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Family Ministry Moments - January 2025

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Don’t Save It All for Christmas Day

I know Christmas is over but I’m still holding on to the Christmas spirit for as long as possible.  I figure that is the only way to stay sane during these cold months.  December is cold but at least we have Christmas to look forward to.  January and February can be miserable, so why not try to keep the spirit of Christmas alive! During the Christmas season, I love sitting by the fire surrounded by Christmas decorations and enjoying time with family and friends.  There is nothing better.  Christmas is also the time we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  For Christians, the season should be replete with special opportunities to celebrate our Savior.  I love that our family and church have special traditions that we observe designed to help us remember the real reason for the season.

When it's all over on December 26th it is normal to feel a letdown.  We have several weeks of cold and snowy weather ahead before we get to enjoy spring; but in those months, we don’t have to leave behind the true meaning of Christmas.  We can and should celebrate our Savior all year long!

In 2000, the Christian singing group, Avalon, came out with a Christmas album called Joy.  On it, they covered a track called “Don’t Save It All for Christmas Day”.  This song, originally recorded by Celine Deon in 1998, is a powerful reminder that the joy and love we experience at Christmas can live throughout the year. The song says, “Don’t save it all for Christmas day, find a way to give a little love every day,” to do this all you need to do is think about the things that make the Christmas season great and continue them throughout the year.  Here are three things we need to continue to do on December 26th and beyond:

  1.     Personal and Corporate Worship

Christmas always draws me into a great time of worship, both personally and corporately with my church family.  Don’t let your worship time dwindle in the new year.  I know that life gets busy in this season, but you must prioritize worship.  Make sure to spend time in God’s Word and prayer at least 5 days a week.  Get a new devotional or start a new Bible reading plan.  Make sure to keep it a part of your daily routine.  When it comes to corporate worship, the biggest struggle is showing up.  Get out of that warm bed on Sunday and come to church to enjoy some warm fellowship.  Don’t let the busyness of kids' activities or other things keep you from worshipping with the family of God. There is no better way to keep the spirit of Christmas alive than to keep worshipping our Savior all year long!

  1.     Fellowship

At Christmas time we experience great fellowship with family and friends.  We go to Christmas parties and spend time with loved ones. This is fellowship and it is an important part of a community.  We need to continue to get together and share
fellowship.  Make sure to spend time with your friends, family, life group, church family, etc.  It can be hard to schedule these times as life gets busy or the weather gets bad, but if you prioritize it you can make it work.  Don’t underestimate what spending time with others will do for your soul.  Sharing fellowship creates a spirit of love and joy among Christians.

  1.     Serving

Finally, Christmas brings with it a spirit of generosity.  We tend to give money in this season, but we also love to give our time to serve others.  We look for ways to show love to others through serving.  Maybe it is baking cookies for a neighbor or helping someone put up their Christmas decorations or even just writing an encouraging note.  Why does this have to stop on December 26th?  We are called to spread the love of Jesus all year long by serving others.  Remain vigilant and look for opportunities to serve those around you.  People need help in January just as much as they did in December! If you do these things, you will keep the spirit of Christmas alive all year long.

“The Christmas spirit itself ought to be the mark of every Christian all year round.” 
J.I. Packer

Posted by Bryan Gotcher with

Worship Ministry - January 2025

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Thank You!
Thank you to all who helped make this Christmas season so special! We had a great Christmas Night of Worship where we were reminded that Jesus came to be the “Light of the World!” Thank you to all those who sang in the adult or children’s choir! You put in time practicing when you could have stayed home and napped, so I thank you for your willingness to sing! I hope you had fun and were blessed each week by the fellowship as much as I was! To the band members, thank you for using your talents to glorify the Lord. To all the people who worked behind the scenes, I truly couldn’t have done it without you and you were a great blessing to me!

Be the Light
I will never forget all the lights going out at the NEEDTOBREATHE concert! Of course, there was some light; the exit signs and the light seeping in from the hallways, but the arena was pretty dark. The lead singer stepped up to the mic and encouraged everyone to turn on their phone flashlights. As I pushed the button to turn mine on, lights all around me began to turn on. It started to get brighter and brighter as everyone began to turn their flashlights on and I was amazed at how bright the room became. You could see the people's faces across the room. You could easily walk around with no problem!

It hit me, that this was a great picture of how the light of the gospel can penetrate the darkness of the world. Through each one of us…

“13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” - Matthew 5:13-16

Christ has called each of us who belong to Him to be the light in the world; letting the world see Him and His love through our faith and works for God’s glory. It can feel at times, that we are that one phone flashlight in a dark arena. Sure people can see the light but it is being swallowed by the darkness around it. However, we must remember that we are not alone for we belong to His church, His kingdom. There are lights shining all around us, believers all over the world doing the work of the Lord and giving Him praise. (Side thought: Do you ever think about how because of God’s people being spread out all over the world, there probably isn’t ever a second during a day that someone isn’t actively praising the Lord?)

As we start this year, let’s pray that the Lord would renew in us a desire to live for Him and that we would show the world the light of His gospel! Let us join together with other believers to worship Him, seek Him, and delight in His Word! We can, just like the arena was filled, light the world with the glory of the Lord and His truth if we bind our hearts to His and encourage other believers to do the same. Through Christ, we can grow closer to Him as individuals, as His church, and reach the world with The Truth.

Love you and mean it!

Posted by Evan Gray with

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