Vol. 8 - No. 39 | December 4, 2019

St. Matthew Lutheran Church & School e-News

December 4, 11, 18 - MidWeek Advent Service 5:30pm Dinner - 7:00pm Service December 7 & December 8, 2019 Second Sunday in Advent “ For What Are You Hoping? ”  Romans 15:4-13   Saturday - 5:30 p.m. - Casual Worship Service w/communion Sunday 8:00 a.m. Classic Service 10:45 a.m. Contemporary Worship Service

HeartWork    Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

BIBLE/DEVOTIONAL READINGS – For the week starting December 8, Bible readings are provided to assist you in daily reading and prayer. Click on the Bible passage to read the Scripture lesson at BibleGateway.com .

Sunday Matthew 3:1-12 Prepare The Way Of The Lord Monday Isaiah 11:1-10 The Peaceful Kingdom Tuesday Romans 15:4-13 Good News For Jews And Gentiles Wednesday James 3:13-18 Two Kind Of Wisdom

Thursday Isaiah 55:10-13 God's People Will Celebrate Friday 2 Thessalonians 3:16 Final Greeting Of Peace Saturday Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 A Prayer For Guidance For The King Sunday Matthew 11:2-11 Jesus And John The Baptist

UPCOMING EVENTS December 7 - Breakfast with Santa. 9:00am 8 - St. Matthew Ladies Christmas Luncheon 8 - Women’s Guild Cookie Walk 10 - Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (7:00pm) 11 - Advent Dinner (5:30pm) & Service (7:00pm) 14 - Sunday school Christmas service (5:30pm) 15 - New Member Welcome Brunch 18 - Advent Dinner (5:30pm) & Service (7:00pm) 20 - ECC/Preschool Christmas Program 22 - 8:00am & 10:45am - Service of Nine Lessons       & Carols 24 - Christmas Eve Services - 2:00, 4:00, 6:00, 11:00pm 25 - Christmas Day Services - 10:00am 30 - Passion trip in Atlanta Georgia 31 - Service of Remembrance - 5:30pm

Christmas Poinsettias Order your Christmas Poinsettias TODAY.  All orders need to be into the Church office by December 15.  Order forms are located on the Church Office counter or in the Informational Carts.  Please drop off your order form & check payable to St. Matthew Lutheran Church in the box on the church office counter.  Please contact the church office if you have any questions.

CHRISTMAS POST OFFICE December 1 - 25 Saturdays & Sundays after church services. Would you like to send Christmas greetings to your fellow congregation members? Drop off your cards and pick up those that are waiting for you at our Post Office.  Cost: .25 cents per card

HELPING HANDS MINISTRY of St. Matthew Lutheran Church & School is intended to provide critical emergency financial support. Please contact one of the Pastors if such support is needed. Contributions to this ministry are also welcome.

YOUTH HAPPENINGS

ANGEL OF JOY - Please consider giving to the St. Matthew   Angel of Joy this holiday season. There are many families in our very own communities that need help this holiday season. The Angel of Joy is filled with tags that have items that the family is wishing for. We ask that if you take a tag, please place the unwrapped item(s) next to the Angel no later than December 10. Please also make sure you place the tag on the gift so we know who it goes to. If the item is a gift card, please place this in the gold box on the church office counter.  If you have any questions please contact Cheri Selimos in the church office.                                                     Thank you for Sharing the Joy…..

FEED MY STARVING CHILDREN - Make a difference in the life of a starving child. It just takes two hours! Come and support a St. Matthew event at Feed My Starving Children in Libertyville, on Saturday, January 4 @ 11:30am-1:00pm. This great volunteer opportunity has been organized by St. Matthew member, Ean Norenberg. There are 80 spots open for this event. Sign-up sheets are in the Informational Carts. Please sign up by January 2.

BIBLE STUDY OPPORTUNITIES

SUNDAY MORNING ADULT BIBLE STUDY - This is the last weekend for the Adult Bible Study Class. Class will than resume on January 5, 2020. Classes are held on Sundays at 9:20 a.m. in the north end of Krueger Hall.     ADULT DISCIPLESHIP CLASS  -  You are invited to the next Adult Discipleship Class that will be held Sunday mornings:  March 1, 2019 at 9:20 a.m.    TUESDAY EVENING LADIES BIBLE STUDY  Bible Study will resume in January 2020. For more information, please see Nancy Blonski on the weekends or you can email her at nblonski@truemen.org     THURSDAY MORNING LADIES BIBLE STUDY This study will resume Thursday, January 9, 2020. For more information, please contact Deb Kinne at 224-360-2015 or debkinne@yahoo.com     SATURDAY MORNING MEN’s BIBLE STUDY  will resume January 4, 2020.    YOUTH BIBLE STUDY (Jr. & Sr. High) - will meet on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Sunday’s of the month from 9:20-10:20am in the Youth Room. December class dates: 8 & 15.   St. Matthew thanks the Donna Grund family for providing materials for our Ladies, Mens & Sunday Morning Bible Studies.   LCC - Who is Jesus According to Jesus - A Study of the Gospels  Classes are held at 9:30am at St. Matthew and 7:00pm. at Prince of Peace in Palatine.     SADDLEBROOK BIBLE STUDY  - is offered on the 1st & 3rd Thursday of each month at 10:00 at Saddlebrook in Grayslake.

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS BIBLE STUDY The Saturday Morning Men's Bible Study will tackle six sessions of studying the five points of the Gospel as taught at St. Matthew. Each week will include heart work passages from Scripture that are easily memorized to make it easier to share the Gospel with others. Session 1 - January 4, 2020 The Source – Where The Bible Came From Session 2 - January 11, 2020   The Birth of Jesus – Born to Be Our Substitute Session 3 -   January 18, 2020 The Life of Jesus – Our Righteousness by Faith Session 4 - January 25, 2020 The Death of Jesus – He Earned Our Forgiveness Saturday, February 1, 2020 - St. Matthew Leadership Summit Session 5 - February 8, 2020   The Resurrection of Jesus – We, Too, Will Rise from the Dead One Day Session 6 - February 15, 2020 The Ascension Of Jesus – His Promise to Return and Take All Believers to Heaven The Next Step – Sharing the Gospel with Others.

Our worship services are live-streamed on our Facebook page and available "on demand" at Facebook, YouTube and our own website. Follow the Facebook page. Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Tell a friend!

ST. MATTHEW MINISTRY NEWS

CHRISTIAN OUTREACH OF LUTHERANS (COOL) -  A food pantry for some of the neediest families in Lake County. Please bring a can of food/box of cereal with you when you worship and place them in Luther Hall. Thanks for helping those in need. November food item: Tuna

UPCOMING TRIP - Presently Full

2020 EUROPEAN TRIP & OBERAMMERGAU is an 11 Day Classic Classic European Tour (September 20-30, 2020) which will include Budapest, Bratislava, Prague, Nurnberg, Rothenburg, Heidleberg, a Rhine River Cruise, the Neuschwanstein Castle and culminating in Oberammergau for the 2020 production of the Passion Play. Click Here For More Information

DEVOTIONAL RESOURCES

Taking Faith Home is available each week on the church office counter.  Monday Bible Study Leader Tim Hetzner offers a daily devotional via email here .   In My Father’s Footsteps is a weekly devotion written by Pastor Blonski and is available at The True Man blog .

NEWS FROM THE EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER This week our Emerging Skills and Interests were: Exploring Ways of Using Ice. The Number of the Week was 10. The Letter of the Week was "H", and was our theme for Show & Share. In Religious Studies, the preschoolers learned about the birth of Jesus. Interested in Substitute Teaching at St. Matthew Early Childhood Center ? We are currently updating our substitute teacher list for the 2019-2020 school year; if you’d like to be considered, please contact Doug Duval at 847-438-6103 for more details. Looking ahead : December 13 – Mary Macaroni Assembly – 9:30 am – 10:15 December 17 – Story Time with Ela Library – 9:30 am – 10:00 am December 20 - Christmas Chapel & Preschool Program – 9:15 am December 20 – Happy Birthday, Jesus Party – 9:45 am – 11:00 am

Click for the Church’s Facebook page .  Click here for the St. Matthew Early Childhood Facebook page. Click here for the St. Matthew Lutheran Sunday School Facebook page. Click for the St. Matthew Vacation Bible School Facebook page. Click for Comfort Dog Malachi's Facebook page. Click for the Youth Facebook group. St. Matthew’s YouTube Channel is here. St. Matthew's Instagram Page is here.