THE ARLINGTONIAN
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November 2024
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Join us in Worship on Sundays
at 11:00 a.m.
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MINISTER'S MESSAGE
November is the month when the United States celebrates Thanksgiving. We spend one day gathered with family
and friends, eating too much, watching football, catching up on what has happened in everyone's lives for the past year.
For some of us, Thanksgiving is the only day of the year we see certain family members.
Last year my extended
family, on mom’s side, decided to try combining our Thanksgiving gathering with our Christmas gathering. Our "Christgiving"
day was a Saturday between the two. It worked out to be better attended than either individual celebration. No
one had to rush off to attend another family gathering, and it was a more relaxed time. We are repeating the event again
this year.
In whatever way we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, I hope we spend some time this month thinking
about what we have to be thankful for. We should be aware that, as Christians, our thankfulness is not supposed to be
limited to one day a year. God's people have been giving thanks for centuries, not just on one day, but every day of
their lives. And not just for something special, but for everything in their lives.
It is easy to be thankful
for the good parts of our lives, but as Christians I hope we can see that even the problems in our lives are something to
be thankful for. They strengthen us and make us aware of how good "normal" really is. They also should
bring us closer to God as we call on God’s Wisdom to guide us. A Christian having difficulties in his/her life
is nothing unusual. God never promised us an easy life because we follow Christ Jesus. The thing that makes us
different is that we can still be thankful, even in the midst of trouble.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Colossians
3:15-17. Philippians 4:6-7. Psalm 46:1-3.
Christmas Shopping And Other Ramblings.
I am old, I can
ramble. I have actually done a little Christmas shopping.
I am guessing you have seen the ads for Pre-Black-Friday
sales that include being open on Thanksgiving Day. And there are the Black Friday sales. Some people are already
planning to spend most of the following Monday online, shopping on Cyber Monday. I am not planning to spend my Thanksgiving,
or my day after, in stores or the following Monday on the computer shopping online at Amazon, Best Buy, or eBay. Wow,
Christmas shopping has changed so much in the last fifty years.
I am old enough to remember going to downtown
Lexington and seeing the windows of the department stores filled with decorations and the best merchandise they had to sell.
It was all designed to entice window-shoppers to walk in the store and hand over their cash (do you remember paying for purchases
with actual money?) Many of the clerks knew you by name, and they remembered your size and what style you liked.
The only time you see this kind of thing today is if you watch Hallmark Christmas movies. If you were a kid back then,
the best day of the Christmas shopping season was when “The Wish Book” arrived in the mail from Sears. Every
thing you could want in the way of a toy was in it. You could mail in an order form by U. S. mail and either go pick
it up at your local Sears store in a week, or have it mailed directly to your house.
Big indoor malls (do you
remember when Turfland Mall opened in Lexington?) caused downtown stores to either move to the mall or close. At the
mall the parking was better and once you went inside, you didn’t have to leave until your arms were full and your wallet
was empty. As the malls grew in size, the parking became harder to find and it was farther away from the stores.
Clerks didn’t try to remember who you were because there were too many customers and most clerks were just temporary
workers.
Then some stores started letting you order things from their website. Next came companies like
Amazon where there is no real walk-in store anywhere. Shopping became more convenient because all you had to do was
order from your computer, and in two days it was sitting on your front porch when you got home from work. As long as
you have a valid credit card, these internet stores don’t care who you are, but they have an amazing memory for everything
you looked at online. The malls saw a decline in shoppers. You no longer had to put any effort into finding a
parking spot or going out in bad weather.
In America we have a wonderful variety of good stuff to buy and a large
variety of ways to buy it.
Many people question if all of these changes are for the good. I guess that is
up to any individual’s situation.
I wonder how many of the shoppers will stop to thank God that they have
so many ways to spend money and so much money to spend? If they are buying gifts, I wonder if they will thank God for
the person they are buying for?
If you think you are poor - look at two-thirds of the world.
If you think
you are lonely - look in the face of a truly homeless person.
If you think you are unimportant - look at your God who
gave His Only Son for you.
We are getting ready to celebrate The Son’s birthday. I think this is the
only birthday celebration where everyone receives gifts - except for the one we are celebrating. In your words and actions,
I hope you are giving Him something special this year!
Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas,
Brother Lee
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EARLY REMINDER
Christmas Eve Service
Tuesday, December 24, 6:00 p.m.
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THANKSGIVING BASKETS
This year we are again preparing and delivering several Thanksgiving food baskets (packed up in bags,
actually) for people in the community (and church family). A big THANK YOU for everyone who contributed time and money
to this project.
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ADVENT SCHEDULE FOR 2024
1st Sunday of Advent is December 1st - Hope
2nd Sunday of Advent is December 8th - Peace
3rd
Sunday of Advent is December 15th - Joy
4th Sunday of Advent is December 22nd - Love
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ITN IS MOVING
After 14 years of having offices in Arlington’s Education Building, ITN is moving to a place with more space.
They frequently have one or two extra workers in their small office and are very cramped. They will be missed.
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WINTER WEATHER WORSHIP POLICY
I do not plan on cancelling worship for a little bad weather. As a rule of thumb - if the roads
are covered in ice or if there is more than 6 inches of new snow, I probably will not be here. Warning: The parking
lot may not be cleared or salted. Please use the back lot and glass doors to avoid the front steps. YOU CAN MAKE
UP YOUR OWN MIND IF YOU WANT TO RISK TRAVEL TO BE HERE. If you are playing, singing, reading, or serving, do not feel
undue pressure to be here. If I do decide to cancel worship, it will be listed on WKYT channel 27 (Spectrum Cable 9).
Brother Lee
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IT’S POINSETTIA TIME
The price this year is $8.00. There is an order form following. The deadline to order
is December 11. The poinsettia tree will go up December 21 and should remain up until after Epiphany . Thank you.
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2024 POINSETTIA ORDER FORM
Ordered By___________________________________________________________________
(Name) (Address) (Phone)
Quantity________ In Honor/
or Memory of______________________________
(please circle one)
Quantity________ In Honor/ or Memory
of______________________________
(please circle one)
Quantity________ In Honor/ or Memory of______________________________
(please circle one)
Quantity________ In Honor/ or Memory of______________________________
(please circle one)
Quantity________ In Honor/ or Memory of______________________________
(please
circle one)
Quantity________ In Honor/ or Memory of______________________________
(please circle
one)
Quantity________ In Honor/ or Memory of______________________________
(please circle one)
Quantity________ In Honor/ or Memory of______________________________
(please circle one)
Quantity________ In Honor/ or Memory of______________________________
(please circle one)
Quantity________ In Honor/ or Memory of______________________________
(please circle one)
Quantity________
In Honor/ or Memory of______________________________
(please circle one)
Quantity________ In
Honor/ or Memory of______________________________
(please circle one)
Cost $8.00 each • Payment
Method: Cash Check
Make checks payable to "Arlington Christian Church". Please fill out
this form and turn it in to the church office along with your check or cash. You may also mail this form along with
a check to: Arlington Christian Church, 1206 N. Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40505
ALL ORDERS MUST BE RECEIVED
NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2024
Note: The poinsettia tree will be put up December 21 and will
be up through Epiphany
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