SONGS FROM WORSHIP

• The First Noel
• O Come, O Come Emmanuel
• O Little Town Of Bethlehem
• Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
• My Soul Manifies
• Away In a Manger
• Silent Night
• Hark The Herald Angels Sing
• Hope Was Born This Night

Dear Ones in Jesus,
 
 In the Gospels of Luke and Matthew we have the historic accounts of the announcements of the angel to Mary and Joseph, the birth of Jesus, and the visits of the shepherds and the wise men.  In the Gospel of John we have a different account of the birth of Jesus.  Instead of giving the story of the birth John sets about giving us the meaning of the coming of Jesus into the world.  He does this in a rather striking way.  In John 1:14 we have what E. Stanley Jones calls the most important verse in all the Bible: "The Word became flesh and dwelled among us."  The first four words of this sentence are what I want to write about today, just 5 days before Christmas.
 
 The Word became flesh!  Both Jews and Greeks had lofty meanings for the Word, or Logos.  It was "The Word" that created everything.  In fact John says in the beginning of the chapter that, "In the beginning was the Word.  The Word was with God and the Word was God.  Without Him was not anything made that was made."  The Word created everything.  Both Jews and Greeks believed that!
 
 But, that is only the beginning.  It was also the Word that sustained everything.  Not only did the Word create everything, it is the Word that sustained creation.  In addition it is the Word that gives order to all of creation.  The laws of nature such as gravity are the result of the Word.  Rivers flow downstream, not upstream, and one time one way and then another.  Stars and planets are in their orbits.  The Word gives order to creation.  It is also the Word that gives meaning and purpose to life.  Anything that is meaningful comes from the Word.  All knowledge and wisdom come from the Word.  All goodness and morality come from the Word.
 
 Then John says, the Word "became".  One thing becomes another.  We see it in nature.  A tadpole becomes a frog.  An egg becomes a chicken.  The Word...God...became something else.
 
 The Word became flesh.  That is incredible.  It blows the human mind.  The WORD, which John says, was God....became human flesh.  FLESH.....tender, fragile, breakable, vulnerable flesh that would carry wounds and scars.  Tenderness, fragility, and vulnerability are matters of the spirit as well as of flesh.  To be wounded in spirit is as bad or sometimes worse than being wounded in one's body.
 
 Isaiah writes about this Word that became flesh....this Jesus who was born of Mary.  He says:  "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrow and familiar with suffering.......He was pierced for our transgressions.  He was crushed for our iniquities.  The punishment that brought us peace was upon him.  And, by his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:3,5b)

 
 The story is told of a pastor who lived next to a home for emotionally disturbed children, a home operated by the church.  There was a crisis on Christmas Eve and the house parent called the pastor to come quickly.  He followed her up the stairs and found that Tommy had crawled under the bed and refused to come out.  The woman pointed to one of the six cots in the room .  Not a hair or a toe showed beneath it, so the pastor addressed himself to the animals on the bedspread.  He talked about the brightly lighted Christmas tree downstairs and a gift that was waiting for Tommy.  There was no answer.
 
 Fretting about all the time this was taking on Christmas Eve, the pastor dropped to his knees and lifted the spread.  Two enormous blue eyes met his.  Tommy was eight, but he looked like a five-year old.  It would have been easy to just pull him out.  But it wasn't pulling that Tommy needed---it was trust and a sense of deciding things on his own initiative.  So, crouched there on all fours, pastor launched into a list of all the good food being prepared for dinner.  He told Tommy about all his friends who would be there.
 
 Silence.  There was no indication that he either heard or cared about Christmas.  At last, because he could think of no other way to make contact, pastor got down on his stomach and wiggled under the bed beside Tommy.  For a long time he lay there with his cheek pressed against the floor.  At first he talked about the decorations downstairs, the food, and the gift under the tree.  Running out of things to say he just lay there beside Tommy.  As he waited, and waited, a small chilled hand crept inside his.  After a bit he said, "You know, Tommy, it's really tight under here.  Why don't we crawl out where we can stand up?"
 
 And so they did, slowly, and in no hurry.  They stood up, hugged each other, and went off to dinner.
 
 The reality of the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us is that in our lost and frightened state God has crawled under the bed and reached out His hand to us!   
 
 May the WORD that became flesh bless you abundantly!!
 
 Love in HIM,
 
 Pastor Clio  

One Minute Meditation  
 For the Week of Christmas  

"Do not be afraid to take her home as your wife," the angel told Joseph. What did Joseph think when he heard those words? He probably was unsure what his life would be like; most people who get married don't have any real concept of what lies ahead. But not only is Joseph getting married, he is becoming a father, too. And the birth of a child is the start of a new life-a new life for the parents, that is.

Everything changes. The baby demands full-time attention. He needs to be fed and cared for. He must be changed, burped, and rocked to sleep; held when he cries-even when the child is the son of God. For us, the baby being born is the climax of the Christmas story.

But for Mary and Joseph it was just the beginning. They were now a family. There had been angels and prophecies, and the shepherds and wise men were yet to come. But now it was time for Mary and Joseph to forge the life that they would share together. It was time to settle into a routine.

Often the Christian life is like that. We invite Jesus into our heart and we are reborn. It feels like the climax of the story-and in one sense it is-but in another sense it is just the beginning. Ahead of us lies a long journey of following Christ, faithfully putting one foot in front of the other. There may be times of angels and prophecies, shepherds and wise men in our life as well.

But the test of our faith comes in the "routine." I can do almost anything for a short period. But I prove myself faithful in the day-in and day-out business of living. So, each day I must surrender to God and allow him to accomplish his will in me. And when I am successful at doing that I find that though I expect God in the big events, he is often most present in the small details of life.

God with me lying down,
God with me rising up,
God with me in each ray of light,
Nor I a ray of joy without Him,
Nor one ray without Him.

Christ with me sleeping,
Christ with me waking,
Christ with me watching,
Every day and night,
Every day and night.

God with me protecting,
The Lord with me directing,
The Spirit with me strengthening,
 Forever and for evermore,
Ever and evermore, Amen. 

-Carmina Gadelica,an anthology of ancient Celtic Prayers

Free: Oak entertainment center - the kind with glass door cabinets for DVD player - in excellent condition. Just come and get it. 

Needed: Tree cut down and removal.  Large pine tree beside our house needs to be cut down and removed.  Estimates welcome.

Both:  Contact Keith/Jan Eldridge   253-859-5469 

For sale: We have a 20 something year-old Kimball console piano in excellent condition that we would like to sell.  We are the original owners and Katie and David both learned to play on this instrument.  We use to have it tuned regularly but since it hasn't seen much use in the last few years it has been a while since it has been tuned.  We would like to get $600 but would consider offers.  I thought I would post it here before trying Craigslist.  Contact Scott or Betty Schleiffers.  (253) 838-6574 or email psa51 10@yahoo.com .

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