I shared with you in an earlier post that our family had taken on the sponsorship of Bryan DeGracia through Latin America Child Care. We were all very excited to be able to expand our family this way.
We received a nice surprise in the mail: a Christmas card from Bryan! We were told it would take a little time for our first correspondence with Bryan to begin. Now that it has we’re looking forward to getting to know him better.
Have you ever noticed the overarching message throughout the Christmas story? In both Matthew’s and Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus there is a repeated angelic message to humankind: “Do not be afraid.”
Why all this fear? Quite simply sin brings fear: Fear of God’s impending judgment. But the canceling power is Jesus. In the Christmas carol Joy To The World there are powerful, fear-lifting words in the third verse:
His blessing comes to bring joy wherever the curse of sin has brought fear! Jesus defeats sin, and so therefore His joy displaces all fear!
Sin forgiven. Curse canceled. Fear removed. Joy has come because Jesus has come.
My prayer for you is that you are living without fear because you are living without sin. It’s only possible because Jesus came for you. Merry CHRISTmas!
Today I’m preparing for our Candlelight Christmas Eve service. As I study the account of the birth of Jesus I’m always amazed at what I didn’t see in this Christmas story the last time I looked. If ever there was a multifaceted story, the coming of the Son of God to earth is it.
This story is so rich with…
I pray that this Christmas you will see something new. May Christmas never be the-same-old-story-all-over-again. Look with new eyes, hear with new ears, experience with a new heart. It’s the greatest story ever told!
Merry Christmas!
Just want to get a couple of great family-friendly events on your calendar.
On December 24 is our annual Candlelight Christmas Eve service at 6pm. This is an intimate family time with some hot chocolate, cookies,
Christmas carols, special music, and Christmas stories. Make this one-hour service a part of your family tradition.
On December 31 we’re going to rock out the old year and Rock In The New Year. We’ve got several local Christian bands that are going to join us for the fun. Doors open at 7pm. We’ll have lots of games, prizes, food, fun, and music. And, best of all, we’re using this as a fundraiser for a great ministry that we support: Latin America Child Care. The cover charge is just $2, and all of our profits are going to LACC.
Two great events… two great nights. Come and join us.
In the “Your Gift To God” series at Calvary Assembly of God, we have been following the pattern of the gifts that the Magi gave to Jesus as a pattern for the gifts that we, too, should give to God.
First, the Magi gave gold. The king of metals for the King of kings. They acknowledged that this was the Eternal King. Gold is a gift for a king.
The second gift is a bit of a head-scratcher gift: frankincense. This type of incense was used in the Old Testament in worship and sacrifices in the Tent Of Meeting. Incense is a gift for a priest. But would the Magi give a priestly gift to a king?
Jesus came as both King, Priest, and Sacrifice. The frankincense was used as the high priest went from the Holy Place to the Most Holy Place to offer the sacrifice of atonement. But look what the Bible says about Jesus:
…Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
And because of what Jesus did for us:
And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.
When we offer a sacrifice of frankincense to Jesus our High Priest, we’re saying, “I trust You with this. I don’t want to carry this any longer. I give it to You completely.” That means what we offer to Him is completely consumed.
Yesterday our congregation wrote down their burdens and concerns and challenges on a slip of paper. Then we brought those concerns to Jesus and burned them up like frankincense in His presence. As I smelled the aroma, I could only imagine the incredible scent that Jesus detected.
All of the concerns people wrote down were reduced to ash yesterday morning!
I believe people were set free! The concerns were burned up like a sacrifice before our High Priest! No longer do they have to carry these heavy loads:
Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.
Your greatest gift to God could be all of the things that have burdened you for way too long. Give them to Him because He cares for you. Let them be consumed completely, and never pick them up again.
Live free!
We kicked off The Q Series last night with some very appropriate-for-the-season questions: what is Christmas? where did it come from? how are we supposed to celebrate Christmas?
As I was preparing to answer this question, the thought came to me that Christmas is the celebration of God’s presence among us, but we’ve turned Christmas into a focus on presents. God wants to give us Himself (His presence), but many times we’re more interested in the presents we think He should give us.
Even in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve exchanged a piece of fruit (a present, the devil told them) for God’s presence.
Quick: Can you think of a present someone gave you last Christmas? This probably doesn’t come easily to mind. Can you think of a time this last year when someone “being there” for you (their presence) was meaningful? This one you could probably think of more quickly.
Presence trump presents.
As you celebrate Christmas this year, focus on God’s presence in your life, and not the presents you’re asking Him for. And then remember those around you want your presence way more than they want your presents, so figure out how to give it to them.
All over America today, Black Friday kicked off a month-long, mad-dash, consumer-feeding frenzy. A race to see who can spend the most money on the most toys and gadgets to give away at Christmas.
Oops, did I say Christmas?!? <Gasp!> Maybe I should have said holidays. Yes, indeed, the Consumer’s Delight Holiday Season. At least that’s what it feels more and more with every passing year. First of all, retail stores have a hard time even saying Merry Christmas, let alone promoting the meaning of Christmas. And then there’s this notion—even among those that are willing to say Christmas—that this is the season of buying.
I think I’m feeling a little rebellious today. If you’d like to join me in rocking the popular-mindset boat a little, if you’d like to take back Christmas, if you’d like to return the focus to CHRISTmas, check out a couple of these resources, and let’s talk.
Give This Christmas Away. Great book by Matthew West on some great ways to focus on Christ at CHRISTmas.
Advent Conspiracy. A great CHRISTmas gift that will literally change (or save) someone’s life.
One Day’s Wages. Use their calculator to see how far just one day of your annual earnings can go.
If you’ve got any other resources or thoughts on this CHRISTmas season, please share them.
Merry CHRISTmas!
Matthew West wrote Give This Christmas Away based on two simple questions: What if December looked different this year? What if we all just give this Christmas away?
If you are becoming as frustrated as I am with the over-commercialization of Christmas, this book is like a breath of crisp, clean winter air. Matthew West gives us “101 simple and thoughtful ways” to truly focus on the reason for the Christmas season. This is a great book for your family to read together. It will help you begin a meaningful discussion of what Christmas truly means.
I anticipate that this book will become a seasonal classic: with families pulling it out each year as they begin to decorate for Christmas. The ideas in here are simple and easy to put into practice. Just reading this book will open your eyes to numerous possibilities. And if you happen to think of idea number 102 and beyond, log onto the Give This Christmas Away website to share your idea.
I highly recommend this book to your family.
I am a Tyndale House book reviewer.
I had a wonderfully memorable last 24-hours. I was looking forward to Christmas — as usual — but this year brought some unexpected opportunities to spend some time with very special people.
On Christmas Eve my family got to know the McRae family, and to take a Christmas present to Michael. It was wonderful to see Michael’s face light up when he opened up the gift he had been dreaming of. Michael had worked very hard to raise money for a Nintendo DS, but unexpected family circumstances meant that his family had to use his popcorn sale money for family necessities. It was such a joy to be there when Michael got to open his DS!
While my family was with the McRaes, Jessica and Dave Czerny (our children’s pastor) were visiting with the Kimball family. I wrote about Tina in an earlier post. We presented this opportunity to our church, and the Bethel A/G family came through… big time! Jessica & Dave had the joy of delivering a huge stack of toys and clothes to Tina! Check out some more pictures of Michael and Tina on Flickr.
Today my family made a return visit to Caretel nursing home. I did a weekly chapel service at Caretel for three years, and passed the baton to Tom Johnston a little over a year ago. Today we got to go back to Caretel and sing Christmas carols with some very special friends.
Christmas carols at Caretel
Then it was off to Grand Rapids to spend time with my family.
Truly the greatest gifts in my life are the special people I have the privilege of spending time with every day. These last 24 hours have been incredible — I am a blessed man!
I am so proud of our team for the great Christmas play they presented last night called The Gift! The play was written by our very own Kevin Simonye, and the entire cast and crew were students and parents from Bethel Assembly of God.
The play was a look at how parents can get so caught up in what they believe will make “the best Christmas ever.” Some parents tried presents, some tried trips, some tried inviting lots of family members, and some tried outrageous decorations. But when all of the parents’ plans fell apart, the kids showed them that the real meaning of Christmas was The Gift God gave to all mankind when Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
I am so thankful for this incredible gift! And I am thankful for a highly dedicated and extremely talented team that put on such an excellent Christmas play! Check out some highlights.
And in all of your busyness this week, please remember to celebrate the real reason for the season—God’s gift to you is Jesus! God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him may not be lost but have eternal life (John 3:16).
Merry Christmas!
Craig T. Owens 