Month: December 2018

Psalms 117 is the shortest chapter in the Bible.

Psalms 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible.

Psalms 118 is the center chapter of the Bible.

There are 594 chapters before Psalms 118.

There are 594 chapters after Psalms 118.

The center verse of the Bible is Psalms 118:8.

Does this verse say something significant about God’s perfect will for our lives?

“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.”

–Psalms 118:8

Isn’t that odd how this worked out (or was God in the center of it)?The next time someone says they would like to find God’s perfect will for their lives, just send them to the center of His Word. So when things get tough always remember. Faith doesn’t get you around trouble. It gets you through it.

     This comes from something I have come to hear and come across along the way and has come to make plenty of sense. Take each day one day at a time…..that is that God gives you one coin to spend each day, and you have to spend that whole coin each day, you can’t save the change until tomorrow, and can’t bring any left over in from the day before.

Yesterday— Is Yesterday….you can’t bring anything from it.

Today— Is today and that is the coin you get to spend and what you get and you must spend it all you can’t keep any of it all must be spent that day.

Tomorrow — Is Tomorrow and you get a new coin that day, but can’t bring any change in from the previous day into it.

So concentrate on working on each day one at a time and giving your life to God for He is always there for you no matter what.

      The Fantastic, Stupendous, Hyped-To-TheMax Super Bowl of Football will be held on February 3rd. Well, guess what! We can have a Lovely, Thoughtful, Sharing, Exciting, Life-Affirming Souper Bowl at St. Timothy! Bring your donations of canned and packaged soups and ramens and canned fruit to St. Tim on February 3rd. Soup will be a point for your team and fruit will subtract a point from your opponent.
Soup!!!
Soup!!!
Soup!!!

     This organization was the recipient of our fifth Sunday as well. Donations of toys, games, and family items were delivered for the annual holiday store for families who would not be able to provide Christmas gifts to their children without the store. I volunteered at the store for two afternoons. The recipients are delighted with the opportunity to shop. Thanks so much to all the donors.

Sherry Willmschen

    We had to shut down our Friday Foodbank. Non-perishable goods are always available. If you are in need of food, please stop by the church or call 503-761-8202. 

     An epiphany is…”a realization; an opening; a portal to the Divine; growing up; a magic moment that impacts you and changes you forever and you can remember it as vividly as you experienced it; a moment that changes the lens through which you view your life; our soul scratching around our head and giving us a signal to guide our lives with; a moment of descending light, open knowledge, and choice; a drastic shift in energy and change of perspective that happens in the form of a moment of clarity; something that gives you the strength to take a different direction or move forward and opens up everything; a sense of wonderment; a clarifying direction; and, that moment where you know your life is never going to be the same.” (Ballard, Elise. 2011, January 25. How Do You, We, I Define Epiphany, Exactly? PsychologyToday.com). These were the definitions of epiphany given to psychologist Elise Ballard by people that she interviewed on the subject. I appreciate all these answers but I especially like the last one: that moment where you know your life is never going to be the same. I think that gets at the heart of what Epiphany truly is. Epiphany was the moment when those who witnessed Jesus’ birth realized their lives would never again be the same. Epiphany is the moment in which we realize that because of Jesus our lives will never be the same again. Epiphany is the day in the church year that we celebrate the wise men traveling from the east to honor the newborn king. Imagine how their lives were forever changed as they traveled a great distance to honor a small baby, the savior of the world. Did they come with great expectations? Did they leave in awe of the humble origins of this newborn king? Did they have an inkling of what Jesus meant for them and the world? Imagine how the lives of the shepherds were forever changed when angels came to them in the fields heralding good news of a savior born into the world. Did they doubt what they had seen and heard? Did they rush to see the newborn king, leaving behind their flocks? Did they stand in wonder of the promised messiah? Did they leave pondering the revelation that God had not forgotten them? Epiphany means manifestation and on Epiphany we celebrate the physical manifestation of Jesus to the gentiles. It is a celebration of God coming into the world to be with us in tangible ways. It is the end of Christmas and the beginning of our realization that our lives will never be the same again because of a baby born into the world. The season of Epiphany begins with Epiphany Sunday on January 6th as we remember the journey the wise men made to see the newborn king. The season of Epiphany ends on Ash Wednesday, March 6th. Throughout the season of Epiphany we wonder at the multitude of ways Jesus is made manifest in our lives and the truth that because of Jesus our lives will never be the same again.

Pastor Jennifer Beil

     The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Luke 2:20

     In the Lord my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

Psalm 28:7

     To you born this day in the city of David, a Savior , who is the Messiah, the Lord.

Luke 2:11

     To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, do not refuse to hear me.

Psalm 28:1