Christmas 2015

Dear Neighbor,

You are warmly invited to a nativity play on Sunday, December 20 at 4:30 and 6:00 p.m. The script, read by a narrator, will be the Christmas stories from the Gospels. The story will be reverently presented by costumed actors. The play is very suitable for children as well as adults.

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When the Lord was born into the world, who were the first people to learn that He was born and come to see Him? “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night” (Luke 2:8).

Why did the Lord choose shepherds? The Lord Himself is our shepherd and we are His sheep. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). Jesus said, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11). “We are His people and the sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100:3).

The Lord guards us from spiritual robbers and wild animals. He makes us lie down in green pastures by guiding us to a satisfying, happy life, in this world and especially forever in heaven. He leads us beside still waters by providing clear, sparkling truths that satisfy our thirst to understand. “He leads me in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3).

The Lord wants us to be shepherds as well as being His sheep. Parents especially are shepherds for their children by protecting them from harmful influences and teaching them how to live a good life. We can be shepherds to our friends as well when we share ideas of ways to do a good job of our daily work, how to be good citizens, about marriage and raising children, and other ways to live the life that leads to heaven.

In the Christmas story, the shepherds came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in a manger. And when they had seen Him, they made widely known what the angels had told them about this Child: “There is born to you this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11, 15‒20)

We too can share the Christmas story with each other, and glorify God for coming into the world to save us. Come and hear what the Lord has made known to us, every Sunday morning at 10:00!