The Messenger

It is Advent. It is a time to reflect, pray, and worship the Christ who came, who comes, and who will come again. Imagine the world some two thousand years ago in the weeks before the birth of Jesus. People were busy doing whatever it was that defined their lives at that moment. For some, it was struggling against hunger, fear, and desperation. For others, it was enjoying their wealth and ease. For yet others, it was simply dealing with the pressures of their lives. But for all, the weeks we call Advent were just days and nights lived in darkness. And indeed, it is a dark world.

God had created the world to live in union with Him. He had breathed life into the father of our race, Adam, a creature of dust. He had formed Eve from the side of Adam and had joined the two together and to Himself. How bright the world must have been as Eden lived in harmony with the Creator. But darkness came. Those created and loved by God rebelled against Him, bringing a darkness that permeated all creation.

Yet a light was breaking into the world. A young girl carried in her virgin womb a Son. This daughter of Eve was about to give birth to the One who would be the light of the world. This infant would reverse forever the horror of humanity’s fall into sin and death and darkness. This was the miracle of miracles: our human sister Mary became, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the mother of God, the bearer of the Savior of the world. This child would forever destroy the darkness, for He brought life into death, and His light was to be the light of the world.

The Advent story, including the culminating Christmas story, is about a baby who had been born to die, yet not just to die but to be placed in the utter darkness of a tomb and on Easter morning to burst forth from the tomb. When the child of Mary rose from the grave, the light that began at Bethlehem shone so brightly that no one can put it out.

This Advent we gather again to hear this great story anew. In a world that is covered in the darkness of sin we are reminded that it is Christ who is the true light.

In Christ,

Pastor DeArmond

Midweek Advent Services:

(Lunch at 11:30am, Dinner at 5:30pm)

Wednesday, December 6 - 11:00am & 6:30pm

Wednesday, December 13 - 11:00am & 6:30pm

Wednesday, December 20 - 11:00am & 6:30pm

Sunday, December 24- 9:00am Advent 4 Worship Service

Christmas Eve, December 24 - 3:00pm & 5:00pm

Christmas Day, December 25 - 9:00am

NO Service December 28

New Years Eve DAY, December 31- 8:00am & 10:30am

Beginning January 2024 our Thursday Evening service

will begin at 6:30pm.

Luke 2:6-7

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is upon us. The struggle to find enough time to complete all our tasks looms over our heads. Can we do it? I am sure that we can and most of us are successful. But all of these things are trivial in comparison to the reason that we even have Christmas. CHRISTmas is exactly that! It is about Christ, the birth of our Savior in a stable in Bethlehem nonetheless.

While we are busy scurrying around trying to buy those last minute presents, decorating the house, baking cookies, sending cards, etc. let us not lose focus on why we even have Christmas. Too often we get caught up in the secular busy part of the world and forget to focus on the little things. Take some time to slow down and to focus on that little baby born in a manger. The little baby who would grow up to be a man and die on a cross to save us and then rise on Easter Sunday to give us eternal life in Heaven. What a loving God we serve. As we focus on trying to find the perfect gift to give, realize that the perfect gift has already been given and it came to us in Jesus.

Our focus is to keep Christ in Christmas. After all this humble little family traveled for miles to get to Bethlehem and bring into the world the Savior, Jesus Christ. He wasn’t born in a palace or showered with servants and special blankets and fancy gifts. Jesus was a humble man right from the start. The world likes to focus on the “shiny bling”, but we can focus on the “real thing”—Jesus who came into the world to save us from our own sinful natures. His light shines for us all, we don’t need gifts or snow or lots of expensive ornaments to put on our trees. We just need Christ and His saving love.

In His Service,

Jennifer Leinss

The students and staff of Blessed Savior Preschool wish a very blessed Christmas to you and your family and God’s richest blessings in the coming new year!

LWML would like to thank everyone who donated baked goods, time or purchased goods for the Fall Bake Sale. It was a great success! We will be able to issue 2 grants with the money raised. One to Orphan Grain Train and one to Blessed Savior Preschool.

Do you know there is a Care and Share Team at Blessed Savior?

If you could use a meal, a special visit, or prayers, please let the Care and Share Team know by contacting us at the email below or feel free to contact the Church office and they will pass your need to our team. We would love to be there for you during sickness, celebrations, or just when you need a smile.

If you are looking for an opportunity to spread God’s love among the Blessed Savior Church Family through Care and Share, let us know by contacting us through the email address below. Team members are contacted to serve only a few times a year in a capacity you are most comfortable with. Team members may bake, cook or purchase items. We could also use drivers to deliver the items prepared by others. We look forward to having you join us!

Current Members: Thank you for your generous service to the Blessed Savior Family this year! We hope you will continue your service throughout this year and in the future.

Contact Care and Share: careandshare134@gmail.com

2 Corinthians 1: 3-4

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion, and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

Men’s Ministry would like to thank all the Vets and guests who attended our Veterans’ Day Dinner last month. With a special Thank You to those who helped with set up, clean up, working on the programs and name tags, or sponsoring tables. All were very integral in making an enjoyable evening for our Vets. We would also like to Thank Blessed Savior’s very own Carol Flanery-Mathia from Lutheran Counseling and Family Services for a wonderful presentation on a very sensitive topic of PTSD; its history, causes and helping those afflicted with it. Thank you, Carol!

Save the Date! January 7, after the 2nd service, we are having our Twelfth Night-An Epiphany Picnic and Tree Burning!

Our fourth quarter Special Mission Offerings will support Bethany Lutheran Church and Food Pantry. Bethany Lutheran is located at 2031 N. 38th St. in Milwaukee. Bethany has been serving God's people since 1893! Their mission is to be a beacon of light reaching out into the neighborhood with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Some of their mission work includes distributing clothing and blankets to the homeless, making and serving food to the hungry and maintaining a food pantry. Food collected by Blessed Savior already is delivered several times a year to Bethany to help maintain the food pantry. Besides continuing to collect food, our fourth quarter Special Mission Offerings will also go to Bethany for help with these mission projects! To God be the glory!

Email: blessedsavior.nb.lcms@gmail.com
Website: www.blessedsaviorwi.org
Location: 15250 West Cleveland Avenue, New Berlin, WI, USA
Phone: 262-786-6465
Facebook: facebook.com/BlessedSaviorNBWI
Twitter: @BlessedSaviorWI