail we minister
to 54 men in the Celebrate Recovery Inside Pod that Stek Steck oversees. On Monday
nights my wife Karin and I have about 50 students each in our NewLife Behavior
classes. We also have a class on Thursday night called Experiencing God that has about
50 students. When you add all that up it comes to around 260 men and women that we
as a congregation are affecting for the Kingdom of God. Oh by the way, let’s not forget
their wives and children that they will influence for Christ. The harvest is ripe! The
time is now. The possibilities are endless. I encourage you to join us in the great work
that God has blessed us with. If you want to make a real, tangible change in the world,
let me or Stek or Ron know, and we will help you get started. You Are Much Loved!
~Greg Lucas
IMPORTANT TEXTS (NIV):
John 12:20-28: 20Now there were some
Greeks among those who went up to
worship at the Feast. 21They came to
Philip, who was from Bethsaida in
Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said,
"we would like to see Jesus." 22Philip
went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip
in turn told Jesus. 23Jesus replied, "The
hour has come for the Son of Man to be
glorified. 24I tell you the truth, unless a
kernel of wheat falls to the ground and
dies, it remains only a single seed. But
if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25The
man who loves his life will lose it, while
the man who hates his life in this world
will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever
serves me must follow me; and where I
am, my servant also will be. My Father
will honor the one who serves me.
"Now my heart is troubled, and what
shall I say? 'Father, save me from this
hour'? No, it was for this very reason I
came to this hour. 28Father, glorify your
name!"
IMPORTANT NOTES:
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With Deepest Sympathy to
Family & friends of Demple Lawrence
Family & friends of John Mitchell
Lois Neathery in the loss of her sister
C A N C E R PAT I E N T S
Leroi Bryant, Adrian Daley,
Johnny DeLaGarza, Sr., Bobby
Dudley, Joan Elmore, Debbie
Englert, Lori Evans, Terry Gregory, Garrett Gray, Phina Hamilton,
Elaine Hill, Tony Hoover, Rusty
Kwast, Saundra Markwood, Les
Miller, Eliseo Monterroso, Jennifer
Parker, Gerald Polley, Don Selby,
Jerry Snyder, Joe Don Suits, Douglas Sumrall, Dale Taylor, Floyd
Tharp, Jana Thrush, John Wallace
LONG-TERM &
S H U T- I N S
James Adams, Alice Berger, Art &
Wanda Blair, Ray Crowell, Neva
Dillard, Ruth Driscoll, Tim Dunlap,
Dusty Gee, Dimple Hand, Ludie
Mae Hobbs, Ruby Horn, Marian
King, Kristi Cockerham, Francis
Leonard, Eugenia Lucas, Faye
McCarley, Vernon Olson, Terri
Priego, Mario Sotelo, Sr., Dorothy
Standon, J. R. Stone, Virginia Tull,
Laura Walker, Shaelyn Walker,
Vicki Webb, Presley Woods
27
MILITARY PERSONNEL
Gene Becker, Daryl Borman, Kaleb
& Lacey Clements, Larry Davis,
Bryan Englert, Christopher Gonzalez, Josh Hale, Jeffrey Irwin, Steven Jackson, Cliff Jobe, Rusty Nix,
Jeff Maddox, Tim Peterson, Ryan &
Candace Reitmier, Zach Robertson,
Jerrod Stevens, James Terrell
FAMILY LIFE MINISTRY NEWS & EVENTS - JEFF CONRAD
New Friends/New Life Home Tour
TODAY, December 3
1:00—4:00 pm
Tickets: $15 each
The tour benefits women who want
to leave the degradation of
working in sexually oriented
business. To purchase tickets,
please contact Connie Meeks at
214-682-1659.
Thursday, December 7
Gift Exchange Night
Turkey & dressing will be provided,
but please bring veggies, casseroles,
bread, & desserts. We will exchange
gifts (limit $5) after dinner. Men buy a
man’s gift and women buy a woman’s
gift. Hope to see you all for a night of
food, fun, and fellowship!
John & Wanda Scogin
916 Pine Tree Lane
DeSoto, 75115-4124
972-224-0121
You are invited to a
Come & Go Christmas Open House
Saturday, December 16, 2006
5:00 pm—8:00 pm
at the home of
Craig & Julie Slaughter’s
731 Hill Terrace Drive
Duncanville, 75116
972-948-3498
CARE MINISTRY
Person of the Week:
Brandi Peaney
1640 Alexis Street
Midlothian, 76065
Ruth McDougald
1805 Heather Glen Drive
Dallas, 75232
214-331-4222
December 10 & 17
Room 218
9:00 am
Teacher: Ron Carlson
This class is open to our new members
or anyone wanting to know more about
what we do here at DCC.
Angel Tree
Ministry
benefiting
children of our
ESL Students
James & Callie Skains
1642 Shady Glen Lane
Dallas, 75232
214-371-2814
Elizabeth Taylor
517 Sharp Drive
DeSoto, 75115
972-223-3237
Woody Taylor
1202 Spring Lake Drive
Duncanville, 75138
972-298-7950
Peggy Tilory
607 Misty Glen Drive
DeSoto, 75115
972-223-3727
Family Builder’s Bible Class
Next Sunday’s Topic:
“Growing In Love”
At 8:50 am in Room 215
You can sponsor a child for $50 which
will buy them a gift card to go
shopping! Please sign up at the table in
the foyer. Questions? Contact Martha
Sigmund at 972-291-8154.
Derek & Sally Varejcka
Ava, Dane, Lucas, & Sarah
7314 Zuni Street
Dallas, 75236
Ladies Ornament Exchange
December 12 · 7:30 pm
Fellowship Center
In the spirit of Christian joy
Jeff & Sherri Robinson and
Congratulations to:
Ladies,
We will NOT meet for dinner as a
group. You are free to make your own
dinner plans then come to the
Fellowship Center for refreshments
and the gift exchange. Remember to
limit your gift to $10.
We are
planning to help provide toys for the
Angel Tree children of our ESL
students, so we ask each of you to
bring a new unwrapped toy for either a
boy or girl (any age level). Questions?
Please contact Anne Bunn or Connie
Davis.
Jack & Linda Porter
invite you to the marriage uniting
their children
Jennifer Kay to
Russell Wade
Saturday, December 30, 2006
2:00 pm
Mountain Creek Community Church
5950 Eagle Ford
Dallas, Texas
Ashleigh Staggs on the birth of
her baby girl. Kayleigh Jo was
born October 9.
Proud
grandparents are Jeff & Angie
Irwin. Proud great-grandmother
is Glenna Browning and proud
g r e at - g r e a t - g r a n d mo t h e r i s
Loraine Cawthon!
Jeff & Angie Irwin on the birth of
their baby girl. Madison Rene
was born Oct. 19.
Proud
grand moth er s ar e Gl enna
Browning & Bobbie Irwin. Proud
great-grandmother is Loraine
Cawthon.
DECMEBER 3, 2006 CHILDREN’S MINISTRY NEWS & EVENTS - CONNIE DAVIS
Today’s Assembly
Volunteers
We’re growing again and we
need your help! Our Sunday
morning Bible Hour Ministries:
Me, 2! (2 yr olds)
Preschool (ages 3-5)
Zoom Zone (3rd & 4th grades)
Power Hour (3rd—6th grades)
A BIG THANK YOU to Holly Irvin
for volunteering to coordinate the
Preschool Bible Classes on both
Sundays & Wednesdays!
Zoom Zone
Bible Class
3rd & 4th Grades
Room 225
Blue Wing
all need additional team
members. Teams serve one
Sunday a month.
Training
provided. See Connie Davis
for more information.
Nursery:
Bobby & Gina Francis
Jack & Kay Sides
Me, 2’s:
Patti McGrath
Preschool Bible Hour:
Connie Davis
Children’s Bible Hour:
Clark Hackney
Zoom Zone:
There will be no eKids
tonight due to Brother’s
Keeper Unit meetings.
Cub Scouts News:
Jonathan & Holly Irvin
HOLIDAY SCHEDULE:
Dec. 4
Monday Den
Meeings
Dec. 6
Wednesday Den
Meetings
December 17:
Morning Assembly:
• Me, 2! & Preschool Bible Hour
ONLY
• No Children’s Bible Hour OR
Zoom Zone
Evening Assembly: No eKids
December 24:
9:00 am: No Bible Classes
10:15 am: Combined Bible Hours
Evening Assembly: No eKids
AHG News:
Dec. 18
unity Service
m
m
Co
Project: Caroling
Jan. 1, 2007
No Meeting
December 31:
Evening Assembly: No eKids
Blizzard Hollow camp
December 27-29, 2006
R e g i s t r at i o n d e a d l i n e : D e c e m b e r 2 0
December 27
December 28
December 29
Ages 3—
Kindergarten
Grades 1—3
Grades 4—6
9 am—5 pm
9 am—5 pm
Cost: $15
Cost: $15
9 am—3 pm
Cost: $10
DECEMBER 3, 2006 YOUTH MINISTRY NEWS & EVENTS - SCOTT THIBODEAUX
SNA ACTIVITY-DEC. 3RD
No SNA due to BKU Night. Enjoy
the evening with your family.
•
UPCOMING SNA’S:
Dec. 10: Every family is invited
for the Family Movie Night in the
gym from 6—8 pm (maybe
changed to the Fellowship
Center TBA).
Popcorn and
snacks will be provided. Bring
your own chairs to sit in and be
sure to sit with your family.
Teens: if your family cannot
make it, come join us anyway
and you can be a part of my
family.
The movie for this
evening will be “RV” starring
Robin Williams (rated PG).
Even if you’ve already seen it,
come on out and join us anyway.
•
Dec. 17: Christmas Parties!
◘ High School: The party will
start as a “Video Scavenger Hunt”
and will end with a gift exchange.
We will start in the Youth Room at 7
pm and end at 9 pm. The gift
exchange will be a “white elephant”
exchange with a limit of $6.
◘
Jr. High: TBA
•
NEW YEAR’S PARTY PLANS
Sign up for the New Year’s party
TODAY in the foyer! On Friday,
Dec. 29th, all teens are invited to join
the Youth Group for an all-nighter at
Group Dynamix in Carrollton, TX.
The cost is $33 per teen. Each teen
is required to complete a release
form for the evening. We will be
leaving for the all-nighter at 7:30 pm
and will return the following morning
at 8:30. For those not familiar with
Group Dynamix, you can check it out
o n
t h e
w e b
a t
www.groupdynamix.com. Sign up
today!
ONE-MINUTE BIBLES
One-Minute Bibles are a great tool to
help students get into the Word of
God in a convenient way. It’s not
meant to replace the Bible, instead
it’s a way in which to introduce a
student into a life of living in the
Word. These Bibles are available for
$8 each. See Scott to get your copy.
Dec. 24 & 31: No SNA due to
the Christmas & New Year’s
holidays.
PARENT MEETING:
POSTPONED
The parent meeting scheduled for
today has been postponed due to
many scheduling conflicts.
The
meeting will be rescheduled in
January 2007. Date and time TBA.
YOUTH FUNDRAISER
For all those who were able to sell
batteries for our Youth Fundraiser,
please turn them in to Scott today.
PARENTLINK NEWSLETTER
December newsletters are in! In it
you will find information on teen
culture as well as a calendar of
events for December. You can pick
up a hard copy at the Information
Center
or
online
at
www.crossoverstudents.org.
KEEPING TABS ON
YOUTH CULTURE
The Millennial generation is coming
into its own, and it’s sometimes hard
for parents to keep up with the everchanging trends of youth culture. Jim
Liebelt, senior editor for
HomeWord.com and member of the
Group Magazine Live presenter
team, offers some tips to keep up
with the changes.
• Maintain a relationship with your
kids. Be involved in their lives.
Learn their likes and dislikes,
their hopes and dreams, their
joys and fears. Ask your kids
about local culture trends—
they’re your in-house “experts.”
•
•
•
Know your kids’ friends.
Teenagers conform to the
interests, behaviors, and values
of their closest friends. Your
teenager will contribute to setting
the group’s standards, conform
to them, or move away from the
group.
Pay attention to news about
young people. Read and listen to
what’s going on with local
teenagers. Ask your kids what
they know about news stories.
Look for community trends.
Ask professionals about trends.
Engage in regular dialogue with
teachers, youth workers, school
officials, and so on. Ask about
what new youth culture trends
they see emerging or
disappearing.
S o u r c e : w w w . h o m ewo r d . c o m /
Articles/ArticleDetail.aspx?
iArticleId=86
FLEXIBILITY...IN
MORE WAYS
THAN ONE
Research shows that physical
activity drops when kids hit the
teenage years. What better way to
unify your family than to stay fit
together?
• Get off the phone. Instead of
rolling your eyes at your kids as
they chat on the phone at all
hours of the night, invite those
friends and their families for a
walk in the park.
• Turn off the TV. Take your
teenagers to the local tennis
court, learn inline skating, or
learn how to dance.
• Turn off the computer. Sign up
for a family volleyball or
basketball team at your local
YMCA. Or gather some other
family friends together for a
weekly game night.
• Volunteer for community service.
Clean up a community garden,
help someone less fortunate fix
up his or her house, or walk
through town with some trash
bags and just clean up.
Source:
www.wral.com/
food/9497055/detail.html