Contact us at: 402-391-0820

www.sunsethillschurch.org sunset@sunsethillschurch.org

Sunset Hills Church 9416 Pacific Street Omaha, NE 68114

New Members/Thanksgiving Dinner

Join us as we welcome our new members and enjoy our annual Thanksgiving Dinner on Sunday, November 24 right after the Worship

Service that morning.

The main dish of turkey, dressing, rolls, and potatoes and gravy will be catered. We are asking the congregation to bring the following based on the

first letter of your last name:

A - G Vegetable H - N Salad O - Z Dessert

Sunset Hills Church November 2019

Newsletter

Pastor Paul Ponders

It’s no secret that my favorite season of the year is Fall. I love the cooler days, the threat of snow, jackets, and the anticipation of Thanksgiving and Christmas. I also like falling leaves. Leaves can be a fun part of Autumn. I like how they crunch when you walk on them. If there’s enough on the sidewalk, I love to shuffle through them. I even like to rake leaves, if there aren’t too many! The best part of raking leaves is to invite children to play in them for a while. Eventually, you may get caught up in the fun and start to play with them.

When you play with leaves, problems can occur. If you have enough, you can temporarily lose a child who may be good at hiding but doesn’t know when to come out! Grown men playing in the leaves gives chance to a wallet slipping out of the pocket, or a set of keys working their way loose, or disaster of disasters, you lose track of your cell phone!

Losing things in the leaves is all a part of the season. If you take your time, you usually get your stuff (or kid) back. Speaking of leaves, I have opened books that have things hidden in the leaves too. Once, I opened a book that had an unpaid bill in it (I was wondering where that went.) I’ve also found business cards of people I have long lost track of. I knew some people in California who stuck all their extra money in their books. They lived as paupers but when their church came in to pack up their belongings, thousands of dollars were found in the leaves. It’s funny how tragedies like the stock market crash of ‘29 can change your behavior for the rest of your life.

Speaking of changing your behavior, there is one book whose leaves hide many different things. We have a family bible that contains: a genealogical chart of the Marine family, pressed flowers of a bygone era, an invitation to a wedding, a clip of a child’s first haircut, doilies, fancy handkerchief, and precious book marks. But there’s more hidden in these leaves. There’s wisdom for every day, instructions on living life more happily, stories that make one think,

(Continued on Page 2)

Prayers for Family and Loved Ones Wes Gilmer& all who are serving in the military Safety

Prayers for Health, Healing, and Strength Les Dappen Cheryl Arnold Barbara Ganey Ken Vetter Amber Dale Nancy Quinette Traci Gilmer Doris Otte Joanne Kelley Lynette Battreall Justin Presler

On-going Prayers of Well-being Pat Martin Carol Welch Cindy Combs Mary Engleman Deanne Caughey Mark Caughey Megan Weaver Gina Hendrix Charlotte Lowrance

(Continued from Page 1) reasons to be thankful and why it’s important to be thankful, and most importantly, salvation for your soul. Any time of year is the perfect time to get into the word of God and look for the hidden treasures in the leaves. There is always something new to learn, even things to learn about things you already know - like the love that God has for you and all the earth. Don’t get so busy and focused on holiday prep and events that you neglect holding a treasure in your hand and learning what God wants you to know.

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:5

Upcoming Sermon Schedule

November 3 How Can I Be Happy When the World Treats Me So Badly? Matthew 5:10-12

November 10 The Generous Season Mark 12:35-44 November 17 Thanksgiving is a Choice Habakkuk 3:17-18

November 24 My Thanksgiving List I Thessalonians 5:18 The Meaning of Christmas Series

December 1 The Maker of Christmas John 1:1-17

December 8 The Miracle of Christmas Luke 1:26-38 December 15 The Messiah of Christmas December 22 The Meaning of Christmas

Coffee with the Pastor will not meet during the month of November.

We will be teaming up with Maple Crest Nursing Home this year for the Angel Christmas Tree. The tree will be set up by the Thursday before Thanksgiving so that you can take advantage of shopping on Black Friday. Feel free to take a tag from the tree, or as many as you like, to help make this Christmas a merry one for some of the Maple Crest residents. The deadline to have gifts to the church is Sunday, December 15. Thank you.

The church office will be closed on Thanksgiving Day and Friday, November 29.

Sunset Hills Directory

We will be working on updating the Sunset Hills Directory and would like to have a new one printed and ready to hand out in early December. Later this month, there will be several draft copies in the narthex so you can check your entry to see if any changes are needed. If there are no changes, please just write okay next to your name. If you’re not listed and would like to be, there are several ways to let us know. You can fill out your Connection Card and let us know you’d like your contact information listed, you can call us at 402-391-0820 or email us at sunset@sunsethillschurch.org. Thank you!

Operation Christmas Child is well under way! It’s not too late to fill a shoebox. Simply pick up a box before or after church and have it ready to go by the deadline. National collection week is November 18 - 25 and Sunset Hills is one of the drop-off locations. The last day to bring shoeboxes to church for collection will be on Sunday, November 24. Please see Kayla Workman if you have any questions. Thank you to all who have participated.

SHBC Financial Scoreboard

1 Ope Oloyede 6 Kir Diew 8 Denise Lenhart 8 Mark Steele 9 Peter Mamula 15 Tom McCormick 20 Taylor Woods 22 Pedro Okoruwa 24 Pam Hamlin 27 Charlie Siler 29 Rev. Sandy Smith 29 Rev. Jason Workman 30 Laurianne Kobzeff

Dinner and a Movie

Join us for Dinner and a Movie at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday evening, November 13. We’ll have chicken patties for dinner and watch Charlie Brown’s Holiday Collection. All are invited for either or both.

October Attendance Giving

6 87 $4,739.25

13 88 $3,846.00

20 80 $1,576.00

27 91 $3,428.00

November

Men’s Breakfast Women’s Breakfast Fellowship Hall Narthex

Saturday, November 16, 8:30 a.m.

Join Pastor Paul for Bible Study, Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m.

There will be no Bible Study on Wednesday November 20 and Wednesday, November 27.

November Prayer Meeting Monday evening, November 4

6:30 p.m.

Aksarben Church Project

We have another church that will be using our upper level and sanctuary from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. on Sunday nights. The Aksarben Church Project is part of the Presbyterian denomination and are working to do a startup. They currently have about 20 members and will be using the upper level. The church council has determined that this is a good use of our resources. If you should have any concerns or questions, please feel free to talk to any council member.

September Income $ 37,194 September Expenses $ 14,974 YTD Income $166,501 YTD Expenses $155,831 September Pledges 100% YTD Pledges 94%

The All-age Adult Sunday School November Update All Things New: The Revelation – Part 1 & Part 2 by Dr. Jack Graham, is a Scripture –supported DVD study series and has been well attended. “.., the insights in this series will help you discover what changes are coming in the future… and how those changes really should affect your life now!” – PowerPoint Ministries Please come and learn with us about how this study offers hope and focuses on Jesus Christ in all of it. On Sundays, we meet upstairs in the classroom from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.

The Men’s Group Study November Update

The study of Reading Romans Backwards – A Gospel of Peace in the Midst of Empire by Scott McKnight, continues. The facilitator is Bob Molby with help from Steve Bottum. The group meets on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the upstairs Narthex. You are welcome to experience the Men’s Group Study. Please enter by way of the main entrance.

The Stewardship Ministry November Update

In October we needed to have the kitchen’s dishwashers serviced. We are thankful to all who helped with the October Fall Cleanup. The 2020 Ministry goals are being prepared for consideration, and the Stewardship Ministry 2020 Team will be in place by the end of December. Thanks to all who served God on the team this year; Wade Gilmer, Grounds Steward; Bob Slechta, Financial Steward; Cindy Anson, Kitchen Team Leader; and Ron Reed, Building Steward and Stewardship Ministry Leader. If you aren’t currently serving God’s Sunset Hills needs in some way, and would like to find out how you may help, please contact anyone on your Ministry Counsel.

Ministry Council Minutes October 21, 2019

Attendees: Pastor Paul; Gina Slechta, Moderator; Scott Darden, Treasurer/Vice Moderator; LaShawnda Woods, Discipleship; Pam Hamlin, Shepherding; Pastor Jason Workman, Safety/Security; Don Zak, Worship Ministry; Jason Rich, Pastor/Staff Relations Committee Devotion (Pastor Paul): Isaiah 43:18 — Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Treasurer Report: Scott Darden presented the treasurer’s report for September 2019. A motion was made and seconded to accept the report as given; motion passed. The Ministry Council has started to review and prepare the 2020 annual budget for the business meeting. If you shop on Amazon, please remember to sign into Amazon Smile. Amazon will make a charitable contribution to Sunset Hills Baptist Church when individuals make purchases through Amazon Smile.

Discipleship: If you are interested in working with our SSHBC youth, please see LaShawnda Woods.

If you are interested in working on or with a ministry team, please feel free to contact one of our Sunset Hills Baptist Church ministry team leaders or members for more information.

Gina Slechta, Moderator Scott Darden, Vice Moderator/Treasurer Ron Reed, Stewardship Traci Gilmer, Mission/Outreach Pastor Jason, Safety/Security Pam Hamlin, Shepherding Don Zak, Worship Ministry LaShawnda Woods, Discipleship Telly Woods, Pastoral/Staff Relations The next meeting will be on Monday, November 18, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. Complete copies of all Ministry Council meeting minutes are available in the church office.

Congratulations to Josh and Jill Gilliland and big brother Jasper on the birth of James Douglas Gilliland! James was born on Tuesday October 22 at 3:45 p.m. and weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces. Welcome baby James!

Thank you for the cards and gifts I received during Pastor Appreciation Month. I truly appreciate your thoughtfulness. Pastor Paul

Psalm 118:29 - "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 103: 1-5 - "Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your

sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s." Psalm 136:1-5 - "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever. To him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever. Who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever. Who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever."

Hanging of the Greens Please plan to join us as we decorate the church for the Christmas season. We’ll meet at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 24. All help is appreciated!