Pastor Mike’s Garage December 15th, 2022
December 15, 2022
Chestnuts roasting on a open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose,
yuletide carols being sung by a choir, and folks dressed up like Eskimos!
You think its cold now? Wait until next week! By the sound of the weather
forecast Jack Frost will definitely be making a appearance in time for
Christmas this year! Don’t put away your snow shovels just yet.
Christmas has always been a favourite time of year for me. I love getting
together with friends and relatives and have many fond memories as a child
of a house full on Christmas Eve. I remember my uncles teasing us that we
better get to bed or Santa will fly right over our house. In the church I
grew up in we also always had a Christmas Eve service. I can remember how
surreal the drive was going to Whitewood on that night, it had already been
dark for hours, the highways almost deserted, no announcers on the radio,
just Christmas carols playing. I can remember pulling into the church
parking lot, every light on in the church, a parking lot full of cars, and
the warmth and family atmosphere inside. My favourite part though was
always at the end of the service we each would hold a lit candle, parents
wide eyed and nervous as their kids each held one as well, all the lights
being shut off in the church and we would sing a few carols ending with
Silent Night.
But I realize that for some Christmas is a hard time of year. Whether its
the loss of a loved one, or unfulfilled dreams, the quietness of that night
can compound the lonely feelings. No matter which end of the pendulum you
view the holiday season, could I ask you to make our Christmas Eve service
here at the church at 7pm a priority? We are a family, and its good for
family to get together! But more important, this is a time when we
celebrate our Saviours coming as a child to redeem His people! He deserves
our adoration communally!
We will not be having a Sunday morning service here at the church this year
on Christmas Day. As the question in conversation always comes up, “What
you doing for Christmas?” I’ve noticed that many of us are gathering with
families either before the 25th or after leaving many alone on that day.
Could I suggest that on that morning you make it a priority to find some
others who are also not gathering with family or friends and have your own
gathering? Read the Christmas story, sing a carol, eat some pancakes! Just
be together! If you are alone and want a place to go, we are around!
Please, just don’t spend Christmas morning alone on your couch watching TV!
Don’t allow someone else to either!
Pastor Mike