 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,This Sunday, December 2nd marks the beginning of the season of the
Church Year called Advent. The word advent means coming. Thus, for the next 23 days we are
called upon to prepare for the celebration of Christmas-the first coming of the Son of
God, Jesus Christ, as a baby born of the Virgin Mary.
| Pastor and Karalee Morris invite all of you to attend a
Christmas Open House
at their home,
300 North Main Street,
on Sunday, December 23rd.
Please come so that Pastor and Karalee can express their gratitude for
your love and support, personally wish you a Blessed Christmas, and also so that you can
enjoy good refreshments and great Christian Fellowship. |
It is interesting to note that we are told that
Christmas is a time of year for love, peace, joy, and hope. However, most people do not
experience such. Instead, they experience frazzled nerves, frustration, anger, sadness,
and the list goes on and on. As a matter of fact, for a number of people Christmas is a
time of despair and hopelessness. The proof is that the suicide rate among Americans is
highest during the month of December. Why all this misery? It is because we have been sold
a bill of goods that we will find love, peace, joy, and hope in the commercialism,
traditions, and celebrations of Christmas, namely the decorations, gifts, parties, family
gatherings and the like. And maybe, for a fleeting moment they do offer love, peace, joy,
and hope. However, it is fleeting, for the commercialism, traditions, and celebrations of
Christmas do not address our real problems in life, namely temptations, our sin, the sin
of others, personal troubles, and ultimately death. Thus, we once again find our hearts
filled with guilt, worry, anxiety, despair, hopelessness, etc.
Believe it or not, Christmas is a time of love, peace,
joy, and hope. However, such is only possible if we focus on what Christmas is really
about. It is the birth of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. And why did Jesus come to this
world? He came to save us from our worst enemies; sin, death, and the devil. It is here,
in this great act of God, that we will find love, peace, joy, and hope.
Oh, how vital it is for us to focus our thoughts and
hearts on what Christmas is really about. But how? The truth is that this can come about
as we "hear, read, study, and inwardly digest" God's Word. For then by the power
of the Holy Spirit, God will work in our minds and hearts drawing us to Jesus' birth and
what it means for us. In order that we may have an opportunity to do so, we will once
again hold special midweek Advent Services each Wednesday in Advent. The theme of these
midweek services is "The meaning of the Advent Wreath". Each Wednesday we will
focus on the meaning of each Advent Candle and how the birth of Jesus makes each meaning a
reality in our lives.
Each service will begin with a "Soup and Sandwich
Dinner" at 5:45PM in the Fellowship Hall followed by the service at 6:15 PM in the
church. The schedule is as follows:
- Wednesday, December 5th-the first candle which signifies
love.
- Wednesday, December 12th-the third candle which signifies
joy.
- Wednesday, December 19th-the fourth candle which signifies
hope.
(The second candle signifies peace. The topic of peace was
studied during last year's midweek Advent Services.)
I know that the Christmas season is one of the busiest if
not the busiest for people. Please make time and attend all our services-our midweek as
well as Sunday services. God, through His Word, will make your Christmas a truly blessed
one for He will focus your mind and hearts as to the real meaning of Christmas.
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