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As the Season of Advent continues, we pray it is a time of hope, joy and peace!
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A Spiritual Reflection
for Your Weekend
by Henri Nouwen
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Joy Remains
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What we have to start sensing is that in the spiritual life, joy is embracing sorrow and happiness, pain and pleasure. It is deeper, fuller. It is more. It is something that remains with us. It is something of God that is very profound. It is something we can experience even when we are in touch with very painful things in our lives. If there is anything the church wants to teach us it is that the joy of God can be with us always – in moments of sickness, in moments of health, in moments of success, in moments of failure, in moments of birth, in moments of death. The joy of God is never going to leave us.
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Starting this Sunday, December 7
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50/50 Annual
Advent/Christmas Raffle
Drawing on Christmas Eve
Tickets: $20.00 or six for $100.00
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Join us for Sunday Worship at PWC
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This Sunday, December 7
@ 10:00 a.m.
The Second Sunday of Advent
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Make the in-person commitment to be there on Sunday!
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Praise and Worship Never Ends…..It Must Be Lived!
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Our theme for Advent Christmas 2025 is Manger Throne. Click here for more information on Manger Throne:
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Attention all married couples!
Marriage Enrichment
Tonight, Friday, December 5,
6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
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A wonderful time of fellowship with other married couples and growth in your relationship with your spouse.
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The Children’s Ministry is back
This Sunday, December 7
9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
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Please contact Helen Dipree for more information about the Children’s Ministry @ [email protected].
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Advent Worship Night
with Carl Hergesell
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Saturday, December 13,
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
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Christmas Eve, Wednesday,
December 24 -- 4:30 p.m.
Christmas Day, Thursday,
December 25 -- 10:00 a.m.
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Pastoral Counseling is available at PWC
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Fr. Mike Lessard is available for pastoral counseling on Wednesdays at PWC. Please call the church office to make an appointment at 480-649-0300.
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At PWC
your tithing & generosity allow us to minister to so many who come through our doors with their spiritual, emotional, and physical needs.
Thank you for your tithing and
commitment to PWC!
From pastoral counseling to grief support, to bible study and adult education, to providing food through Matthew’s Crossing for families who are economically struggling, to Marriage Enrichment and our funeral ministry -- your consistent giving makes a difference, a big change in people’s lives!
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Here are the different ways you can tithe to PWC:
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• Mail in your gift to: Praise and Worship Center, 2551 N. Arizona Avenue, Chandler, AZ 85225.
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• Sign up for monthly giving with a credit card or voided check. Just call the office at 480-649-0300 or stop by the office.
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Blood Pressure Checks take place at PWC on the first and third Sundays of the month from 11:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Our medical team is providing the blood pressure checks.
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Arrive to Sunday Service prepared to hear God’s Word proclaimed.
The reading for this Sunday, December 7, the Second Sunday of Advent is: Isaiah 11:1-10. Here is a synopsis and reflection of the reading.
Isaiah paints one of the most beautiful and hope-filled images in all of Scripture: “A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” At first glance, the image seems small—fragile even. A single green shoot emerging from what looks like a dead, lifeless stump. Yet this is Isaiah’s way of proclaiming that God’s promise cannot be cut down. Even when all seems lost, even when Israel’s royal line appeared finished, God was already preparing new life, new hope, and a new king—the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Advent teaches us to pay attention to the shoots God is growing in the stumps of our own lives. Where do you feel cut down, worn out, or discouraged? Where has life not gone the way you expected?
The promise of Isaiah is God’s salvation often begins small: a shoot, a bud, a whisper of hope. God does not always act with overwhelming force. More often, He works quietly, humbly, steadily—just like the coming of Jesus in Bethlehem. Advent invites us to slow down enough to notice that new growth.
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Isaiah lists the gifts of the Spirit that rest upon the Messiah:
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- Wisdom and understanding
- Counsel and strength
- Knowledge and fear of the Lord
In other words, this King rules not with domination but with divine virtue. He judges the poor with justice, defends the vulnerable, and ushers in righteousness and peace.
In a world full of division, inequality, and weary hearts, Isaiah reminds us our hope is not in earthly leaders, but in the One upon whom the Spirit rests in fullness—Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. Advent trains our hearts to long for His leadership, His wisdom, His justice, and His peace.
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Isaiah’s vision crescendos in a breathtaking picture of harmony:
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- “The wolf shall be the guest of the lamb.”
- “The leopard shall lie down with the kid.”
- “A little child shall lead them.”
This is not poetic fantasy. It is a prophetic glimpse of God’s ultimate restoration—the peace Jesus is bringing into the world, a peace so deep that even creation itself is healed. The world we live in now feels far from Isaiah’s vision. But Advent calls Christians to hope not in what we see but in what God has promised. The peaceable kingdom is not a dream. It is our future in Christ.
Isaiah’s vision becomes real in the lives of Christians who forgive, reconcile, serve the poor, and refuse to repay hurt with hurt. Let this Advent be a season where someone experiences the peace of Christ through you.
This Second Sunday of Advent reminds us our hope is not wishful thinking; it is anchored in God’s unbreakable promise. We wait not in fear but in confidence. Not in darkness but in dawning light. Not alone but with the God who brings life from stumps and peace from chaos.
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Please pray for the gift to recognize Jesus in all we encounter. We look forward to seeing you this Sunday morning for Service at 10:00.
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Love,
Fr. Dale & Pastor Mark
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Keep up with all your PWC friends on Facebook
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Please do not reply to this email;
the sending address is not monitored.
Please reply to: [email protected]
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Chris Pfund PhD, MBA, BSN, RN
President Homestead Health
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phone: (602) 755-4508
fax: (602) 691-0283
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Homestead Health is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to helping adults live safely and independently at home. We offer a range of in-home and virtual medical services, including concierge medicine, palliative care, transitional care, and geriatric care management. We believe everyone deserves access to compassionate and affordable healthcare.
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