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Joy to the World by Brad Bailey Luke 2:8-20 This morning, before we finish our gathering together and head into this final week before Christmas, we will have an opportunity to declare in song that marvelous refrain…“Joy to the World, the Lord has come more… 
Waiting for Christmas by Brian Bill Luke 2:22-38 Kids have a hard time waiting for Christmas. Here are some actual letters that were written to Santa: Dear Santa Claus, When you come to my house there will be cookies for you. But if more…
Love Divine by Melvin Newland Luke 2:8-14 I wonder what Christmas means to a mother who has lost her husband, who must take care of 3 or 4 children, working every day, never quite getting everything done, never making ends meet? What does Christmas mean to her? more…
Don’t Miss the Baby by David Elvery Luke 2:1-7 Two men went to the train station with a friend. The train was late so they sat down for a cup of coffee. They talked and drank and forgot about the train. Suddenly they heard the last announcement more…
 Losing
Jesusby Kenneth Trent Luke 2:45-46 “So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking more…
Name That Christmas Carol1. Bleached Yule 2. Castaneous-colored Seed Vesicated in a Conflagration 3. Singular Yearning for the Twin Anterior Incisors 4. Righteous Darkness 5. Arrival Time 2400 hrs - Weather Cloudless 6. Loyal Followers Advance 7. Far Off in a Feeder 8. Array the Corridor 9. Bantam Male Percussionist 10. Monarchial Triad 11. Nocturnal Noiselessness 12. Jehovah Deactivate Blithe Chevaliers 13. Red Man En Route to Borough 14. Frozen Precipitation Commence 15. Proceed and Enlighten on the Pinnacle 16. The Quadruped with the Vermillion Probiscis 17. Query Regarding Identity of Descendant 18. Delight for this Planet 19. Give Attention to the Melodious Celestial Beings 20. The Dozen Festive 24 Hour Intervals Answers: 1. White Christmas 2. Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire 3. All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth 4. O Holy Night 5. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear 6. O Come, All Ye Faithful 7. Away in a Manger 8. Deck the Hall 9. Little Drummer Boy 10. We Three Kings 11. Silent Night 12. God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen 13. Santa Claus is Coming to Town 14. Let it Snow 15. Go, Tell It on the Mountain 16. Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer 17. What Child is This? 18. Joy to the World 19. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing 20. The Twelve Days of Christmas Contributed by: Wade Hughes
Some Atheists Enjoy ChristmasChristmas isn’t just for Christians anymore. Nearly half of adult Americans report they personally know someone who doesn’t believe in God but still will celebrate the yuletide this year, according to a survey of 1,001 people conducted by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University. Significantly more people will set up a Christmas tree than will attend a worship service on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. And Americans overwhelmingly believe the holiday has become less focused on the birth of Jesus than it used to be. "Historically, it has been a struggle for America to find meaningful holidays that include a sufficiently broad number of people. But Christmas seems to have many modes of interpretation upon which we can set our own personal needs," said University of Texas historian Penne Restad, author of the scholarly book "Christmas in America: A History." "Christmas has become as much a celebration of community as it has a celebration of religion," she said. The survey asked if "you, personally, know anyone who does not believe in God but still celebrates Christmas?" Forty-five percent answered yes, 51 percent said no and 4 percent were undecided. "Sure I know people like that. I’m one of them," said New Yorker Ron Barrier, a leader of American Atheists, a 2,500-member national organization defending the rights and interests of atheists. "As a free thinker, I believe the holidays are a great tradition regardless of the underlying basis for them." TOO SOURCE: "Some atheists enjoy Christmas, too" by Thomas Hargrove and Guido H. Stempel III, Scripps Howard News Service. December 10, 2002 http://www.insidevc.com/vcs/national/article/0,1375,VCS_123_1599466,00.html Contributed by: SermonCentralPRO
Christmas Without ChristI’ve been reading about how Japan celebrates Christmas, which has become a major event over there. They put up decorations, exchange presents, send cards, sing yuletide songs, decorate trees, serve special seasonal treats (especially strawberry-decorated cakes), and make a big fuss over St Nick, Rudolph and Frosty. Their Santa is sometimes dressed like a Samurai (I wonder if he carries a sword). It is very important for single adults to have a date for a romantic dinner on Christmas Eve. And for reasons I couldn’t determine, a big Christmas tradition is attending a concert of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. The one thing the Japanese do not do at Christmas is honor Christ. That’s because Japan is nearly 99% Shinto and Buddhist. A missionary to Japan was asked if Christmas was Santa’s birthday. Only ½ of 1% of Japan’s population is Christian. So where do you think they got this commercial version of Christmas? From us. They are attracted to the glitter and romance of the American version of Christmas, and have adopted nearly everything except the spiritual significance of the season. Contributed by: Robert Leroe
W Alone
On ChristmasGeorge Mason’s life was centered in his business. He lived alone and refused all invitations to socialize. His brother’s family had urged him to visit but the children always made too much noise. Besides, he didn’t want to buy presents for his nephews and nieces. Instead he bought some good records for himself and planned to listen to them and enjoy himself at home alone. On Christmas eve after his employees left, George Mason went into the office vault to get a little extra cash. Soundlessly on newly oiled hinges, the great door swung shut behind him. Sudden darkness and the final click of the automatic lock startled him and he panicked. Desperately he pounded on the door, but before long he realized that no one would hear him. Everyone had gone home and he was in the office alone. Even the cleaning woman had gone. He recalled hearing of people suffocating in vaults. He was frightened out of his wits. Maybe he could make it through the night if he was quiet and breathed slowly. In the morning the employees would arrive, open the vault and he would be fine. The he remembered that tomorrow was Christmas. The office was closed. Everyone would be at their homes. No work, no people, no luck! Rats! His heart pounded with fear and he wondered if he could get enough air to last two days. He calmed himself and tried to think. It was a new vault. It seems like the salesman said it has a safety feature of an air hole. He began feeling around in the darkness. All around and then up and down before he finally located a screened hole at the top. Too small for a thief but large enough for air. He sat on the cold floor of the vault and began his vigil of waiting for Christmas. Christmas Eve passed, Christmas Day passed. He had wanted to be alone for Christmas but not this way. He was extremely uncomfortable, hungry and thirsty. He needed to use the toilet. The air was getting damp and cold. It was awful. The darkness was so intense it was almost brushing his face. The day after Christmas the chief cashier arrived and disengaged the automatic lock of the vault but did not open the door. Without anyone seeing him George Mason staggered out of the safe and made his way to the water cooler. He grabbed his coat and hailed a taxi and went home to his lonely residence. Later in the day he returned to the office. No one had missed him. As he pondered his experience he decided to make a sign and place it beside the safe door. It was for all to read but it was a reminder to him. The words were: "To love people, to be needed somewhere, that is the purpose of life. That is the secret of happiness." Although George never married he had learned a valuable lesson about family and the need for one another. SOURCE: from "The Man Who Missed Christmas" by J. Edgar Park. Contributed by: Bernard Dawson
The Light of the Christmas StarIn New York’s Hayden Planetarium a special Christmas holiday show was enhanced by an added feature. A giant lollipop tree was projected onto the planetarium dome, surrounded by a horizon filled with brilliantly colored toys which came to life and cavorted to the tune of "Jingle Bells." At the climax a huge figure of Santa Claus faded out in a snow storm, and the star of Bethlehem broke through into a sky that produced exactly the Palestine sky on the night of the nativity. The designer of this show may not realize that he dramatically staged the supreme Christmas message our world needs to understand: The recovery of the lost meaning of Christmas. This is not said in any criticism of Santa Claus; the effect must have delighted the hearts of all the children who saw it, without doing violence to their love of Bethlehem. But for adults it is a tragic loss to substitute "Jingle Bells" for "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing," and a lollipop tree for the manger of Bethlehem. The instinct is right to fade out these things in the light of the Christmas star. It is about God’s incarnation that the angels sing--God with us. SOURCE: Robert E. Luccock in James W. Cox, The Minister’s Manual: 1994, San Fransico: Harper Collins, 1993, p. 218. http://www.sermons.org/christmas5.html Contributed by: SermonCentralPRO 
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