Author: CMBC

Our Church Family

Mission Hospital: Lena Regier
Peace Arch: Odell Childe - fell and broke her hip; she is now in rehab.
Marilyn (Bill) Bramwell - pray for patience and peace as she waits for further chemo treatments.
Jake (Mary) Janzen - is at home yet very week.
Tina Krause - is not well.

Note of Thanks
Thank you to everyone at Clearbrook MB Church for your generous support, prayers and encouragement to us during this time of Joel’s cancer treatment. He will have a follow-up scan on December 30 and we will find out early in January if the treatments were successful. Thank you for continued prayers as he recovers his energy.
Lindsey and Martha Chambers

This Week

All Sunday Services and Bible Studies are on Television
and the Clearbrook MB Website.
Today *9:00 am Doyle Klaassen
*10:15 am Pastor Scott
*2 pm and 6 pm -
Christmas at Our House with Brian Doerksen
Monday Office is Closed
Wednesday *9:00 am Rebroadcast - German Bible Study
*10:00 am Rebroadcast of Psalm 46 English Bible Study
New Study starts on January 6 on Psalm 52
Thursday 12:00 noon Office Closed - New Year’s Eve
Friday Office Closed - New Year’s Day
Sunday, January 3, 2021
*9:00 am Pastor George
*10:15 am Pastor Scott
* for now only on TV and Online

Morgengottesdienst 9:00 Uhr

„Und das Wort wurde Fleisch und wohnte unter uns; und wir sahen seine Herrlichkeit, eine Herrlichkeit
als des Eingeborenen vom Vater, voller
Gnade und Wahrheit.“
Johannes 1:14

Vorspiel:
Begrüßung und Gebet: Pastor Fred
Gesang: # 78 O Fest aller heiligen Feste
# 77 O du Fröhliche
Bekanntmachungen/Gebet Pastor Fred
Gesang: Heilige Nacht
Schriftlesung: Johannes 1:1-18 Pastor Fred
Botschaft: ֦ Das Wort wurde Fleisch und wohnte unter uns“ Johannes 1:1-18 Doyle Klaassen
Schlusslied: Süβer die Glocken nie klingen

Diese Woche

Alle Gottesdienste und Bibelstunden werden über Fernseh (TV) und Computer übertragen.
Sonntag *9:00 Uhr Doyle Klaassen
*10:00 Uhr Pastor Scott
*2 Uhr and 6 Uhr- Christmas at Our House with Brian Doerksen
Montag Bürogeschlossen
Mittwoch *9:00 Uhr Wiederholung Deutsche Bibelstunde
*10:00 Uhr Wiederholung Englische Bibelstunde Psalm 46
Donnerstag 12:00 Uhr Bürogeschlossen
Freitag Bürogeschlossen - Neujahrstag
Nächsten Sonntag, den 3. Januar, 2021
*9:00 Uhr Pastor George
*10:15 Uhr Pastor Scott
* Nur über Fernseh (TV) und Computer übertragen

Sunday, December 27, 2020
Clearbrook MB Church

These Sunday services will be
available on Television and
the Clearbrook MB Website
9:00 am German Worship Service
10:15 am Family Worship Service

Pastoral Team
Scott & Miriam Tolhurst
Walter & Edith Wiens
George & Mary Baier
Fred & Hani Ekkert

Glorifying God, Building the Church, Reaching the World.

2719 Clearbrook Road
Abbotsford, BC V2T 2Y9
604-850-6607
office@clearbrookmbchurch.ca
www.clearbrookmbchurch.ca
Facebook: Clearbrook MB Church

Office Hours: Monday to Friday 8 am - 4:30 pm (closed at noon for one hour)

Family Worship Service 10:15 am

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Matthew 1:23

Prelude: Wes Heinrichs
Invocation/Welcome: Pastor Scott
Hymns: Who is He in Yonder Stall?
The Solid Rock
My Hope is In the Lord
Announcements: Lorraine Dick
Musical Meditation: Eldon McBride
Prayers of the People: Pastor Walter
Hymn: As with Gladness Men of Old
Message: “God in the Shadows”
Matthew 2:1-23 Pastor Scott
Hymn: I Know Whom I Have Believed
Benediction: Pastor Scott
All Sunday Services and Wednesday Bible Studies are
Transmitted on Television and Livestream
To watch our Church Services - go to the
Clearbrook MB Church Website and
click on Watch Live.

Christmas Deconstructed by Pastor Scott
Twenty years ago, Miriam and I were gifted with a trip to Israel. It was and is memorable for me. Bustling markets with haggling merchants. The whiplash of driving from the high-rises of Tel Aviv to camels and bedouins in the desert. Bobbing by moonlight in the Dead Sea. Ascending Masada. It’s a journey you may have made and one I wish everyone could.
As you would expect, the pinnacle places of our trip were those that felt the footprints of Jesus. Nazareth where He took His first steps. The tranquil Jordon where He was baptized. The Sea of Galilee upon which He walked. Jerusalem with the Via Dolorosa. A Garden Tomb, much like the one He exited with triumphant strides.
The trip occurred a few weeks before Christmas. Quite naturally Bethlehem was on my mind as well as our itinerary. We bussed from Jerusalem to the Church of the Nativity first thing in the morning. We were cautioned by our tour guide that there was a disturbance the night before. The Church parking lot was strewn with rocks used as projectiles. It meant that our exploration of Bethlehem would be confined and brief. But nothing would spoil our anticipation.
The Church is a collection of chapels designated and maintained by various expressions of Christianity. It all hovers above the Grotto, the traditional spot of Jesus’ birth. You descend a series of narrow stone stairways, navigate through dimly lit halls and jostle with monks and tourists. On the ground, in a small alcove with a silver star embedded in the floor, lies the place where a manger once was. The crowd was large, so our time was short. After singing a carol, we retraced the maze back to our bus and I tried to unpack my feelings during the drive.
It felt like it was all too much. Complexity constructed upon simplicity. The convoluted, even confusing structure. The elaborate customs of song, prayer and incense. The walls wrapped with ornamental layers meant to enhance, but appearing like clutter. The spot itself was plain. Everything added to it, seemed like exaggerated efforts to make it special. I wished it was different and I felt convicted.
What I saw in the church is what I see all around me. We take the modesty of the Nativity and try to enlarge it with our efforts. We have traditions, pageants, customs, expectations, obligations and expenses. We have constructed so much as essential for the season, it’s hard to see what it’s all about. I applaud the intent to glorify God’s grace and gift, but often our celebrations convey our own reflections. The Grotto is not special because of the Church. It’s the other way around. Is there a way to deconstruct what we’ve made? God may be doing that for us this year.
This year, your Christmas may be simpler. There may be less. Fewer guests. Smaller events. Shorter trips. A leaner party. But God does not take. He gives. If the embellished Church was not there, the Grotto remains. Jesus has come. That is enough. Receive it.

Upper Room
Christmas Inspiration Literature - examples
- Advent Devotionals from MB Seminary
- Booklet with ten devotionals from Our Daily Bread
Unser Täglich Brot - Oktober/November/Dezember
Unser Täglich Brot - Januar Groβdruck
Our Daily Bread - December/January/February
Our Daily Bread - January/February/March Large Print
Today - January/Febuary
January Bridge
January Multiply

Christmas Season Schedule on TV and Website:
Christmas Eve, December 24 - 3 pm & 5 pm
A broadcast of Song and Praise, with Greetings from the Staff and Calvin Dyck and the Abbotsford Youth Orchestra
Christmas Day, December 25 - 10 am, 3 pm & 7 pm
A night of Carols - rebroadcasted
Christmas Day, December 25 - 2pm & 6 pm
Christmas At Our Home - Brian Doerksen
Saturday, December 26 - 2 pm & 6 pm
Christmas At Our Home - Brian Doerksen
Sunday, December 27 -
9 am German Worship Service
10:15 am English Worship Service
2 pm & 6 pm Christmas At Our Home - Brian Doerksen

Financial Update
Last Sunday, December 20, 2020 our offering total was $9,335.00. This brings our 2020 contributions to date for our budget contribution commitment to $538,842.52. Our monthly budget contribution commitment for 2020 is approximately $45,000 each month. Thank you for your faithful giving in this difficult time.

Winter Photo

Summer Photo

Heute - Kaffee Gemeinshaft (nach dem englischen Gottesdienst) Kaffee Gemeinshaft (nach dem englischen Gottesdienst)

Opportunities to Encourage & Connect
Sundays - Coffee after English service

Notes of Sympathy
John Isaac brother of Art Isaac & Kay Thiessen, passed
away Thursday, December 10, 2020.
Anne Willms, Tabor Home, passed away
Thursday December 3, 2020
Our sincere condolences to family and friends

New Address
Judy Pearse - c/o Christina Sadler - # 40 - 3054 Trafalgar St. Abbotsford, BC V2X7X6 604-855-7883

Staff Christmas Photo and Recent added Photos
- an envelope with your name has:
- photo of church staff
- card from pastors
- recent photos to add to your photo Album

As directed by our provincial health authorities, we are suspending attendance to our worship services until further notice. Our Sunday services and weekly Bible studies will continue to be broadcast on TV and our Website. We share your sense of disappointment but trust in the care of God for us - body and soul. God remains in our midst. Peace