Deuteronomy 18:15-19, Philippians 4:4-7, Luke 1:39-56

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Church Service – December 19, 2021

Saving Christmas

In today’s day and age a lot of people are concerned about Christmas. Port closures have put gift buying in jeopardy. Store employees are saying, “happy holidays.” People find themselves asking, how can we save Christmas? Well I am here to tell you, Christmas does not need saving. In fact it is Christmas and the coming of the Messiah that does the saving!  Join us for our Advent and Christmas series, Saving Christmas, where we look at all the ways that the Jesus of Christmas saves us.

We know it’s hard to feel connected sometimes with everything that is going on. We are working hard here at Holy Cross to keep our church family thriving as much as possible while still being responsible with our decisions about the health of our congregation and the community. Here are some ways to stay plugged in to HCLM:

Prepare for Sunday Services – worship song set lists, scripture readings, and questions for deeper thinking will be posted throughout the week on Facebook and Instagram
Praying for You – We have always believed in the power of prayer. If there is something weighing on your mind or want to submit a prayer, let us know through our prayer request form or e-mail prayer@hclm.org.
Online or In Person Services – Sunday at 8:00am for traditional service or 10:00am for contemporary
Holy Cross Lake Mary Podcast – Check out and subscribe to our new podcast on iTunes or Spotify. You can also simply ask Alexa to “play the Holy Cross Lake Mary Podcast”

Tithes & Offerings

We give because we recognize that God has blessed us immensely and so we honor Him by giving back to Him out of our tithes and offerings. You can give online at hclm.org/give or mail to church address at 780 N Sun Drive, Lake Mary, FL 32746.

Sunday Morning Seating Arrangements

We ask that members of households to sit together while remaining socially distant from other households with 2-3 seats between families. Thanks for keeping others safe.

Upcoming Events and Activities

Christmas Eve Services:

Join us December 24th for one of our three servies:

5PM – Outdoor Candlelight Serivce. There will be a kids’ message. Don’t forget your chair!

7PM- Modern Candlelight Service in the worship center. There will be a few fun surprises!

11PM- Traidtional Candelight Service with communion. 

Poinsettias:

Dedicate a Christmas Poinsettia in honor of or memory of a loved one. Click here. You can take a poinsettia with you starting Christmas morning if you wish. 

Youth & Children’s Ministry

December 19- Kids Church!!!

10:00 AM in the Children’s Center. Kids in K-5th grade join Children’s Director Emily for a fun time of fellowship and learning. Adults, sign your kids in and go enjoy the service!

Preschool and infants will be in the nursery with Ms. Carolyn!

December 19- Youth Ministry

Middle and High School students join Youth Director Blake in the Youth Center during the education hour. 

No Youth Group Until January 5, 2022  

Enjoy your break. We’ll start back after the New Year!

LCMS National Youth Gathering! – Next summer the LCMS (Lutheran Church Missouri Synod) is holding their National Youth Gathering in Houston Texas! This is a youth conference that our synod puts on in a different city every three years. For the first time in a long time, we will be sending a group to attend! This conference is for those currently in 8th grade to those in 12th grade. If this is something that you or your student(s) are interested in, please let me know! For more info click here

***Upcoming High School Winter Retreat– We had such a great time this summer at Lake Yale that this January we are going back! January 14-17 we will be holding a High School Winter Retreat (9th-12th grade) and we would love to have your high schooler(s) join us! The cost is $165 per student. If interested in joining us contact Blake soon. Spaces are filling up!

L-Team News and Calendar

If you are interested in starting an L-Team or your existing L-Team has resumed, please reach out to the office or one of the pastors.

Ongoing L-Teams:

Sunday 

Adult Bible Study  9am
Student Ministry 9am – On Break until 
Sunday School 9am – upstairs in the Children’s Center with Emily
A Fighting Chance 11:30 AM- The Studio with Will Zacharias
Jiu Jitsu Club 12:10 PM- The Studio with Will Zacharias                                                            

Monday 

Men’s Bible Study 7am (Pastor Chris)
Men’s Ministry 7:30pm (On Break until January 10, 2022)
Ladies Book Club (4th Monday only) 7pm

Wednesday 

Wednesday Morning Bible Study 10:30am (On break until 1/12/22)
Worship Team Practice 6:45pm (Chris Kutcher)

Thursday 

Ladies Bible Study by LWML 6:30pm (Sharon Shyrock or Chris Jennison)

Christine Jennison(jennisons2000@aol.com)

or Sharon Shyrock (ssshyrock@yahoo.com). 

Announcements & Updates

We have three Christmas Eve Services this year (5,7, and 11). We hope to see you there.

Ministries on Break until after the new year:

Kids (as of 12/19), Youth, Wednesday morning Bible Study, Men’s Bible Study, and LWML. Please check the weekly for exactly when these groups will begin to meet in January.

Poinsettia dedications in honor of or in memory of a loved one are avaialble at hclm.org/christmas or fill out the form in the Narthex. 

Communion is available in our in person services (1st and 3rd Sunday at 8am and 2nd & 4th Sunday at 10am). For those who are not able to get to a service or are not yet comfortable attending in person services, please contact the office or one of the pastors and we will be happy to make other arrangements. 

Prayers of Thanksgiving

We are thankful for Eileen Kelly’s successful surgery this week and pray for continued success in her treatments and rehabilitation. 

Prayers of Comfort

Prayers of Comfort for the families and friends of Georgean Walden and Dave Springamm as they recently lost their battles with cancer. 

Prayers of the Church

Chris Fetcher-   Prayers of healing after a bad fall left her in the hospital with a punctured lung. 

Chris Kimball-  Prayers of healing and recovery after suffering a motorcycle accident a few weeks ago. Prayers that the leg and foot will heal and he will regain full use of them. 

Ralph Russell- Prayers for successful cancer surgery and a speedy recovery.

Pastor Paul Hoyer-   Please pray for continued healing and  a quick recovery from Covid.

Pray for all those suffering from coronavirus 

General Prayers

We pray today for our nation and our world. We ask that God would be with all of our leaders and elected officials; we pray that He would bring peace to the world, an end to violence and especially watch over Christians that are facing persecution.

Prayers for Healing from Cancer

“Casting a light to help those who are lost find their way in Christ”

Sunday Services at 8:00am, and 10:00am in the Worship Center

and Online on Facebook and YouTube/hclm

Pastor Matt Wallis (mwallis@hclm.org)

Pastor Chris Johnson (chrisj@hclm.org)

www.hclm.org     Facebook: facebook.com/lakemarychurch