Sunday, January 7, 2018 First Sunday After Epiphany

A Peek At The Sunday Sermon

The Cost of Following Jesus

Luke 9:57-62
John Stott, an Anglican cleric, and 20th Century leader of the
Evangelical movement – wrote this:

“The Christian landscape is strewn with the wreckage of derelict, half-built towers - the
ruins of those who began to build and were unable to finish. For thousands of people
still, ignore Christ’s warning and undertake to follow Him without first pausing to reflect
on the cost of doing so. The result is the great scandal of Christendom today, so-called
‘nominal Christianity.’ In countries to which Christian civilization has spread, large
numbers of people have covered themselves with a decent, but thin, veneer of
Christianity. They have allowed themselves to become somewhat involved; enough to
be respectable but not enough to be uncomfortable. Their religion is a great, soft
cushion. It protects them from the hard unpleasantness of life while changing its place
and shape to suit their conveniences. No wonder the cynics speak of hypocrites in the
church and dismiss religion as escapism.”

Nominal Christianity is nothing new. Jesus confronted the problem in

the early days of his ministry. What we will learn in the study of Luke’s
Gospel, will not be an easy lesson. But it will reveal the cost of following
Jesus. See you Sunday at 10:00 AM!
 The first Sunday of 2018 marks the beginning of the the
Epiphany season. The liturgical colors have been
changed to green – leading up to the day before Ash
Wednesday and the start of Lent.

Our suggested Scripture reading for January 7, 2018, from the 2018 UCC
Church Calendar:
Mark 1:4-11 (NLT)
The Baptism of Jesus
4 This
messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the
wilderness and preached that people should be
baptized to show that they had repented of their
sins and turned to God to be forgiven. 5 All of
Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went
out to see and hear John. And when they
confessed their sins, he baptized them in the
Jordan River. 6 His clothes were woven from
coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt
around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild
honey.
7 John announced: “Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much
greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of
his sandals. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”
9 One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the
Jordan River. 10 As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting
apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice from heaven
said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

The Sunday Sermon is on

YouTube!
Just click anywhere on this image
and you will be taken to last week's
sermon!
 Our Annual Pizza and a Movie Night is Friday,
January 19th at Dearborn Congregational
Church! Our movie is The Case for Christ,
starring Faye Dunaway, Erika Christensen and
Frankie Faison. It’s the true story of an
investigative journalist and self-proclaimed
atheist who sets out on a two-year investigative
journey to disprove the existence of God.

Prayer Requests
Carrie Goldie. Serious health concerns.
Irene Moxon. On hospice.
Marilyn Beardsley. Continuing medical concerns.
Pat Stacho. Continuing medical concerns.
Phyllis Preston. Medical concerns.
Pauline Gourlay. Medical concerns.
David Allen. Medical concerns.
Grant MacKenzie. Continuing medical concerns.
Gail Waggoner. Health issues.
Jane Haling. Health issues.
Elie Stergiou. Medical Concerns
Jim Shippee. Medical Concerns
Della King Family. Medical Concerns
Bill Kren. Health issues.
Dr. Geoff Drutchas. Health issues.

Still Blogging!
I’ve been blogging about church
work at Dearborn Congregational, for
three years! If you’d like to learn
more about the Pastor and how he
thinks, just click on the picture to the
left – it will take you to “Life at
Dearborn Congregational!”
 One Christmas Song I Hope We Never Sing!
Here at Dearborn Congregational, we love singing the hymns and
carols of the Advent Season! However, there is one song I hope we
NEVER sing – and please don’t pass this on to Brian Sampson!
Oh, the sermon was simply frightful
And the choir is tired and spiteful
Our hunger is starting to show
Let us go, let us go, let us go!

Well, he doesn’t show signs of stopping

And our eyelids are slowly dropping
Oh, why do you torture us so?
Let us go, let us go, let us go!

When we finally get dismissed

How we love to go out in the snow
But since Pastor has six more points
When that will be we don’t know!

Well, the sermon is dragging longer

And the pastor is preaching stronger
But by now we’re not listening so
Let us go, let us go, let us go!

A most sincere “Thank You” to Brian Sampson, who led the Morning
Worship Service on December 31st! It gave Pastor Bill and Sue the
opportunity to spend time with family.

I’m now looking forward to 2018 and another year of ministry! Hope to
see you on Sunday. Come, expecting a blessing!

Pastor Bill