Merry Christmas...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
From Your Pastors and Our Families.

Pastor Paul's Paragraphs

"Christmas Greetings"

      One year ago I wrote, "As I contemplate 2004, I desire to see people excited about serving the Lord. I desire to grow in my own spiritual journey. I desire that others would see less of me and more of Christ. There is true excitement and fulfillment in serving the Lord. My prayer is that we individually and collectively become more like the ONE we serve. May 2004 be a year that is truly dedicated to serving Jesus...To God be the glory."

      As I reflect on 2004, I realize in many small, and not so small, ways that the Lord honored the desire of my heart. It was in December of 2003 that the pastors of Grace Baptist Church met to discuss the future. It was in January of this year that the plans to bring about much change began to unfold. It was last spring that Pastor Kuns announced his upcoming retirement. Soon thereafter, the Lord would stretch me in a major way to consider being a candidate for the next senior pastor of this wonderful church. June would bring more significant direction and change. The summer would hold times of real contemplation and realization. September brought a wonderful time of celebration and honor. October ushered in a season of leadership change. November brings to me a period of realization as I adjust to God’s continued call upon my life. And now we look forward to a wonderful Christmas season and a new year together.

      As I look around me today, I see people who are truly excited about serving the Lord. I am told that my life reflects growth. I sense the excitement and fulfillment in serving the Lord. I discover more and more a group of people surrounding me who are reflecting Christ in their everyday lives. I find many who are simply seeking to dedicate their lives to serving Jesus. Grace Baptist Church is a wonderful place to worship, serve and belong.

      This December the Radobenko family will celebrate our 13th California Christmas. This December I will celebrate my first Christmas as the senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church. It is with a heart full of gratitude that we will celebrate this Christmas together as a Radobenko family, a Grace family and as brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world. We have a wonderful Savior, we rejoice at His birth. May you find in this Christmas season the joy of bowing your knee at a manger and standing in awe as you worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Merry Christmas from the Radobenko clan!

      Pastor Paul

Kids Korner - Pastor Greg

      Presents are so much fun! I remember the anticipation of Christmas morning when I was growing up. I would examine, analyze, hold, shake and try to guess what each wrapped gift had in store. A G.I. Joe guy? A board game? Some kind of ball? Legos? And then there was my all-time favorite: anything Star Wars! Just please, anything...anything but clothes! Who needs a pair of socks or a sweater when there are space battles to be fought and won?! Certainly not me (or so I thought)!

      Now that I’m a parent, I love to see the joy in my children’s eyes when they open their gifts. Strangely enough, their reactions are quite similar to mine growing up (go figure)! As a pastor, I was thrilled to see the hundreds of boxes our church and school families gathered to send to needy children overseas. Imagine their delight and surprise as they open the gifts that were sent from Yuba City! It truly is "more blessed to give then to receive."

      The practice of gift-giving goes all the way back to Jesus’ day as He was presented with three very fine gifts. In Matthew 2:11, it says of the wise men: "And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh." These were gifts of great price and great meaning.

      There has been much said about the wise men since that day and much said about their gifts. I have always been impressed by their question and their statement of why they would travel so far. Matthew 2:2 says, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him." It was not an expedition of luxury or recreation, it was a journey of purpose. And as they entered the house and presented their gifts, that purpose was fulfilled.

      As we enter the Christmas season, it is easy to simply says: "Keep the Christ in Christmas." And so we should! It is most certainly true. But let’s also consider our gifts to Him and not just the gifts we receive and give to others. God has a perfect plan for each one of our lives. What will you bring to the "King" this Christmas season? Romans 12:1 admonishes: "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." Will you give to the Lord that which He desires most? Your life. There’s a banner in the Youth Room that reads, "Dying for us was the most He could do. Living for Him is the least we can do." What a challenge this Christmas!

      From our family to yours, we wish a you a blessed Christmas. We are so grateful for your prayers and support. It is a privilege to serve with you and to take part in this journey together. May God bless you richly for the many kindnesses you have shown our family this past year. We look forward, with great anticipation, to how the Lord will continue to work among us in 2005. May souls be saved and lives changed for the glory of God. Merry Christmas!

      Pastor Greg

Salvation Army Angel Kids

     Bring new, unwrapped toys for children under the age of 12.
A collection barrel will be in the church foyer.

November 21 - December 12

This is the program that was formerly known as “Toys for Tots”

Donate Poinsettias

Once again this year, Grace Baptist Church would like to give you the opportunity to remember a loved one or special friend this Christmas season by purchasing a poinsettia in their memory or in their honor. These plants will be used as part of the church decorations. Because of the planned arrangement for these plants and the need that they all be the same size, the church will be purchasing the poinsettias.

A listing of those donating poinsettias and for whom they were donated will be published in the December 19 bulletin. You will also have the opportunity to take your poinsettias after the evening service on December 19.

If you would like to be a part of this special remembrance, please fill out the printable form below and return it, along with $9.00 for each poinsettia you would like to donate, to the church office by Sunday, December 12.

Questions? Contact Lori Rohleder, or send an email here.

Print the form (click here).

Operation Christmas Child

With your help, our Operation Christmas Child program was a huge success!!!!

Through our church and school families, we had approximately 335 boxes turned in. Our Children’s Church played a special part in our Dedication Service on Sunday, November 14, as we prayed for God’s blessing both on the children receiving these boxes and for those that helped fill them. A special thanks to the Sloan and McCollum families for their help in crating the boxes and to Mike McCollum for the use of his trailer and for transporting the crates for shipment. Thank you for helping brighten a child’s Christmas!!

Friend to Friend

Wednesday, December 1 - 10:00 AM
Meet at Joyce Radobenko’s for “Show and Tell”. Please bring something that has a special Christmas meaning to you. It can be a present, an ornament, a decoration or anything you would like to share with us. Bring a sack lunch.

Wednesday, December 8 - 10:00 AM
Meet at Coral Matich’s. We will make Christmas cards with Coral’s expert help. Please bring six dozen homemade cookies (all the same kind) and you will take home six dozen cookies of six different kinds! Bring a sack lunch.

Wednesday, December 15 - 10:00 AM
Meet at Irene Hawkins’ for our annual Christmas party. If you would like to participate in an ornament exchange, please bring a Christmas ornament in a brown paper bag. We will have a demonstration of how to make Norwegian rosettes. We will have a meatball potluck so bring either meatballs, veggie dish or salad.

Our next Friend to Friend meeting will be on January 5.

All ladies of the church are invited. We can provide rides for those who need it. For more information, call Sedonna Zentmire at 741-3127.

Planning Committee will meet at Country Waffle at 9:30 AM on December 3.

Concerning Charitable Contribution Deduction

Donors must deliver or mail (and postmark) checks on or before December 31 in order to claim a charitable contribution deduction for 2004. Checks that are placed in the church offering on the first Sunday in 2005 will not qualify for a charitable contribution deduction in 2004, even if the check is predated to 2004 or is actually written in 2004. However, checks that are written, mailed and postmarked in 2004 will be deductible in 2004 though they are not received by the church until 2005.

To ensure the deductibility of your church contributions, please do not file your 2004 income tax return until you have received a written acknowledgement of your contributions from the church. Some of your contributions may not be tax-deductible if you file your tax return before receiving a written acknowledgement from the church.

Calendar of Events

Click on the highlighted dates - the events are shown on the right.