The DC Pulse Your Connection to a Church with a Heart for the Community

The Purpose of Christmas An excerpt on "A Time for Celebration."

The following article is an excerpt from Rick Warren's The Purpose of Christmas.

Christmas is a party. Specifically, it's a birthday party — for Jesus — and birthdays are meant to be celebrated. It's why we say "Merry Christmas!" Ironically, at most Christmas parties the person whose birthday we're supposed to be celebrating is completely ignored. He's never even mentioned. Although Jesus is the reason for the season, he's often overlooked or merely mentioned along with Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus, the Grinch, elves, and a long list of celebrated fictional characters. As I was writing this little book, I decided to take a survey of Christmas shoppers. I asked, "What are you celebrating this Christmas?" Most answers had nothing to do with Jesus:  "I'm celebrating that I made it through another year."  "I'm celebrating being home with my family."  "I got a Christmas bonus."  "My son is home from Iraq."  "The candidate I voted for got elected."  "I'm celebrating that I've finished all my shopping."  "I'm not celebrating anything. I'm just trying to survive."

Preparing for Christmas can be a lot of work, especially for moms. With the pressure of buying gifts, sending greeting cards, decorating our homes, putting up lights, cooking, attending parties, and cleaning up afterward, we have little time to actually enjoy the meaning of Christmas. The first purpose of Christmas is celebration! We learn this from the angel's opening statement to the shepherds of Bethlehem. God had wonderful news for us that would cause us all to rejoice, celebrate, and throw a party: "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people." (Luke 2:10)

The good news of Christmas is worth celebrating for three reasons. It is personal: "I bring YOU." It is positive: "GOOD news of great joy." And it is universal: "for ALL the people." It doesn't matter who you are, what you've done, where you've been, or where you're headed — this news is for you. A national magazine used to carry a feature called "News You Can Use." I always read that section first. The angel brought us news we can use. It's the best news in the world:  God loves you!  God is with you!  God is for you! Continued on page 8

Monthly Announcements December 2018

Celebrate DC Seniors with December Birthdays!

Emil Hyman December 3 Alex Brown December 5 Lorena Griffin December 6 Carolyn Harvey December 8 Bernice Miller December 9 B. Shirley Easley December 11 Marietta Noel December 17 Pauline Starnes December 17 Cecil Reed December 18 Nicholas Gibson December 20 Ora McCormick December 22 Rosie McCall December 26 Jewel Moore December 28

Are you a senior adult with a birthday not listed? Call or email the church office.

FINANCIAL MINISTRY DECEMBER TIP

Merry Christmas David Chapel!

There is no time like the present to think of your savings! According to Bankrate, about 20 percent of Americans do not have a savings account, and out of the ones that do, about a fourth of us are saving less than 5 percent of our income. Become future-oriented when saving, even when plans don’t go exactly how you imagined. Remember Proverbs16:9 says, “the heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps”. Say you want to buy a new car, go on vacation, or put the kids in braces. You’ll need to save for those specific goals by assigning a dollar amount and a time frame to your goal and begin today!

Want to know more? Read “3 Ways To Quit Neglecting Your Savings Account” at crown.org. As Pastor stated in his November 18th sermon, “Be not only attentive in hearing but be retentive after hearing!” Your life can show that you are a “do-er” of His financial principles!

Blessings, Your David Chapel Financial Ministry 2

UNDER the BRIDGE MINISTRY “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Matthew 25:25

Hello DC family! We are asking for donations to help our Austin homeless through the “Under the Bridge” ministry. The following items are needed: blankets, gloves, caps, coats, pants, shirts/sweaters, shoes, underwear (men and women), and toiletry items. Gently used clothing items are also accepted. Please bring the items to the church and drop them in the box marked “Under The Bridge” before the December 21st deadline.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Chair: Renae Sanders Co-chair: Sophia Williams Volunteers: Eunice Bouldin-Ransburg, Margaret Boston, Bessie Evans, Beulah Harris, Pat McGraw, and Olivia Ussery

LOIS M. UPTON COLD WEATHER SHELTER

Austin's lack of shelter space forces many homeless people to sleep outside during winter months. In demonstration of its heart for the community, David Chapel has continued its partnership with the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH) and other churches to provide a warm and safe overnight shelter for the homeless population from November through February when inclement (freezing) weather has been forecasted for the Austin area. DC will provide shelter for twenty men. To make this initiative a success, program coordinators need from 8 to 10 volunteers to prepare hot meals, clean-up, give oversight to the shelter throughout the night, and provide a welcoming environment.

To sign-up or get more information, please contact Charles Walker by telephone at (512) 897-3859 or (512) 680-5559. Mr. Walker is also available via email at [email protected].

Please consider volunteering. This is an extraordinary opportunity to touch a life.

Congratulations Graduates!

DANIELLE HAYNES-HARPER Bachelor of Arts in Political Science/Legal Studies Texas State University - San Marcos

Commencement Friday, December 14, 2018 -- 2:00 p.m. Strahan Arena at the University Events Center 700 Aquarena Springs Drive, San Marcos

RONNIE MITCHELL Bachelor of Arts in Political Science Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi

Commencement Saturday, December 15, 2018 -- 2:00 p.m. American Bank Center Arena 1901 N. Shoreline Boulevard, Corpus Christi

DARIAN MICHEL SCRUGGS Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Marketing) Texas Tech University

Commencement Saturday, December 15, 2018 -- 9:00 a.m. United Supermarkets Arena 1701 Indiana Avenue, Lubbock

Every Sunday in December, and the first Sunday Church in January, the nursery will be closed during Nursery worship service. The nursery will reopen Closed January 9, 2019.

Youth Bible Study Kicks Off With

As part of our Discipleship model, the iAM Youth Ministry kicked off our enhanced Bible Study with a series entitled God’s Plan. It was based on Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer Drake’s song “God’s Plan.” Yes, we even listened to the secular song during Bible Study. Youth discussed the song’s theme- success is divine will- and expressed their opinions about it. Ultimately, we went to the Bible to figure out what God’s Plan really is. We explored the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37- 40) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) where we outlined our five spiritual purposes- worship, ministry, evangelism, fellowship, and discipleship. This is God’s Plan for our lives as Christians. As a cross reference to the Great Commandment and Great Commission, we studied various passages of scripture:

Worship – The greatest expression of worship was demonstrated for us by Jesus (see Luke 22:41-43). Jesus says, “not my will, but yours be done.”

Ministry – Jesus washed the Disciple’s feet. So not to (ceremonialize) this act, Sister Parker demonstrated the washing of the feet during this session. Thanks to Noah for being a gracious participant. Ministry is serving others and leading an others- centered life. Basically, don’t be selfish and follow the servanthood of Jesus.

Evangelism – This can be a scary word because Christians often do not know how to practically live out this responsibility. Acts 1:8 gave us a roadmap for witnessing. Today, there are so many things to try to cause Christians to be fearful but, if we are to go in to all nations, the Holy Spirit gives us the power to be fearless. Noah volunteered to facilitate this session and did an awesome job.

Fellowship – We focused on relationships, our roles in relating to God’s people, and how God can use our fellowship for the sake of ministry. Our scripture reference was Acts 2:42-47.

Discipleship – “Who do you say iAM?” - Who we say God is dictates our response to Him. Our scripture reference was Luke 9:18-36 and we studied what it means to be a Disciple.

In one of our last sessions for the series, we evaluated ourselves on each of the five spiritual purposes. Some of us gave “churchy” ratings, but when we pulled back a few layers, we realized our ratings changed a bit. This rating was not to point fingers or to judge one another. Rather, the ratings helped us be honest with ourselves and see where were stood against God’s Plan.

Finally, we issued three life books to each youth. Shout out to Rev. Emerson for reaching out to the Youth ministry and providing the books. Each youth wrote their name in one book in an effort to read the book on their own. For the other two books, the youth were encouraged to write the names of their friends-believers or non-believers- in an effort to give the book and share the gospel. A small step in evangelizing.

God’s Plan is not solely about what He gives to us. We learned that we were uniquely blessed and His plan is not cookie-cutter. Interestingly enough, we discerned that God’s Plan requires metanoia, me to go, and me to make disciples.

Questions about Youth Bible Study? Contact Keith Overton-Hadnot at [email protected]. 5

Continued from cover

Christmas is a time to celebrate that God loves you!

The most famous statement in the Bible is Jesus' explanation of why God sent him to earth: "God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." The entire reason for Christmas is the love of God. God loves you so much that he came to earth as a human so you could get to know him and learn to trust him and love him back. Theologians call this the Incarnation. God became one of us, a human being, so we could understand what he is really like.

God has given us, as human beings, the capacity to know him in ways animals can't. He created us in his image, which includes the ability to enjoy a personal relationship with him. Then he took the initiative to send Jesus so we could understand his love and our need for him.

Until Jesus arrived, our understanding of God's love was limited. So God invaded earth! It was the greatest invasion in history, and nothing has been the same since. God could have chosen thousands of ways to communicate with us, but since he designed us, he knew the best way to communicate with us would be face-to-face. If God had wanted to communicate to birds, he would have become a bird. If God had wanted to communicate to cows, he would have become a cow. But God wanted to communicate to us, so he became one of us. He didn't send an angel or a prophet or a politician or an ambassador. He came himself. If you really want people to know how much you love them, you can't send a representative to communicate it. You have to say it personally. That's what God did at Christmas.

The Bible tells us that God is love. It doesn't say God has love, but God is love. Love is the essence of God's character. It is his very nature. The reason that everything in the universe exists is because God wanted to love it. "The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made." Think about this. If God didn't want to love something, he would not have created it. Everything you see, and the trillions of things you can't see, was made by God for his enjoyment. He loves it all, even when we mess it up with our sin. He still has a purpose for it. Every star, every planet, every plant, every animal, every cell, and, most of all, every human being was created out of God's compassion.

You were created as an object of God's love. He made you in order to love you! His love is the reason you're alive and breathing and reading this book. Every time your heart beats and every time you take a breath, God is saying, "I love you." You would not exist if God had not wanted you. Although there are accidental parents, there are no accidental babies. The parents may not have planned them, but God did. Did you know that God was thinking of you even before he made the world? In fact, it is why he created it! He designed this planet's environment with just the right characteristics so human beings could live on it. The Bible says, "God decided to give us life through the word of truth so we might be the most important of all the things he made." We matter to God more than anything else he has made.

Because God's love for you is unconditional, he loves you on your bad days as much as on your good days. He loves you when you don't feel his love as much as when you do. He loves you regardless of your performance, your moods, your actions, or your thoughts. His love for you is unchanging.

Everything else will change during your lifetime, but God's love for you is constant, steady, and continuous. It's the foundation for unshakable confidence. There is nothing you can do that will make God stop loving you. You could try, but you'd fail — because God's love for you is based on his character, not your conduct. It's based on who he is, not what you've done. The Bible says, "Christ's love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love."

One potential problem of our annual Christmas celebrations is that many people only think of Jesus as a baby! Their conception of him is only as a helpless newborn in his mother's arms. If Jesus had never grown up to do what he did, he'd have no power to transform our lives. But the baby born in Bethlehem did not stay a baby. Jesus grew to manhood, modeled for us the kind of life that pleases God, taught us the truth, paid for every sin we commit by dying on a cross, then proved that he was God and could save us by coming back to life. This is the Good News. When the Romans nailed Jesus to a cross, they stretched his arms as wide as they could. With his arms wide open, Jesus was physically demonstrating, "I love you this much! I love you so much it hurts! I'd rather die than live without you!" The next time you see a picture or statue of Jesus with outstretched arms on the cross, remember, he is saying, "I love you this much!"

This article first appeared in the December 2008 issue of Christianity Today. Used by permission of Christianity Today, Carol Stream, IL 60188.

DECORATE DC FOR THE CHRISTMAS SEASON!

Each year, David Chapel members help beautify the sanctuary for Christmas by bringing poinsettias to honor or memorialize a loved one. If you wish to participate, please purchase a poinsettia and place it in the sanctuary the first (Dec. 2), second (Dec. 9), and third (Dec. 16) Sundays in December. The deadline to turn in names is Tuesday, December 18, 2018. Names should be given to Edith McKinney (512-926-9133) or Ernestine Hill (512-926-0441) by telephone or in person.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME MORE SECURE

The Austin Police Department is reminding residents to protect their home from burglars with the following tips:

 Install motion sensor lighting  Ensure bushes are trimmed below the windows  Add stronger screws to door frames so it can’t be kicked in  Place drilling pins in the windows so they can’t be lifted

Extra steps like these make the house less desirable for a burglar, which makes it more difficult for a burglar to break in. 9

12 Ways to Have a Healthy Holiday Season

Brighten the holidays by making your health and safety a priority. Take steps to keep you and your loved ones safe and healthy—and ready to enjoy the holidays.

1. Wash hands often to help prevent the spread of germs. It’s flu season. Wash your hands with soap and clean running water for at least 20 seconds. 2. Bundle up to stay dry and warm. Wear appropriate outdoor clothing: light, warm layers, gloves, hats, scarves, and waterproof boots. 3. Manage stress. Give yourself a break if you feel stressed out, overwhelmed, and out of control. Some of the best ways to manage stress are to find support, connect socially, and get plenty of sleep. 4. Don’t drink and drive or let others drink and drive. Whenever anyone drives drunk, they put everyone on the road in danger. Choose not to drink and drive and help others do the same. 5. Be smoke-free. Avoid smoking and secondhand smoke. Smokers have greater health risks because of their tobacco use, but nonsmokers also are at risk when exposed to tobacco smoke. 6. Fasten seat belts while driving or riding in a motor vehicle. Always buckle your children in the car using a child safety seat, booster seat, or seat belt according to their height, weight, and age. Buckle up every time, no matter how short the trip and encourage passengers to do the same. 7. Get exams and screenings. Ask your health care provider what exams you need and when to get them. Update your personal and family history. 8. Get your vaccinations. Vaccinations help prevent diseases and save lives. Everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine each year. 9. Monitor children. Keep potentially dangerous toys, food, drinks, household items, and other objects out of children’s reach. Protect them from drowning, burns, falls, and other potential accidents. 10. Practice fire safety. Most residential fires occur during the winter months, so don’t leave fireplaces, space heaters, food cooking on stoves, or candles unattended. Have an emergency plan and practice it regularly. 11. Prepare food safely. Remember these simple steps: Wash hands and surfaces often, avoid cross-contamination, cook foods to proper temperatures and refrigerate foods promptly. 12. Eat healthy, stay active. Eat fruits and vegetables which pack nutrients and help lower the risk for certain diseases. Limit your portion sizes and foods high in fat, salt, and sugar. Also, be active for at least 2½ hours a week and help kids and teens be active for at least 1 hour a day.

Be inspired to stay in the spirit of good health! Listen to The 12 Ways to Health Holiday Song or a holiday health podcast. Article courtesy of the DC Wellness Ministry, reprinted with applicable rights to the Center for Disease Control. 10

On View: Now - Jan. 13, 2019 Third Floor, Temporary Exhibition Gallery LBJ Presidential Library, 2313 Red River, Austin

Get in the Game: The Fight for Equality in American Sports examines the intersection of social justice and sports in the United States. The exhibition celebrates athletes who have broken barriers and spoken out for equality, both on and off the playing field. Beginning in the late 19th century and continuing through current day, Get in the Game encourages visitors to think about sports as part of an ongoing national conversation and as a vehicle for social change.

Exhibition highlights  Stephen Curry, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and LeBron James autographed jerseys  Colin Kaepernick and Colt McCoy autographed football  Olympic Fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad’s hijab, mask, and jacket  Nike Air Jordan Sneakers from 1985-2000  Venus and Serena Williams' 2008 Olympic uniforms  Muhammad Ali autographed boxing gloves  Billie Jean King's tennis dress  Jackie Robinson's game-worn pants and autographed baseball  Jim Brown's shoulder pads and autographed football  Jesse Owens' diary from the 1936 Olympics in Berlin  Lee Trevino’s glove and hat  Negro League baseball jerseys and cleats  Black Fives Era basketball artifacts  All-American Girls Professional Baseball League artifacts  And lots more!

Library & Museum Hours Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily Except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day Free parking in lot #38

All announcements and articles for the January publication must be submitted to Keisha Nunn ([email protected]) by Sunday, December 16th.

DAVID CHAPEL MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH 2211 E. M.L.K., Jr. Blvd ▪ Austin, Texas ▪ 78702 ▪ (512) 472-9748 ▪ www.davidchapel.org #DavidChapelATX ▪ Facebook.com/DavidChapelMBC ▪ Twitter.com/DavidChapelMBC

Joseph C. Parker, Jr., Esq., D.Min., Senior Pastor

Remember to check the church calendar regularly for new events and scheduling changes.

W INTER B REAK December 19, 2018 — February 13, 2019

Winter Break is designed for everyone, and most especially those that lead and support our church ministries, to take time to refresh themselves spiritually, physically and emotionally. No weekly meetings should take place during this period. We will continue to have Sunday School on Sundays and our gifted Sunday School teachers will prepare their lessons at home. During this time, Pastor is encouraging each person to give God a full day on Sunday, including Sunday School.

Regular ministry activities, Wednesday night prayer/praise and Bible Study will resume on Wednesday, February 13, 2019, with our first Wednesday worship service in 2019.

We will have our congregation-wide 21-day fast from February 1-21, 2019.

ONLINE GIVING — Members Mark your calendar for the and non-members may give church stewardship meeting their tithes and offerings online th safely and securely through on Tuesday, December 11 at checking account, debit/credit 6:00 p.m. in the sanctuary. The cards and electronic fund STEWARDSHIP meeting is open to all DC transfers. Visit David Chapel’s members. website for online giving, more information, and instructions at www.davidchapel.org.

BABY DEDICATIONS are held The church office will be closed the 3rd Sunday of each month, the following dates: unless it is a holiday or an December 24 annual day. Please contact the December 25 church office at (512) 472-9748 to schedule your child’s December 31 dedication and to obtain January 1 additional information regarding the event.