They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request: “Sir, they said, “We would like to see Jesus.” - John 12:21

If you were visiting LPC for the first time, what would you see?

Recently, I was teaching a class for new members. It’s a group of 27 men and women, ranging in age from newlyweds to retirees. I asked them, “What attracted you to this church?” As we went around the table, they shared their experience of coming here to worship.

One woman said, “I’ve been searching for two years for a place to worship. In some churches, I stayed for a couple of weeks. In others, I stayed for 15 minutes. But when I came to LPC, I knew instantly that this is where I belong!”

Another woman said, “My family has been church-shopping for a long time. In many of the churches we visited, it seemed like ‘Christianity-light” - like they were trying to conform to the world. But when we walked into LPC, it was so different. You can feel the Holy Spirit here.”

Another man said, “This church preaches and believes in the Bible. When we checked out your website, the Biblical be-liefs of the church were clearly stated. That’s what we were looking for.”

CCCChron iclehron iclehron iclehron icle Lebanon Presbyterian Church

November 2017 Sunday, Nov. 5

Communion Sunday

Who is Your Master? Luke 16:10-15

The Rev. Randy Snyder

Sunday, Nov. 12

A Generous God Luke 6:27-38

Sunday, Nov. 19

Pledge Dedication Sunday

The Unpayable Debt Psalm 116

Sunday, Nov. 26

Family Sunday

Seeing the Star

A young couple with a son in third-grade said, “We’ve been coming to LPC for six years. We appreciate the focus on the Bible and the love that we’ve felt here. Our son loves coming here. A couple of weeks ago, our son asked us, ‘Mom and Dad, why don’t you join LPC?’ He even filled out the registration form for us!” Another woman said, “At other churches, the praise band sings AT you. Here, they sing WITH you.” Another man, a retired pastor, said, “I served in another denomination for many years but finally, I had to leave because they drifted away from the truth. It is so good to be in a church where we are hearing the Gospel!” In many churches today, worship has become a form of entertainment with laser lights and fog machines. Peo-ple come to see a show. But at LPC, people are coming to see Jesus. The Holy Spirit is drawing people who are hungering to be fed with the Word of God. I thank God for all the new people He is sending to us. And I thank God for the rest of you, who are helping them to see Jesus! . Your servant in Christ, Peter

Seeing Jesus

Preaching Schedule

Seek First Saturday

We expanded our prayer ministry to include a month-ly Seek First Saturday prayer gathering in our Sanc-tuary to seek the Lord for our needs at home, in our church, and in our world. As we worship, we pray alone, in small groups, with church leaders, and with one another in a spirit of anticipation. We’d love to have you join us at our last SFS gathering for 2017 on Saturday, November 4 at 5:45 p.m.

Non-Profit Organization US Postage Paid Permit No. 94

Lebanon, Ohio 45036

123 N. East St. 513-932-2751 Lebanon, OH 45036 513-934-0339 fax Worship Services & Sunday School 8:45 a.m. Traditional Worship 10 a.m. Christian Education 11:15 a.m. Contemporary Worship

Wednesday Nights Together starting Sept. 13 5:30 p.m. Dinner 6:30 p.m. Classes and activities Senior Pastor The Rev. Peter Larson

We are on the web!

www.lebanonpresbyterian.org

Like us on facebook!

Lebanon Presbyterian Church

Members of the “Discover LPC” class.

The LPC Book

Club

The LPC Book Club is reading the book "The News of the World" by

Paulette Jiles. We will meet Thursday November 9 at 7 p.m. in Room 304 the church Library.

Please join us as we review this fascinating book set in the old West. Please call Joan Cummins at 513-932-3742 with questions.

This month we honor the following men and women for their loving service to Jesus Christ and the church. Kate Murphy, Meg Gleason, Lois Weber, Pat Neely, Nina Dorsch, Ruth Miler, Linda Hilgeman, Don Dorsch, Ken Klann, Rose Plunkett, Bill & Brandi Noe for preparing and serving our Wednesday Nights Together meals. Jack and Terri Catanzaro, Mike Schneider, Robert Terrell and Jerry Taylor for help-ing setup and teardown Wednesday Nights Together.

Dave Lupberger for reworking the drains outside of the preschool doors. Heather Forster for creating the Five Solas banners and artwork for the Sanctuary and the Ark. Jeff Deerhake, Brent Abbott and everyone involved in installing the Reformation series artwork and banners in the Sanctuary and the Ark. The Wymer Family, Emilie Looper, Jenna and Megan Terrell for leading worship on Family Sunday. Donna Kaufman for her leadership of the Visitation Team. Mike Schneider for his leadership of the Deacons. Brandon Taulbee, Jack Victory, Mike McIntosh and Debbie Snider for helping to organize our LPC Golf Tournament.

Dear LPC Family,

Thank you so very much for the many calls, visits and flow-ers from my LPC family. It has been a great boost to my mo-rale since my fall and stay in Otterbein’s Transitional Care Unit. May God continue to bless one and all.

Thanks again, Nancy Fields

Time for Nominations!

It’s that time of year already! Your nominating committee is preparing to accept nominations for your Church Leaders for the class of 2020. We will need to select five Elders and six Deacons for this class. There will be inserts in the weekly Wor-ship Guides through November 5. The deadline for submitting the nominations will be Sunday November 5. This year you will also be able to nominate through an online form. More details will be coming in the Worship Guides, through email, snail mail and at Worship. Stay tuned!

Ladies Luncheon

Please join LPC ladies for our Coming Alongside lunch on Tuesday, November 14, one week earlier than usual, as the following week is Thanksgiving. Our destination is EL Toro Mexican Restaurant in Springboro on Rte. 741 at Noon. It is across from Dorothy Lane Market. Please RSVP to Carol Carra-way at 228-0537 or carol.carraway@gmail.com by November 10. All LPC ladies are welcome.

Angel Tree Christmas seeks to bring the love of Jesus to pris-oners and their children. Gifts purchased by our members are delivered to the children in their parents’ name. In this way we reach out to the families of pris-

oners with gifts of love and a message of hope. Watch for the Angel Tree Christmas display on Sunday, No-vember 19 and 26. Angel Tree Christmas gifts may be brought to church on Sunday, December 3. If you would like more infor-mation about Angel Tree or would like to volunteer for this minis-try, please contact Julie Crago at (513) 646-8797. “Angel” is de-fined as a guardian spirit or guiding influence. I know there are many angels at LPC. Prayerfully consider whether this is a minis-try you would like to be involved in. God Bless You.

Thank YouThank YouThank YouThank You

Bring an unwrapped toy to church on Sunday, December 3 or to

the church office by December 18. There will be a collection

barrel located in the church office where you can drop off your

toys. No toy guns or weapon-type toys please! Families who

receive letters will be able to select toys for their children, infant

to age 14. We try to keep our gifts of equal value ($15-20) each.

Children’s coloring books, reading books, hats and mittens will

also be given. Monetary donations accepted and used to pur-

chase toys. Please write checks payable to Lebanon’s Christ-

mas for Tots! Questions? Call Mary Deerhake, 513-932-2307.

We Honor 50 years of Playschool

In 1968, Marian Haven with a group of individuals and the Mis-sions of LPC had a vision and started reaching out to our Lebanon community by providing a fun, loving and educational Christ-centered preschool program. A reception was held after both ser-vices on Sunday, October 22, where we celebrated with past and present Playschool families along with volunteers and teachers to acknowledge this milestone.

iPray�The LORD our God is near to us

whenever we pray to him. - Deuteronomy 4:7

Please pray for the following needs of the church in the coming month: � For our deacons and lay pastoral care teams

as they care for our sick and homebound members.

� For our Nominating Committee, that God will

give them wisdom and discernment as they seek men and women to serve as elders and deacons.

� For Pledge dedication Sunday on Nov. 19,

that our congregation would continue to give eagerly, joyfully and sacrificially to the ministry of Jesus Christ at LPC.

� For Andrew Brunson, an EPC pastor who has

been held captive for a year in a Turkish pris-on.

� For the EPC churches in Bayamon and Ma-

yaguez Puerto Rico who are recovering from tremendous damage caused by Hurricane Maria.

� For the spiritual renewal of our church, com-

munity and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, that the Holy Spirit would deepen our

Session Report

The Session of LPC took the following actions at our October 18 monthly meeting: � Approved congregational meetings for Sunday, Dec. 3

and Sunday, Jan. 28. � Approved a recommendation from the Finance Team

to transfer $25,000 from designated memorial funds to the designated HVAC/Roofing fund to help cover the cost of future replacement and repairs.

� Approved a recommendation from the Adult Education

Team that we not hold a combined service of worship next year on kickoff Sunday.

� Received a report from Pastor Peter Larson that he is

planning to visit the Holy Land February 5-13 with a group of pastor friends. The trip is being sponsored and funded by a non-profit foundation.

$150,000

$250,000

$350,000

$450,000

$550,000

$650,000

$750,000

$850,000

$950,000

2016 2017

Jan-Sept Inc

Jan-Sept Exp

LPC Income vs. Expenses

Thank you Dear LPC Friends, I want to extend to you and your congregation our heartfelt thanks for allowing us to use your Fellowship Hall on Sun-day, October 15 to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of the Warren County Adult New Readers (WCANR). We provide one-on-one tutoring for adults in Warren and neighboring counties who want to read, write or speak English better. Your fellowship hall is beautiful, spacious and well-equipped and it was a blessing to be able to use it. Heidi Oliver, who is one of our volunteer tutors and a member of your congregation, took care of all the arrangements. The work she does for WCANR is outstanding. She truly makes a difference in the lives of others. Again, thank you so much! Barbara Geiger, Executive Director, WCANR

What’s Happening in Worship What’s Happening in Worship What’s Happening in Worship What’s Happening in Worship by Rick McNeely

Soli Deo Gloria!

Want to know more about the five solas? Your Worship Ministry Team has created a flyer with a brief description of the solas. Be sure and stop by the Welcome Center and pick up a copy to take home!

Christmas Time is Here!

I never thought I would be on the “promoting Christmas before the end of October”

bandwagon and yet, here I go… We will be offering A Celtic Christmas this year on the evening of December 10. There are a few things pertaining to this event that you should know now. First, it is not too late to join us if you’d like to sing with the choir. We will be working on Christmas music each Wednesday from 7 to 8 p.m. during choir re-hearsal. All you need to do is show up for rehearsals and you’re in! The other thing you need to know about this event is that it will be different from our previous Celtic Christ-mas offerings. There will still be great choral arrangements straight from Dublin’s own “Anuna.” There will still be Irish dancing. We will even learn a wee bit of Gaelic together. But this time, there will be more reels, fiddle tunes, sing-alongs, and a reception follow-ing the worship event filled with tasty treats from Ireland! I want you to know all this now so that you will not only make plans to be there yourselves, but to invite your friends, neighbors, co-workers to join us for this joy-filled night of worship and fellowship. Our hope is that this will be

a community event and that can’t happen without you. So make plans now to bring your friends and join us for A Celtic Christmas!

Decorating the Church for Advent

We will be decorating the church for Advent during the last week of November and we need your help. Over the next few weeks there will be a sign up sheet at the Welcome Center. It will include all the things that must take place as well as a schedule of when they need to happen. You will be able to sign up for a specific job at a specific time which we hope will be helpful to you. We will also be offering up trees for your group to “adopt” during Advent. Your class or small group will have the honor of decorating and caring for one of our live trees supporting this year’s themes for Advent. The trees go fast so be on the lookout for the “Adopt A Tree” sign up which will be placed in the Wel-come Center soon.

November Hospitality Team Team Leader: Phil Craig Ushers: Adam Bens, Rick Bens, Ernie McCauley, Mike Schneider and Don Mowry Greeters: Deacons, Paul Galyen and Alex Kinkelaar

Pastoral Care at LPC Pastoral Care at LPC Pastoral Care at LPC Pastoral Care at LPC by Rev. Randy Fannin Storytelling I love the art of storytelling! With words, props, images, and other sounds a sto-ryteller seeks to create a lasting impression in the minds of his or her audience. And no other story is more important to tell than that of God’s love for us as re-vealed in the person and work of Jesus. Early in our marriage, Karen and I read a biography of Adoniram Judson (1788-1850), missionary to Burma. With the help of Wikipedia to refresh my own memory, I’d like to briefly share his story, which has left an impression on me to this day. Judson and his wife Ann were the first Caucasian Protestant missionaries sent from North America to preach in Burma. Buddhist Burma, Judson was told, was impermeable to Christian evangelism. Judson, who already knew Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, immediately began studying the Burmese grammar, but took over three years learning to speak it. He found a tutor and spent twelve hours per day studying the language. He and his wife firmly dedicated themselves to un-derstanding it. For the first three years in Burma they were almost entirely isolated from contact

with any European or American. Four years passed before Judson even dared to hold a semi-public service. At first, he tried adapting to Burmese customs by wearing a yellow robe to mark himself as a teacher of religion, but he soon changed to white to show he was not a Buddhist. Then, he gave up the whole attempt as artificial and decided that, regardless of his dress, no Burmese would identify him as anything but a foreigner. Judson completed the translation of the Grammatical Notices of the Burman Language the following July and the Gospel of Matthew, in 1817. He began public evangelism in 1818 sitting in a zayat by the roadside calling out "Ho! Everyone that thirsteth for knowledge!" The first believer was baptized in 1819, and there were 18 believers by 1822. The progress of Christianity would continue to be slow with much risk of endangerment and death in the Burmese Empire. It took Judson 12 years to make 18 converts. Nevertheless, there was much to encourage him. He had written a grammar of the lan-guage that is still in use today and had begun to translate the Bible. By 1823, ten years after his arrival, Judson had finally finished the first draft of his translation of the entire text of the New Testament in Burmese! The essence of Judson's preaching was a combination of conviction of the truth with the rationality of the Christian faith, a firm belief in the authority of the Bible, and a determination to make Christianity relevant to the Burmese mind without vio-lating the integrity of Christian truth, or as he put it, "to preach the gospel, not anti-Buddhism." On October 24, 1826, Ann died at Amherst (now Kyaikkami), Burma, a victim of long and dreadful months of disease. Death, stress and loneliness had been hers for 21 months. She died while her husband was out exploring the ceded prov-ince of Tenasserim. Their third child died six months later. It was in the wild hills of that newly British province of Tenasserim that the first signs of rapid growth in Protestant Christi-anity in Burma began. After forty years of mission work in Burma, Adoniram Judson returned to America to connect with his supporters. Legend-ary among American Christians, Judson drew great crowds to his meetings. Interestingly, it had been so long since he had spoken English on a regular basis, that his ability to tell stories was often limited to one: the Gospel. One pastor com-plained to him, “Brother Judson, the people want to hear your story,” to which the aging saint replied, “The story of Jesus is the only story that matters!” Do our stories matter? Of course they do! Yet the lasting impression of our lives is what really matters. As you meet those around you, listen to their stories. Encourage one another on the walk of faith and remember to pray for one another, par-ticularly those who suffer for the sake of the Gospel. We have one more Seek First Saturday prayer gathering in 2017: November 4 at 5:45 p.m. in the Sanctuary.

The LPC Missions Team is beginning preparations for the annual Thanksgiving Baskets project. Last year over 90 fam-ilies received help. The needs this year are even greater. We are collecting non-perishable food items families who will receive Baskets this year. Non-perishable food

items may be placed in the big box that is located in the Nar-thex on the weekends. If you would like to drop items off dur-ing the week, Monday through Friday, please bring them to the church office. Anyone who wishes to contribute money may do so by mailing a check to the Church office or by plac-ing it in the offering plate and marking it “Thanksgiving Bas-kets”. The money will be used to buy turkeys and other per-ishable items. We sincerely appreciate your generous help and contributions. If you are interested in helping, watch for sign up sheets in the worship guides or, please contact Geralyn or Scott Lucia at 513-228-0263.

2018 Adult Mexico Mission Trip

The dates for the LPC Mexico Mission Trip are February 17-24, 2018. We will continue construction work on the church in Piste as well as doing Bible School in the sur-rounding villages. If you are interested in going, please contact Mike McIntosh at mmcintosh@fuse.net or 513-313-1725.

LPC LPC LPC LPC

Open Open Open Open

HouseHouseHouseHouse

December 2December 2December 2December 2

10 a.m. to 8 p.m.10 a.m. to 8 p.m.10 a.m. to 8 p.m.10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Lebanon Horse Carriage ParadeLebanon Horse Carriage ParadeLebanon Horse Carriage ParadeLebanon Horse Carriage Parade

Parades run at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.Parades run at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.Parades run at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.Parades run at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Once again we are so excited to announce the happen-ings at our Open House 2017! This event is always held during the Lebanon Horse Carriage Parade when our town is filled with thousands of guests. The purpose of our Open House is not to bring in new members neces-sarily, but to show our warm hospitality and our amazing facility to all the visitors of Lebanon.

During this time, there is a lot going on. We have our out-door living nativity for the 10th year now. This will consist of a children’s afternoon shift and an adult evening shift. Outside we will have wagon rides. Inside the church, there will be a live puppet production and live entertain-ment in the Ark, plus special music in the Atrium. We will have the Sanctuary pipe organ festival sounds on auto-mode and the congregation nativity collection in the Nar-thex. And of course our hot chocolate and cookies. The new addition this year will be a spaghetti dinner that will be held in the Ark. This will run from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. and will cost $3 per person or $8 per family. Kind of a come and go fest-haus feel.

Needless to say, we will need lots of volunteers to make this happen. We are coordinating a group of people to put together the stable on Sunday afternoon, November 26 after the second service. Lunch will be provided. There is no job too big or too small, even if it’s walking throughout the halls and sharing the love of Christ, or greeting some-one with a warm smile. Two or four hour shifts will be available. Sign up will be at the Welcome Center or talk to a coordinator listed below.

Living Nativity - Debbie Snider, coordinator Puppet Show - Ann van der Merwe, coordinator Spaghetti Dinner Prep - Cathy Riggin, coordinator Spaghetti dinner buffet staff - Teri Abbott, coordinator Ark Special Entertainment - Marilyn Hunter, coordinator Hot chocolate, cookies and greeters - Terri Catanzaro/Sharen Benner, coordinators

Shop for Freedom

On Saturday, December 2 we will be selling handicrafts made by women who have been rescued from sex-trafficking. The items include handbags and jewelry and will be available during the LPC Carriage Parade Open House from 2 to 8 p.m. All of the funds we raise will go to support the work of International Justice Ventures, a Chris-tian ministry that rescues people from slavery and sex traf-ficking around the world. The handcrafts will be on display (but not for sale) after worship on Sunday, November 26 with information how to purchase them online. This is a great way to do your Christmas shopping and also set peo-ple free from captivity and abuse.

STUDENT MINISTRIES by Andrew Johnson Encounter Sun., Nov. 5: Encounter - 7-8 p.m./8-8:30 p.m. Mission Trip Meeting Mon., Nov. 6: Feeding Ministry 3:30 - 7 p.m. Sun., Nov. 12: Encounter: 6-8 p.m. Sun., Nov. 19: Encounter: Nerf Night at Encounter 7-8:30 p.m. 3rd floor Sun., Nov. 26: No Encounter Rest: Thanksgiving. Sun., Dec. 3: Encounter - Christmas Worship Fri., Dec. 8: WinterFest at King’s Island 6-10 p.m. Sun., Dec. 10: Encounter - A Celtic Christmas Sun., Dec. 17: Encounter Christmas Party

Evolve Wed., Nov. 1: Evolve 6:30 - 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 6: Feeding Ministry 3:30 - 7 p.m. Wed., Nov. 8: Evolve 6:30 - 8 p.m. Wed., Nov. 15: Evolve 6:30 - 8 p.m. Wed., Nov. 22: No Evolve Thanksgiving Wed., Nov. 29: Evolve 6:30 - 8 p.m. Wed., Dec. 6: Evolve 6:30 - 8 p.m. Fri., Dec. 8: WinterFest at King’s Island 6-10 p.m. Wed., Dec. 13: Evolve Christmas Party Wed., Dec. 20: Evolve Christmas Caroling 6:30-8:30 p.m.

6th, 7th & 8th Graders Save the Date

Believe Friday and Saturday February 16 & 17

Evolve (Jr High) to go to Believe Student Confer-ence Feb 16-17. Believe is a two day event for Junior High students, packed with high-energy worship and Biblical teaching. So mark your calen-dars now!

Vintage - Upcoming Topics

Advertisements and your children Technological Family

Covenant Eyes

Encounter Mission Trip Dates June 16-24

First trip meeting Sunday, November 5 at 8 p.m.

in the Encounter Room

College Students!

What are YOU Doing

Over Christmas break?

Why not join some of us and spend five days at The

Pittsburgh Project doing clean-up in the Guest House

(sleeping dorm) and Tool Shed. We will be leaving Tues-

day at Noon on January 2 and driving to Pittsburgh and

returning Saturday afternoon/early evening on January 6.

While in Pittsburgh, we will be spending our days doing

deep cleaning and sprucing up the Guest House for the

upcoming summer ministry camps. We will prepare our

own breakfasts and lunches and then each night go out

to a yummy food spot. No need to stress! This trip is de-

signed to be low stress! Andrew would like to know if

you can go by December 1.

WHO CAN GO ON THIS TRIP?

Any college age student or older!

COST: $50 plus the cost for evening food.

SIGN-UP at www.lebanonpresbyterian.org/college

& TEXT ANDREW JOHNSON at 319-331-0603.

Children’s Ministry News by Ann van der Merwe

Community in Christ All the believers were together. They shared everything they had. They sold what they owned. They gave each other everything they needed. Every day they met together in the temple courtyard. In their homes they broke bread and ate together. Their hearts were glad and honest and true. They praised God. They were respected by all the people. Every day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved. Acts 2: 44-47 NIrV My brother and his family belong to a small church in southern Indiana. Several years ago, their pastor experienced health problems that left him unable to work. After he left, the church spent two years without a pastor. They had visiting pastors from the surrounding area who came to preach most Sundays, but they did not have someone to do most of the other work a pastor does. So, they maintained their community by staying together and serving one another. They didn’t give up because they valued what brought them together – their common bond in Jesus Christ. We live in a world that encourages us to form community based on other things. We are presented with all kinds of oppor-tunities to be with people who have similar personalities and similar interests. And this is especially true for our kids. As a result, they are forming an identity based on what they do and how well they do it. But a Christian community is different. In a Christian community, we are not drawn together by our own similarities, achievements, or shortcomings. Instead, we are drawn together by one and only one thing – Jesus. Jesus is what we have in common. This holds amazing potential for the children of our church. It means spending time at church draws children together in a way that is not happening anywhere else. It draws them together with people they might not otherwise meet and learn to love them. It provides them an opportunity to form an identity that is not based on what they do or how well they do it, but on what Jesus has done for them and how they can be his hands and feet in the world. If you have any opportunity to encourage the children in your life to be part of this Christian community on a regular basis, I hope you will do so. I hope you will share with them the value of being connected to others in Christ.

Wednesdays 4 Kids 6-8 p.m. Now through November 15

Sunday School 10 a.m. Every Week

Club 56 November 19, 6-8 p.m. Laser Tag @ Lazer Kraze (Mason)