I just finished playing a round of golf with my Dad at Colbert Hills in Manhattan, Kansas, in the snow! I live in Florida and my parents live in Missouri. Today was our last day together while visiting for the holidays and we were determined to play. So what's a little snow and ice on the course?
My Dad bought me my first set of clubs when I was seven. I grew up spending time on the course with Dad. It's what we did together. It's what we still do together. I am now fifty and my Dad is seventy-three. Sometimes, when I'm missing Dad I go out to the course and hit some balls on the range or some putts on the practice green. It's not so much the game; it's the memories. It's like they say about fishing - some people fish for a lifetime without realizing it's not really the fish they are after.
It's been very special to spend time with family over the holidays. There's been a lot of fun, a lot of laughter, and a lot of food! There's also the evidence of the passing of the years. None of us are getting any younger. So we must make the most of our opportunities and treasure the moments we have to spend together.
In a few days we fly back to Florida, and the suitcases will be stuffed with the many Christmas gifts we received. But one of the greatest gifts for me cannot be packed in a suitcase. Instead, it's carefully tucked away in the memory book of my mind. It was the gift of a day spent with Dad on the golf course...in the snow.
Pastor Todd
The Christmas story presents some interesting questions. Questions like these –
- How could a virgin conceive and give birth?
- Did angels really appear to shepherds to announce the birth of Christ?
- And where did that star come from?
- How could the Babe in the manger be 100% God and 100% man?
The answer to these questions was given by the angel Gabriel, “For with God nothing shall be impossible”
(Luke 2:37).
The Christmas story is nothing less than miraculous. It’s the story of God knocking down one impossibility after another in His determination to provide a Savior for the whole world. Through the prophets of old God declared He would do it, and He did! For unto us was born in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!
Are you faced with an impossible situation this Christmas season? Like a disease beyond the reach of medicine. Or a financial dilemma that would stump a Wall Street genius. Maybe it’s a bad marriage that only gets worse, not better. Or a monumental task that appears about as doable as an entire herd of camels going through the eye of a needle all at the same time.
If that’s your story, listen to the angel. Fear not. There’s good news from heaven. With God nothing is impossible!
There’s one more question that comes to mind when I think of Christmas. Why? Why did God send His Son? The answer to that question is not found in the manger but in the cross. Why Christmas? Look at the cross. That’s why.
Pastor Todd Weston
I went online the other day and checked out my old high school Facebook page. What a shock! There were names I had not seen for over thirty years. Someone had actually posted pictures of the old school. That hadn’t changed much. But the faces! Who were all those old people? The line from the Joe Walsh song, Life’s Been Good, came to mind, “Everybody’s so different, I haven’t changed.”
The truth is, I’m fifty right along with the rest of my high school class of ’79. My hair (at least I still have hair!) is turning grey. There are a few more wrinkles along with some new aches and pains. And the weight that used to fall off so easily now clings with unrelenting stubbornness.
But as good ole Joe sings, life’s been good. And as the psalmist sang, God has been faithful. I was young and now I am..….not as young as I used to be (and you thought I was going to say ‘old’!) And God has never failed me. He has always been there, and He will always be there. The God I invited into my heart at the age of five is the same God I serve at the age of fifty. I have changed, but He has not! “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
Well, I have to sign off for now. It’s time to revisit the Kickapoo Class of ’79 Facebook page to see what’s new. Go ahead and laugh. I know; it’s a funny name for a school. But I really did graduate from Kickapoo High School. So did another guy named Brad. I can still see him as the little freshman running around the halls during my senior
year. His last name is Pitt, and I think he has a job in Hollywood. back in ’79, who would’ve ever thought!
Pastor Todd
If you ever want to do an interesting Bible study, take a look at the characters of Christmas. Each one has their own story to tell. Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the wise men, the angels, even Herod who was scared the Baby born that night would destroy his career and disrupt his lifestyle.
One of the characters that interest me most isn’t even named in the Bible, and yet his story appears in Luke 2:7. It’s the story of the Innkeeper who turned Mary and Joseph away, “because there was no room for them in the inn.” It wasn’t because the guy was hard-hearted. He was just busy. Much too busy.
Because of the census demanded by Rome, Bethlehem was literally crawling with people. It was crazier than SW Florida in peak season! If the Innkeeper had only known that the Baby to be born that night was the Son of God, he would have found room! But he missed the Baby. He had a business to run, customers to serve, and books to keep. Certainly God understood that he had to make a living and save for retirement. So it was that this nameless Innkeeper missed his moment.
The holiday season is a busy time of year. As a matter of fact, life is busy and schedules are straining at the
breaking point. The danger is that in our concern with making a living and getting ahead in life we miss the fact
that Jesus came to give us gifts that no amount of money can buy.
So learn a lesson from the Innkeeper and pause this Christmas to find out who this Baby really is and what He came to give. The answer will amaze you!
Pastor Todd
