ALL IS WELL!!! Or is it? On one hand, you have dancing Christmas lights on trees and rooftops and garland … and shoppers with bags filled full to the brim. They have visions in their heads of packages galore, and holiday meals of delectable dishes and more! On the other hand, you have families who have worked hard all year just to pay their bills … but there will be no gifts under the tree, not a one. Anything other than money for their obligations will take a divine miracle! The visions flashing in their heads are most bittersweet. It’s a blend of genuine celebration for Christ’s birth and coming to this earth – and gratitude for God’s faithfulness and provision all year long … but there are also the twinges of deep sadness at not being able to give gifts to those they love most. And, if we had a third hand (!) … you have people who have no home, no food … and any thoughts of decorations and gifts would have them thinking they were hallucinating! The visions passing in front of their heads are totally of a place to lay their head where it will be warm and safe – and of a meal, anything that will ward off those hunger pangs for at least a few hours. Is there any common denominator in all of these real-life scenarios? The only one I can come up with is the birth of Christ, the reason for the season. He came - to the rich … to the middle-class … to the poorest of the poor. And He came to give us the BEST GIFT we’ll ever receive from anyone, anywhere, in our entire lifetime! Actually, like my husband has always said, if He gave us nothing more than the gift of salvation, the hope of an eternity with our Savior in Heaven … that would be enough. Yet, He came to give us so much more. But we’ve been conditioned to think we HAVE to have certain things, to think we HAVE to give certain things, to think we HAVE to do certain things. At any cost. And the one who gets lost in the shuffle of all that, is the Lord Jesus Christ, the One whose birthday we are celebrating – or SHOULD be! In our present-day culture, it seems totally foreign to most people to be focused MOST on what they will give Jesus for His birthday. And yet that should be at the top of our list. And we should be most sad if we cannot give HIM gifts for HIS birthday. Because modern-day Christmases are what we’ve made them, we are sad only if we cannot experience them like we’d like to, complete with all the gift-giving and glitz and goodies. But in all reality, the practice of us giving gifts to each other should be an expression of our love and appreciation for each other, AFTER we have given Jesus something from our hearts and our hands and our checkbooks. Really, HIS gift should cost us more than any of the others; for after all, it’s His birthday – not ours! And no, we are not boycotting gift-giving to others! We absolutely LOVE giving gifts! We only wish that our checkbook balance would match what our hearts long to give! God LOVES givers. He loves it when we give to Him. He loves it when we give to each other. And He really loves it when we give to those who have little or nothing! He says in His Word that when we give to someone who is cold or hungry or thirsty, it’s like we are giving to Him! (Matthew 25:40) So when our church fed 30 homeless and hungry people last week on Thanksgiving Day through our gifts to the Mission, it was like we were giving Jesus some birthday presents early! In the days between now and Christmas Day, may all of us be challenged to think and pray about what WE can give Jesus for His birthday this year ~ as individuals, as families, and as a church. And yes, no matter what our circumstances may be this Christmas season, if we know Jesus, ALL IS WELL! If we think we give good gifts, just think about the gifts HE gives us everyday! Yes, all will be well!
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
- A SPECIAL WELCOME to Justin, James, and Josh who worshipped with us this past Sunday; we loved having you in our midst! And welcome back to Nancy! We pray you were blessed by God’s Spirit and our love!
- BLESSINGS!!! That’s what God gives us each week as we enter His presence with thanksgiving in our hearts!
There was no doubt He was in our midst as a church family, doing His precious work!
- BLESSINGS!!! That’s what we pray for Clint and Kristina and family as they leave for their home in Michigan this Saturday morning. We had a great time together with them last Sunday as we honored them and prayed God’s richest blessings on their family, their move, and this new chapter of their lives that God has called them to! How we will miss you ~ but we will stay connected in Christ! (See Debbie for their new address.)
- BLESSINGS!!! That’s what the youth enjoyed all Sunday afternoon long (15 of us!) as we viewed a great true-story movie (Blindside), went swimming, and spent one last time of hanging out with Mitch and Brendan over warm brownies with ice cream and all the toppings, before delivering all the youth back home! We love you, kids! Every one of you!
- LOOKING AHEAD . . .
- THIS SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6th:
- 10:00 A.M. – WORSHIP & PRAISE – come and lay all the weights of this past week down, and drink in the joy of the promises that the true meaning of Christmas brings to us through Jesus! Let’s enjoy all that God has in store for us as His children. Let’s plan to reach out to others in fun, creative, loving ways as Pastor D challenges us through this series of messages on “Christmas Touch: Making Christ-like Connections during the Holidays.” Why not invite some friends to church with you?!
- 11:15 A.M. – SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASSES for ALL ages! We’ll learn together in exciting teaching and discussion times! Remember to lift each of our teachers up in prayer as they share God’s Word in fresh ways!
- CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS . . .
- BIRTHDAY GIFTS FOR JESUS – giving opportunity to be announced
- AN AFTERNOON OF CAROLING – date and time to be announced
- ALL CHURCH CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON – Sunday, December 20th, following worship
- CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLELIGHT COMMUNION SERVICE – Thursday, December 24th, 7:00 p.m.
- PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES . . .
- Prayer is a form of thanksgiving, as well as bringing our needs before God. In line with that, Pastor Doug and Debbie pray for God’s awesome blessings on those outside of our church family who are sharing pastoral support with them personally, and also with Elevation North! We thank God for you, and for your loving and generous support! May you be blessed back many times over!! Join us in lifting up our two servicemen, Justin and Matthias, who will be returning this month from service in Iraq, Hawaii, and Afghanistan! Continue to pray for healing for Julia and her brother, for Hendrickson’s son, for Jimmy; and for God’s perfect will concerning a local job for Nancy. Pray for our students of all ages, for our nation and its leaders, and for all those in ministry and mission/evangelistic work, for God’s powerful anointing and safe-keeping. Be in focused prayer that God will use Elevation North to the ultimate, and that each of us will be vessels available for His purposes!
- THIS WEEK . . . Remember, “Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons!” (Unknown)
Serving Christ Joyfully . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
