Oh... Come ... All Ye Faithful....

http://youtu.be/Vnt7euRF5Pg

the Incarnation... the birth of Christ

a thought... "The sacred and holy moments of life are somehow the most raw, the most human moments, aren’t they?"

A Psalm

Psalm 116

1 I love the LORD, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The cords of death entangled me,
the anguish of the grave came over me;
I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the LORD:
“LORD, save me!”

5 The LORD is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
6 The LORD protects the unwary;
when I was brought low, he saved me.

7 Return to your rest, my soul,
for the LORD has been good to you.

8 For you, LORD, have delivered me from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
9 that I may walk before the LORD
in the land of the living.

10 I trusted in the LORD when I said,
“I am greatly afflicted”;
11 in my alarm I said,
“Everyone is a liar.”

12 What shall I return to the LORD
for all his goodness to me?

13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people.

15 Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of his faithful servants.
16 Truly I am your servant, LORD;
I serve you just as my mother did;
you have freed me from my chains.

17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you
and call on the name of the LORD.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the LORD—
in your midst, Jerusalem.

Praise the LORD.[a]

Mary

In Mary we see all the beauty of Advent concentrated. She is the one in whom the waiting of Israel is most fully and most purely manifested; she is the last of the remnant of Israel for whom God shows his mercy and fulfills his promises; she is the faithful one who believed that the promise made to her by the Lord would be fulfilled; she is the lowly handmaid, the obedient servant, the quiet contemplative. She indeed is the most prepared to receive the Lord.
The Abbot of Genesee monastery said that we should desire not only the first coming of Christ in his lowly human gentleness but also his second coming as the judge of our lives. I sensed that the desire of Christ's judgement is a real aspect of holiness and realized how little that desire was mine.
Now I see better how part of Christian maturation is the slow but persistent deepening of fear to the point where it becomes desire. The fear of God is not in contrast with his mercy. Therefore, words such as fear and desire, justice and mercy have to be relearned and reunderstood when we use them in our intimate relationship wihh the Lord. - Henri Nouwen

Children's Christmas Presentation

10 Things To Remember When Your Child Is Disobedient

Here are 10 Things I had to remind myself today when the job of correcting my children felt especially difficult…

1. You disobey the Lord…and He is the perfect Father.

2. His kindness leads us to repentance.

3. God disciplines those He loves.

4. Your child’s disobedience does not measure your value any more than his obedience showcases your achievement.

5. Your child’s disobedience teaches you dependence on God.

6. And sometimes it’s more than dependence He’s after, it’s complete desperation for Him.

7. Your child is clearly a sinner, and needs to hear the truth of the Gospel, and see it lived out through you.

8. Times of correction serve to remind, or establish within your child, his own sense of need for a Savior.

9. It’s not good behavior you really desire…you want his heart.

10. Your child is a person, not a project.

Word to Know

Prophecy: A foretelling; prediction; a declaration of something to come. As God only knows future events with certainty, no being but God or some person informed by him, can utter a real prophecy. The prophecies recorded in Scripture, when fulfilled, afford most convincing evidence of the divine original of the Scriptures, as those who uttered the prophecies could not have foreknown the events predicted without supernatural instruction. 2 Pet.1 (From Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

Snowman Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
• 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2-1/2 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
• Decorator frosting in tubes
• Candy sprinkles and small candies

Preparation

Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two cookie sheets.

In large bowl, beat butter and sugars with electric mixer until creamy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. In separate bowl, combine flour and baking soda; mix well. Add to butter mixture; mix well. Stir in oats; mix well. Divide dough into 4 equal portions.

Using hands, pat each portion of dough into a large 1/4-inch thick snowman on cookie sheet.

Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheets; carefully remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Decorate as desired with frosting and candy. Store tightly covered.

A Neat Idea for Kids of Any Age (Even Adults :) )

http://www.billybear4kids.com/holidays/PromiseCards/main-page.html

Some Fun Games to Play Online

http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 (10 ounce) jar maraschino cherries
• 1 (6 ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Preparation:

Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl, set aside.

In another bowl, beat butter and sugar on low speed until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, beat until well blended.

Gradually add in the flour mixture and blend well until smooth.

Shape into 1 inch balls by rolling a small amount of dough between the palms of your hands. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Using thumb, press down center of ball making an indentation.

Drain cherries, reserving the juice. Place a cherry in the center of each cookie.

For frosting: In a small saucepan, combine chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. Heat over low heat until chocolate is melted. Add 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon reserved cherry juice and stir.

Spoon about 1 teaspoon frosting over each cherry, spreading to cover cherry. If frosting gets too thick, add a little more cherry juice.

Bake in oven at 350° for 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Makes 48 cookies.

What if it happened today?

Here are some fun videos to answer that question:

http://youtu.be/8gFYzErcweg

http://youtu.be/LbBgyt9D2ow

Friday

“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” (Matthew 1.23 NRSV)

---

A young family was going home for Christmas. The car was all packed. The mail and the newspaper delivery had been stopped. A neighbor would keep an eye on the house and feed the dog. All the gifts for parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles were somehow fitted into the trunk of the car. They had plenty of anti freeze in the radiator. Their suitcases and hanging clothes were in place. They were finally ready to go. The husband started out of the driveway, when all of a sudden the wife gasped, "Honey, we've forgotten the baby." It was true. In all the excitement and the grabbing up of luggage and Christmas gifts, they had forgotten their most precious cargo their baby. We can forget the baby, too, if we are not careful. That's easy to do this time of year.

We see visual reminders, "Don't leave Christ out of Christmas." And we try to keep that from happening. He IS the reason for the season. Lord Jesus, you are my reason to celebrate this season of love and hope. Amen.

Thursday

The Advent of Our God

The advent of our God
Our prayers must now employ,
And we must meet Him on His road
With hymns of holy joy.

The everlasting Son
Incarnate deigns to be;
Himself a servant's form puts on
To set His people free.

Daughter of Zion, rise
To meet thy lowly King,
Nor let thy faithless heart despise
The peace He comes to bring.

As Judge, on clouds of light,
He soon will come again,
And all His scattered saints unite
With Him in Heaven to reign.

Before the dawning day
Let sin's dark deeds be gone;
The old man all be put away,
The new man all put on.

All glory to the Son
Who comes to set us free,
With Father, Spirit, ever One,
Through all eternity.

Words: Charles Coffin; Translated from Latin to English by John Chandler

Wednesday

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-o7nu1fTi0

I am Second.

Advent

• By Peg Luksik
• 12/6/2011
• 
  

And all we have to do is follow his example.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He is not just an idea. He was, and is, a saint. A saint who reminds us that we are loved without limits. A saint who challenges us to remove the limits on how we love others. A saint who calls us to holiness as we prepare to celebrate the greatest gift mankind has ever received.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.



HARRISBURG, PA. (Catholic Online) -Years ago, a little girl named Virginia O'Hanlon wrote to the editor of the New York Sun asking if Santa Claus was real. His answer, which spoke of skeptical men in a skeptical age who only believed in what they could see, is as relevant today as it was when Frank Church wrote it.

The name and face of Santa has been plastered over advertising, billboards, movies and television. We have single Santa's looking for wives, reluctant Santa's trying to escape their destinies, drafted Santa's to replace one who is "retiring", and even bad Santa's. The stories all have happy endings, with the magic of the North Pole somehow saving the day.

None of them are real, and many of them are even distasteful. Thankfully, none of them is Santa, either. Because Saint Nicholas, like every saint, is real.

He was born in Asia Minor and was bishop of the town of Myra in the fourth century. When he died he was buried in the cathedral there. When the Saracens conquered Myra in the early eleventh century, his remains were moved to the Italian city of Bari in 1087. His tomb is visited by thousands every year, even to this day.

His bones exude a clear liquid, called the "manna of Saint Nicholas", which is extracted from the shrine every year on May 9 in a formal ceremony conducted by the Rector of the Basilica in Bari, in the presence of the delegate of the Pope, the Archbishop of Bari, an Orthodox Bishop, civil authorities, the local clergy and the faithful. This has happened every year since 1980. The manna is distributed and is considered a relic with healing properties.

Nicholas is the patron saint of children, Russia, Greece, Sicily, sailors, prisoners, bakers, and pawnbrokers. His image is second only to Mary's in religious icons of both the Eastern and Western churches.

The stories of his generosity and kindness are legendary.

Santa Claus is a translation of his name.

When our children are little, we tell them to "ask Santa" at Christmas time. They can ask for anything - without limit. All Santa wants in return is goodness.

Isn't that exactly how we are supposed to relate to God?

But God is bigger than anything that we can comprehend. Developing an effective and complete relationship with God is the work of a lifetime. A work which most of us do not finish before our time here is done. That is why He sent His Son - so we would have someone we COULD connect with.

Saint Nicholas is a person who made that connection. When people pretend to be Santa, they act with levels of generosity and charity and kindness that they do not normally exhibit. In other words, they get closer to God. In doing so, they discover happiness.

And even in the convoluted versions of Santa being pushed by today's secular media, that message of happiness through goodness continues to resonate.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He is not just an idea. He was, and is, a saint. A saint who reminds us that we are loved without limits. A saint who challenges us to remove the limits on how we love others. A saint who calls us to holiness as we prepare to celebrate the greatest gift mankind has ever received.

And all we have to do is follow his example.

-----

Peg Luksik is the Chairman of the Center for American Heritage. Learn more about the heritage of this exceptional nation at www.centerforamericanheritage.com

Advent Week 2! (Sunday)

Peace!

What is Advent?

Hopefully we can answer that question a little better after these next few weeks. It is a time when we are preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ. We are looking back at the first Advent. When people were preparing themselves for the coming Messiah. We are now in a second Advent as we are waiting and preparing for Christ to return.

O Come O Come Emmanuel (for all my country fans)

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

Refrain

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

Refrain

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Refrain

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Refrain

May the Peace of our Lord and Savior be with you!

Advent Week 1! (Saturday)

So it would help if I press the publish button instead of the save now button... please forgive me as I back track and catch us up.

A few months back my parents church did the cardboard signs testimonies. I have seen this done many times it is a great way, in fact when I went looking for the video there was 63 pages of videos of churches that have done this, and that was with my refined search! Anyway, I ended up going to their website to find it. The reason it is important to me is because my family participated in this. As I watched my dad wheel my sister onto that stage. I was thrown into a spiral of thoughts of the last few years. All that we have 'lost.' But as I watched and then watched my mom come out with her sign. I was reminded of all that we 'gained.' My sister has always made Christmas special for me and the family. As the years have gone on and we have both grown up and I have moved away she still seems to find a way to make it special. Although MS has taken much away from her and us, she still has hope and so do we.

For those of you who are interested:

http://www.southsidebiblechurch.net/BlogEntry.aspx?entry_id=265077

Advent Week 1! (Thursday/Friday)

As I sit listening to UK choir singing beautiful Christmas music I am reminded once again that no matter who you are and what walk of life you come from the world all stops at Christmas time and celebrates Jesus. My father and I have talked many times about how the world try's so hard to get away from Christianity and have done many things in effort to move farther from God. However in their attempts to push away they still in a sometimes very unconscious way draw close Him. Like in this season many focus on the presents and the decorations. It's like the first Christmas. Everyone was busy doing their own thing and then a baby, the King of Kings, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace comes and everyone pauses. Everyone looks stops what they are doing and looks upon this infant who would save us from our sins and would pave a road for us to be with Him in Heaven one day. He brought us peace in a crazy time. During this time when we are busy running from event to event let us pause and let the Prince of Peace enter into our lives and bring the same peace that the shepherds felt as they gazed upon this precious little baby boy, the Messiah.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-idI-xwdHc

An Advent Hymn

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

Refrain

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

Refrain

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Refrain

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Refrain

Day 3

November 29, 2011
No Room
by Mary Southerland

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son (John 3:16, NIV).

I make room for things that are important to me. I eat two or three meals every day and sleep several hours each night even though my “to do” list is not much shorter today than it was yesterday. I will choose to play with a grandchild over cleaning the house any day of the week. I manage to find a place for that great piece of furniture I don’t really need – but really like. After all, it was on sale. I like watches. Don’t ask me why because I simply don’t know. I only need one watch, but I own several inexpensive ones. I will have lunch with a friend instead of running errands. And there is always room for chocolate! Silly examples – right? I wonder. I wonder what the innkeeper thought as he turned away the young man and his very pregnant wife that holy night so long ago. He had no room – it was that simple. Do we?

The Christmas season is almost here! Our calendars are already full, our bank accounts are closing in on empty and our hearts and lives are crowded with things we deem important, but have we made room for Jesus?

I simply cannot imagine a world without the presence of God and yet I often live my life as if He does not exist. A crisis hits, and I try to handle it on my own. I don’t understand the trials in my life while those who could care less about God seem to prosper. Instead of reaching out to Him, I withdraw into the darkness. Financial stress fuels worry. Instead of turning to God, I rely on what I can see and understand. I settle.

When I do cry out to God, He lovingly fills each dark corner with Light. His love flows over the pain like soothing balm and once again, I experience the manger. Once again, Jesus Christ steps into the smelly, unlikely and very ordinary existence that is mine to change everything – absolutely everything!

Jesus could have come to us in many ways. The simplicity of His birth is extraordinary and sometimes hard to grasp. Jesus could have been born in a mansion. He was, after all, a King. Instead, He came to a dirty smelly manger and His birth was announced by common shepherds instead of Kings -- the greatest of all miracles in the midst of total simplicity. Today, Jesus still wants to meet us in the midst of our simple daily lives. It seems too easy and too good to be true, doesn’t it?

It was Christmas Eve, and the family was preparing to attend the special service of their local church. Everyone was going except Dad, who was an honest man, a man who could not seem to wrap his logical mind around the story of God come to earth as a baby in a manger. He didn’t want to be a hypocrite, pretending to worship a Savior he wasn’t sure even existed, so he stayed home, built a fire to dispel the bitter cold of that winter night and began to read the paper, waiting for his family’s return. Hearing a knock at the window, he turned to see a tiny bird trying to reach the warmth of the fire. The man opened the window, but the bird refused to come in. Grabbing his coat, the man went out to the barn and opened the barn doors wide – but still, the bird refused to come in. The man thought, “If only I could be a bird, for just one minute, I could lead the bird to safety.” At that moment, he heard the church bells ring and finally understood why Jesus came to earth as a man -- to become one of us so He could lead us to eternal safety.

The very heart of Christmas is Emanuel, God with us – with me – and withyou. Christmas is not a date on a calendar. Christmas is a way of life that celebrates the presence of God in the simple, ordinary happenings of daily life: where we go and what we do -- the smile we give the harried stranger or the patience we choose in the crowd of impatient shoppers -- the love that prompts the secret gift or the heart that constantly celebrates His birth through every sparkling light, every beautifully wrapped gift, each special meal, every card, phone call and visit. God is with us – if we choose to make room for Him.

Day 2

Prophecy about Jesus

Many men over many years prophesied Christ’s coming

· Messiah: the king that would come to deliver Israel

· Prophecy: message from God

Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel."

Christ’s birth and life were announced long before Mary was even born. In fact, prophets told many details about His birth hundreds of years before. (From 6,000 to 450 years BC) Over 300 prophecies were made, so the Israelites would expect and recognize Jesus when He came. If someone told you 300 facts about someone you never met, do you think you would recognize him?

The prophecies said that the Messiah would:

· Be born of a woman (Gen 3:15)

· Be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14)

· Be the son of God (Psalm 2:7)

· Be descended from Abraham (Gen. 22:18), Isaac (Gen. 21:12), Jacob (Num. 24:17), tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10), family of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1), house of David (Jer. 23:5)

· Be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)

· Be Presented with gifts (Psalm 72:10)

· Be threatened by Herod (Jer. 31:15)

· Be God and man (Isaiah 7:14)

· Be a Prophet (Deut. 18:18) a Priest (Psalm 110:4) a Judge (Isaiah 33:22), and a King (Psalm 2:6)

· Be preceded by a messenger (Malachi 3:1)

· Teach first in Galilee (Isaiah 9:1)

· Perform miracles (Isaiah 35:5,6)

And that's just the beginning of His life! Could any two men meet all those descriptions perfectly? No - only Jesus. Some people recognized Him when He came. The wise men that brought presents knew He was the Messiah: the shepherds that visited, Simeon and Anna at the temple in Jerusalem, His mother and father, and John’s parents. Even Herod knew He had been born and tried to kill Him. God told us He was coming because he had a plan. He was going to save man from his sins. Why? Because He loves us. John 3:16 tells us: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” So God sent His son for you and me as well as for people who were alive then.

Advent Week 1!

I am so excited for Advent, the start of a new church year and the preparing for Christmas. I love the telling of the Christmas story little bit by little bit as we get closer to that glorious day. Between the hustle and bustle of this busy season I want to share some Advent thoughts with you. So each day between now and Christmas day stop by this page to find a thought for the day.

Today is a video.

Happy New Year!!

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Events

Pictorial Directory Photos - .

Oct 27-31 (Downtown)

5th Sunday Offering

Oct 30

Time Change -

Nov 6

All Saints Concert -

Nov 6

Pictorial Directory Photos -

Nov 10-12

(Andover)

Hiking trip -

Nov 19

Giving Banquet -

Nov 20

Advent Craft Night -

Nov 27

Children's Christmas Presentation -

Dec 11

A prayer for God's children

Many have asked me for this... here is the prayer I prayed before my sermon on Sunday:

We pray for children
Who sneak Popsicles before supper,
Who erase holes in workbooks,
Who can never find their shoes.

And we pray for those
Who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
Who can’t bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers,
Who were born in places we wouldn’t be caught dead,
Who never go to the circus,
Who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for children
Who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
Who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money.

And we pray for those
Who never get dessert,
Who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
Who watch their parents watch them die,
Who don’t have any rooms to clean up,
Whose pictures aren’t on anybody’s dresser,
And whose monsters in their closets are real.

We pray for children
Who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
Who like ghost stories,
Who shove dirty clothes in their closets,
Who get visits from the tooth fairy,
Who don’t like to be kissed in front of the carpool,
Who squirm in church,
Whose tears we sometimes laugh at and whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray for those
Whose nightmares come in the daytime,
Who will eat anything,
Who have never seen a dentist
Who aren’t spoiled by anybody,
Who got to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,

We pray for children
Who want to be carried and for those who must,
For those we never give up on and for those
Who don’t get a second chance,
For those we smother and for those who will grab the hand of anyone kind enough to offer it.

God we lift up your children today and always.

Amen