Preparing For Christmas-Children are beginning to think about Christmas as stores are ramping up their Christmas advertising. Yet Christmas is more than getting presents. It is a celebration of when God gave us the greatest gift of all. Advent is a time when we begin to prepare our hearts for celebrating when Christ came to save us and begins on December 1st this year. I have an Advent booklet available to help parents teach their children about Christmas. It has a short Scripture for each day of Advent which helps to remind us of what Christmas is about and includes pictures that go with the daily Scriptures that the kids can color, cut out, and glue to construction paper. It provides a time the family can get together and learn from God’s Word which hopefully will become a regular family practice all year round. The pictures can be hung on the Christmas tree or on cords strung around the room. It is an electronic file that I would be glad to E-mail to you free and can be printed off. E-mail me at neighborhoodministriesnwoh@gmail.com and use heading “Advent booklet”.
Archive for the ‘holidays’ Category
Rosh Hosanna-A
Rosh Hosanna signals the beginning of the celebration of the Fall harvest which is the final harvest of the year. After the first day when good people are rewarded. The rest have ten days to repent. This parallels Revelation where the trumpet sounds, Jesus returns and collects His chosen people, and then begins the tribulation where the rest will have one final chance to repent before the close of the final harvest of the elect. This celebration has not been fulfilled but whenever it is, it will probably occur on Rosh Hosanna. Never-the-less, we need to be ready every day because we never know when we will pass out of this world into the next and seal our fate for eternity. (For more on the holidays, see “Before Your Eyes” in “Understanding the Path We Walk” by LULU Press or “Celebrations” on Udemy)
Ash Wednesday March 5
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. Lent was a time when the early church instructed new converts in the Christian life in preparation for baptism and should be a time when believers examine their life and seek out any sin in their life that would stand between them and serving Christ. It is a good time to examine our life in light of the revelations in the Gospels by reading through the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), a chapter or portion of a chapter every day. As we read, we should consider what Christ has to say about following Him and try to apply it to our own lives. As we examine our life, it should result in changes in how we live. Faith without works is dead for our works demonstrate our faith, just as a fruit tree that doesn’t bear fruit is worthless, works without faith is in vain because the works alone will not produce faith and often are merely a means to be seen by men. James 2:14-26. Now is a good time to reexamine your life and your faith.