COUNTDOWN . . . two days . . . one day . . . and then ~ it’s THE day! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS!!! Remember when you were little and you could hardly wait for your birthday to arrive? It seemed like those 365 days after your birthday just crept by, and you thought it would NEVER get here! F-i-n-a-l-l-y … YOUR day came! And usually, after such a LONG wait, you had such high dreams and hopes and wishes for the BEST gifts ever – (and LOTS of them, too!) - that it was almost impossible for your day to turn out to be EVERYTHING you were hoping it to be! Now, if you were totally content with whatever you got, and you had no preconceived notions about how you wanted your day to be – then perhaps your birthday was always all that you were hoping for. But … more than likely, if you are like lots of other people, disappointment came quickly if the gift you really wanted wasn’t beneath that colorful wrapping paper. Or, someone said something that made you sad. Or, that one person that you really wanted to come to your party, just didn’t show up or even call. And somehow, your special day just didn’t seem so special, after all. And, to think that you had waited an entire year – for THIS! Thinking about all of this makes me wonder. I wonder if Jesus ever feels let down by HIS birthday, because of us. He counts down . . .two days . . . one day . . . and then ~ it’s HIS BIRTHDAY! And He’s dreaming of the gifts that will please Him most. He’s hoping that we will come to His party and celebrate with Him. And f-i-n-a-l-l-y … HIS day comes! But soon He experiences the taste of disappointment. There’s no birthday cake to taste. In fact, all the festive sounds of noisy laughter make Him feel emptier than ever. Oh, the people are celebrating. But they are celebrating Christmas THEIR way. Everything is about them. And there’s not even the mention of His Name. Talk about feeling left out. It’s His birthday, and no one includes Him. No one seems to see Him. No one has brought gifts to Him. And no one even seems to remember, much less talk about the one the party is really for. We remember one year that we read about a family who God had blessed financially, and they felt like there wasn’t really anything that they needed at Christmas-time. So they talked it over with their teenage children and decided that they would give gifts to others instead. They would seek out groups or individuals who perhaps otherwise wouldn’t be able to receive any gifts, or they looked for organizations that they could impact with their giving and make a difference. But, there was one stipulation. They could not tell each other who they had chosen, or what gifts they were going to give – until Christmas Day. And so they started out on their Christmas mission. And the suspense built as they were all busy thinking of others and planning gifts that would help them and bless them. Then … THE day came, and everyone in the family descended on the gathering spot around the tree. And while there were no gifts under the tree, there were envelopes all over the tree. The gifts had been purchased, wrapped, and delivered – and now it was time to reveal to each other who they had chosen and what gifts they had given! These moments became some of their most treasured and exciting times as a family, as they would gather together to listen to the reading of the Christmas story from the Bible, and then share what they felt God had led them to do for someone else in His honor. One year the dad shared that there was a sports team who was doing so great, but they just did not have the means for jerseys and shoes. So he went to the sporting goods store, and special ordered everything they needed and later delivered it to them. One of the children had saved up money to “adopt” a child in another country and sent his love gift to buy food and milk and medicine for this little starving boy. Each year the stories of their giving showed such awesome creativity as they shared their love with others less fortunate! After everyone had a chance to open their envelope and “give it to Jesus” ~ they all felt so very warmed and blessed by the privilege they had been given to touch someone else’s life with the love of Jesus! Their Christmas Day celebrations became so much more than about “things”, that they began thinking and planning and praying right away for the next year! We just want to challenge you that none of us have to be wealthy to make this kind of celebration a part of our family gatherings! Try it next year, and begin now to choose who you will bless – and how! God may not tell you up until the last minute – then again, He may lay someone on your heart right away and you’ll have lots of time to make your gift as special as can be!
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
- THANK YOU, THANK YOU, EVERYONE for providing such a wonderful Christmas luncheon last Sunday after worship! You are an awesome church family and we were so blessed to be able to worship together and to continue to reach out and get to know each other better! And an extra special thanks to our daughter-in-love, Becky, for singing “Silent Night” so beautifully for us! God used your voice and your willing spirit to minister to us as you sang those old, familiar words!
- A SPECIAL THANKS to Dustin and Becky for providing an additional microphone stand, speaker stands, and some other musical equipment for our church! What a blessing, and it is our prayer that God will bless you and continue to use you both as you minister on the worship teams in your church in Nebraska!
- HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Hannah who celebrated her birthday this past week; and to Molly who will celebrate hers on the 30th! May your entire year to come be blessed in awesome ways!
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
- THANK YOU, THANK YOU, EVERYONE for providing such a wonderful Christmas luncheon last Sunday after worship! You are an awesome church family and we were so blessed to be able to worship together and to continue to reach out and get to know each other better! And an extra special thanks to our daughter-in-love, Becky, for singing “Silent Night” so beautifully for us! God used your voice and your willing spirit to minister to us as you sang those old, familiar words!
- A SPECIAL THANKS to Dustin and Becky for providing an additional microphone stand, speaker stands, and some other musical equipment for our church! What a blessing, and it is our prayer that God will bless you and continue to use you both as you minister on the worship teams in your church in Nebraska!
- HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Hannah who celebrated her birthday this past week; and to Molly who will celebrate hers on the 30th! May your entire year to come be blessed in awesome ways!
- LOOKING AHEAD . . .
- DECEMBER 24TH: CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLELIGHT COMMUNION SERVICE at 6 P.M. ~ with a unique and unforgettable service being planned for you and your family! We want to thank the Rogers family who is providing a “Bethlehem Cake” for all us to enjoy! You won’t want to miss that! NOTE … the weather forecast is predicting weather that may bring about a cancellation. If that occurs, you will be notified, and we will plan on having our Christmas Eve service on Sunday morning, the 27th at 10:00 a.m. PLAN TO JOIN US for Christmas worship and praise – either way, and expect to experience God’s presence and power and love!
- DECEMBER 25TH: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS!!! AND A BLESSED CHRISTMAS to all of our church family from Pastor Doug and Debbie! We want you to know how much we love and appreciate each of you! Enjoy your day with family and friends, relaxing and spending time together … remembering to tell Jesus how much you love Him on His birthday!
- AFTER THE FIRST OF THE YEAR, the WEEKLY YOUTH MEETINGS will resume – being changed to Sunday nights from 6:00-7:30 p.m. at Pastor Doug’s and Debbie’s home. Reach out to your friends and invite them for the fun, the Bible Study, and always … the snacks! And … SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASSES will continue weekly at 11:15 a.m. following our Sunday worship and praise! Come and learn with us as we dig into God’s Word about His plan for us to live as Kingdom people!
- PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES . . .
- How we love it when we hear about experiences where God is at work healing and touching and changing lives of people we know – and even people we don’t know! That truly increases our faith to believe for all that God has in store for us! We’re continuing to trust God for James’ recovery, and for many other church people who are needing healing; for final provision of finances for Josh’s Asian mission trip, for travel mercies throughout the holiday season, for Justin as he travels home from the military and resumes civilian life, for our nation’s leaders as they shape policies that will affect all of us, and for our church family as we seek to be all that God wants us to be, making ourselves available to Him so that we can be used however He chooses!
- THIS WEEK . . . “God grant you the light in Christmas, which is faith; the warmth of Christmas, which is love; the belief in Christmas, which is truth; the all of Christmas, which is Christ.” ~ Wilda English
Serving Christ Joyfully . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
