MERRY CHRISTMAS!

​Let me begin by wishing everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS!  

I plan to keep this edition of TAB brief, as I want to encourage all of us push the pause button on the hustle and bustle that comes with Christmas and spend a few moments reflecting on the day Jesus came to us.....in the flesh.

As you reflect on what the arrival of our Savior means to you personally, take a moment and read this excerpt from the book, God Came Near, by Max Lucado.....

"The noise and the bustle began earlier than usual in the village.  As night gave way to dawn, people were already on the streets.  Vendors were positioning themselves on the corners of the most heavily traveled avenues.  Store owners were unlocking the doors to their shops.  Children were awakened by the excited barking of the street dogs and the complaints of donkeys pulling carts. 

The owner of the inn had awakened earlier than most in the town.  After all, the inn was full, all the beds taken.  Every available mat or blanket had been put to use.  Soon all the customers would be stirring and there would be a lot of work to do.

One's imagination is kindled thinking about the conversation of the innkeeper and his family at the breakfast table.  Did anyone mention the arrival of the young couple the night before?  Did anyone comment on the pregnancy of the girl on the donkey?  Perhaps.  Perhaps someone raised the subject.  But, at best, it was raised, not discussed.  There was nothing novel about them.  They were, possibly, one of several families turned away that night.

Besides who had time to talk about them when there was so much excitement in the air?  Augustus did the economy of Bethlehem a favor when he decreed that a census should be taken.  Who could remember when such commerce had hit the village?  

No, it was doubtful that anyone mentioned the couple's arrival or wondered about the condition of the girl.  They were too busy.  There was too much to do to imagine that the impossible had occurred.

God had entered the world as a baby.

Those who missed His Majesty's arrival that night missed it not because of evil acts or malice; no, they missed it because they simply weren't looking.

Little has changed in the last two thousand years, has it?"

Plan to join us this Sunday at 9:15am, as we gather together to celebrate the birth of Immanuel.....God with us!

If you can't make our Sunday gathering, please consider joining us for our Christmas Eve service, Monday, at 4:00pm.  This brief service will include carols, a brief message from God's Word and a time to pause, light a candle and sing, Silent Night!

See you Sunday.

Pastor Doug