Zip line, frisbee, golf, low ropes, basketball, rock wall, malt shop, hiking, paintball, ping pong, football, sledding hill, air hockey, Big Oak Cafe and the Arte Shoppe are some of the activities we’ll have for our junior high students. Register and get more info.
Jan 15-18 (MLK Weekend )
Thousand Pines, $284.82
The “good news of great joy” is that God came to dwell among us. This Christmas, take a moment, before (or between) all the crazy, and read aloud this most famous passage about Christmas: the birth announcement of Jesus…
Luke 2:1-12
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Merry Christmas!
Jeff
The Light of the World arrives in the darkness bringing hope, joy, peace and love. Join us this Christmas to experience the beauty and wonder offered by the presence of Jesus.
Christmas at Mariners Mission Viejo
Wed, Dec 23 @ 6p
Thu, Dec 24 @ 4 & 6p
candlelight service @ 11p
If your 2nd-5th grader would like to get baptized during our All Church Baptism on Sunday Jan. 10, he/she must attend this class with one or both parents. Class is required for baptism. Please RSVP to Susan Hulse, shulse@marinerschurch.org
Children’s Baptism Class
Sun, Jan 3 12:45-1:30p
Donate your vehicle (car, motorcycle, boat, jet ski or RV) to Mariners Church Car Ministry and bless someone in need. For more info, contact us at carministry@marinerschurch.org or msalhani@marinerschurch.org or visit our website.
They told him he couldn’t wear his hat anymore. They also made fun of his sweatshirt (he wears the same one a lot). On that day, he became far more conscious about those things than ever before. As his parents we listened, not having all that much difficulty remembering what that same scenario felt like so many years ago. We tried to guide him into a self-assured courage about his own ability to make his own decisions — not being persuaded to change simply because of some knuckleheads’ opinions. As a result of a seemingly innocuous clothing choice, he had become an outsider. He felt the pain of exclusion (small though it may have been). He now thinks differently about how he’ll be perceived as he gets ready for school in the morning. It’s a new and unwelcome anxiety.
We know this reality. We live in it everyday. My son is coming face-to-face with one of the realities of being a grown-up. Because, after all, that’s what grown-ups have learned to do: to work hard at fitting in, to cover over, to disguise, to pretend. Our efforts are more sophisticated than his. There are more means at our disposal. We can buy things to help us hide. We have learned to cover over the blemishes of the things that draw unwanted attention. We know how to elevate certain attributes and achievements to the fore in hopes that they overshadow our insecurities.
As adults we haven’t forgotten what those other kids on the playground know: the best way to hide our own wobbly self-consciousness is to pounce on a potential weakness in others. Obviously, we are more subtle in our ways of finding the faults in others than those days of the playground, but we can pinprick the pain in others without much difficulty. Eventually, however, everything — all the shallow exteriors — do cave in on themselves. Usually, it’s in a moment of crisis.
One wonders: where do people go when they’ve lost the ability to fake it, to pretend? Is there a safe-haven for those who have lost the energy to keep a well-formed façade in tact?
Sadly, for so many people, the church has been the ultimate example of false-exteriors and fault-finding in others. But, I heard a story this past week that undermines some of those painful perceptions people have about churches — those notorious places where the hypocrites gather. To a member of our prayer team someone said, “Mariners is the only place where I don’t have to pretend. I don’t have to make it seem like everything is fine. I don’t have to fake it for anyone. I don’t cry anywhere else in my life. I’ve never been prayed for before. I have always been afraid of seeming like a weak person. But, I am finding that I can be prayed for as I am.”
That may have been one of the greatest affirmations for any church community I’ve ever heard. It is an affirmation for the intangible “feel” of Mariners MV. That someone, overwhelmed by the pressure of life could find a refuge in and among other people at our church, is a statement about the authenticity, the openness, and the compassion of those who call it home. This week, as you’re praying about who to invite to our Christmas Eve services, think about those people in your life who are longing to find a place where they don’t have to pretend everything is fine. Think about those people who are moments away from losing the energy to sustain the perception that everything is great. Maybe, it’s they who need a fresh understanding of Jesus and his church.
MARK 2:16-17
“But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw [Jesus] eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with such scum?’
When Jesus heard this, he told them, ‘Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.'”
See you soon,
Jeff
Every day until Christmas we’ll post a devotional about Advent. They are reminders to tune our hearts toward God, the One who gave us the best gift ever: Jesus Christ. They’ll help us pause and remember why we celebrate.
Read our daily Advent devotionals exclusively on our Facebook page.
Join the fun and help out in Port Mariners Children’s Ministry during one of our Christmas Eve services. We are offering a children’s program for birth-5 years old. Serve the many visitors that will be coming to Mariners MV for Christmas! Contact Susan, shulse@marinerschurch.org
Children’s Ministry Volunteers Needed for Christmas Eve Services
Wed, Dec 23, 6p and Thu, Dec 24, 4&6p
I was at a wedding a few weeks ago. Not surprisingly, the bride was radiant. Her bridesmaids, dabbing their eyes, protecting their meticulously applied eye makeup from running, stood in solidarity with their dearest friend. The fathers were proud. The mothers were beaming. The groomsmen were, for the most part, presentable. The groom was as handsome as he’ll ever be in his life. It was the beautiful wedding everyone wants. The ceremony was humorous and tender. It was a moment to cherish.
The world paused momentarily while we were inside the echoey chamber and the glimmering stained glass. On that afternoon, so many promises, prayers, anticipations, and dreams were embodied in that chapel. But, never was a prayer uttered, nor a hope spoken that their mutual feeling of “being in love” should sustain them for the duration of their lives. Despite all the fairy tale accoutrements with which weddings are necessarily associated, the sustaining power of their marriage was never to be found in the ebullient euphoria of “being in love.” Rather, whatever will bind them together for the long-term must lie in a deeper, richer commitment to God and to each other… regardless of how they may feel.
CS LEWIS says it this way:
“Being in love is a good thing, but it is not the best thing… Love as distinct from ‘being in love’ — is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by the grace which both partners ask, and receive, from God. They can have this love for each other even at those moments when they do not like each other… ‘Being in love’ first moved them to promise fidelity: this quieter love enables them to keep the promise. It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run: being in love was the explosion that started it.”
Universally, an enduring kind of love is understood to be a good thing. No one ever sees an elderly couple tenderly holding hands on a park bench and then says to themselves: “Well, that’s really too bad.” To see something like that, one has to wonder what story is held within that shared grasp. Undoubtedly, it’s a story of beauty that has transcended both the initial love-drunk stages of “falling for each other” and the mere feeling of being in love. It’s a beauty forged not in the meadows of “happily ever after” but in the twin foundries of soul-level commitment and love-against-all-odds.
This is the kind of marriage we hope to be a part of building at Mariners. As much as there’s a necessity for big interventions and massive course corrections, there’s also a need for married people to play together, to get a shot in the arm to re-center what can occasionally drift. This Friday night, Mariners MV will host a date night for married couples. Amanda and I will talk from our own experience of marriage and ministry for a few minutes before sending you out on your date. Date Night is intended to be a boost for your relationship. It’s not crisis intervention. But, it is a chance to reconnect, and perhaps, to hold hands — maybe with an eager anticipation of one day sitting on a park bench amid passersby who quietly hold in high regard the journey that got you to that good place.
Let us know if you’re coming (especially if you’re planning on utilizing the childcare) by clicking the Date Night link.
See you Friday,
Jeff
Join us and hear from Lead Pastor Jeff Maguire & his wife Amanda as they share key values to help us sharpen the tools in our “marriage toolboxes.” Before we send you out to your favorite date spot, we will provide a programmed night of serious fun with meaningful interaction and thought provoking conversation. After your date, you’ll head back to the church to grab the kids from their own night of excitement (we will even feed them!). More info and register.
Fri, Dec 11, 6:30-9:30p, $15/couple, Mariners Mission Viejo
Childcare available, $10/family
