“11 million. That was the number of Jews sentenced to death a brief 90-minute lunch meeting at a beautiful lakeside villa (see picture) near Berlin 70 years ago.  The infamous meeting of Nazi officials which decided upon the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question” was called The Wannsee Conference.

Held on January 20, 1942 and attended by 15 high-ranking Nazi bureaucrats, the Wannsee Conference set in motion the implementation of a plan to for the systematic, industrial murder of all the Jews within Germany’s reach in Europe and north-west Africa.

The fate of 11 million Jews, followed by a glass of Cognac.

It is important that we remember that the Nazi officials who deliberated at Villa Wannsee over their ghastly plans for exterminating European Jewry were all well-educated, with at least half of them holding doctorate degrees. Some were also the sons of Protestant ministers, yet not one of them raised any moral objections to this heinous plot” [1]

As you reflect on this heinous decision that led to genocide, remember that the voice of the majority doesn’t always reflect the voice of God.   When you are seated at a table of influence, speak up for those who do not have a voice.

This Wednesday, we will have a great night of ministry to men and women.

After we worship together, the ladies will receive teaching from Jackie Chapman while the men will hear from Chip Johnson.

Come invest in your spiritual life by joining me on Wednesday, January 18th at 6:30 p.m.

Use this night to meet some new friends who attend CIL with you!  I’m excited about this opportunity to grow together!

Care for the poor.

Show justice in the courtroom.

Have fair elections.

Educate the children.

Eradicate disease.

Interrupt cycles of poverty.

Steward the planet.

Base elections off ideas, and not 30 second commercials.

Stop unnecessary wars.

Quit oppressing the poor through the lottery.

Don’t sell your soul to lobbyist and special interest groups.

Eliminate weapons of mass destruction.

Rescue young girls from human trafficking of sex slaves.

Exterminate world hunger.

Do not tolerate genocide.

Here’s an article about the event in today’s Hendersonville Star News:

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120109/HENDERSONVILLE01/301090056/Local-pastors-celebrate-King-s-legacy?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Hendersonville

I am excited about our first Men’s Retreat for CIL!     We will be going to Deer Run Retreat Center in nearby Thompson Station, TN, for a Friday night through Saturday afternoon get away (February 3-4).  The cost is onl $49 – which includes lodging and three meals.

Sign ups will start soon, so keep your eyes open for more information!

I can’t think of a better way to start the first week of 2012 than having a night of worship.  Come to CIL on Wednesday, January 4 at 6:30 p.m. for a time of worship.

Let’s exalt Jesus together!

There will be no Wednesday Night Service at CIL tonight (December 21).   We will not have a mid-week service until January 4, 2012.

Enjoy some extra time with family and friends during this holiday season.

Tonight the worship and programming teams will be preparing for the two Christmas Eve services this Saturday (December 24).  The two identical services being at 4:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Decide now which service you will attend, and bring someone with you!

John 10:22-23 – Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.

The story of Hanukkah is recorded in the First Book of Maccabees, which is part of the Apocrypha. In the year 165 BC, the Jewish people who lived in Judea where living under the rule of the Greek kings of Damascus.

During this time Syrian King Antiochus Epiphanes, took control of the Temple in Jerusalem. He forced the Jewish people to abandon their worship of God, made them bow down to the Greek gods and sacrificed a pig on the altar. As a result of the severe persecution, a group of four Jewish brothers, led by Judah Maccabee, decided to raise up an army of religious freedom fighters. These men became known as the Maccabees.

The small band of warriors fought for three years with “strength from heaven” until achieving a victory and deliverance from the Syrian control.  After regaining the Temple, it was cleansed by the Maccabees, cleared of all Greek idolatry, and readied for rededicated.   So Hanukkah received its name, the Feast of Dedication, because it celebrates the Maccabees’ victory over Greek oppression and the “rededication” of the temple.

But Hanukkah is also known as the Festival of Lights, and this is because immediately following the miraculous deliverance, Jewish tradition states that God provided another miracle of provision. In the Temple, the eternal flame of God was to be lit at all time as a symbol of God’s presence. But according to tradition, when the Temple was rededicated, there was only enough oil left in the temple to burn the flame for one day. The rest of the oil had been defiled by the Greeks during their invasion, and it would take a week for new oil to be processed and purified. But at the rededication, the Maccabees went ahead and lit the eternal flame with the remaining supply of oil, and God caused it to burn miraculously for eight days, until the new sacred oil was ready. This is why the feast is also called the Festival of Lights, and why the Hanukkah Menorah is lit for eight consecutive nights of celebration.

- Re-post from December 2, 2010.  Info take from an e-mail sent on 12/2/10 from “Rock of Ages P.O. Box 18038 Fairfield, Ohio 45018”

Christmas is for worship!

Christmas Eve will be so special at CIL this year.  We’ve been working hard with a team to create an experience that will center you on Jesus.

We will have two identical services that start at 4:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.  Each service will be one hour in length.

I want our Christmas Eve service to be part of you and your family’s Christmas tradition.     Make plans now, and bring your family and friends with you.   We are going to create a special experience together for our church family and our community.