Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas
C. Hayden 12-12-17

At this time of the year we want to take a few moments and wish everyone a very, Merry Christmas!  This can be an extremely busy time for many as we make preparations to provide a most wonderful Christmas for our children and for immediate and extended visiting family members.  Even so, our hopes and prayers for you would be that you not only enjoy said family but also find time to rest and relax personally; refueling and retooling for the upcoming new year.  Also finding time to spend with the Lord and carve out space to reflect on the real reason for the season.  That meaning being illustrated in so many of the Christmas Carols that we sing each year.  One of the more popular being “Joy to the World.”  The first lines of that joyous hymn says so much, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King.  Let every heart prepare Him room…”  This precious song dovetails with one of the most well known Scriptures, “For God so loved the world that He gave (the original Christmas gift) His only begotten Son (Jesus) that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting Life” (a wonderful gift indeed).
As you enjoy the wonder of the Christmas season, and as we embark on a New Year, may we also reflect on our relationship with the Lord for whom this celebration is supposed to truly be about.  While we enjoy reminding our children to be good for Santa Claus (Saint Nic-Claus) who is always watching, let us also spread the good news of the most important person who is always with us (Immanuel) and who died for our sin that we might have the gift of eternal life.   Christmas time is such a wonderful time of the year, but what makes it so blessed is when we are reminded of God’s love for us and what He has done on our behalf.
Linus from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was absolutely right when he quoted Scripture.  Here is the true meaning of Christmas:  9 “And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:   14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:9-14)

Be blessed even more and have a wonderful, Merry Christmas!!

Pastor Chris


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Communicate to the Lost

C. Hayden 12-10-17

This advent season, we have been examining this idea of communication; Biblical communication.  While many Christians and non-Christian cultures alike are currently preparing to celebrate one of the all time greatest events in all of history, the birth of Jesus Christ, many people overlook the fact that it is an account of God communicating His peace and love to a lost world.  Luke 2 gives an account of the open lines of communication being brought via angelic voices to lowly shepherds in the field: 8 “Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:8-14).
God was (and still is) communicating to these shepherds, and to the world, that He does not hate us but loves us.  He was also letting us know that the wall that had separated mankind from their maker, a wall that brought silence from God for over 400 years, has now been done away with.  And what was the signifying mark of this heavenly communication? It was none other than the baby Jesus Himself.  The Babe in a manger was God’s billboard telling all of us that God has peace and goodwill for all willing to turn from their sin and come to Him.  What a wonderful message the angels brought to us!!!  It is this same message that we, as God’s people, need to take to the rest of mankind.  We need to be inviting others to come to the Lord also.  As Luke 14:23 says, “And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” God calls His Church to communicate to the world the message of “Joy to the world the Lord has come.  Let earth receive their King!.”

Be blessed even more!!

Pastor Chris


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