TEN - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, December 19, 1990
The Spirit of Christmas____
Seventh Day Adventist
Pastor Bill Robison
Dear Friends,
Christmas is the time of the year when we think about gifts, jesus said,
'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' O ur God has given His Son
to the human family. This is the greatest gift to humanity. It was through
giving that God has redeemed us when Jesus came to live among us
and die for our sins. It is our desire and prayer that the 'G ift of Jesus'
and His love w ill continue to be experienced in each life in our
community.
lone United Church of Christ
The Rev. Isa Brown
Christmas is a season which evokes every conceivable emotion,
dependent upon our own memories and experiences of that yearly event.
A friend of mine finds it a very sad time. He says that someone in his
family or circle of friends always seemed to die around the holidays.
Another friend who was a nurse in Bellevue Hospital in New York City
once told me that Christmas Eve was very busy at work. Lonely people
without family ties or close friends in the city would drink too much
holiday cheer', ending up in bar brawls which led to the emergency
room.
This is a season of intense feeling. The eruption of love upon the
world's scene was a shattering experience. It is often difficult to accept
or understand such a power. And yet without it, our earth might have
stopped spinning long ago. It is the power that moves the stars and
planets in their courses. It is the power that creates out of chaos.
This power, manifested extremely in Jesus the Christ, has appeared
in the many saints, both known and unsung, who have kept us altogether
like glue. This power is here for us now. Plentiful and available for the
taking and the giving. W e celebrate this power, this love which is the
Christmas gift to the world. May our celebration continue and spread
through all the earth in the New Year, bringing peace to the nations.
All Saints Episcopal
Father George Izzett
Fear not: for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy' Luke 2:10.
Christmas has charms all its own. It is the great high day in the world
as well as in the Church. No burdens of care or grief, no experience
of disastrous fortune, no newly made graves, can totally shut out its sun
shine. Somehow the multitudes delight to turn toward the stable of
Bethlehem. Explain it as we w ill, the Christmas Baby is simply so ir
resistible. This event generally triggers family memories and traditions
both of which are warming to us. My family has such tradi
tions...Handel's Messiah is played dail? during Advent and Christmas.
Those stirring Biblical texts accompanied by thrilling inspired musical
notation...never cease to inspire me, to humble me, to impress again
on me the magnitude and wonder of this 'Birth Event'. Also during this
MERRYi
CHRISTMAS,
^ F R IE N D S
season I read again Dicken's 'Christmas Carol'. It becomes more wonder
ful to me with each reading...perhaps even more profound in the
teachings it expresses. 'Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt
whatsoever about that.' And Dickens continues to make certain in the
reader's mind that indeed...Marley is dead, as Dickens continues to em
phasize the point in the paragraphs that follow the opening line.
I suspect that one of the reasons I appreciate this story so much is
because it suggests that if we don't examine our lives from time to
time...if we are not careful in our life's journey, we can become as dead
as Marley in regards to this wondrous Birth Event. Finish reading the
Christmas Carol. Scrooge changed. 'A Merry Christmas, Bob CratchitT
said Scrooge, with an earnestness that could not be mistaken.' May we
too change where needed and present Christ w ith a joy and earnestness
that cannot be mistaken. And so, 'God Bless Us, Every One.'
United Methodist Church of Christ
Him. Christ came not because He had to, but because He wanted to.
Incarnation means God coming and dwelling w ith us. This is a mystery
beyond human understanding.
My second question is this: How is Christ born in us? In a sense, when
a person becomes a Christian this too is an incarnation. When we ask
Jesus into our hearts, He comes and dwells w ithin us personally. In that
same sense, each Christian's spiritual birthday becomes a personal
Christmas. The Bible states this marvelous truth: "Christ in you, the hope
of glory." A mystery though it may be, Christ lives in each one of us
who Believes in Him.
It has been said that a Christian is one who is passionately in love
with Jesus. Going to church alone, or even being very religious cannot
make anyone a Christian. You must invite Him into your heart and ask
Him to be Lord of your life. Why not accept the most valuable gift you
could this Christmas, God's Son, Jesus?
The Rev. Gerry Etchison
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Christmas is such a busy time of the year for all of us. It is a time to
buy and wrap presents for family members and also friends, to bake
cookies and make fudge, in addition to sending cards that contain "H o li
day Greetings" to people we know and love.
We should also remember why we are doing all of this. We can find
the answer to this contained in Luke 2:1-14, where, among other things,
we are told the following: "And she gave birth to her first-born son and
wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because
there was no place for them in the inn... And the angel said to them,
Be not afraid: for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which
w ill come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of
David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord...' And suddenly there was with
the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom
he is pleased!'
The birth of Jesus Christ is why we are so busy during the Christmas
season, and why Christmas is such an upbeat and festive occasion. We
share God's love with people by doing things that express the love we
have for these same people. Goid expresses divine love for us not only
through other human beings that are a part of our lives, but also through
God's great gift of Jesus Christ. We need to remember God's love for
all human beings during this Christmas season, and also throughout all
the days of the coming year. God Bless.
What gift can I give you for Christmas this year? What gift can I give
to bring love and good cheer? What gift can I give to tell you I care,
a gift you'll remember, a gift we can share? The gift that I'll give can't
be bought in a store. It doesn't cost money-it's worth much, much more.
The gift that I'll give doesn't come from a shelf. The gift that I'll give
is the gift of myself.
There is yet time this year to extend your helping hand and loving
heart to some of our Heavenly Father's children. As we serve Him in
this way, we are surely follow ing His Son, Jesus Christ.
May the Christmas season find in each of us a love and a desire to
help others. And, when the Christmas season is over and we are filled
with the spirit of Him, whose birth we celebrate, let us continue to follow
Him.
In conclusion, may we assure you that our Savior and Lord was really
born and He lives. He wants us to give gifts of ourselves by extending
a helping hand and sharing a loving heart so that those around us w ill
hear His message and do His w ill. May we show Him our love is our
prayer and hope for us all.
St Patrick’s - St. William’s Catholic Church
Father
Gerry
Condon
Merry Christmas
W e ’re tuning up to wish all our many customers
and friends a Christmas th a t’s perfect in every way!
Thoughts of Christmas bring to mind Santa Claus appearing in myriad
places, gift-wrapped packages, and carols of peace and joy. Yet this year
there is also the sombre realization that our country may be on the brink
of war. How sad that the real message of Christmas -Peace on Earth-is
not a reality for all. There are even some for whom the very spirit of
Christmas seems to be the occasion of dejection and depression. So it
is good to take time to be aware of the real spirit of Christmas. It is a
time to be joyful for the gift of the Savior. He can be reborn in our lives.
He, and not mankind, is the hope of the world, and our hope. He,
and not mankind, can transform the world of darkness into a world of
light. He can give us joy, as He gave joy to the shepherds; He can give
us courage, as He gave courage to the Magi.
This Christmas season may the infant Savior be for each one of us
our light, our courage, and our hope.
Heppner Christian Missionary Fellowship
Pastor Linda Crane
from the GANG at BEECHERS
We will CLOSE the 24th and 25th,
Look for our
M e w Y e a r ’s G a l a
Next Week
Beecher’s Fine Foods and Lounge
lone - 422-7540
Have A Safe & Happy
Holiday
There's no telling who you'll run Into, so keep your eyes open.,
and enjoy! Thanks so much for choosing us.
'Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.' Psalms 33:12.
America was founded on Christianity and because of this we have
been blessed indeed. As a nation and as a community, as a people, let
us not turn away from Him. "For God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life." This holiday season, let us turn our
eyes to Jesus. We have much to be thankful for. Truly, Jesus is the reason
for the season.
Hope-Valby Lutheran Parish
The Rev. Stan Hoobing
When we think of Christmas, we want to focus our attention on Jesus
the babe. Jesus the divine son of God frightens us. His inexpressible
majesty may crush us. But Jesus the babe came in our humanity to save
us from sin, and also came in love and grace that he should console
and confirm us.
That is why we can look at Christ lying in the lap of His young mother.
What can be sweeter to look at than the babe? What can be more love
ly than a mother? And look at the babe, why He knows nothing at all.
Yet in a while He w ill take all our sins away through His death on the
cross. Take comfort in the babe. Do not doubt Him, but just watch and
enjoy Him. Watch Him suck at His mother's breast, and play on her
lap. Laugh with Him. Look at Him as the Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace.
See in Him the power, majesty of a loving, caring God, who places
before us a babe to take refuge in. Are you frightened of the babe? Come
closer and look at Him lying peacefully in His mother's lap. Do not
despair. Trust Him. Here is Jesus the Christ Child in whom God brings
forth salvation. There is no greater consolation given to people than the
gift of this gentle babe who is the Christ. A babe who w ill become a
child, a teenager, then a man. A man who has overcome the power
of sin, death and the devil by humbling himself and becoming 'obe
dient unto death, even death on a cross.' (Philippians 2:8b)
So come and look at the babe and believe that He has come not to
terrorize us nor frighten us, but to save us.
30
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