One Silent Night

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Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Luke 2:8 NKJV

When I was growing up, I hated the rule at our dinner table that said, “Children are to be seen and not heard.” Now, today I realize that it wasn’t that our parents didn’t care about my sister and I, but that they wanted to talk with each other after a long busy day. So, as a young Christian, when I read things in the Bible like, “But the Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before Him.” (Habakkuk 2:20), I just figured that God also was not interested in what His children have to say. But, nothing could be further from the truth! In fact, in the silence of that first Christmas of sleeping sheep and shepherds, God sent them His message of joy. Because of the quiet, they could hear Him tell them that He had sent a Savior, and then that silent night didn’t stay silent for long! Those shepherds hurried to find the baby in the manger and their joyful shouts of praise woke up that whole little town of Bethlehem! Today, you might feel that all God wants is for you to shuffle into church on Sunday, sit silently in the pew and then go home. But the wonderful news is that God cares about every detail of your life. He listens to your heart and cares about your problems. The silence God asks us for is so that we can hear Him calling us to come to Him. He is longing for us to discover that He loves us so much that one day He stood silent before His accusers and then allowed them to nail Him to the cross so that His message of love could be heard around the world!

The First Noel

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And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7 NKJV

The First Noel is a traditional English carol likely dating from the 14th century. Now that is a long time ago! The version we sing today, stems from a revision done in 1823 by Davies Gilbert and William Sandys. But no matter who wrote the words, the beauty of this special song shines brightly, not only in the East, but also in the hearts of all who have followed the star and found the Lord Jesus for themselves. I hope you will be blessed by our little team of volunteers, who came out Sunday, and then again on Wednesday night to sing at several different facilities around our community. We have one more to sing for tonight, so please pray that our voices hold out!!

The Snickel’s Family Friend

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 A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for a time of adversity
Proverb 17:17 NIV  
In the Spring of ’86 just as the days were turning warm
With the money they had saved they bought the field above the farm
And as their boys ran through the hayfield, they watched the cows below
Then imagined how their house would look and where the garden ought to go

The Snickels watched their home being built as it took about a year
Then they sorted, prayed and planned when they saw the time growing near
For the move out to the country and to leave their friends behind
Oh, what a great adventure, that they pictured in their mind 

But as the seasons came and went, very soon their two boys grew tall
While the garden that they planted filled up the canning jars each Fall
And their work seemed almost endless, so they hardly noticed how things changed
To wake up one day and find their boys lives were being rearranged

The boys left behind their household chores for college and a job
And as the little home grew still, the quiet days just seemed so odd 
It seemed like only yesterday when Snickels pancakes filled each plate
Now looking out they watched as now the empty field fill up with flakes 

But in their sudden loneliness God spoke His promise true
That through the night however long He'd make each sunrise new
And on the pathway that we walk He keeps close onto the end
And through every year that passes He will be our faithful friend

The Snickel's Family Friend 
By Peter Caligiuri 
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