Sunday Morning Sermon: Sunday's sermon is titled “The Birth of Jesus” from Matthew 1:18-25. The Old Testament reading is Isaiah 9:2-7, and the New Testament reading is Revelation 21:1-8.
There will be only one MCC in-person service this Sunday at 9:00 AM.
Live streamed Virtual Church (link) is available streaming at 9:00 AM.
Virtual Foyer on Zoom (link) at 10:15 AM.
The recorded services are also available on MCC YouTube Channel (Link).
Week 41 of 52 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know by Dave Adamson: “Ayin tovah” = a good eye. This is one of my favorites of Dave Adamson’s devotions so far this year, so I’m going to paraphrase him without much added from me this week. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light” (Matthew 6:22). He was not speaking of the physical health of your eye but rather using a figure of speech familiar to first century Israelites. A good eye (ayin tovah) was a feature of one who lived a consistently generous life, looking out for the needs of others. Similarly, a bad eye was shorthand for greedy self-centeredness. How would the people who know us describe us? As we reflect the love of Christ, I believe we at MCC are developing good eyes.
MCC News:
Angel Tree News: God bless you all! The wrapping is done. Pick up is soon. I think this is a good example of a congregation putting its ayin tovahs to work (I doubt if that is the right way to make that phrase plural, but pointing out mistakes in my Hebrew grammar may or may not be part of “a good eye.”
If you have an MCC Sunday school kid living at your house, you should be on the lookout for a gift from your teachers this weekend. It’s a cookie decorating kit from a local bakery. If you have not received yours by Monday, please let me know. We compiled this list from the sign-in database we have been using, but we don’t want to overlook any children at Christmas. If you just wish you were an MCC Sunday school kid, let us know and someone will come see you next week.
Last month Tim Grogan revived an MCC tradition from over a decade ago, and I encourage you to check it out. Starting with the Habakkuk series last month, Tim started posting a bulletin insert for note-takers to use during the Sunday sermon. You can find the virtual bulletin on each week’s virtual service webpage accessed from the Virtual Sunday Service on the MCC website.
This year’s advent series is titled “Prepare the Way” from the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 1-3. Next Sunday’s text is all of Matthew, chapter 2. The title is “The Birth of Jesus,” but I might have subtitled it “We Three Kings vs. Matthew 2.”
Please join us for worship at Melbourne Community Church this weekend, however you can. The live service begins at 9:00 AM, and it is live streamed on our YouTube channel. The full service is available on our website after that.
Our “virtual foyer” Zoom meeting is group of attenders who connect briefly (about 45 minutes) after the worship service. Newcomers are always welcome. Please let me know if you would like to join us this Sunday, and I will send you a link.