Zion E-News (12-20-2018)

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; 
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— 
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, 
the Spirit of counsel and of might, 
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— 
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. 
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, 
or decide by what he hears with his ears; 
but with righteousness he will judge the needy, 
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. 
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; 
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 
Righteousness will be his belt 
and faithfulness the sash around his waist. 
The wolf will live with the lamb, 
the leopard will lie down with the goat, 
the calf and the lion and the yearling together; 
and a little child will lead them. 
The cow will feed with the bear, 
their young will lie down together, 
and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 
The infant will play near the cobra’s den, 
the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. 
They will neither harm nor destroy 
on all my holy mountain, 
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord 
as the waters cover the sea. 

Isaiah 11:1-9

Connect to God
Just a few days before Christmas, we come to the end of John’s prologue as the Word takes on flesh and moves into the neighborhood. In a world where the rich and powerful live in gated communities, safely ensconced in their wealthy ghettos, think for a moment what kind of all powerful God chooses to come and live with the likes of you and me. He comes not even in some earthly palace surrounded by guards and courtiers, but to a poor not-quite married yet couple in a small village in the backwaters of the empire. This God who is so great no one can even see his glory and live, condescends to live among us as a baby and somehow in this humble state shows his true glory. Come let us worship our newborn king!

Join us on Christmas Eve at 6 pm for a reflective Candlelight service as we celebrate the birth of Jesus! This is a great way to begin your Christmas celebration as we remember again the hope we have found in Christ and look not only at the manger, but through the manger to the empty tomb and our future life with him. Nursery will be provided, but children of all ages are encouraged to attend worship.

If you would like a copy of the worship service, you can receive a complete copy by contacting Tom Verbrugge or you can find the weekly messages on our website.

Grow in Community
Micah Zondervan will be having surgery tomorrow to correct an inverted chest. Please hold Micah in your prayers as he recovers and his family as they care for him following surgery.

Throughout this fall, many people in our church have participated in a 729 Group. These groups commit to meet together for a meal once a month for three months. It is a great way to get to know some new people in church. I have heard numerous people tell me how much they have enjoyed getting to know people in their group. If you are looking to make some new connections over the winter, new to Zion, or wondering who some of these new people are, sign-up through the connections beginning on January 6 for our next round of 729 Groups.

In early January, we will be starting a new women’s exercise class on Monday nights. It will be a great time to both get some exercise and connect with other women at Zion. If you are interested in learning more, you can sign up on the Connection Card on Sunday.

Serve the World
On Monday, we again held our monthly Personal Care Pantry. Every month more than 50 families are supported, cared for, and blessed with some tangible help. If you are looking for a way to give back, a place to serve others, and get to know some more people at Zion. Please contact Luke Austin or Tom Boeve to learn more. 

Christmas is a key season for churches new and old to reach out and welcome new people into their community. Join me in praying not only for our church to practice gracious hospitality this season, but also for City Chapel during its first Christmas season and for Lifeline Community Church that both our church plants may boldly share our hope in the newborn king this season.

Administrative Details
As many of you may know, in September our Consistory went on a retreat together to discern God’s call for Zion in the next several years. We will be sharing this vision in more detail early next year, but the core of our vision is a desire to raise up Christian leaders in order to plant new churches in the Grandville and Georgetown Township communities. 

As part of this visioning process, we also have been assessing our ongoing needs at Zion in order to continue welcoming new people into our congregation. We are working on everything from assessing our outreach ministries to creating leadership development resources and assessing our building use. Currently, the Consistory is interviewing potential architects to help us better use the footprint of our building to more effectively welcome more people to our church. We are asking specifically for help in rightsizing our children and youth spaces and improving the traffic flow in the building on Sundays with some more welcoming gathering areas.

As you think about your upcoming end-of-year giving, please consider giving to our new Church Remodel Fund. Going forward, we will involve the congregation in both the design and decision process of any remodel, but wanted to share this opportunity to financially support this effort as we begin dreaming of how we can use our facility even better to reach people for God.

We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures.
Fiscal Year to date budget: $315,380.80
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $307,452.52