Our Christmas Theme this year is Celebrate!
When Jesus, the long awaited Messiah, Lamb of God, Master, Lord, Creator and Savior was born over 2,000 years ago, it was truly an event worthy to celebrate.
Celebrate will be the basis of each of the messages that will be shared by all of the teachers. The main Scripture that I will be sharing from is Hebrews 1:1-4:
God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Not the “usual” Advent Season passages of Scripture. But if you prayerfully read those texts, they inspire even the most casual reader to bow down, worship and celebrate.
We know that Jesus wasn’t born on December 25, but we do know that He was born, and for that reason, we are going to celebrate Who He is and why He came. How do you “throw a party” for The One Who created the universe? What gift can you give to The One Who is Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient? How can you give anything to Jehovah Jireh?
Thus, we are going to celebrate the One Who died for all of our sin, in order that we by God’s grace would have this intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ not only on earth, but forever in heaven.
Let me suggest a few things that we can give Him that will bless Him. We can give Him the praise and honor for Who He is. We can all lift our hearts and hands unto Him whenever we worship Him together in Spirit and in truth. We can walk in the love and grace of God towards one another. We can tell our family, friends and neighbors that the real reason for this “holiday” season isnot Santa or Rudolph but the Lord Jesus, King of King and Lord of Lord’s! The one thing that each one of us can give unto The Lord that He does not have is our hearts.
We are born into this world sinners by nature and by choice. We are separated from God because of our sin debt that only He can take away when we repent and trust Him as Saviour and Lord. Giving and exchanging gifts is one way of expressing love. On a typical birthday, we give gifts to the person who is born on that day. But to celebrate Jesus’ Birthday, He has a gift for you.
Here is the appeal to you my friend from The Lord Jesus Himself. Matthew 11:28-30:
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Here is His gift. Romans 6:23:
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
In a world that is filled with anxiety, stress with no hope in sight, will you invite an unsaved or unchurched friend to come to one of our Christmas Services as we gather to celebrate our King? Perhaps this is the way that The Spirit of God will use to bring them into a loving relationship with The Father, through faith in His Son Jesus. SELAH
Blessings, Pastor Ray
Christmas Services:
- Every Sunday at 8:30 and 10:30am in the Sanctuary with coffee hour in the Agape Hall after
- Children’s church on the 3rd floor
- Nursery and nursing mother’s room in the nursery
- Wednesday night service at 7pm with youth group and children’s church on the 3rd floor
- Wednesday, December 3: Guest Teacher Jim Harden
- Sunday, December 7: Guest Teacher Dave Crespo
- Wednesday, December 10: Guest Teacher Chris Arcadi