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Archive for the ‘Christmastide’ Category

First Sunday of Christmastide-Dec 31

27 Dec

Tell the Story-Many people will see the manger scene and not understand what it means because they have no church background. A large percentage of people today have not attended church and do not know anyone that they know of who attends church. Many Christians assume those they meet at work and at school attend church somewhere but few of them do. Few churches today have Christmas eve services but those that do usually include only members and do not include visitors. It is a great time to invite those who do not attend church to come and hear the Christmas story, especially those who have children. Christmas carols used to be sung in the schools and played in stores, but many have dropped or even banned those with a Christian message. Church members can get together and carol at nursing homes and in their neighborhood to tell the Christmas story. Songs should not be random but organized to tell the story.

 

 

Video-Meaning of Christmastide

21 Dec

 

First Sunday of Christmastide-Jan 1

28 Dec

Those who feel forgotten.  Christmas is a time when we remember that Christ came to His people to reveal the nature of God and to show us a better way to live; a way of peace and love. This should be a time when we should draw together as a family and draw together as a church family. We need to bring some light into their life just as Christ brought light into the world for us. We should seek those around us who will not know the joy of Christmas unless we share it with them We need to take time to reach out to those around us who may be alone, whose families are gone or far away, and have no friends close. By visiting, we remind them that we have not forgotten them and God has not forgotten them either. Some may be able to invite them to share Christmas with their family so they do not have to spend Christmas alone. There are also many who are burdened with heavy cares, or who have lost loved ones, or are shut-in and cannot get out, and let them know they are not forgotten and are not alone. We need to bring some light into their life just as Christ brought light into the world for us. Some will not share the joy of Christmas because of financial needs and cannot afford special gifts. The church can help brighten their Christmas. A growing number of Christians are deciding that instead of giving each other gifts they don’t need, they will put that money into buying gifts for those that might not otherwise receive gifts, or by supporting Christmas programs by organizations in their local area like The Salvation Army, or abroad like Samaritan’s Purse or simply giving gifts to neighbors they know who might not otherwise know the joy of Christmas. Christmas is also a great time to teach your kids the value of giving and the greatest gift they can give is themselves. Volunteer as a family to help a local church, social service agency, day care, hospital, or nursing home. Many have special programs at Christmas that need volunteers.

 

 

Video-Christmastide-intro

20 Dec

Since Christmas falls on Sunday this year, it is the first Sunday of Christmastide, as well as the first day of Christmastide.

 

Fourth Sunday of Advent-Dec 18

15 Dec

Hope For Our Community-  Because Christ lives, there is hope for our community. While liberal proponents complain that churches provide no benefit to the community and merely take up valuable space that could be used by tax paying businesses, churches provide a valuable resource for the community. While many liberal churches now support abortion and Gay privileges, Bible believing churches continue to uphold the value of life, the value of the rule of law, the value of the family, and the value of the individual. Bible-believing parents often have stable marriages which provide consistent training to their children in moral living which would not exist if the churches did not exist, since there are no other organizations in our society that promotes those values on the scale that the church and other religious based organizations do. Churches provide support for non-government social service agencies which provide invaluable help to those struggling which goes far beyond the sterile monetary support they get from government agencies. We are seeing the effects of the loss of Christian values in our society as killing increases, lawlessness increases, families crumble, and suicide increases. As churches are increasingly silenced, it will only get worse.

 

Video-study course-Christian Celebrations-promo

22 Jun

I have a course on Basic Christian Beliefs for new Christians and as a refresher for long-time Christians, which is posted on Udemy.

It is available by posting the following link in your browser.

https://www.udemy.com/course/christian-celebrations/?referralCode=D706C0B4E96819B18699

 

Second Sunday of Christmastide-Jan 2

31 Dec

Those who feel forgotten.  Christmas is a time when we remember that Christ came to His people to reveal the nature of God and to show us a better way to live; a way of peace and love. This should be a time when we should draw together as a family and draw together as a church family. We need to bring some light into their life just as Christ brought light into the world for us. We should seek those around us who will not know the joy of Christmas unless we share it with them We need to take time to reach out to those around us who may be alone, whose families are gone or far away, and have no friends close. By visiting, we remind them that we have not forgotten them and God has not forgotten them either. Some may be able to invite them to share Christmas with their family so they do not have to spend Christmas alone. There are also many who are burdened with heavy cares, or who have lost loved ones, are shut-in and cannot get out, and let them know they are not forgotten and are not alone. We need to bring some light into their life just as Christ brought light into the world for us. Some will not share the joy of Christmas because of financial needs and cannot afford special gifts. The church can help brighten their Christmas. A growing number of Christians are deciding that instead of giving each other gifts they don’t need, they will put that money into buying gifts for those that might not otherwise receive gifts, or by supporting Christmas programs by organizations in their local area like The Salvation Army, or abroad like Samaritan’s Purse or simply giving gifts to neighbors they know who might not otherwise know the joy of Christmas. Christmas is also a great time to teach your kids the value of giving and the greatest gift they can give is themselves. Volunteer as a family to help a local church, social service agency, day care, hospital, or nursing home. Many have special programs at Christmas that need volunteers.

 

Second Sunday of Christmastide-Jan 2

30 Dec

Tell the Story-Many people will see the manger scene and not understand what it means because they have no church background. A large percentage of people today have not attended church and do not know anyone that they know of who attends church. Many Christians assume those they meet at work and at school attend church somewhere but few of them do. Few churches today have Christmas eve services but those that do usually include only members and do not include visitors. It is a great time to invite those who do not attend church to come and hear the Christmas story, especially those who have children. Christmas carols used to be sung in the schools and played in stores, but many have dropped or even banned those with a Christian message. Church members can get together and carol at nursing homes and in their neighborhood to tell the Christmas story. Songs should not be random but organized to tell the story.

 

 

Christmas Day Dec 25

16 Dec

Pagan Worship Some say we shouldn’t celebrate Christmas because it is a pagan holiday since it was started to replace a pagan holiday and has since deteriorated into a pagan holiday. We celebrate things that are important to us to remember them. We should not throw out our Christian celebration with the pagan rituals. Pagans worship their idols because they don’t know the true God and we should use the Christmas season to show unbelievers the true God just as Paul used the idol to the unknown god to explain to the Greeks the true God which they did not know. We can use the Christmas celebration to teach our children the true meaning of Christmas by introducing them to ways they can minister to others. The media is so aggressive in pushing its meaning and few children hear the real reason we celebrate Christmas. In addition, we can use it to let the world know that the Savior has come and they no longer need to be a slave to sin.

 

Previous Posts-1/12

28 Sep

This is the first in the series of previous posts and highlights
Christmas season, Advent, Christmastide, and Epiphany
Click on the links below to access those series.