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Sunbury City Church Newsletter


December,2022
 
ELDER'S UPDATE

Christmas is upon us. The season where we celebrate the incarnation of Christ, the taking on of humanity by God the Son. But why is this so special? Because we are sinners in need of a savior. Have you ever thought about how you would treat such a rebellious world? Maybe you would zap it to smithereens. Maybe you would simply declare sin removed. Maybe you would seek to remake the world, hoping for a better outcome. God in his divine wisdom decided to become man, live among us, and then endure suffering at our hands, to pay the very penalty we deserve, so that he might grant us victory over sin, over death, and give us new life. How crazy is this? As one writer remarks, Jesus moved on the block. At Christmas, he entered our world on our level. He did not expect us to come to him. Knowing we couldn’t, he came to us. And now we celebrate that coming each year as a reminder of the love of God for sinners just like you and just like me. This Christmas, let’s rejoice in the reality that Jesus knows what it is like to be human and offers us a new way of life, a freedom found only in him. And let us remember the friends and family who do not know this freedom and pray God will grant this freedom to them!
                                           
Pastor Derek

         

                                
                          Derek Van Ruler, Lead Pastor

                
 
God works in mysterious ways. One Sunday, as the announcements began, a man came to church for the first time. During this conversation it was clear he needed to talk. That following week, he met for a conversation about life, about the gospel, and by God’s grace, took up the invitation to return to church the following week where he met many who loved and cared for him. He declared that the service and people were better than he expected. Praise be to God that our unity and love for one another encourages guests towards the hope of Jesus Christ.


We want to hear from you! If you have a story of how you have seen God working in your life or the life of someone else in our church, we would love to include your story in our next newsletter. Please contact Rhiannon @ 570-850-2769 or by email at:  info@sunburycitychurch.org.  
What's Happening At SCC

Christmas Eve Service: December 24th at 5pm, we will host our candlelight Christmas Eve Service. Come early to fellowship around hot chocolate, hot cider, and take your family Christmas photo in front of our Christmas backdrop. This is a great time to invite friends and family who do not know Jesus Christ. 

2) Celebration Sunday: January 1st at 10:30am. In lieu of our regular Sunday Gathering, we will gather for a time of celebration and brunch as we rejoice over God’s faithfulness in 2022. We will not provide KidSpace this day. Please see Amanda White if interested in providing food for the brunch.

3) Membership Class: We value commitment to Christ and commitment to Christ’s bride, the church. Membership class is a way to learn what this commitment looks like at Sunbury City Church along with our beliefs, church structure, and values. Our next membership class will be January 6th (7p-9:30p) and 7th (9a-11:30a). Please email Pastor Derek at info@sunburycitychurch.com or talk in person to register.
 
 

Missional Communities are groups of people gathering as a family, growing as servants, and going as missionaries to a designated target area to reach their neighbors with the good news of Jesus Christ.  Currently, we have four of these groups that meet and would love for you to join us!  If you are interested in joining a group, please contact us at: info@sunburycitychurch.org.
 
 
To see more prayer requests follow this link and login to your Elvanto account: Be sure to create an account if you do not have one already.    
https://sunburycitychurch.elvanto.net/posts/prayer-list/
We would love to pray for you.  If you have prayer request needs, feel free to follow this link and fill out the form to let us know how we can pray for you:
 https://www.sunburycitychurch.com/prayer
 
Support Our Ministry: 
We exist to glorify God by making disciples who love God, live the Gospel, embrace our community, and plant movements.  With your support, we can better carry out this mission.  If you are able, please consider becoming a financial partner with us.  You can give online at: sunburycitychurch.com/give or in person, by placing your donation in our offering boxes.  
 
 Don't forget to check out our podcasts, available to stream on our website or any platform where you listen to your favorite podcasts.

Stay up to date with what is going on at Sunbury City Church by checking out our blog at:
 https://www.sunburycitychurch.com/blog



Want some good books but don’t know where to go?  Check out our online bookstore at:
 https://www.sunburycitychurch.com/bookstore



Want to familiarize yourself with the music we sing every Sunday? Our Spotify playlist can help you with that!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7ifRnFCfmaWwimPKQi2i7e?si=8a74b473cfed4d5c

CONTACT US

SCC mailing address:


P.O. Box 344
Sunbury, PA 17801-0344



Phone:
(570) 492-4962


Email address:

info@sunburycitychurch.com

Lead Pastor: Derek Van Ruler