WELCOME TO
Our Online Bulletin
Join us for worship on Sundays at 10:30am
HAPPENINGS is found any time on our website at www.s-heights.org/happenings.
Once per week HAPPENINGS will be emailed to everyone on our email list.
email us at shcrc1@gmail.com if you want to be on the email list.
Holiday Trivia
What is the meaning of the Hebrew word “Emmanuel”?
Look below for the answer.
PASTOR TODD’S WEEKLY WORD
It really helps when you have the right tool for the job.
A couple months ago when I set out to get my tractor ready for snowblowing this winter, a part failed on the engine…one that was too complicated for me to fix myself. So instead of attaching the winter wheels and snowblower to my tractor, I took it to a local repair shop where I knew it could take a few weeks, and prayed that the weather wouldn’t get TOO frightful until I got it back…
Fortunately, we also have a few snow shovels at our house. Good grief! Clearing just a couple of inches of heavy snow off of about ten feet of driveway one time really helps one appreciate one’s snowblower! I want my “right tool” so badly! Trying to clean the driveway without it causes so much more pain…and then, honestly, it doesn’t look as nice at the end!
I’ve been thinking about this analogy for weeks as I’ve been shoveling and thinking about Christmas. Jesus was the right tool for the job. Creation was a bit of a mess…broken, fallen, hurting. And yeah, there was a mechanism for taking care of that. God’s Word says that “the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23). IMHO, death and shoveling 11″ of heavy, wet snow are nearly the same thing. Death was the only way to take care of the brokenness of the world…and God so loved the world that He sent His One and Only Son (John 3:16)…because where the old temple sacrifices *sort of* paid the wages of sin, God’s Son *completely* picked up the tab, bought the farm, once and for all! He was – and Is – THE right tool for the job!
Who had “comparison between Jesus and a snowblower” on your Weekly Word bingo card this week? You win! Friends, it is almost CHRISTmas, and we’re Southern Heights…ANYTHING can happen! You should come join us for worship this Sunday at 10:30am at 4141 East Hillandale (just like every Sunday, btw). We’re doing a LOT of singing this Sunday because there’s a lot to sing about, a lot of seasonal music that seems like just the right tool for that job! See you this weekend!
His…Pastor todd <><
Upcoming Events at Southern Heights
These are highlights only. CLICK HERE to see the calendar for a full listing.
December 21
No Ed Hour – Christmas Break
– 10:30am – Christmas Songs, Carols, Hymns and Advent #4 sermon
– 6pm – High School Ministry at the Burrows house
December 22
10am – Kay Thomasma visitation
11am – Funeral
December 24
5:30pm – Candlelight Service
Note – Family worship – No Nursery Provided
December 28
No Ed Hour – Christmas Break
– 10:30 – Guest Pastor – Dan Roels
No Student Ministry in evening – Christmas Break
January 4, 2026
– 9-10am – Education Hour for Middle/High School and Adults
– 10:30am – Worship Gathering – Guest Pastor Jeff Fernandez
– 6pm – High School Ministry in evening
January 7, 2026 – 1st & 3rd Wednesday Ministries
– 10am – Women’s Ministry
– 5:15pm – Pizza dinner
– 6pm – Gems/Cadets, Men’s Women’s Ministry
January 11, 2026
– 9-10am – Education Hour for Adults only (MS and HS will be at Spring Hill Camp)
– 10:30am – Worship Gathering – Communion
No Middle School Ministry in evening (Spring Hill Camp)
January 16, 2026 – 9am – Senior Breakfast at LaRue’s
Advent Devotional
If you would like to join with others in an Advent devotional reading plan. Just click on this link…
(You must be on a mobile phone for the link to work)
Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
December 24th from 5:30 to 6:15 pm
This will be a family service – no Nursery will be provided.
Senior Breakfast (60+)
Friday, January 16 at 9am at LaRue’s Restaurant (6375 Stadium Drive).
RSVP to Marilyn at marilyn@dmboersema.net or 269.220.9254.
LaRue’s doesn’t take credit cards.
A Good Scripture to Memorize
Education Hour – Sundays 9-10am
** NOTE ** There will be no Education Hour on December 21, and 28 due to Christmas Break.
Ed Hour will resume January 4.
Ed Hour takes place on Sundays from 9-10am.
High school and Middle school begin Ed Hour in the Student Room and then have separate classes.
1st & 3rd Wednesday Ministries
10:00am – Women’s ministry meets in the conference room.
5:15pm – light supper of pizza and chips and cookies.
6pm we will have GEMS (1st -5th grade girls) and Cadets (1st to 5th grade boys), and Women’s Ministry (Same lesson as 10am) and Men’s Ministry. Bring your friends!
Student LIFE Ministries
** NOTE ** There will be no Student Ministries on December 28 due to Christmas Break.
Student Ministries will resume on January 4.
Sundays from 6-8pm are for Students.
High School – 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays
Middle School – 2nd, 4th and 5th Sundays.
NEW ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY!
Fiction
The Wish Book Christmas by Lynn Austin
The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water by Erin Bartels
Written in Love, The Promise of a Letter, & Words from the Heart by Kathleen Fuller – 3 books in the Amish Letters series
When We Were Young by Karen Kingsbury
In a Far-Off Land by Stephanie Landsem
Under the Tulip Tree by Michelle Shocklee
If It Rains by Jennifer L. Wright
Non-Fiction
Winning the Heart of Your Child – 9 Keys to Building a Positive Lifelong Relationship with Your Kids by Mike Berry
Good Man – An Honest Journey into Discovering who Men were Actually Created to Be by Nathan Clarkson
Anxious For Nothing – Finding Calm in a Chaotic World by Max Lucado
Convicted – An Innocent Man, the Cop who Framed Him, and an Unlikely Journey of Forgiveness and Friendship by Jameel McGee & Andrew Collins
Lord, Have Mercy – Help and Hope for Moms on Their Last Nerve by Ellen Miller
Finding Quiet – My Story of Overcoming Anxiety and the Practices that Brought Peace by J.P. Moreland
Not In It to Win It – Why Choosing Sides Sidelines the Church by Andy
Have a Praise or Prayer Request?
Click on this prayer prompter image or email deborahbos2@gmail.com and your prayer or praise will be included in our weekly Prayer Prompter, which is received and prayed over by many in our Southern Heights family. Tell us if your request is confidential and it will only be shared with elders and staff, who will confidentially pray for you.
Your Offerings to God
as of December 14, 2025
If you have questions about your giving, want a copy of your statement, please email our Treasurer, Jeff Baas at jmbaas1@gmail.com.
Free & Confidential Counseling is Available
If you feel the need to talk to a professional counselor, we have a confidential Church Assistance Program (CAP) with Pine Rest Mental Health Services. To get started – or for more info – call 616.455.6210 or 800.442.0809 and mention our Southern Heights CAP membership when you do.
Answer to Holiday Trivia
Emmanuel – Means “God With Us”
