pastor john's Weblog

Tomorrow is Christmas...yea...there will be presents under the tree, food in the kitchen and, hopefully, goodwill for all! But Rich Warren reminded me that some people will be leaving a gift untouched under the tree. That, of course, is the gift of Jesus himself to us...for many that one true gift will not be unwrapped and it is a shame, for Jesus gives us forgiveness, a purpose for our lives, and an everlasting home. I hope everyone who gathers around a tree Christmas morning will not leave that priceless gift unwrapped.

It's a lot of work to prepare, to get ready for something significant in your life. Preparation requires thought as well as action. It requires a plan as well as execution. It means that you have to take the time to get things together.

Christmas is one of those times, isn't it...where you have to think through what you are going to do, plan how you are going to handle decorations and gift buying and dinners and parties and, well, many, many things. And just think, Thanksgiving and all of the preparation it took is only just a few days ago...but here we go again!

The season of the church year right now is called Advent, and it is about preparation too...we prepare our hearts and minds to look again deeply into the "Light" that was born into the world. Somehow, that easily gets lost this time of year.

I heard a Christian rap song today about a guy who buys something at a store and the clerk says, "happy holidays." Now, this sets off this guy and he goes into a long rant about how his holiday is what the holiday is all about and that is Jesus. I thought it was pretty clever, and, you know, he is right. I'm going to have to try and find that song!

So, let don't just get stuck in just preparing for what will pass, but for what is eternal as well.

It's a lot of work to prepare, to get ready for something significant in your life. Preparation requires thought as well as action. It requires a plan as well as execution. It means that you have to take the time to get things together.

Christmas is one of those times, isn't it...where you have to think through what you are going to do, plan how you are going to handle decorations and gift buying and dinners and parties and, well, many, many things. And just think, Thanksgiving and all of the preparation it took is only just a few days ago...but here we go again!

The season of the church year right now is called Advent, and it is about preparation too...we prepare our hearts and minds to look again deeply into the "Light" that was born into the world. Somehow, that easily gets lost this time of year.

I heard a Christian rap song today about a guy who buys something at a store and the clerk says, "happy holidays." Now, this sets off this guy and he goes into a long rant about how his holiday is what the holiday is all about and that is Jesus. I thought it was pretty clever, and, you know, he is right. I'm going to have to try and find that song!

So, let don't just get stuck in just preparing for what will pass, but for what is eternal as well.