Celebrate Christmas with the Saddleback family. We’ll have a snow zone open after the Christmas services, festive Christmas celebrations, delicious treats and coffee, free family photos and more! Our Christmas services begin tonight at 7 p.m.!

For those of you who usually attend our Sunday Night 6pm service, we'll see you there (it is also a Christmas service).

Grab your friends, your small group, and your family and make plans to join us for Christmas at Saddleback. The Christmas events and services are also great opportunities to invite co-workers and friends to check out the Saddleback family.

HOLIDAY SEASON LINE-UP

DEC 15 & 16 “CHRISTMAS IS...” PART 3
DEC 21–24 COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES
DEC 22-24 SNOW IN O.C.! SNOW ZONES OPEN AFTER MOST SERVICES
DEC 25 CHRISTMAS DAY SERVICE
DEC 29 & 30 NEW YEAR’S SERVICES WITH BRIAN HOUSTON
DEC 30 FAUX NEW YEAR'S PARTY (AFTER 6PM SERVICE)

Click here for more details.

Join us at St. Mary's Hospital in Long Beach as we host a Christmas party to those in need of some holiday cheer!  We'll be hosting a dinner for those infected with HIV/AIDS and their families.  This event is one that has touched many hearts and we are thrilled to be a part of it.  We'll start decorating around 1pm and serve dinner at 4.  Santa will also be making an appearance!  We'll also be distributing hundreds of PEACE boxes, so if you're able to transport any boxes with you, let us know!  E-mail Lisab@saddleback.com for more details.

Christmas Dinner

Dec. 20, 4:00-6:00 pm

Decorating at 1:00 pm

1050 Linden Ave.

Long Beach, CA

(Park in the parking deck inside the hospital compound.  We will pay parking for you.)

Forget the malls and crowds - join us at Saddleback Church this Christmas and celebrate with the Saddleback Family.  At our church, you'll find people who are just like you—people who have reasons to be thankful, struggles to overcome, and questions to explore. You’ll also experience the hope and joy that is found in knowing the true story of this holiday.  We're thrilled to celebrate Jesus with you!

If you're college-age and would like to serve at our Christmas service on Sunday Night, December 23rd, just e-mail cm@saddleback.com.  And don't forget to bring your friends, neighbors, and family for a festive night!  Can't make it on the 23rd?  That's okay!  Click here for all the Saddleback locations and service times for Christmas!  We'll have snow zones after most of the Christmas services, festive Christmas celebrations, delicious treats and coffee, free family photos, and more!

We hope to see you this Christmas at Saddleback!

HOLIDAY SEASON LINE-UP

DEC 1-24 FAMILY PHOTOS BY PICS
DEC 15 & 16 “CHRISTMAS IS...” PART 3
DEC 21–24 COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES
DEC 22-24 SNOW IN O.C.! SNOW ZONES OPEN AFTER MOST SERVICES
DEC 25 CHRISTMAS DAY SERVICE
DEC 29 & 30 NEW YEAR’S SERVICES WITH BRIAN HOUSTON Click here for more details.

So you're new to Saddleback, and maybe even new to the Christian journey. Where do you start? What are the next steps in your spiritual journey? How do you meet other people at Saddleback or learn about our church? In CLASS!

CLASS 101 is a basic introduction to our church family and is designed to clearly explain what our church is and believes.  This class covers our salvation, our statements, our strategy, and our structure.  You'll hear about the history of Saddleback, learn how living the 5 biblical purposes is necessary in order to fulfill God's purpose for your life, and discover plans for the future of Saddleback.

CLASS is offered every month, but our senior pastor, Pastor Rick Warren, teaches CLASS 101 ONCE A YEAR!  So if you haven't taken CLASS 101 and committed to membership at your home church yet, this Saturday is the time to do it!  Saturday, December 15, Pastor Rick will be teaching and, after class, you’ll have the opportunity to be baptized by Pastor Rick. CLASS will take place in the Worship Center at the Lake Forest campus from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.  Pre-registration is required.

Click here to learn more and to register.

Christmas is COMPASSION!  We LOVE hearing your hearts to serve this Christmas season.  So many of you are asking “What can I do to serve others this Christmas season?”  Here is your answer!  We are celebrating Christmas with Good Neighbor Laguna Hills on Saturday, December 15^th, from 10:00-2:00.  Join us!

Our Christmas celebration will include handing out Christmas PEACE Boxes to the residents, offering free family photos, face painting, games, a motorcycle display, music and of course food!  We'd love for you to be part of this special celebration!

There is plenty of fun happening, so bring your friends and small group to serve too.  The Laguna Hills community, Aliso Meadows, is located off of Alicia Parkway on Via Lomas.

Register for this event online - http://www.saddleback.com/lakeforest/events/eventdetails.aspx?id=53660

Or connect with Bonnie if you have any questions at bonniet@saddleback.com.

Do you love encouraging your friends and fellow students in their walk with God, and enjoy walking alongside them as you both deepen your relationship with Him?  Do you love hosting and gathering together with your friends? Do you like to network and help people find answers to their questions? If you answered “YES” to any of these questions, we encourage you to consider being a small group leader next semester!  Maybe this speaks to your heart, but you don't feel equipped or ready...no problem!  All of the resources, curriculum, and support you need are available through College Ministry! Just contact Jim on the CM Team at jims@saddleback.com for more information on leading a CM small group!

As we enter the Christmas season, we can be distracted by a lot of stuff--finals, busyness, materialism, crowds, social commitments, finances, etc.  During a season where we want to be holly jolly, we are often overwhelmed and lose sight of what the Christmas season is really about--the compassion that God showed us when he sent his son to earth to save us.

We often love the "idea" of compassion, but when it comes to our daily lives, how do we live that out?  In a season of busyness and exhaustion, it's tempting to pawn off compassion to other people or organizations.  But when we do that, we're giving away a role that God meant for us to play a part in.

Join us this Thursday as we explore what compassion is, where it finds its roots, and the greatest act of compassion that's ever happened on this earth.

We'll also be celebrating Christmas with an ugly sweater contest (don't forget to wear your best, er...worst!), Christmas dodgeball, cookies and cocoa, and photo contest.  Invite your friends and join us at 7:15pm in the Refinery for the last 1sthursday of 2012!

Questions?  E-mail cm@saddleback.com!

Christmas is all about compassion--God's compassion for us and our compassion for others.  On this kick-off to the Christmas season, Kay Warren will share a powerful message on ways you, your small group, and your family can show compassion to people living with HIV&AIDS and to orphans.

GETTING TO ZERO is the goal to have:

ZERO babies born with HIV

ZERO AIDS-related deaths

ZERO stigma and discrimination

ZERO orphans in Rwandan orphanages

Join us on Sunday Night at 6pm as we recognize World AIDS Day 2012 with a uniquely interactive service and learn how YOU can make a difference around the world.

History will judge us on how we respond to the AIDS emergency...whether we stood around with watering cans and watched while a whole world burst into flames...or not. --Bono

Learn more at saddleback.com/compassion

Last year, we began a new tradition at the Lake Forest campus--our annual Christmas Tree Lighting!  Bring your family, friends, small group, and neighbors for a festive tree lighting ceremony including a live reading of The Christmas Story, Christmas sing-a-long, hot cocoa, and cookies!  Pastor Rick will flip the switch to light the beautiful tree.  The festivities begin after the 6pm service this weekend!  See you there!!

Do you want to know more about facts, historical evidence, and philosophical and scientific investigations behind Christianity?  Come to Apologetics Weekend at Saddleback THIS WEEKEND!

On Sunday Night at 6pm, Join John Bloom on "How the Universe Points Toward a Creator."  Dr. Bloom is a professor of physics at Biola University and acadenic chair of the M.A. Program in Science and Religion.  He is the author of such articles as On Human Origins: A Survey, Why Isn't the Evidence Clearer? and Finding Truth in Religion: Is There a Factual Basis.

Ask your questions now!  Text CREATION and "your question" to 22333.  We'll answer the top 10 most frequently asked questions this weekend.

Learn more at saddleback.com/creation

Static—Trading Apathy for an Active Faith

A message from Brad Baker, from our Free Lunch Wednesday, November 14, 2012

“You must also give food to the poor who live in your town, including orphans, widows, and foreigners. If they have enough to eat, then the Lord your God will be pleased and make you successful in everything you do.” --Deuteronomy 14:29 CEV

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”  --Proverbs 31:8-9 NIV

What should our response be to this?  What holds us back?  How do you respond to the pain, suffering and injustice that others face?

In Matthew 25, Jesus tells his disciples a really unnerving story while they’re hanging out on the Mount of Olives.  In a nutshell, it’s about Jesus separating the goats from the sheep.  Sending the goats into eternal separation from God...from everything that’s good and pure and right and on the flipside, welcoming the sheep into an eternity with him...full of goodness and joy like they’ve never experienced. 

Now the point of this story isn't to stay away from goats because they're wicked.  Why does Jesus choose animals to represent different types of people?  First, sheep were a common symbol used to represent the people.  Jesus calls himself the “Great Shepherd” and sheep are a good picture of God’s people because they are complete dependent on their shepherd for protection, food, and safety.  So that makes sense, but why does Jesus use goats, too?

When goats and sheep graze together, it’s hard to tell them apart.  Jesus is likely using this truth to show that there are true believers and there are believers that only appear to be so, and it's not always obvious who's who.  It seems only Jesus himself will be able to separate them from one another at the final judgment.  So what reason did Jesus give for calling some sheep, destined for eternal life, and others goats, headed for the eternal punishment?  To the sheep he said, Matthew 25:35-36:

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me”

The sheep then ask him when they did all this for you and Jesus replies, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”  --Matthew 25:40

For the goat, it was just the opposite: they didn’t take care for Jesus when he was sick, naked, imprisoned, hungry and thirsty.  And because they didn’t care for the “least of these brothers and sisters,” they are sent away to eternal fire.

If we’re really going to follow Jesus, then we must be concerned far beyond our family and friends and people we are comfortable being around.  Jesus says when you care for a forgotten, neglected, marginalized person, it’s as if you’re caring for JESUS HIMSELF!

As followers of Christ, Jesus has invited us to represent him on planet Earth.  Are you willing to suffer by entering into the suffering of others so they recognize his heart?

Let's get DAPPER together!  Join us at the Claim Jumper off Rancho Santa Margarita Pkwy in Mission Viejo, this Friday (Nov. 16th) at 7pm.  It's going to be a great time filled with food, friends, and us looking fancy!  Cost is just $10 and we'll cover the rest of your dinner because we want to see you there!  There are limited spots available, so please RSVP to our awesome intern Jessica at jcastillo@saddleback.com.  Don't forget to wear your dapper best--sequins, boas, top hats, bow ties, etc.

Don't miss our Thanksgiving feast THIS SUNDAY NIGHT on the patio after the 6pm service! $5 gets you a full plate of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and hot spiced apple cider!! We are so grateful to celebrate Thanksgiving with our awesome Sunday Night community! See you Sunday! (Remember to bring CASH ONLY for this event!)

Our community continues to face very difficult financial circumstances, and many are unable to provide for the needs of their families. Saddleback Church desires to help people in need in our community, so we established the Saddleback Church Food Pantry in the spring of 2009.

Each month, volunteers serve well over 2,000 hours so that we can help 800-900 families, giving them hope, purpose, and food. The Food Pantry has been able to help over 100,000 people since it opened, and the number of families for which Saddleback is providing food is growing.

CM has been partnering with the food pantry and we LOVE serving there!  Serving hours are Tuesdays & Thursdays 10am-3pm and Wednesdays 1-6pm.  Grab your small group and head to the food pantry.  Especially during the holidays, this is a great way to practically show God's love to our community!

Questions?  E-mail foodpantry@saddleback.com.

We LOVE serving at Saddleback's Peace Center!  Have you been yet?!  We'll be heading there tonight after 1sthursday to put our faith in action! Free pizza will be provided, so there's no need to worry about dinner!  Directions and more information will be provided at 1sthursday tonight at 7:15 in the Refinery.  We'll see you there!  It's going to be a great night!