A thought to ponder-It's beginning to look alot like Christmas

There are so many wonderful songs this time of the year. The one that jumps to the front of my mind every time I think about Christmas is “It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas”. You remember the way it starts-It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, Everywhere you go. That is so true and actually it has been looking like Christmas since about the time Halloween ended and even before Thanksgiving ever got here.

Now I love this time of the year and it is my favorite. I love the spring and of course summer at the beach but Christmas, well that is the one that puts me over the top. Is it the songs? Of course, it is. Is it the lights? Well, yeah, lights are just so festive. Is it family and friends? Absolutely, that makes it such a pleasurable time of year.

So here we are and about a week and a half away from Christmas morning. Many if not most churches have special services. I know we will on Christmas Eve evening. Songs, Scripture and the Lord’s Supper then everyone heads out for the celebration that begins that night and ends the next day. This is by far my favorite service we have each year.

As pastors, we are always wanting to put a new spin on things and Christmas is no different. I want to come up with an angle that no one has ever thought of before. Honestly, that is not just me it is every pastor. Come on guys admit it, we all are wanting an angle.

What makes Christmas so wonderful though is that it is so simple. God sent His Son and they called him Emmanuel. God’s Son stepped out of heaven and was laid in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. Angels declared His birth to shepherds in the fields. They came and saw the baby, yes a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. Do you see the simplicity that is Christmas? Every year when Christmas comes we are back at the beginning. A place to remember that God loves the world so much that He gave His only Son.

The world needed a Savior and God gave the first and still the best Christmas gift ever given. Mary and Joseph were both told that they should name him Jesus. Joseph was told in Matthew 1:21 to name him Jesus “because he will save his people from their sins.” Mary was told in Luke 1:32-33 to name him Jesus because 32 He will be a great man and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 Your son will be king of Jacob’s people forever, and his kingdom will never end.”

So as you go through the next days and then come to the day of His birth, pause and remember He is Jesus and it is His birth that we celebrate. It's a thought to ponder. Merry Christmas,

Elbert Nasworthy