Think about Jesus coming to earth as a baby. Imagine the power resting in that little manger--the omnipotent God lay in a feeding trough made from trees He had created, under stars He Himself had flung across the sky! There is no season like Christmas to capture our imaginations, to inspire our witness, or to impress our souls with humility and wonder.
The music of Christmas will help make the season exciting for you—especially the Christmas specials of our children’s choirs this Sunday night and of the Richland Christmas Festival by our adult choir on Dec. 13th and 14th. Pray for these events. Ask the Lord about inviting someone to come with you.
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Economic times have been difficult lately. However, we can learn much in lean times. Specifically, we can learn there is much we can do without. Also, we can learn to be more sympathetic with those in need. I am so thankful for the way First Family has reached out to needy families over the years, and especially in times like these. I don’t know of any people who give more generously to those in need. You proved that in the way you reached out after Hurricane Katrina, in the way you continually provide food for the needy, in the way you minister to those in times of extreme difficulty, in the way you gave well over two hundred shoe boxes full of supplies for children around the world, and in the way you have generously given to the annual mission offering to take the Good News around the world.
Another thing we learn in lean times is to be grateful for the abundance the Lord has given us. A pastor was famous for praying invocations of joyful gratitude every Sunday. No matter how hard things were, he could always find a reason to give thanks. One Sunday morning, the entire town was iced in. Only a few hardy people struggled to the church worship service. Everyone was damp and cold and miserable. One man said to himself, "There's no way the pastor will be able to give thanks today." But when the service began, the pastor said, "Lord, we thank you that the weather is not always like this."
Dear brothers and sisters, give thanks in all things. Never flag in your zeal for the Lord. Count it all joy to do without some things so that you can share with others. And, above all, share the Good News wherever you are. Go to others with the Good News, especially at the season of the year when we celebrate His coming as the Good News to us. Love in Jesus, Bill Patterson
Posted on
Thursday, December 4, 2008
by Erica Sutphin