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Thursday, December 21, 2023

Dear Shawnee UMC Family,

Please join us for Worship

this Sunday

in-person or on Facebook Live at 10:30am.

The Scripture for Pastor Phyllis' message will be:

Luke 1: 26-33

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’

The Tuesday Lectionary Group invites you to share some of your favorite scriptures, which we will then share with all members.

Please email them to:

maryann13fenstermacher@gmail.com.

Here are this week's scriptures for study and meditation:

Psalm 145:1-9 I will lift you up high, my God, the true king. I will bless your name forever and always. The Lord is great and so worthy of praise! God's greatness can't be grasped. One generation will praise your works to the next one, proclaiming your mighty acts. They will talk about the glorious splendor of your majesty; I will contemplate your wondrous works. They will speak of the power of your awesome deeds; I will declare your great accomplishments. They will rave in celebration of your abundant goodness; they will shout joyfully about your righteousness: "The Lord is merciful and compassionate, very patient, and full of faithful love. The Lord is good to everyone and everything; God's compassion extends to all his handiwork!"

Zephaniah 3:14-20 Rejoice, Daughter Zion! Shout, Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, daughter Jerusalem. The Lord has removed your judgement; he has turned away your enemy. The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst; you will no longer fear evil. On that day, it will be said to Jerusalem: Don't fear, Zion. Don't let your hands fall. The Lord your God is in your midst--a warrior bringing victory. He will create calm with his love; he will rejoice over you with singing. I will remove from you those worried about the appointed feasts. They have been a burden for her, a reproach. Watch what I am about to do to all your oppressors at that time. I will deliver the lame; I will gather the outcast. I will change their shame into praise and fame throughout the earth. At that time, I will bring all of you back, at the time that I gather you. I will give you fame and praise among all the neighboring peoples when I restore your possessions and you can see them--says the Lord.

Matthew 23:23-26 How terrible it will be for you legal experts and Pharisees! Hypocrites! You give to God a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, but you forget about the more important matters of the Law: justice, peace, and faith. You ought to give a tenth but without forgetting about those more important matters. You blind guides! You filter out an ant but swallow a camel. How terrible it will be for you legal experts and Pharisees! Hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and plate, but inside they are full of violence and pleasure seeking. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup so that the outside of the cup will be clean too.

Titus 1:5-9 The reason I left you behind in Crete was to organize whatever needs to be done and to appoint elders in each city, as I told you. Elders should be without fault. They should be faithful to their spouse, and have faithful children who can't be accused of self-indulgence or rebelliousness. This is because supervisors should be without fault as God's managers: they shouldn't be stubborn, irritable, addicted to alcohol, a bully, or greedy. Instead, they should show hospitality, love what is good, and be reasonable, ethical, godly, and self-controlled. They must pay attention to the reliable message as it has been taught to them so that they can encourage people with healthy instruction and refute those who speak against it.

PRAYER REQUESTS

If you would like the prayer team to pray for you or anyone you have concerns for, please email Julie Italiano at

jbitaliano4@gmail.com. She will send it on to the prayer team.

You may also send prayer requests to Connie Perry in the office at connie@shawneeumc.org, or call the office at (913) 631-2280.

You may also pick up a paper copy of the prayer list at the church.

A huge thank you

to each and every one who helped make the Living Nativity a success.

From those who signed up for roles, those who stayed extra in their roles, those who stepped in and filled open spots, UWiF for providing hot beverages, those who provided wonderful treats and all who stopped by for fellowship and to enjoy and remember the reason for the season.

Merry Christmas!

THANK YOU!

Thank you to those that brought nativities to share last Sunday.

The display was enjoyed by all!

LECTIONARY NEWS

Tuesday Lectionary class will not meet on December 26 or January 2, and will resume on January 9.

Lectionary readings for January 9, 2024

1 Samuel 3:1-10, 11-20

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

John 1:43-51

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

Zoom ID 991 9640 5385

password 061620

Christmas books and DVDs fill the book rack outside the Common Ground area. This could be a time to enjoy a movie with the family or find a Christmas book.

More Christmas books can be found in the library...

BOOK CLUB

Our next meeting will be January 25 at 1pm in the Annex. Nancy Potter Wallace will lead the discussion of Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patty Callahan Henry.

All are welcome!

Connie Mitzner

913-481-9594