6A
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2019
H IGHLIGHTS
The wise men knew
LA GRANDE — Why
believe in the Bible’s account
of the Christmas narrative?
The fact that the wise men
followed the star support
the story. Pastor Mike will
speak on this Saturday at La
Grande’s Seventh-day Ad-
ventist Church. The service
will begin at 11 a.m.
The church’s Living
Nativity will be open to the
community 5-8 p.m. tonight
and tomorrow.
Episcopalians meet
at 11 a.m.
LA GRANDE — St. Pe-
ter’s Episcopal Church will
celebrate Holy Eucharist
Sunday at 11 a.m. Pastor
Roberta Smythe will offi ci-
ate. Coffee and fellowship
will follow the service.
‘Come, Follow Me’
lessons discussed in
Sunday school
LA GRANDE — The
High Councilors from the
Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints will
be speaking in Sunday
Sacrament Meetings. They
will cover President Dallin
H. Oaks’ talk, “Cleansed
by Repentance,” a copy
of which can be obtained
at www.churchofjesus-
christ.org/general-confer-
ence/2019. The second hour
will be Sunday school. The
“Come, Follow Me” lessons
for the prior two weeks will
be discussed. The lesson
for Dec. 16-22, “Christmas,”
will celebrate the birth and
Churches and faith-based groups are encouraged to
submit Highlights for the Spiritual Life page by 4 p.m.
Tuesday for publication Friday. Submit by email to
news@lagrandeobserver.com (with Highlights in the
subject line), by fax to 541-963-7804, or by hand to the
offi ce.
life of Jesus Christ.
In La Grande, the commu-
nity’s Dec. 15 “Messiah” per-
formance is open to the public.
The concert begins at 6:30 p.m.
in the La Grande High School
Auditorium. Admission is free.
Mini-bazaar open to
congregation after
service
LA GRANDE — Zion
Lutheran Church in La
Grande will worship at 9
Have a very blessed
‘Incarnation Celebration’
E
veryone has their own favorite
aspect of their Christmas celebra-
tions. Our family is currently in the
midst of our decorating process. My
daughter and I put up our outside
lights this past weekend, and we were
quite pleased with the outcome even
though there were plenty of challenges
with light strands that would not light
up fully. I am sure anyone who uses
lights in their Christmas decorating
knows exactly what I am talking about.
I love the lights, the ornaments, the
garland and the gathering together
with family and friends. However, the
main thing I love about Christmas is
the theological fact of what it is truly
all about, that being the miraculous in-
carnation of God coming into human-
ity in a human body so he could deliver
us from the power and penalty of sin.
This celebration of the incarnation of
Jesus is the main focus of the Christ-
mas festivities. Jesus in the Light of
the world, the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world, the Christ,
the Messiah, the true God who took
upon himself the form of a man to live
among us and die for us.
It is amazing how much confusion
there is regarding the person of Jesus
Third Advent
candle lit
Submissions
Christ when God has been so clear in
his only personally inspired book, the
Holy Bible. God’s word is very clear
about who Jesus is and what he came
to do for mankind. The Bible declares
Jesus to be God in several of the proph-
ecies that speak to the coming of the
Messiah. One of the greatest known
Messianic prophecies is Isaiah 9:6, “For
unto us a child is born, unto us a son
is given: and the government shall be
upon his shoulder: and his name shall
be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the
mighty God, the everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace.” In this prophecy,
the Messiah is called “the mighty God”
and “the everlasting Father,” clearly
referring to the deity of the Messiah to
be equal to God the father.
Also, in Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the
Lord himself shall give you a sign;
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and
bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel.” Here we see the miracu-
lous event of the virgin conception of
a baby boy being the sign of Messiah’s
birth on earth in human form. We see
here the name he would be given; the
interpretation of this name is specifi ed
for us in Matthew 1:23, being “God
with us.” In Matthew 1 and in Luke
a.m. on the third Sunday of
Advent. Holy Communion
will be served and Pastor
Roberta Smythe will offi ci-
ate. After the service there
will be a time of fellowship
and a mini-bazaar.
On Monday from noon to 2
p.m., a Housing Matters Union
County meeting will be held at
Zion. Lunch will be provided.
On Tuesday, the Quilters will
meet at 9 a.m. at the church.
FROM THE PULPIT
PASTOR FRANKLIN
HUMBER
1, we see the miraculous conception of
Jesus in the virgin womb of Mary, the
mother of the physical body of Jesus,
which not only fulfi lls Isaiah’s prophe-
cies but also fulfi lls the prophecy given
by God through Moses recorded for us
in Genesis 3:15 that the Messiah sent
from God to defeat Satan would be of
the seed of a woman, not of a man.
In Hebrews 1, we see that Jesus is
called the Son of God and God, as well
as being declared to be superior to
the angels as God and not merely as
man. Jesus is the miraculous combina-
tion of deity and humanity. He is the
God-man, so he could shed his blood to
cleanse us of our sin, giving us eternal
life if we will trust in him as our
saviour and receive his sacrifi ce for the
payment of our own sins by faith alone.
Jesus is not merely a man. He is not
only a prophet, and he is not the same
as the angels nor as the angel Lucifer
himself. Jesus is the eternal God and cre-
ator of all the angels and all the universe
as well as mankind. The creator cannot
be created. The creator is the Almighty
God. This truth is the centerpiece of the
meaning and purpose of Christmas. It is
the celebration of the Incarnation of God
becoming man in order to redeem us.
This is why I love Christmas.
LA GRANDE — Pas-
tor Ray Smith’s sermon
Sunday at La Grande’s First
Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ) will be “The Light
of Jesus.” His message will
come from John 1:1-8, 19-28.
Auldin and Carol Prescott
will light the third Advent
candle, celebrating joy. The
service will begin at 10 a.m.
Wednesday Advent
service scheduled
LA GRANDE — The
sermon at Faith Lutheran
Church’s 10 a.m. service in
La Grande will based on
Matthew 11:2-15. In these
verses Jesus involves John
the Baptist’s disciples in
proclaiming the good news of
what they see and hear. As
people get actively involved
they become stronger fol-
lowers.
Following the Divine
Service will be the monthly
church council meeting.
Sunday from 2-4 p.m. the
Faith Lutheran congregants
will be caroling at several
locations.
The Wednesday evening
Advent service for Dec.
18 will include a SHINE
Preschool presentation.
The sermon for the Advent
service will be “Behold the
Child Who Bears Flesh in
Weakness.” The evening
begins with a soup sup-
per at 5:30 p.m. and the
service is at 6:30 p.m.
— Observer staff
Nativity scene
draws criticism
By James Queally
Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — A
Methodist church in Clare-
mont, California, unveiled
a nativity scene Saturday
night depicting Jesus, Mary
and Joseph as refugees in
cages, likening one of the
most well-known images
of the Christmas season to
photos that have become
synonymous with criticism
of the Trump administra-
tion’s border separation
policies.
The display, which has
stoked debate on the Face-
book page of the church’s
lead pastor, shows classic
nativity fi gurines of Joseph
and Mary in cages on either
side of a cage containing the
manger of Jesus.
“We see this as, in some
ways, the Holy Family
standing in for the nameless
families,” said the Rev. Karen
Clark Ristine, the lead pastor
at Claremont United Meth-
odist Church.
While the nativity scene
shows Jesus shortly after
birth and is the foundation
of the Christmas holiday, the
Claremont depiction appears
to be invoking Joseph and
Mary’s fl ight to Egypt.
Under most interpreta-
tions, the infant Jesus and
his parents had to escape
Jerusalem for fear King
Herod would have the baby
slaughtered, perceiving
the child as a threat to his
reign.
Ristine, who has served
as the church’s lead pas-
tor only since July, said the
church often uses its nativity
scene to tackle a societal
issue. Southern California’s
homelessness crisis has been
invoked in past depictions,
she said.
A more traditional nativ-
ity scene, showing the Holy
Family reunited, can be
found inside the church,
which serves a congregation
of about 300 people, Ristine
said.
Northeast Oregon Directory of Churches
First Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ)
901 Penn Avenue 963-2623
lgdisciples@gmail.com
Worship
10:00 a.m.
Services
This
Week
~Join us at The Lord’s Table~
I MBLER
C HRISTIAN
C HURCH
440 R UCKMAN , I MBLER 534-2201
www.imblerchristianchurch.org
Sunday Services
9:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
Sunday School
Worship Service
C OVE U NITED
M ETHODIST C HURCH ROMAN CATHOLIC
1708 Jasper St., Cove, OR
N ORTH P OWDER
U NITED
M ETHODIST C HURCH
390 E. St., North Powder, OR
JOIN US... Catch the Spirit!
Worship: 9:00 a.m. Cove
Worship: 10:00 a.m. N. Powder
La Grande Seventh-day
Adventist Church
A Place where hope is found in Jesus
Join us in Fellowship & Worship Every Saturday
9:30 a.m. - Bible Study/Fellowship
10:45 a.m. - Worship Service
2702 Adams Avenue, La Grande • 963-4018
Pastor: Mike Armayor
www.lagrandeor.adventistchurch.org
Learning for Today and Eternity
Little Friends
Christian Preschool/Childcare 963-6390
La Grande Adventist Christian School
Christian Education K-8th Grade 963-6203
LA GRANDE UNITED GRACE COMMUNITY
CHURCH SERVICES
METHODIST CHURCH LUTHERAN CHURCH
La Grande - Our Lady of the Valley
“OPEN HEARTS, OPEN MINDS, OPEN DOORS”
1002 L Avenue
Saturday 5:30 pm Mass
Sunday 10:00 am Mass
Weekdays 8:00 am Mass
Union - Sacred Heart
340 South 10th Avenue
Sunday 8:00 am Mass
No Weekdays
Worship 10:00 am
Sunday 12:30 pm Mass
No Weekdays
Fellowship Coffee Hour 11:00 am
- Nursery provided -
FIRST LANDMARK
MISSIONARY BAPTIST
CHURCH
Zion Lutheran
Church
1812 1st St. La Grande
Pastor Dave Tierce • 541-605-0215
We use the King James Version Bible
Sunday School - 10:00 am
Worship 11:00 am
Sunday Evening Bible Study - 3:00 pm (Effective June 10)
Wednesday Evening - 6:30 pm
“Where you can find TRUTH according to the scriptures”
www.flmbclagrande.com
(an ELCA church)
902 Fourth Street,
La Grande, OR
(541) 963-5998
9:00 am - Worship
10:00 am - Fellowship & Refreshments
10:30 am - Classes
Pastor: Roberta Smythe
www.zionlagrande.org
“We are called to Serve”
Sunday School for all ages - 9:00 am
Sunday Worship 10:00 am
Pastor Carl Seelhoff
Phone: 541-786-0447
963-5884
109 18th Street • 963-3402
Sunday School 9:15 a.m.
Sunday Worship 10:30 a.m.
1316 T St., La Grande, OR
541-568-4567
Sunday
S Su
u nday 1 10:30 a.m.
2 Cor r 12:9
1 My Grace is
sufficient
for you.
suf ffi
grace.lutherancove@gmail.com
I 40:31
IS
First Baptist Church
1531 S. Main
Street, Union
541-562-5531
www.UnionBaptistOregon.org
Sunday School
9:45 am
Morning Worship 11:00 am
Thursday AWANA 6:30 pm
Birthing, Building and Being
the Body of Christ
St. Katherine’s
Catholic Church
Contemporary Worship
Expositional Teaching
Tune in to Calvary Radio 88.1 CSN
Pastor Taylor Gould
lgumc@eoni.com
www.lgumchurch.org
Office Hours: Mon-Thur 9am-Noon
Elgin - Saint Mary’s
12th and Alder
CALVARY
CHAPEL
1433 Jefferson Ave.
Sunday Service - 10:30 a.m.
Studying The Book of Galatians
Wednesday Service - 7:00 p.m.
Studying The Book of Joshua
Wednesday Night Youth - 6:00 p.m.
The Place
1612 4th Street – 963-2498 62848 Philynda Loop in Island City
Amazing Grace
Fellowship
Fr. Thomas Puduppulliparamban
(*DUÀHOG(QWHUSULVH
Mass Schedule
Sundays:
6W3LXV;:DOORZD²DP
6W.DWKHULQHRI6LHQD(QWHUSULVH²DP
Saturdays
6W.DWKHULQHRI6LHQD(QWHUSULVH²SP
Weekdays
6W.DWKHULQHRI6LHQD(QWHUSULVH²DP
0RQGD\²7KXUVGD\DQG)LUVW)ULGD\
All are welcome
SIXTH &
SPRING,
LA GRANDE
541-963-3911
Sun. 10:00 AM - Worship
Sun. 8:45 AM - Exploring the Bible
Wed. 6:15 PM - AWANA
SUMMERVILLE
BAPTIST CHURCH
Sunday Services:
Sunday School & Adult Bible Classes
9:45AM
Children's Church & Worship Service
11:00AM
Family Worship Service
6:00PM
Wednesday:
Prayer Mtg, Children's Bible Club, Youth
Group 7:00PM
A church for your whole family
Visit us at summervillebaptistchurch.org