WHAT CAN WE GIVE YOU FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY, JESUS? I know … because You know everything … we cannot “surprise” you! It takes planning, though, like any other gift, to present You with Your birthday gifts. In fact, choosing and praying about what we will give to honor You is a year-long process – that culminates on Christmas Eve when we present Your gifts to You in our private, family setting. We get so excited about the little hints You drop into our hearts … and then sometimes there are the BIG nudges – and we think, “Wow, You must REALLY want THAT gift!” We’ve got it, Lord … and we’ll do our best to have it ready for You on Your birthday!” It’s truly amazing how this part of celebrating Your birth has become the most meaningful part of our family celebrations ~ whether it’s a Christmas where it’s just my husband and me … or whether we are surrounded by sons and daughters and grandchildren and our moms! We first heard about this idea of actually “giving gifts” to Jesus in an article we read several years ago back in 1998. This family decided rather than to spend so much money on themselves, they would put their efforts into choosing a gift or gifts that they could give Jesus – and then on Christmas morning, they would all eagerly converge around the Christmas tree to reveal what they were giving Him! Granted, those with wealth can do more than others – but we can all do something that Jesus will love and be touched by! One year this dad outfitted the high school sports team with new uniforms because the school did not have the funds to do so and they were badly in need of being replaced. So he did it to honor Jesus. Another family member bought shoes for a child that wouldn’t have had them otherwise. I could feel their excitement as I read about their delight in being able to celebrate Jesus’ birthday this way … and in that moment, I knew that our Christmases would forever be changed. Yes, we would still celebrate with gifts to our family ~ but our focus would be on choosing gifts that would make a real difference for someone else that would ultimately please the Lord Jesus Christ. And all year long, we seek to find gifts that we can present to Him on His special day … some of them being discovered just in time! Center-front on our Christmas tree is the same envelope with Jesus’ Name on it that we started with in 1998. Each year, we write Him a note telling Him about the gifts we are giving Him ~ and with this being our thirteenth year, that little white envelope is beginning to bulge! The notes aren’t important really, but they represent individuals, families, the homeless, the hungry, little ones whose parents are in prison, those who are lost and do not even have a copy of God’s Word, people in third-world countries who are in need of milk and food and medicine, and etc., etc. God took this passion in our hearts and expanded it to the churches that we’ve pastored through the last thirteen years – and each Christmas we’ve chosen a special project to present to Jesus for His birthday. One year it was all of us at church giving from our hearts … and we were able to present a check to our missionary friends so that a roof could be put on one of the churches in Africa. The people would faithfully come to the church and sit in the blistering heat or be drenched in pouring rain – with no roof over their heads. And we were privileged to give Jesus the roof on that church for His birthday. We were also able to send enough money for 400 Bibles in their Bemba language, because no one could afford Bibles – most often not even the pastors! And giving God’s Word to those without it, was a very precious gift to present to Jesus that year! This year in 2010, our new, small church has taken on something that God has put in our hearts to do. We are aware of a family … mom and dad and young girl … who will probably not get to celebrate Christmas without some loving people becoming God’s hands extended to them this year. And so we are placing the opportunity in your hands to be a part of blessing this family in need. When you get to church this Sunday, there will be a poster board display with post-it-notes listing items that they can desperately use. There will even be a few with some fun ideas to bring some extra joy to them! We hope you will be as generous as possible – for while this will bless them, it really is our birthday gift to Jesus this year … and we know that He will be pleased and honored! Sacrifices that cost us something are more precious in God’s sight than nonchalantly giving just anything that doesn’t affect us one way or the other. After all, what if Jesus came physically to our church as we present these gifts to Him? Wouldn’t we want them to be our most beautifully wrapped and very best gifts of all?! Wouldn’t we want to please Him more than anything else? Join us in celebrating Jesus’ birthday at Elevation North … and remember that it is always “more blessed to give than to receive!” This can be your best Christmas ever ~ because you gave to Jesus!

IN A NUTSHELL . . .

- OUR CHURCH FAMILY is so blessed to be celebrating this Christmas season together, and how we loved this second Sunday of Advent as our service centered around “Seasoning our Giving!” What a wonderful preface to prepare our hearts for giving to Jesus and others! And what a great time we had in the evening as we enjoyed singing Christmas carols, munching on yummy snacks, and watching “The Christmas Shoes” together!
- OUR WISHES FOR A HAPPY ANNIVERSARY go out to DJ and Melissa, our oldest son and his wife, as they celebrate 11 years of marriage on the 11th of December! AND LOVING BIRTHDAY WISHES are sent to our grandson, Dylan, as he celebrates his 15th birthday on the 15th of December! May God bless you all of you with His loving favor … we love you and thank God for you! ALSO, SPECIAL BIRTHDAY WISHES are in order for Joel, who will be celebrating on December 18th … may this be your best year ever, with God’s blessings!

- LOOKING AHEAD . . .

- THIS SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12TH: 10:00 A.M. – WORSHIP & PRAISE – with our hearts open and ready for God’s touch as we focus on God’s Word and Pastor D’s message for this third Sunday of Advent – “Seasoning Your Gatherings” – from Colossians 3:1-17. Do you long to make your connections with one another rich and purposeful … then come and see how we can season our gatherings with the presence of Christ!
- CHRISTMAS CAROLING - Join us following worship as we connect with our community, bringing joyful Christmas sounds to those who are shut-in. We will make several stops to sing Christmas carols, and then we will come back to church to warm up with piping hot chili and crackers and Christmas treats! We want YOU with us!
- SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19TH: CHRISTMAS SUNDAY w/COMMUNION & JESUS’ BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
- SUNDAY, DECEMBER 26TH: END-OF-YEAR CHALLENGE/COMMITMENT/CELEBRATION SERVICE
- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31ST: NEW YEAR’S EVE GATHERING w/games, a movie, and … breakfast!

- PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES . . .

- WHAT A MIGHTY GOD WE SERVE! Each week we are witness to God’s power as He demonstrates His love toward us and His work in us! It is our privilege to hold each other up in prayer, so let’s remember Tina, Hazel, Henry, Julia & her brother, Cierra, Karrie, Aletta, Kay, Roger & Cindy, Sharon, April, Elissa, Lundstrom’s, Seykora’s, and several unspoken requests. God knows all about each of these needs and He is truly more than able to answer! And how we thank Him for all He has already done … He is SO worthy of our praise!!!

- REMEMBER . . . “The fact of Jesus’ coming is the final and unanswerable proof that God cares!” ~ William Barclay



Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie