December 24, 2020

A WEARY WORLD REJOICES I WEEK 4 I CHRISTMAS WORSHIP SERVICE 2

A Weary World Rejoices: Finding Hope in the Whole Story

Anyone else ready for Christmas cheer? Our collective 2020 seems to be one big “weary world”. All of us are looking hopefully ahead to a new year. But what if skipping over the rest of 2020 is a missed opportunity to find the hope we all desperately need? What if the story of Scripture is inviting us to take a deeper look at our own story, and inviting our “weary world” to actually “rejoice”, even when it seems impossible? Join us in December as we journey through Isaiah and discover the whole (and controversial) story of Christmas - one that’s worth celebrating.


WEEKLY GIVING STATISTICS
(Fiscal Year Began June 1, 2020)

Last Week      Weekly Need        YTD

$2,606 $2,661                  $12,240


JOIN US FOR OUR CHRISTMAS WORSHIP SERVICE IN PERSON OR ONLINE!

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24 AT 6:30PM

VISIT centergr.com/live OR centergr.online.church.

OPPORTUNITIES

HOPE UNEXPECTED: UPDATE

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone that helped us surpass our goal of 36 gift cards!

Check out our post on social media for more info.

THANK YOU for being the hands and feet of Jesus.

HAND2HAND MINISTRY: UPDATE

Would you like to continue supporting our HAND2HAND ministry?

Look no further!

The following items are always appreciated:

- Oatmeal packets

- Granola bars/protein bars

- Individual fruit cups

- Individual sized cereal boxes

- Microwave popcorn packets

- Trail mix

- Granola bars

- Fruit snacks

- Fruit cups

- Pudding cups

- Peanut butter/cheese cracker packets

- Meat sticks

- Any kind of small bagged snacks (Goldfish Crackers, Animal Crackers, etc)

Donations may be brought to church, but a socially distanced pick up can be arranged at Byron Community Ministries as well.

Thank you for your support!

Any questions? Please contact office@centergr.com for more info and we will get you connected.

GOOD TO KNOW

SMALL GROUPS:

LOOKING TO GET CONNECTED?

PLEASE CHECK OUR ONLINE RESOURCES; SOME OF OUR SMALL GROUPS MAY BE MEETING DIGITALLY

DUE TO COVID-19.

Visit centergr.com/nextsteps for more info.


CENTER STUDENTS MINISTRY:  

Due to COVID-19 our Center Students will not be meeting at this time.

Please stay tuned for updates and contact jon-michael@centergr.com for more details.

He’d love to hear from you!

CENTER KIDS MINISTRY: IMPORTANT UPDATE

Please be aware that throughout the month of December our Center Kids Ministry is meeting within limited capacity.

Look for important updates in your inbox, Dani loves to keep everyone up to date on what’s happening in our Center Kids ministry :)

Questions for Dani? She’d love to connect with you at dani@centergr.com .

JOHN GORVEATTE I LEAD PASTOR

’A WEARY WORLD REJOICES’ WEEK 4

KEY PASSAGES: ISAIAH 61 NIV

Luke 4 NIV

ISAIAH 61

The Year of the Lord’s Favor

61 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

because the Lord has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]

2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of joy

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the Lord

for the display of his splendor.

4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins

and restore the places long devastated;

they will renew the ruined cities

that have been devastated for generations.

5 Strangers will shepherd your flocks;

foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.

6 And you will be called priests of the Lord,

you will be named ministers of our God.

You will feed on the wealth of nations,

and in their riches you will boast.

7 Instead of your shame

you will receive a double portion,

and instead of disgrace

you will rejoice in your inheritance.

And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,

and everlasting joy will be yours.

8 “For I, the Lord, love justice;

I hate robbery and wrongdoing.

In my faithfulness I will reward my people

and make an everlasting covenant with them.

9 Their descendants will be known among the nations

and their offspring among the peoples.

All who see them will acknowledge

that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”

10 I delight greatly in the Lord;

my soul rejoices in my God.

For he has clothed me with garments of salvation

and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,

as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,

and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up

and a garden causes seeds to grow,

so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness

and praise spring up before all nations.

LUKE 4

Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness

4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted[a] by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”

9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you

to guard you carefully;

11 they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”

24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy[g] in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit

31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority.

33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 “Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

35 “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.

Jesus Heals Many

38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

40 At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. 41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.

42 At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” 44 And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.