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2015 Worship Guide
A LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.COM PUBLICATION
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The shepherds made no plans for an elaborate
party. No special notices of their pilgrimage were
sent out. They didn’t bother with fancy dress or to
prepare a royal feast. They just went. They hurried
off to see these things that were told to them.
They went to give honor to the one who was born
to bring joy back to their empty hearts. They went
to offer those hearts to Him, the Son of God, their
Savior, as an act of worship and celebration.
As well, wise men from the East, traveled to that
place to see Him who was born to bring joy into
the world. These men, though rich, happy, and
fulfilled by the world’s standards, came to honor
and worship Him, because they believed that the
true King, the true fulfillment, and true source
of joy, was given by Father God in the form of
that little boy. Though they came bearing costly
gifts to
give
, they came knowing they would truly
receive
that which is priceless. Oh, what great
Joy!
Each year at Christmas, people send themselves
into financial, emotional, and physical depression
trying to bring into their lives, and the lives of
others, the feeling of joy that Christmas promises.
But the joy of Christmas is
not a feeling
. It cannot
be purchased, created, decorated, or wrapped.
There is no program or accomplishment that
will activate it in a person’s heart. The joy of
Christmas is embodied in the child himself.
Jesus
Christ,
God’s free gift to man, is the Great Joy
promised by the angel. Only by seeking
Him
, and
sharing Him with others, will each man, woman,
and child find the true joy of Christmas.
So beginning this Christmas, let us stop focusing
so much time and energy on preparations that will
only leave us void of the joy we desire, and let
us return our energies to seeking and celebrating
the child who has guaranteed joy - our Great Joy -
Jesus Christ!
“A Most Practical Gift”
Christmas Isn’t For Everyone. That was the title
of a column published in a major daily newspaper
a few days before Christmas some years ago by
columnist who was Jewish both by heritage and
religious practice. He wrote that, one evening
during the holiday season, he was explaining
why, as Jews, he and his family did not celebrate
the holiday called Christmas. When he queried
his three year old son as to how he felt about
not celebrating Christmas, the boy replied with
one word - “sad”. Though this man sympathized
with his son’s feelings, he reminded him that
Christmas isn’t “our” holiday and that “we have
our own holidays to celebrate”. The result of that
evening’s conversation was, as one might expect,
that his son didn’t understand. Truly neither
did the father. Christmas isn’t for everyone?
Christmas is the celebration of God’s greatest
gift; Life. The angel told the shepherds that it
was “good news of great joy that would be for
all
men”. What was this good news? A Savior
