Monieca and I began this past weekend ringing the bell for the Salvation Army Kettle Drive Saturday morning at Walmart (photo below). I especially enjoyed watching the little kids get excited when they dropped their coins or dollar bills into the kettle. It was also interesting to notice some people refuse to make eye contact with us as they made their way in or out of the store. A group of young ROTC students from Nation Ford High School were also there collecting donations for Toys for Tots. Some of the students wished folks “Happy Holidays.” I was already wishing some people “Merry Christmas” but after hearing a few “Happy Holidays” my competitive juices started flowing and I was determined to smile and offer a “Merry Christmas” to everyone entering the store. Something inside me still feels offended when I hear someone say “Happy Holidays.”
Sunday morning four people joined FBC during the 10:30 service, and a child requested baptism at the 9:10 service. Attendance at both services was good. The sermon focused on why we should care about people around the world and their lostness. The bottom line is we care because Jesus cares and those who love Him care about what He cares about. We also looked at how our church and other Southern Baptist Churches financially support our missionaries (see the two charts below).
The worship choir and orchestra presented “It’s Christmas” twice yesterday, with a full house at 4:00 pm and a smaller but still good attendance at 7:00 pm. These types of programs are a meaningful blessing to Christians as we celebrate the love of God expressed in the birth of Jesus. It was surprising how certain songs touched me at 4 pm and other songs touched me at 7 pm. Everyone involved put in a lot of time, heart, and hard work to pull this off and they did a great job.
Merry Christmas everyone,
Pastor Steve Hogg
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