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Posts Tagged ‘holidays’

Fourth Sunday of Epiphany-Feb 1

30 Jan

 

   – Sharing Christ Most Christians do not talk about church or the Gospel outside of church for fear of offending someone, so most people don’t know whether their neighbors attend church or not. While many Christians assume their neighbors attend a church somewhere, the fact is that most probably do not. If your neighbors attend church, their church may not provide fellowship and support and they may welcome friendship with other Christians, or their church may be too far away for them to participate in many church activities. If they do not attend church, they may be seeking a church but not know anyone who belongs to one providing an opportunity to invite them. Many of their neighbors have not had any contact with a church and do not have any reason to seek one. Those without Christ often live day to day, their only hope is to survive until tomorrow. They will not know that Christ can made a difference in their life until they see that it has made a difference in your life. As you visit your neighbors, you can witness to them about the benefits of attending church and may even get a chance to tell them about Christ.                                                                      

 

 

Third Sunday of Epiphany-Jan 25

22 Jan

Luke 10:29-37 Get To Know Your Neighbors-One of the greatest problems to spreading the Gospel in America is the lack of contact between Christians and non-Christians. Even in settled neighborhoods where people own their homes, there is often little contact beyond polite waves over the fence and unfortunately, Christians are caught up in it as well. The best way to start is have members visit their neighbors to get to know them. Visiting one a week is not taxing but in five weeks will enable them to get to know the five families around them. We need to make deliberate efforts to spend time with our neighbors and get to know them. Visit them and take them cookies or a cake or invite them over for a backyard Bar B Q to allow time to get to know them. Do they go to church, if so where? Do they have family nearby to help in times of need? Are there needs the church family can help with? We will not know unless we get to know them. Others may have needs and not know who to turn to. Establishing contact enables you to help them find solutions to their needs. Many may not have needs when you visit, but as you maintain contact with the neighbors through periodic visits, the neighbors may experience situations they cannot handle and may turn to you for help. Since many families are isolated today and have no family nearby, a sickness, loss of job, or even death may require more resources than they can muster and provide an opportunity for the church to show Christ’s love. As Christ points out, our neighbors include more than just those who live around us.  They are people we interact with every day at school, at work, and as we shop. We often see them but rarely take the time to get to know them.

 

 

 

Second Sunday of Epiphany-Jan 18

15 Jan

Modeling Christ  When we read the Gospels, we often see the teachings and miss what Jesus does. If we read them closely, we will notice that He met needs as He went along. He healed the blind man, the crippled man, and the leper. He also fed the people. He did it primarily because He cared about them, but He also did it because He knew those needs distracted those people from hearing what He had to say. Until He broke down the barrier, they could not concentrate on what He was saying. By meeting the need, He not only broke down the barrier, He also built a bridge to that person. Those people passed many people as they traveled but those people were only nameless faces, soon forgotten. Jesus was someone they would not soon forget. He wasn’t a nameless face, He was the one that healed them or fed them. He was the one who cared when no one else did. We have become accustomed to the government providing all those services, but we forget that Christians met those needs first and only later did the government become involved. Now we have all but given up our ministry to the government and people worship the government instead of God. The prevailing feeling among many Christians today, as well as non-Christians is “The government is my shepherd, I shall not want, It maketh me lie down in a nice house, and It provideth me with good food.”  Christ modeled the way we should live. Unfortunately, all we like sheep have gone astray.

 

 

First Sunday of Epiphany-Jan 11

10 Jan

Reveal the Reason- When my wife and I were young, we would go out before Christmas to see the light displays. They depicted all kinds of things from Manger scenes to Santa Claus scenes and many others. Today, there are far fewer displays, and most are just lights. They are nice to look at but not nearly as interesting. Epiphany reminds us that God cares for those who don’t know Him as well as those that do. Christmas is an excellent time to put up a display of the manger scene. Liberals have gotten them banned from a lot of public places, so it is up to churches and individual Christians to remind people why we celebrate Christmas. Children are curious. They may ask you, why do you have a display of people in the front yard? It gives you the opportunity to tell the Christmas story of how God sent Jesus to help us. Start planning now to be a witness for Christ next Christmas. Buy a commercial one or build your own. Christmas cards also give an opportunity to remind people why we celebrate. Now is a good time to get them because stores are getting rid of their Christmas stock at sale prices

 

 

Meaning of Epiphany-Jan 6-video

06 Jan

 

Second Sunday of Christmastide-Jan 4

04 Jan

Those who feel forgotten.  (1/2/2021) 1/1/2022 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.

 

 

New years Day intro-video

04 Jan

 

First Sunday of Christmastide-Dec 28

27 Dec

Many people are glad that the mad scramble to get ready for Christmas is over. Many were so busy they forgot what Christmas is all about. Most people don’t realize that Christmas isn’t over, it actual runs for twelve days from Dec 25th to Jan 5th (few people think about the words in the song-“Twelve days of Christmas”). This time is called Christmastide. Now that the commercial Christmas is over, we can relax and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas occurs on the shortest day of the year to remind us that when things were darkest and it seemed there was no hope, God came down to us in the form of a baby and dwelt among us. God revealed Himself to His people and He is with us. His presence changed the world forever. He isn’t someone up there in heaven, who is unreachable. He cared enough to come to us in our time of greatest need and is still here when we need Him. However, He didn’t just come to share a meal or something, He came to show us a new way to live. Our ways are selfish and filled with conflict but He came to show us a way to live in peace with one another and help one another. As we start the new year, let us commit ourselves to learning more about how He wants us to live and seek to grow in faith and seek to walk in the way He set before us.

 

 

Christmas Day Dec 25

27 Dec

The True Meaning-The color for Christmas is White symbolizing purity and light reminding us of Christ’s coming.-Many people work frantically to get things ready for Christmas Day and then suddenly it is over and past. Often the true meaning of Christmas is buried under the hurried rush to buy gifts. It is a time when we give gifts but we should remember that almost 2000 years ago, God gave us the best gift of all. He sent His Son to die on the Cross and opened the way to fellowship with God and enabled us to find everlasting peace through that fellowship. Christmas Day should be a time to resolve to work this coming year to draw closer to God and work to bring peace to that area that we touch in our daily lives. When you open your gifts this Christmas, open the Bible and reread the story of the Nativity and reflect on the greatest gift of all.

 

 

Introduction to Christmastide

25 Dec