Announcements
Tonight! Worship on the Longest Night | Sunday, Dec. 20, 7 p.m. A contemplative service over Zoom that provides space to remember that Jesus comes for those of us who are suffering, lonely, or grieving. Zoom link on CCB.
Christmas Eve Outdoor Services | Thursday, Dec. 24 at 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m., & 6 p.m.
All services are now full, but please add your name to the waitlist if you’d like to attend. Location: Blacknall parking lot on Iredell Street (gravel lot adjacent to the Duke lot). Celebrate the Incarnation at a small outdoor service. Masks or face coverings required (ages 2 and up) and households will be spaced at least six feet apart. Please bring a chair or blanket. A Christmas Eve worship from home liturgy will also be offered. FAQ here.
Prayer
Ministry Partners:
Durham—We pray for Child Evangelism Fellowship in Durham and John Blake who leads it. Pray for the collaborative outreach event this Wednesday from 10:00am-2:00pm as they partner with another Blacknall partner, Durham Rescue Mission. It will be a “Drive-Thru Christmas” event where CEF will be distributing Gospel-centered books, bookmarks, and Bibles to city kids and their families as they walk or drive through. They are expecting about 2,000 people to participate in this. Please pray that they will get the needed volunteers to help with this event. If you would like to volunteer, please contact David Dunderdale (ddunderdale@blacknall.org)
International—Please pray for Blacknall missionaries Erin and David Pervis are now relocated in Athens to reach out to the many refugees who have settled into Greece. An outreach film, used with a mix of adults and teenagers, has generated many probing questions: “Why does God allow people who do evil to continue to live and have power?” “Where does evil come from?” “Why did God give us responsibility for creation? ”“Since the Bible was written so long ago, how is it relevant to us today?” “If we have God’s image in us, why do we sin? “Why did God let Abraham wait until he was 100 years old for his promised son to come?” “What would have happened if Abraham had actually sacrificed Isaac?” “Why did God introduce Himself as “I am” in the present and not the past nor the future? “ “Why did God choose a coward like Moses to be His prophet?” Specific prayer requests: (1) praises that Sam and his wife have received their asylum papers and have approval to find work in Germany; (2) jobs for Sam and his wife; (3) wisdom to care for their compatriots who have come to faith in Christ; (4) the 10 refugee families in the Voula House: emotional and physical healing, progress in Greek and English language studies, and the procurement of jobs and legal documentation; (5) spiritual growth for new believers and salvation for the unconverted; (6) Erin, who has returned to the States again to care for her mother.
Campus—We pray for John Hawkins and Leadership Edge, Inc. (LEI) and its ministry of mentoring at Duke, in Durham, on several campuses across the nation, and now in Uganda. Please pray for Todd Melby who is now the President of LEI. Please pray for Sydney Walusimbi as he leads this mentoring program in Uganda and that the Lord would use this to strengthen the Church in Uganda by developing God-honoring leaders. Pray for their program working with churches in Durham and the U.S. in developing God-honoring leaders as well.
Grief:
We pray for the family and friends of Don Halderman who died recently.
We pray for Griff and Elizabeth Gatewood on the death of Griff’s Dad this past week.
We pray for Chris and Donna Rice on the death of Chris’ Dad, Randy Rice, last week.
We pray for those who have lost loved ones to the coronavirus.
We pray for those who are struggling with infertility, especially in this season.
Joys
We celebrate with Brad and Erin Boswell on Brad’s successful dissertation defense for his PhD this past week.
We give thanks that Remy McKenna has a new job at NCCU beginning in January.
We give thanks for Ben Davison, Blacknall’s Divinity School intern this year, and for the message from God’s Word he gave to us last week
We celebrate with Emmanuel and Ijeoma Nnadi, on the birth of their daughter, Zikora Chimsimdi. Emmanuel was a Duke grad student who worshiped at Blacknall and they are now living in Jos, Nigeria.
Concerns
We pray for Jan Smart as she recovers from a procedure last week.
We pray for Taylor Brennan as she recovers from her cancer surgery.
We pray for Scott Crane as he finishes up his 6 weeks of radiation for cancer this week.
We pray for those in our community who have contracted the coronavirus.
We pray for medical and frontline workers who are caring for those with the virus.
World
We pray for deliverance from the virus as it surges in our nation and around the world.
We thank God for the development of vaccines that promise to help fight this virus. We pray for a speedy and just distribution of these vaccines around the world.
We thank God for the release of the 344 schoolboys in Nigeria.
We pray for Christians being persecuted in Nigeria and around the world.
We pray for the transitions in our government, that the Lord would place in positions of authority throughout our government people who would pursue justice and righteousness.
Life Together
We pray for the search committee for the Director of Congregational Care (chair, Melissa Hartemink).
We pray for those who will be alone this Christmas and those who will be separated from family.
We pray for Durham Public Schools and for the Learning Center that we are hosting at Blacknall. We pray for the staff from the YMCA who are with the children and that our building will be a place of safety and learning.
We give thanks for Calvin Bragg, Ronnie Browser, and Enrique Gonzalez who keep our church building clean and attractive.
Finance
Finance Committee update for bulletin (Dec 20, 2020)
Blacknall remains financially strong in these uncertain times. Our budget for this fiscal year (July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021) expands our ongoing support for local, campus, and international ministries. Our session recently approved additional gifts to specific local ministries whose needs have increased during the pandemic. We are grateful for the generosity of our congregation.
Our offerings have fallen behind our expenses a bit more than in previous years. We would like to bring these into balance by the end of the calendar year. We have received $589,000 in offerings from July 1 through Dec 17, and are projecting expenses of $775,000 through December 31. We will need to receive $186,000 in the next 2 weeks to end the calendar year in balance. December has historically been a strong month for us.
There are multiple ways to give to Blacknall:
Cash or check brought to the church office. Gifts received by NOON on Thursday, December 31 will be included in calendar year 2020.
Checks mailed to the church office. Gifts postmarked by December 31 will be included in calendar year 2020.
Automatic bank drafts as a part of bill pay directed to Blacknall using your local bank.
Gifts of stock are welcome. Contact Rick Every (919-489-9733) or Carol Smith (919-286-5586). Please initiate your stock gift by December 22 for inclusion in calendar year 2020.
Online giving is available from our website (including bank transfer, debit card, and credit card donations). Members can also schedule recurring online gifts when signed on to CCB.
Details on all giving options are available at www.blacknall.org/give.
Questions? Contact Rich Frothingham.
About the Music
How long had old Simeon been waiting? When Luke tells us that Simeon was “waiting for the consolation of Israel,” it seems that he was also waiting for his own consoling. I’m guessing that there were days when he simply ached – How long, O Lord? When will You come and set us free from this burden of pain, of sin, of… And then the day arrives. Standing in the temple, as he had done every day for years, he senses the Lord’s quickening call: “Get ready.” His pulse quickens a bit, his eyes darting across the temple courtyard – “Is it today? Which one of these men is The One?” In walks a young couple with an infant, and Simeon catches his breath. He never would have guessed – “It’s not a man, it’s a Child!” He walks, perhaps favoring an arthritic hip, and stands before the young mother; their eyes lock; she knows, and is full of the Spirit’s grace such that she trusts that it is safe to hand her infant to this stranger. With trembling hands and swimming eyes, Simeon beholds “the consolation of Israel.” He looks on that little face, and perceives a tad of the enormity of the plan: “a light to enlighten the nations, and the glory of Your people Israel.” Each of us is like one of the two pictures of Simeon – perhaps painfully waiting for release, perhaps full of gratitude and joy. In Romans, Paul talks about the “sufferings of this present time” juxtaposed with a “glory about to be revealed.” Give yourself permission – permission to groan, and permission to sing. Let the understated beauty of “How Lovely Shines the Morningstar” and the lavish statements of “Thou Who Wast Rich” assist you. Our groans and longings may be real, but they are not the last word. Groan, and let your cries be full of hope; sing, and let your songs be full of joyful longing.