What a lovely winter day to come together in the house of the Lord!  Andy Hoffecker, accompanied by Kristy Ross, and the worship team led praise and worship, and Peggy Stanley sang a beautiful arrangement of the classic Christmas carol “Silent Night.”  Since this was our last Sunday before Christmas, we enjoyed musical presentations from all the children’s groups.  First, the preschoolers, led by Charity Cole, sang “Happy Birthday” to Jesus, as well as “My God is so Big.”  Then, nursery director, Wendy Archer, led a parade of nursery workers holding all the babies in attendance today.  Last, Rebecca Brewer led the Children’s Church kids in a special Christmas song “New Kid in Town,” and Children’s Church leaders, Pat and Venita Watts, led them in an original version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas:  Kids’ Church Style.”  Before Pastor brought the morning message, everyone in attendance received a Christmas gift from the church, an ink pen with a pull out scroll with the names of all the books of the Bible.   

     Pastor Roger shared a Christmas message today entitled “What Time is Christmas?”  Around the first of December, children (and many adults) everywhere can tell without hesitation how many days are left before Christmas.  Pastor used the traditional text of Luke chapter 2 to explain that Christmas time is the time to release our fears, renew our faith, receive forgiveness, and rebuild relationships.  Because God sent his only Son, Jesus, to be the Savior of the world, we can have peace with God and with our fellow man.

     In the evening service, we were inspired to hear the burden God has placed on the heart of Reverend Bryan Briggs, who is planting a church in Virginia along with his wife, Kelly (Lawson graduate & daughter of Dallas and Vicki Brock of Lawson). Bryan’s sermon, “All I Want for Christmas,” was taken from I Corinthians chapter 13, verse 13.  He shared that three of the greatest gifts we can receive in life are mentioned in this chapter:  faith, hope, and love.