Celebrate Christmas
I remember, as a child, getting so excited when the Christmas specials came on television. I also loved watching the Christmas musicals. It seemed to get me in the spirit! And even now, the best is when we start singing the Christmas carols at church! While it always brought excitement to me, I now think it brings hope, which is exciting. And it still brings an exciting hope to me!
In my Advent small group, last year, we studied the lyrics to “Joy To The World”. “Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King Let every heart prepare Him room…” We shared how we need to prepare more room for God in our life. We also agreed that in a year as tough as 2020, it is nice to remember, “He rules the world with truth and grace...” This is something we are going to hold onto. While we are filled with joy that Jesus was born, we had never thought about Advent as a time to anticipate His second coming. We almost did not do the study because “it is such a busy time of year!” Exactly, that is why we needed to do it now! Preparing Him room! We shared that we couldn’t wait til we sang, “Joy To The World” because we would never sing it the same again. 1 Peter 1: 3-4, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you…”
Again, this year, people are looking for hope. What is hope? Hope is a feeling of expectation. Hope is also defined as a feeling of trust. I don’t think I have ever thought of hope in that way. When we have hope in God, we have a feeling of trust which gives us peace. Peace that only God can give. Philippians 4: 7, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Recently we sang, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” which was what I needed. The words brought comfort as we sang, “that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel.”
We celebrated with our Chancel Choir‘s Christmas Cantata that we keep hearing was the best ever! Then we celebrated with our Polar Express evening. Many good and meaningful times, here at PVUMC! If you were not in the spirit before you were after this! As Pastor Tim said, it is nothing short of a miracle that among a pandemic we were able to have a Christmas musical. Thanks for a wonderful celebration bringing hope to all!
It is so joyous to be able to come to PVUMC and celebrate Christmas! We have celebrated Jesus! If you are looking for hope this season, celebrate with us through praise and worship! You cannot be in the midst of worship and praise and not have hope! While the musicals are over and December 25 has passed, we can still celebrate Jesus!