Tag: christmas
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Jesus The Christ (Dec. 25, 2024)
Well, by the grace of God we have arrived at yet another Christmas Day! No doubt there are many homes with debris strewn about rooms and perhaps some already broken toys. Some of you may open your gifts on Christmas Eve and afforded yourselves a morning to sleep in a bit, or have things already…
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Manger (Dec. 23, 2024)
Scripture: Luke 2:12 Manger Any chair is a throne if the king is sitting in it. It is the king that makes the throne, not the throne that makes the king. A manger was a feed box. It would not be pretty, it would not be fancy. It would not be fine wood nor fine…
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Cross (Dec. 23, 2024)
Scripture: Philippians 2:8 Cross Without the cross there can still be a manger. Without the cross there can still be Mary and Joseph, shepherds, wiseman and even a baby. Without the cross, however, there is no Christmas. Even so, we rarely talk about the cross at Christmas. This is the “mass of Christ”, but only…
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Isaiah (Dec. 22, 2024)
Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-2 Isaiah A little vengeance can feel nice and most of us are all too happy to stand up and say, “I told you so.” If you read Isaiah, he sounds a lot like the sibling who keeps saying, “you’re going to get it when Mom and Dad come home.” The problem with…
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Joseph (Dec. 21, 2024)
Scripture: Matthew 2:18-25, I Cor 13 Joseph We know very little about the man a little Jesus would have laughed at and called “Abba” (Daddy). Little is written of him, but in what we do have we find a remarkable man. We have no words of Joseph recorded in the Bible. He appears a man…
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Bethlehem (Dec. 20, 2024)
Scripture: Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:18 Bethlehem The city of David, Bethlehem, isn’t shown in our Nativity Scenes, but it is a part of the Christmas story. It paid an unimaginable price. Do parents in small towns love their children less? It’s a ridiculous question because we know the answer. Of course they don’t but, they…
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Sheep (Dec. 19, 2024)
Scripture: Ezekiel 34:11-13 Sheep Sheep are dumb. At least that’s what I am told by people who work with them. I don’t know what measure one judges their intelligence by, but I suspect it has to do with their ability to make decisions for their own safety or benefit. Word is, sheep aren’t good at…
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Angelic Hosts (Dec. 18, 2024)
Scripture: Luke 2:8-14 Angelic Hosts At first it appears the angelic hosts who appeared to the shepherd are sort of an exclamation point to the announcement of Christ’s birth. It can look like the final act of a play when the whole chorus joins to bring it all to a rousing finish. [cue the angels…
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Shepherds (Dec. 17th, 2024)
Scripture: Luke 2:8, 15-20 Shepherds Sheep and pastures and kindly, simple shepherds standing vigil over the flock makes a wonderful image in our mind. As television and advertising repeatedly demonstrate, however, image is not everything. The reality of shepherds is that they were not a kindly, clean and gentle lot. They were looked down upon…
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Innkeeper (Dec. 16, 2024)
Scripture: Luke 2:7 Innkeeper Have you ever seen a Nativity scene with an innkeeper? I know the company Fontanini makes one for their Nativity, he even has a name; Thaddeus. Hospitality is a big business. Hotels in bigger cities are expensive, but motels and hotels in smaller communities are not inexpensive either. For good reason,…
Wilmot First Presbyterian Church 