George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

October 15, 2014/in Holiday Resources /by Tony Cooke

George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

The Geese and the Snowstorm Author Unknown

October 15, 2014/in Holiday Resources /by Tony Cooke

The Geese and the Snowstorm
Author Unknown

There was once a man who did not believe in either the virgin birth of Christ or the spiritual meaning behind it, and was skeptical even about God. He and his family lived in a farm community. His wife was a devout believer and diligently raised her children in the faith. He sometimes gave her a hard time about her belief and mocked her religious observances.

“It’s all nonsense — why would God lower himself and become a human like us? It’s such a ridiculous story,” he said.

One snowy day, she and the children left for church while he stayed home. After they had departed, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening.

Then he heard a loud thump, something hitting against the window… And, still another thump. He looked outside but could not see anything. So he ventured outside for a better view. In the field near his house he saw, of all the strangest things, a flock of geese. They were apparently flying to look for a warmer area down south, but they had been caught in the snowstorm. The storm had become too blinding and violent for the geese to fly or see their way. They were stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter, unable to do more than flutter their wings and fly in aimless circles. He had compassion for them and wanted to help them. He thought to himself, the barn would be a great place for them to stay. It is warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he opened the barn doors for them.

He waited, watching them, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. Nevertheless, they did not notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. He moved closer toward them to get their attention, but they just moved away from him out of fear.

He went into the house and came back with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread trail to the barn. They still did not catch on.

Starting to get frustrated, he went over and tried to shoo them toward the barn. They panicked and scattered into every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where there was warmth, safety, and shelter. Feeling totally frustrated, he exclaimed, “Why don’t they follow me? Can’t they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm? How can I possibly get them into the one place to save them?”

He thought for a moment and realized that they just would not follow a human. He said to himself, “How can I possibly save them? The only way would be for me to become like those geese. If only I could become like one of them. Then I could save them. They would follow me and I would lead them to safety.”

At that moment, he stopped and considered what he had said. The words reverberated in his mind: If only I could become like one of them, then I could save them. Then, at last, he understood God’s heart towards mankind… and he fell on his knees in the snow.

Father’s Day Quotes, Humor, and Stories

October 15, 2014/in Holiday Resources /by Tony Cooke

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Father’s Day Quotes, Humor, and Stories

Other articles about Father’s Day:

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The story is told of a father of five children who came home with a toy. He summoned his children and asked which of them should be given the present. “Who is the most obedient one here? Who never talks back to Mom and does everything that Mom says to do?” He inquired. There were a few seconds of silence, and then all of the children said in one accord: “You play with it Daddy!”

“A godly father is the unseen spiritual submarine who lurks below the surface of every activity of his child’s life. A man who has put on the full armor of God and with that armor, goes to warfare on his knees for his children, is a force to be reckoned with we cannot be with our children 24 hours a day through our prayers we have the ability to affect situations even when we are not physically present. You may be undetected but that does not mean you are ineffective.”
– Steve Farrar, Standing Tall, Page 199

A man came home from work late again, tired and irritated. He found his 5-year-old son waiting for him at the door. “Daddy, may I ask you a question?”
The dad replied: “Yeah, sure, what is it?”
“Daddy, how much money do you make an hour?”
The dad got mad and said, “That’s none of your business! Why do you want to know?”
The little boy said, “I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?”
The dad, wanting to sit down and relax, said, “If you must know, I make $20 an hour.”
The little boy sighed and bowed his head. Looking up, he asked, “Daddy, may I borrow $10 please?”
The father flew off the handle, “If the only reason you wanted to know how much money I make is so that you can hit me up for some cash to buy some stupid toy, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. You’re so selfish. I work long, hard hours every day and don’t have time for this.”

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
The dad sat down and started to get even madder about the nerve of his little boy. How dare he ask questions only to get some money. After an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think that maybe he was a bit hard on his boy. Maybe his son really needed the money for something important. And so, the father went up to his boy’s room and opened it, “Are you asleep, son?”
“No daddy. I’m awake,” replied the boy.
“I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier. It’s been a long day, and I took it out on you. Here’s that 10 bucks you asked for.”
The little boy sat straight up, beaming. “Oh, thank you, daddy!” he exclaimed. Then, reaching under his pillow, he pulled out a wad of crumpled up bills.
The dad, seeing that the boy already had some money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his dad.
The dad, now ticked off, demanded to know what was going on, “Why did you want more money if you already had some?”
The little boy replied, “Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do. Daddy, I have $20 now…and I’d like to buy an hour of your time.”

The Top 10 Things You’ll Never Hear a Dad Say:
10. “Well, how ‘bout that? I’m lost! Looks like we’ll have to stop and ask for directions.”
9. “You know Pumpkin, now that you’re thirteen, you’ll be ready for un-chaperoned car dates. Won’t that be fun?”
8. “I noticed that all your friends have a certain hostile attitude. I like that.”
7. “Here’s a credit card and the keys to my new car. Go crazy!!!”
6. “What do you mean you wanna play football? Figure skating is not good enough for you, son?”
5. “Your Mother and I are going away for the weekend. You might want to consider throwing a party.”
4. “Well, I don’t know what’s wrong with your car. Probably one of those doo-hickey thingies—ya know—that makes it run or something. Just have it towed to a mechanic and pay whatever he asks.”
3. “No son of mine is going to live under this roof without an earring. Now quit your belly-aching and let’s go to the mall.”
2. “Whaddya wanna go and get a job for? I make plenty of money for you to spend.”
And the number one thing you’ll never hear a dad say:
1. “What do I want for Father’s Day? Aahh—don’t worry about that. It’s no big deal.” (actually they might say this, but they don’t mean it).

Lucille Ball, shortly before her death, did a remarkable TV interview with Merv Griffin. He asked her a very serious and pointed question: “Lucille, you’ve lived a long time on this earth and you are a wise person. What’s happened to our country? What’s wrong with our children? Why are our families falling apart? What’s missing?” Lucille Ball answered without hesitation: “Papa’s missing. Things are falling apart because Papa’s gone. If Papa were here he would fix it.”

“One morning my father didn’t get up and go to work. He went to the hospital and died the next day. I hadn’t thought that much about him before. He was just someone who left and came home and seemed glad to see everyone at night. He opened the jar of pickles when no one else could. He was the only one in the house who wasn’t afraid to go into the basement by himself. He cut himself shaving, but no one kissed it or got excited about it. It was understood that when it rained, he got the car and brought it around to the door. When anyone was sick, he went out to get the prescription filled. He took lots of pictures … but he was never in them. Whenever I played house, the mother doll had a lot to do. I never knew what to do with the daddy doll, so I had him say, “I’m going off to work now” and threw him under the bed. The funeral was in our living room and a lot of people came and brought all kinds of good food and cakes. We had never had so much company before. I went to my room and felt under the bed for the daddy doll. When I found him I dusted him off and put him on my bed. He never did anything. I didn’t know his leaving would hurt so much.” (Erma Bombeck, The Ties that Bind … And Gag! [NY: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1987], p. 2.)

“Fathers are the great gift-givers of the world!”
– Mrs. John Bruce Dodd, founder of Father’s Day

“One father is worth more than a hundred schoolmasters.”
– George Herbert

The father of a couple of teenagers called the telephone company and announced, “I want to report an obscene phone bill.”
– Vern McLellan

Father to teenage son: “No, you can’t use the car—but please feel free to use the lawnmower.”
– Vern McLellan

In The Effective Father, Gordon MacDonald writes:
It is said of Boswell, the famous biographer of Samuel Johnson, that he often referred to a special day in his childhood when his father took him fishing. The day was fixed in his mind, and he often reflected upon many things his father had taught him in the course of their fishing experience together. After having heard of that particular excursion so often, it occurred to someone much later to check the journal that Boswell’s father kept and determine what had been said about the fishing trip from the parental perspective. Turning to that date, the reader found only one sentence entered: “Gone fishing today with my son; a day wasted.”

“The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.”
– Theodore Hesburgh

“My father didn’t tell me how to life; he lived, and let me watch him do it.”
– Clarence Budington Kelland

“You don’t raise heroes; you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they’ll turn out to be heroes, even if it’s just in your own eyes.”
– Walter Schirra Sr.

My father always told me, “Find a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”
– Jim Fox

“It is a wise father that knows his own child.”
– Shakespeare

“God is the Father who is always home.”
– Unknown

“Of all nature’s gifts to the human race, what is sweeter to a man than his children?”
– Cicero

“The words that a father speaks to his children in the privacy of home are not heard by the world, but, as in whispering-galleries, they are clearly heard at the end and by posterity.”
– Jean Paul Richter

“It has been said that paternity is a career imposed on you without any inquiry into your fitness for it. That is why there are so many fathers who have children, but so few children who have fathers.”
– Adlai Stevenson

“A father is a man who expects his son to be as good a man as he meant to be.”
– Frank A. Clark

Small boy’s definition of Father’s Day: It’s just like Mother’s Day only you don’t spend so much.
– Unknown

Jim Bishop describes the feeling a father had when his daughter became engaged: “This is the third of four daughters. Every time it happens, I’m obsessed with the feeling I’m giving a million-dollar Stradivarius to a gorilla.”

“A father is a thing that is forced to endure childbirth without an anesthetic…A father never feels worthy of the worship in a child’s eyes. He’s never quite the hero his daughter thinks, never quite the man his son believes him to be, and this worries him, sometimes. So he works too hard to try and smooth the rough places in the road for those of his own who will follow him…Fathers are what give daughters away to other men who aren’t nearly good enough, so they can have grandchildren who are smarter than anybody’s. Fathers make bets with insurance companies about who’ll live the longest. One day they lose and the bet’s paid off to the part of them they leave behind.”
– Paul Harvey

After the assassination of President Kennedy, his young son, John Jr., asked William Haddad, an associate of JFK’s, “Are you a daddy?” Haddad told him that he was. In response, little John Jr. said, “Then will you throw me up in the air?”

An Old Soldier’s Prayer
“Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

“Build me a son whose wishes will not take the place of deeds; a son who will know Thee…and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.

“Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high, a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

“And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom and the meekness of true strength.

“Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, “I have not lived in vain’.”
– Gen. Douglas A. MacArthur

Son Gets an Hour A Day
A young successful attorney said: “The greatest gift I ever received was a gift I got one Christmas when my dad gave me a small box. Inside was a note saying, ‘Son, this year I will give you 365 hours, an hour every day after dinner. It’s yours. We’ll talk about what you want to talk about, we’ll go where you want to go, play what you want to play. It will be your hour!’”

“My dad not only kept his promise,” he said, “but every year he renewed it—and it’s the greatest gift I ever had in my life. I am the result of his time.”
– Moody Monthly

In Search of Paco
There’s a Spanish story of a father and son who had become estranged. The son ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail. Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper. The ad read: Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father. On Saturday 800 Pacos showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers.
– Bits & Pieces, October 15, 1992, p. 13.

What Does a Father Do?
I received a letter from a single mother who had raised a son who was about to become a dad. Since he had no recollection of his own father, her question to me was “What do I tell him a father does?”

When my dad died in my ninth year, I, too, was raised by my mother, giving rise to the same question, “What do fathers do?” As far as I could observe, they brought around the car when it rained so everyone else could stay dry.

They always took the family pictures, which is why they were never in them. They carved turkeys on Thanksgiving, kept the car gassed up, weren’t afraid to go into the basement, mowed the lawn, and tightened the clothesline to keep it from sagging.

It wasn’t until my husband and I had children that I was able to observe firsthand what a father contributed to a child’s life. What did he do to deserve his children’s respect? He rarely fed them, did anything about their sagging diapers, wiped their noses or fannies, played ball, or bonded with them under the hoods of their cars.

What did he do?

He threw them higher than his head until they were weak from laughter. He cast the deciding vote on the puppy debate. He listened more than he talked. He let them make mistakes. He allowed them to fall from their first two-wheeler without having a heart attack. He read a newspaper while they were trying to parallel park a car for the first time in preparation for
their driving test.

If I had to tell someone’s son what a father really does that is important, it would be that he shows up for the job in good times and bad times. He’s a man who is constantly being observed by his children. They learn from him how to handle adversity, anger, disappointment and success.

He won’t laugh at their dreams no matter how impossible they might seem. He will dig out at 1 a.m. when one of his children runs out of gas. He will make unpopular decisions and stand by them. When he is wrong and makes a mistake, he will admit it. He sets the tone for how family members treat one another, members of the opposite sex and people who are different than they
are. By example, he can instill a desire to give something back to the community when its needs are greater than theirs.

But mostly, a good father involves himself in his kids’ lives. The more responsibility he has for a child, the harder it is to walk out of his life. A father has the potential to be a powerful force in the life of a child. Grab it! Maybe you’ll get a greeting card for your efforts. Maybe not. But it’s steady work.
– Erma Bombeck, Field Enterprises

God Creating the Father
When the good Lord was creating fathers he started with a tall frame. And a female angel nearby said, “What kind of father is that? If you’re going to make children so close to the ground, why have you put fathers up so high? He won’t be able to shoot marbles without kneeling, tuck a child in bed without bending, or even kiss a child without a lot of stooping.” And God smiled and said, “Yes, but if I make him child-size, who would children have to look up to?”

And when God made a father’s hands, they were large and sinewy. And the angel shook her head sadly and said, “Do you know what you’re doing? Large hands are clumsy. They can’t manage diaper pins, small buttons, rubber bands on pony tails or even remove splinters caused by baseball bats.” And God smiled and said, “I know, but they’re large enough to hold everything a small boy empties from his pockets at the end of a day…yet small enough to cup a child’s face in his hands.”

And then God molded long, slim legs and broad shoulders. And the angel nearly had a heart attack. “Boy, this is the end of the week, all right,” she clucked. “Do you realize you just made a father without a lap? How is he going to pull a child close to him without the kid falling between his legs?” And God smiled and said, “A mother needs a lap. A father needs strong shoulders to pull a sled, balance a boy on a bicycle, and hold a sleepy head on the way home from the circus.”

God was in the middle of creating two of the largest feet anyone had every seen when the angel could contain herself no longer. “That’s not fair. Do you honestly think those large boats are going to dig out of bed early in the morning when the baby cries? Or walk through a small birthday party without crushing at least three of the guests?” And God smiled and said, “They’ll work. You’ll see. They’ll support a small child who wants to ride a horse to Banbury Cross, or scare off mice at the summer cabin, or display shoes that will be a challenge to fill.”

God worked throughout the night, giving the Father few words, but a firm authoritative voice; eyes that saw everything, but remained calm and tolerant. Finally, almost as an afterthought, he added tears. Then he turned to the angel and said, “Now, are you satisfied that he can love as much as a Mother?” The angel shuteth up.
– Erma Bombeck

The Father’s Blessing
Gary Smalley, popular author and psychologist, asked 100 people, “What is one specific way you knew that you had received your parents’ blessing?” Here some of those answers:

1. “My father would put his arm around me at church and let me lay my head on his shoulder.”
2. “When my father was facing being transferred at work, he purposely took another job so that I could finish my senior year in high school at the same school.”
3. “When I wrecked my parent’s car, my father’s first reaction was to hug me and let me cry instead of yelling at me.”
4. “When I was thirteen, my dad trusted me to use his favorite hunting rifle when I was invited to go hunting with a friend and his father.”
5. “My father went with me when I had to take back an ugly dress a saleswoman had talked me into buying.”
6. “My father would let me practice pitching to him for a long time when he got home from work.”
7. “Even though I had never seen him cry before, my father cried during my wedding because he was going to miss me no longer being at home.”

Twelve Practical Ways for Men to Impact Fatherless Kids

1. Be a mentor to a boy without a father through Big Brother or some other agency.
2. Contact your local junior or senior high school to tutor a needy kid.
3. Teach Sunday School.
4. Adopt a child or be a foster parent.
5. Meet one-on-one weekly, with a boy in your church or neighborhood who doesn’t have a father in the home.
6. Become a leader in Boy Scouts or Cub Scouts.
7. Coach Little League or some other sport.
8. Volunteer to work with needy kids in an inner city ministry.
9. Hire a potentially “at risk” kid for yard work or in your business.
10. Become active youth leaders in your local church or a parachurch organization.
11. Start a church-based sports league that reaches out to needy kids in the community.
12. Lead a Bible study in a juvenile detention center or group home.
– June 1996 issue of The Standard (pp 20-23), published by the Baptist General Conference, 2002 S. Arlington Heights Rd., Arlington Heights, IL. Adapted

Get Rid of Dad?
The children begged for a hamster, and after the usual fervent vows that they alone would care for it, they got one. They named it Danny. Two months later, when Mom found herself responsible for cleaning and feeding the creature, she located a prospective new home for it. The children took the news of Danny’s imminent departure quite well, though one of them remarked, “He’s been around here a long time–we’ll miss him.”

“Yes,” Mom replied, “But he’s too much work for one person, and since I’m that one person, I say he goes.”

Another child offered, “Well, maybe if he wouldn’t eat so much and wouldn’t be so messy, we could keep him.”

But Mom was firm. “It’s time to take Danny to his new home now,” she insisted. “Go and get his cage.”

With one voice and in tearful outrage the children shouted, “Danny? We thought you said Daddy!”
– Ken Board

Dusty Like Dad
“At the first church that I pastored, I had the job of mixing feed to supplement my income. For a period of about two weeks, each day that I came home from work, my two boys, ages 2 and 3 would look at me, smile, and would say, “Boy, dad, you sure are dusty!” I would reply, “Yes, I sure am dusty.” Then I would get cleaned up.

I didn’t think too much of this until I was washing my car and saw my oldest son doing something very strange. He was picking up the gravel and stones that were in our drive and rubbing them into his pants. I asked him, “Want are you doing?” He replied, “I want to be dusty like you dad!”

I realized that if a child would look up to his father for being dusty and want to copy his father, a child could look up to his father and follow him for anything. What are you passing on to your son?”
– Jerry L. Steen

“I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.”
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Christmas in July By Maria Foslien

October 15, 2014/in Christmas, Holiday Resources /by Tony Cooke

Christmas in July
By Maria Foslien

Lisa Cooke writes: Now is the time to begin thinking and planning for your Christmas musical or drama, according to Maria Foslien, worship leader and Pastor’s wife for Living Word Family Church in Naples Florida.

For the past five Christmas seasons, Maria and her music team have put together a high-quality, high-energy holiday program that they not only use for their own church services, but also for community events, fund raising dinners for local groups, and even Disney World! Their excellence in preparation and performance has opened many doors of outreach, and I asked Maria to put together an outline of her strategy as they plan for each Christmas season.

I encourage you to check out their web-site at www.napleschurch.com, and I trust that Maria’s insights will inspire and encourage you as you begin the early stages of preparation for your musical outreach for Christmas 2006.

Also, please take time to see their Christmas concert at http://www.napleschurch.com/Music/Concerts.asx

PUTTING ON A CHRISTMAS CONCERT
By Maria Foslien

There are many aspects to putting on a great performance. Doing the “extras” can take even the simplest concert to a professional level. No matter what your church size or budget, your concert can be a hit!

The following categories are available for you to look at:

1. Song Selection
2. Stage Presentation
3. Behind the scenes preparation (How early should we start working on it?)
4. Budget
5. Lighting Effects – Audio/Visual
6. View our Christmas Concert

SONG SELECTION

1. Make it fun
1. Don’t be afraid to put variety in your concert.
1. Some fun, festive and lively songs
2. Some Christmas classics
3. Some drama
4. Some Worshipful songs

2. Utilize the resources available.
We have signed up with Brentwood-Benson and Integrity Music companies to receive their quarterly music samples for our review. Christmas samples usually arrive at the beginning of summer. They have sound tracks, chord sheets, music scores, etc… available to buy. It is very helpful!

You may find just a few songs to add to your concert or be able to use an entire Christmas Concert layout from the samples sent. It will depend on your personal music taste. If we can’t find a sound track to a song we really want to use, we have them made by a guy who has his own recording studio. If you know someone like that, this is a great option.

Cost for having a sound track made –
We usually pay $500 per track. (Keep in mind, these are professional tracks made with professional equipment.) If it is a very complex sound track, the price has gone up to $750-1,000 per track. You can have lesser quality tracks made for less money, of course.

Church Band – We don’t use our church band for our Christmas Concert. We have found it easier to use professional sound tracks. (This may not be the case for you – you may want to use your band.)

Stage Presentation

Coordinate your outfits for the performance.

We always have the women wear long, floor-length black skirts with black, long-sleeved sparkle tops. Simple, yet very elegant. (Once you own them, you can reuse them time and time again.). The men wear black suits or tuxes with white shirts. We buy matching ties so they all look the same.

We keep away from the “Santa” or themed Christmas ties. It seems to be a more polished look to have them a solid color instead of a busy print.

A change of outfit for the second half of your show is always a nice touch. Try having the ladies come out on stage with red sparkle jackets for the second half.

If you view our Christmas Concert you’ll see we add little things to our basic costumes for different songs to enhance the theme of each song.

Do something different/special with your stage for the concert.

We like to paint the wall behind the stage a different color for the concert. It is something that has to be repainted of course after the holidays. We like to keep it that way until the New Year.

Different years we’ve done colors such as a deep evergreen, a rich gold or a cranberry red. All were beautiful. To go the extra mile, you could also put a saying such as “Glory to God” or “A Child Is Born” over the painted wall. This can be done by using a transparency and projector and tracing the letters on the wall or having letters cut out of Styrofoam and mounted to the wall. We suggest a using a fancy font for the lettering, but not so decorative that it is difficult to read or overly distracting. Gold lettering on a green or red background is good. If your wall color is gold, black is really nice for the lettering color.

If stage space allows, putting up a few fake Christmas trees with all white lights is a classy look. Remember the saying, “Less is more.” We leave the trees up on stage for the entire month of December.

A word of advice – be committed to changing your Christmas backdrop immediately after the first of the year. You don’t want to be like the neighbors who still have their Christmas lights up when it’s Valentine’s Day. Keep the standard of excellence.

BEHIND THE SCENES PREPARATION

No last minute, throw-together efforts. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well!

I will pass along some of the best advice I was ever given. START WORKING ON ANY MAJOR EVENT SIX MONTHS IN ADVANCE. With all the details and work that go into a successful big event, you’ll find even six months is sometimes not enough. If you need to rent equipment – chairs, tables, lights etc.. – be sure to secure them in advance. Get a team of reliable people to help you. No need carrying the whole load yourself. Do everything now that can be done now. There will be plenty of things left to do that can’t be done until later. Make good use of the months before your event. Plan, plan, plan.

Music Practice

Our music team practices for regular church services on Thursday evenings from 7pm-9:30pm. When we start working on Christmas (usually just after Easter) we spend the last half of practice on Christmas music. Working on it over the months allows us to pace ourselves and be totally ready when the Christmas season arrives. It gives us time to perfect our vocals and focus on some “extras” like choreographed movements in the songs.

Lighting

See Lighting Affects – Audio/Visual section

BUDGET

This is where working on your concert many months in advance can really help. You can buy things each month for your concert rather than needing a lump sum all at once. (If your church has a “Christmas Concert Budget” already, praise God!! If not, start small and work your way up year-by-year – that’s what we did.)

Cost

We put the singers expense for their outfits on them. Any time I take a new singer on the team, I let them know they will need to get a Christmas concert outfit.

Sound equipment

If your church has a sound system, you may not need to rent any sound equipment, however, before we had really good speakers we would rent them for our concert. It made a HUGE difference in the performance! If you don’t have a good system and have it in the budget to do it, I highly recommend renting equipment. Sound rental places usually have sound techs for hire to help if you don’t have someone to run it. A word to the wise, get the equipment early enough to work out the sound “kinks” before the night of your performance.

Stage Props

We keep them to a minimum, but it adds a warm feeling to the concert. Buy things you can use year after year. It will save you money if you think long term.

One really neat idea is a fiber-optic backdrop screen. They are expensive to rent, but incredible for that “starry/dreamy” effect.

Concert Tickets

You may want to sell tickets to the concert to help offset the costs. We never look at it as a “money maker”. Actually, ticket sales don’t even begin to cover the cost we incur for our concert, but it does help. We want our concert to be affordable for everyone. Because of the caliber of our concerts, we have never had a problem with ticket sales. We charge $15 per ticket. In earlier years, when we didn’t have all the lighting effects and other extras, our costs were lower. We started at $5 per ticket.

LIGHTING EFFECTS – AUDIO/VISUAL

Resources

Check out www.churchproductions.com

What we used

We use several can lights as well as intelligent lighting. It took an average of one hour per song to program the lighting, so you need to have your lights up and ready to go at least a week in advance when you have programming to do for intelligent lighting.

You’ll see we started our second half of the set with a clip from an old concert and then transitioned it into the live performance. It was very effective and brought tears to almost everyone’s eyes.

Trial and Error

Unless you have professional lighting techs at your disposal you’ll just have to start somewhere and begin learning. We use more and more lights and effects each year as our A/V team gets more familiar with the lighting equipment. Talk with the techs from the company you rent lights from, they know the equipment and it’s abilities.

You may want to hire their techs to do your concert to start and work with them so you are learning, too.

I hope this gives you some valuable information for your Christmas concerts/productions. We are by no means “professionals”. However, we want to make the things we have learned over the years (sometimes the hard way) available to others.

Christmas Stories & Illustrations

October 15, 2014/in Christmas, Holiday Resources /by Tony Cooke

Christmas Stories & Illustrations

Birds Set Free

A.J. Gordon was the great Baptist pastor of the Clarendon Church in Boston, Massachusetts. One day he met a young boy in front of the sanctuary carrying a rusty cage in which several birds fluttered nervously. Gordon inquired, “Son, where did you get those birds?” The boy replied, “I trapped them out in the field.” “What are you going to do with them?” “I’m going to play with them, and then I guess I’ll just feed them to an old cat we have at home.” When Gordon offered to buy them, the lad exclaimed, “Mister, you don’t want them, they’re just little old wild birds and can’t sing very well.” Gordon replied, “I’ll give you $2 for the cage and the birds.” “Okay, it’s a deal, but you’re making a bad bargain.” The exchange was made and the boy went away whistling, happy with his shiny coins. Gordon walked around to the back of the church property, opened the door of the small wire coop, and let the struggling creatures soar into the blue. The next Sunday he took the empty cage into the pulpit and used it to illustrate his sermon about Christ’s coming to seek and to save the lost—paying for them with His own precious blood. “That boy told me the birds were not songsters,” said Gordon, “but when I released them and they winged their way heavenward, it seemed to me they were singing, ‘Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed!'”

This is Advent. And the message of these times is the song of those wild birds.

It’s the song sung in every carol this season: Redeemed!

It’s the meaning behind every gift given under the tree: Redeemed!

It’s the Word the shepherds heard: Redeemed!

It’s the assurance Mary received: Redeemed!

It’s the star the Wisemen followed: Redeemed!

You and I have been trapped by sin, but Christ has purchased our pardon. We have been redeemed!

Missing the Big News

It was in December of 1903, that after many attempts, the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, were successful in getting their “flying machine” off the ground and into the air at Kitty Hawk. Thrilled over the accomplishment, they telegraphed this message to their sister Katherine: “We have actually flown 120 feet. Will be home for Christmas.” Katherine hurried to the editor of the local newspaper and showed him the message. He glanced at it and said, “How nice. The boys will be home for Christmas.” He totally missed the big news-for the first time in human history, man had flown! (SOURCE: Daily Bread, December 23, 1991.)

Which Virgin?

A ten-year old, who was becoming quite knowledgeable about the Bible because of her grandmother’s teaching, asked her grandmother: “Which Virgin was the mother of Jesus? The Virgin Mary or the King James Virgin?”

Recognizing Jesus

One of my favorite Christmas stories is about the old shoe cobbler who dreamed one Christmas Eve that Jesus would come to visit him the next day. The dream was so real that he was convinced it would come true.

So the next morning he got up and went out and cut green boughs and decorated his little cobbler shop and got all ready for Jesus to come and visit. He was so sure that Jesus was going to come that he just sat down and waited for Him.

The hours passed and Jesus didn’t come. But an old man came. He came inside for a moment to get warm out of the winter cold. As the cobbler talked with him he noticed the holes in the old man’s shoes, so he reached up on the shelf and got him a new pair of shoes. He made sure they fit and that his socks were dry and sent him on his way.

Still he waited. But Jesus didn’t come. An old woman came. A woman who hadn’t had a decent meal in two days. They sat and visited for a while, and then he prepared some food for her to eat. He gave her a nourishing meal and sent her on her way.

Then he sat down again to wait for Jesus. But Jesus still didn’t come.

Then he heard a little boy crying out in front of his shop. He went out and talked with the boy, and discovered that the boy had been separated from his parents and didn’t know how to get home. So he put on his coat, took the boy by the hand and led him home.

When he came back to his little shoe shop it was almost dark and the streets were emptied of people. And then in a moment of despair he lifted his voice to heaven and said, “Oh Lord Jesus, why didn’t you come?”

And then in a moment of silence he seemed to hear a voice saying, “Oh shoe cobbler, lift up your heart. I kept my word. Three times I knocked at your friendly door. Three times my shadow fell across your floor. I was the man with the bruised feet. I was the woman you gave to eat. I was the boy on the homeless street.”

Jesus had come. The cobbler just didn’t realize it.

– by Melvin Newland

If You Ever Want to See Your Mother Again

A small boy was writing a letter to God about the Christmas presents he badly wanted. “I’ve been good for six months now.” he wrote. But after a moment’s reflection he crossed out “six months” and wrote “three months.” After a pause that was crossed out and he put “two weeks.” There was another pause and that was crossed out too. He got up from the table and went over to the nativity scene that had the figures of Mary and Joseph. He picked up the figure of Mary, wrapped it gently in a cloth, and put it in a drawer in his room. He then went back to his writing and started again: “Dear God, if ever you want to see your mother again!”

The Three Wise Firemen

There was a art contest held in a local school one Christmas season a few years ago in East Texas. One of the prize winners was a picture drawn by a nine year old boy showing three men, offering gifts to the baby Jesus in his manger. What made the picture unique is how the three gift presenters arrived—there was fire truck on the side of the picture.

The principal asked the boy about his decision to draw the truck and the boy, in his heavy East-Texas accent, was quick to reply: “Well, the Bible says the wise men came from a-far.”

If I Could Only Become a Bird

Paul Harvey tells the story about a family on Christmas Eve. This family had a tradition where the Mother and children would go to the Christmas Eve service, and the Father would stay home and read the paper. When the family returns home from church, they would all gather to open up their presents.

The Father was not an evil man, but he just couldn’t believe in the childhood stories anymore of God coming as a baby in a manger. As the family left for church, he opened up the evening paper and began to read by the fireplace.

Suddenly, he heard tapping on the window. It was a bird flying against the glass of his window trying to get out of the snow into the warmth of his home. The man had compassion on the bird, and he went outside, hoping to bring it in.

As he approached the bird, the bird just flew against the window even harder. Pretty soon, the bird flew into the bushes below the window, half frozen, yet too afraid to be caught by this huge man. The more the man tried to reach for the bird, the more the bird flew frantically into the snow and thorns of the bushes.

After a few minutes in the cold and seeing the bird continue to injure itself, the man yelled out in frustration, “Stupid bird, can’t you understand that I’m trying to help?” The man paused and thought, “If only you understood you wouldn’t fly away … if only … if only I could become a bird, and get you to understand.”

Just then, the church bells rang, as they always have on the hour. But when the man heard the bells this time, he fell to his knees and began to cry, saying, “Oh, God, I didn’t understand. Oh, God, I didn’t understand.”

God’s Son came in human form that we might understand from where we have come, for what reason we were separated and how we could be restored to God.

Our Greatest Need

If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator; If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist; If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist; If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer; but our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.

Next Time It Will Be Different

The First Time Jesus Came
He came veiled in the form of a child.
A star marked His arrival.
Wise men brought Him gifts.
There was no room for Him.
Only a few attended His arrival.
The Next Time Jesus Comes
He will be recognized by all.
Heaven will be lit by His glory.
He will bring rewards for His own.
The world won’t be able to contain His glory.
Every eye shall see Him.
He will come as Sovereign King and Lord of all.
– John F. MacArthur Jr.

The Best Christmas Ever

A store owner was doing some last minute Christmas shopping with his young son when he saw another store owner with whom he had been friends for some time. The two of them exchanged greetings and spoke with each other about what a financially profitable season it had been for their respective stores. The small boy overheard his father say, “This has been the best Christmas ever.”

As the store owners parted company, the father and son continued their shopping, but the father noticed his son had become very quiet. He inquired as to his son’s silence, and his son replied, “Dad, you just told Mr. Johnson that this was the best Christmas ever.”

His dad replied, “I did, son. The economy is great, and people are really spending.”

“O.K.” the son replied, “It’s just that I always thought the first Christmas was the best one.”

Look What Has Come

In his 1942 devotional Abundant Living, E. Stanley Jones, Methodist doctor and missionary to India, writes:

The early Christians did not say in dismay: “Look what the world has come to,” but in delight, “Look what has come to the world.” They saw not merely the ruin, but the Resource for the reconstruction of that ruin. They saw not merely that sin did abound, but that grace did much more abound. On that assurance the pivot of history swung from blank despair, loss of moral nerve, and fatalism, to faith and confidence that at last sin had met its match.

A Politically Correct Christmas

“To avoid offending anybody, the school dropped religion altogether and started singing about the weather. At my son’s school, they now hold the winter program in February and sing increasingly non-memorable songs such as ‘Winter Wonderland,’ ‘Frosty the Snowman,’ and—this is a real song—‘Suzy Snowflake,’ all of which is pretty funny because we live in Miami. A visitor from another planet would assume that the children belonged to the Church of Meteorology.”

– Dave Barry in his “Notes on Western Civilization” (Chicago Tribune Magazine, July 28, 1991)

Augustine’s Reflections

In this poem written some fifteen centuries ago, Augustine tried to capture the mystery of the Incarnation:

Maker of the sun,
He is made under the sun.
In the Father he remains,
From his mother he goes forth.
Creator of heaven and earth,
He was born on earth under heaven.
Unspeakably wise,
He is wisely speechless.
Filling the world,
He lies in a manger.
Ruler of the stars,
He nurses at his mother’s bosom.
He is both great in the nature of God,
And small in the form of a servant.

Remembering Atheists at Christmas

From a few years ago…

Complaints about a nativity scene in the Capitol are not bothering South Dakota Governor Bill Janklow. He’s prepared to let every religion put something on display in the Capitol, and even has an “empty corner” set aside for atheists.

‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas

by Tony Cooke and David Beebe

‘Twas the fight before Christmas,
And all through the house,
Not a creature was peaceful,
Not even my spouse.
The bills were strung out on our table with dread,
In hopes that our checkbook would not be in the red.
The children were fussing and throwing a fit,
When Billy came screaming and cried, “I’ve been bit.”
And Momma with her skillet, and I with the remote,
She said, “You change one more channel and I’ll grab your throat.”
When on the TV there arose such a clatter,
I sat up on the couch to see what was the matter.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
The cable was out, it was my worst fear.
“The Cowboys, the Celtics, the Raiders, the Knicks,
Without the sports channel I’d soon need a fix!”
And then in the midst of my grievous sorrow,
I remembered the times I had promised, “tomorrow…”
“Not now, my children, but at some soon time,
Dad will play with you, and things will be fine.”
Now under conviction, I looked at my wife,
Where was my kindness? Why all the strife?
My heart quickly softened; I now saw my task,
Some love and attention was all they had asked.
I gathered my family and called them by name,
And told them with God’s help I’d not be the same.
We’ll keep Christ in Christmas and honor His plan.
No more fights before Christmas—on that we will stand.
My children’s eyes twinkled; they squealed with delight.
My wife gladly nodded; she knew I was right.
It was the fight before Christmas, but God’s love had come through,
And just like He does, He made all things new.

Praise God for Christmas

Praise Him for the Incarnation,
For the word made flesh.
I will not sing of shepherds
Watching flocks on frosty nights,
Or angel choristers.
I will not sing of a stable bare in Bethlehem,
Or lowing oxen,
Wise men trailing star with gold,
Frankincense, and myrrh.
Tonight I will sing praise to the Father
Who stood on heaven’s threshold
And said farewell to His Son
As he stepped across the stars
To Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
And I will sing praise to the infinite, eternal Son,
Who became most finite, a baby
Who would one day be executed for my crime.
Praise Him in the heavens,
Praise Him in the stable,
Praise Him in my heart.
– Joseph Bayly

Some Christmas Reminders

* May the Christmas GIFTS remind us of God’s greatest gift, His only Son.
* May the Christmas CANDLES remind us of Him who is the “Light of the world.”
* May the Christmas TREES remind us of another tree upon which he died.
* May the Christmas CHEER remind us of Him who said, “Be of good cheer.”
* May the Christmas FEAST remind us of Him who is “the Bread of Life.”
* May the Christmas BELLS remind us of the glorious proclamation of His birth.
* May the Christmas CAROLS remind us of the son the angels sang, “Glory to God in the Highest!”
* May the Christmas SEASON remind us in every way of Jesus Christ our King!

Keeping Christmas

In a world that seems not only to be changing, but even to be dissolving, there are some tens of millions of us who want Christmas to be the same… with the same old greeting, “Merry Christmas,” and no other.

We long for the abiding love among men of good will which the season brings… believing in this ancient miracle of Christmas with its softening, sweetening influence to tug at our heart strings once again.

We want to hold on to the old customs and traditions because they strengthen our family ties, bind us to our friends, make us one with all mankind for whom the Child was born, and bring us back again to the God Who gave His only begotten Son, that “whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have “everlasting life.”

So we will not “spend” Christmas… nor “observe” Christmas.

We will “keep” Christmas—keep it as it is… in all the loveliness of its ancient tradition.

May we keep it in our hearts, that we may be kept in its hope.

– Peter Marshall

The Christmas Problem

Once upon a Christmas Eve, a man sat in reflective silence before the fireplace, pondering the meaning of Christmas. “There is no point to a God who becomes man,” he mused. “Why would an all-powerful God want to share even one of His precious moments with the likes of man? And even if He did, why would He choose to be born in an animal stall? No way! The whole thing is absurd! I’m sure that if God really wanted to come down to earth, He would have chosen some other way.” Suddenly, the man was roused from his reverie by a strange sound outside. He went to the window and saw a small gaggle of blue geese frantically honking and aimlessly flopping about in the snow. They seemed dazed and confused. Apparently they had dropped out in exhaustion from the flight formations of a larger flock on its way from the Arctic Islands to the warmer climes of the Gulf of Mexico. Moved to compassion, the man tried to “shoo” the poor geese into his warm garage, but the more he “shooed” the more they panicked. “If they only realized I’m only trying to do what’s best for them,” he thought to himself. “How can I make them understand my concern for their well-being?” Then, this thought came to him: “If for just a minute, I could become one of them, an ordinary goose, and communicate with them in their own language, they would know what I am trying to do.” And suddenly … suddenly, he remembered Christmas and a smile came over his face. Suddenly, the Christmas story no longer seemed absurd. Suddenly, he pictured that ordinary-looking infant, lying in the manger, in that stable in Bethlehem, and he knew the answer to his Christmas problem: God had become one of us to tell us that He loves us.

C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis wrote: “The Eternal Being, who knows everything and who created the whole universe, became not only a man but a baby, and before that a fetus in a woman’s body.”

Heavenly Peas

A little boy and girl were singing their favorite Christmas carol in church the Sunday before Christmas. The boy concluded “Silent Night” with the words, “Sleep in heavenly beans.” “No,” his sister corrected, “not beans, peas.”

– Michael P. Green, Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993, p. 57.

Consider Again Christmas

When Pope Julius I authorized December 25 to be celebrated as the birthday of Jesus in A.D. 353, who would have ever thought that it would become what it is today.

When Professor Charles Follen lit candles on the first Christmas tree in America in 1832, who would have ever thought that the decorations would become as elaborate as they are today.

It is a long time since 1832, longer still from 353, longer still from that dark night brightened by a special star in which Jesus the king was born. Yet, as we approach December 25 again, it gives us yet another opportunity to pause, and in the midst of all the excitement and elaborate decorations and expensive commercialization which surround Christmas today, to consider again the event of Christmas and the person whose birth we celebrate.

– Brian L. Harbour, James W. Cox, The Minister’s Manual: 1994, San Fransico: Harper Collins, 1993, p. 254.

I’ll Just Take the Skates

There was the little boy who approached Santa in a department store with a long list of requests. He wanted a bicycle and a sled, a chemical set, a cowboy suit, a set of trains, a baseball glove and roller skates. “That’s a pretty long list,” Santa said sternly. “I’ll have to check in my book and see if you were a good boy.” “No, no,” the youngster said quickly. “Never mind checking. I’ll just take the roller skates.”

Some Gifts to Give

Some gifts you can give this Christmas are beyond monetary value: Mend a quarrel, dismiss suspicion, tell someone, “I love you.” Give something away–anonymously. Forgive someone who has treated you wrong. Turn away wrath with a soft answer. Visit someone in a nursing home. Apologize if you were wrong. Be especially kind to someone with whom you work. Give as God gave to you in Christ, without obligation, or announcement, or reservation, or hypocrisy.

– Charles Swindoll, Growing Strong, pp. 400-1.

Martin Luther

“The mystery of the humanity of Christ, that He sunk Himself into our flesh, is beyond all human understanding.”

– Martin Luther, Table Talk.

Ah, dearest Jesus, Holy Child
Ah, dearest Jesus, Holy Child,
Make thee a bed, soft, undefiled,
Within my heart, that it may be
A quiet chamber kept for Thee.
My heart for very joy doth leap,
My lips no more can silence keep,
I too must sing, with joyful tongue,
That sweetest ancient cradle song,
Glory to God in highest heaven,
Who unto man His Son hath given
While angels sing with pious mirth.
A glad new year to all the earth.

– Martin Luther.

The Christmas Carol Dilemma

A lady who served on many civic committees, asked to select carols suitable for a community Christmas-tree lighting, sought the help of her pastor. When she scanned the list he had selected, she exclaimed in dismay, “But they’re all so theological.”

The Ten Commandments for Christmas

The following item appeared in a church newsletter and contains some good advice that will help us keep selfishness in check this Christmas:

I. Thou shalt not leave “Christ” out of Christmas, making it “Xmas.” To some, “X” is unknown.

II. Thou shalt prepare thy soul for Christmas. Spend not so much on gifts that thy soul is forgotten.

III. Thou shalt not let Santa Claus replace Christ, thus robbing the day of its spiritual reality.

IV. Thou shalt not burden the shop girl, the mailman, and the merchant with complaints and demands.

V. Thou shalt give thyself with thy gift. This will increase its value a hundred fold, and he who receiveth it shall treasure it forever.

VI. Thou shalt not value gifts received by their cost. Even the least expensive may signify love, and that is more priceless than silver and gold.

VII. Thou shalt not neglect the needy. Share thy blessings with many who will go hungry and cold unless thou are generous.

VIII. Thou shalt not neglect thy church. Its services highlight the true meaning of the season.

IX. Thou shalt be as a little child. Not until thou has become in spirit as a little one art thou ready to enter into the kingdom of Heaven.

X. Thou shalt give thy heart to Christ. Let Him be at the top of thy Christmas list.

Materialism & the Meaning of Christmas

A television interviewer was walking streets of Tokyo at Christmas time. Much as in America, Christmas shopping is a big commercial success in Japan. The interviewer stopped one young woman on the sidewalk, and asked, “What is the meaning of Christmas?”

Laughing, she responded, “I don’t know. Is that the day that Jesus died?”

There was some truth in her answer.

– Donald Deffner, Seasonal Illustrations, San Jose: Resource, 1992, p. 16.

The Real Picture

During the long war years a boy looked frequently at a picture of his daddy on the table. He had left when the boy was a young infant. After several years the boy had forgotten him as a person but he would often look at the picture and say, “If only my father could step out of that picture and be real….”

Christmas means that in a sad day of sin when man had almost forgotten God, He stepped into the world in the form of His Son.
– Pulpit Helps

Is Jesus Still a Baby?

A girl of ten years went with a group of family and friends to see the Christmas light displays at various locations throughout the city. At one church, they stopped and got out to look more closely at a beautifully done nativity scene. “Isn’t that beautiful?” said the little girl’s grandmother. “Look at all the animals, Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus.” “Yes, Grandma,” replied the granddaughter. “It is really nice. But there is only one thing that bothers me. Isn’t baby Jesus ever going to grow up… he’s the same size he was last year.”

What Children Hear

I was reading the story of Jesus’ birth to my day-care children one morning. As usual, I stopped to see if they understood. “What do we call the three wise men?” I asked. “The three maggots,” replied a bright 5-year-old. “What gift did the Magi bring baby Jesus?” I corrected. “Gold, Frankensteins and smurfs!” the same 5-year-old replied.

– Sent in to Christian Herald by Brenda Roberts, Stone Mountain, GA.

Purposes of the Incarnation

* To do the Father’s will (Jn 6:38),
* To bear witness to the truth (Jn 18:37),
* To bring light to the darkness (Jn 12:46),
* To bring true judgment (Jn 9:39),
* To bring abundant life (Jn 10:10).

– Source Unknown

Mary Had the Little Lamb

Mary had the little Lamb, who lived before His birth;
Self-existent Son of God, from Heaven He came to Earth.
Micah 5:2

Mary had the little Lamb; see Him in yonder stall—
Virgin-born Son of God, to save man from the Fall.
Isaiah 7:14

Mary had the little Lamb, obedient Son of God;
Everywhere the Father led, His feet were sure to trod.
John 6:38

Mary had the little Lamb, crucified on the tree
The rejected Son of God, He died to set men free.
1 Peter 1:18

Mary had the little Lamb—men placed Him in the grave,
Thinking they were done with Him; to death He was no slave!
Matthew 28:6

Mary had the little Lamb, ascended now is He;
All work on Earth is ended, our Advocate to be.
Hebrews 4:14-16

Mary had the little Lamb—mystery to behold!
From the Lamb of Calvary, a Lion will unfold.
Revelation 5: 5,6

When the Day Star comes again, of this be very sure:
It won’t be Lamb-like silence, but with the Lion’s roar.
Psalm 2:12
Revelation 19:11-16

– Marv & Marbeth Rosenthal

“One Solitary Life”

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in still another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was thirty. Then for three years he was an itinerant preacher.

He never wrote a book.

He never held an office.

He never had a family or owned a house.

He didn’t go to college.

He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born.

He did none of these things one usually associates with greatness.

He had no credentials but himself.

He was only 33 when public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.

When he was dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race, the leader of mankind’s progress.

All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on earth as much as that One Solitary Life.

– Unknown

St. Nicholas

His name was Nicholas and he was born to a wealthy, elderly couple in what is now Turkey in the 3rd century AD. When his parents died, he was left with a large inheritance and gained a reputation for generously giving to the poor. He entered a monastery and eventually was ordained Bishop of the coastal city of Myra. Nicholas was known for miraculous answers to prayer, confronting pagan “Diana” worship and being cruelly imprisoned during Roman Emperor Diocletian’s persecution of Christians. When Constantine ended the persecution, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea and helped write the Nicene Creed. A true Saint, Nicholas died on December 6, 343AD. Early American writer Washington Irving, creator of Rip Van Winkle and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, was instrumental in transforming Saint Nicholas into jolly ol’ St. Nick!

– From American Minute with Bill Federer
American Minute is a daily e-mail sent out by Amerisearch.
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The Hindu and the Ant Hill

There was a man from India who was a devout member of a Hindu sect and who had a profound sense of reverence for life. He would not kill an ant, a cow, or even a cobra, because to him, due to his belief in reincarnation, he might be killing some past relative.

During his visit to America, he had been confronted with the claims of Christ, yet he could not grasp the biblical truth that God actually visited this planet in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. He could not comprehend how the Great Creator God of the Universe could become a man, or why.

One day as he was walking in the field meditating upon this new truth about Jesus the Christ being God, he was wondering how this could possibly be. He ran across a large ant hill with thousands of little ants scurrying around in their busy like manner. He was standing there observing with wonder the activity of these ants, and what amazing creatures they are, when suddenly, he heard a tremendous and threatening noise. It was the noise of a large tractor plowing the fields.

As he looked up he discovered that the tractor would soon be plowing through that ant hill and thousands of ants would probably be killed and their home destroyed. Gripped with the same concern you and I would feel for hundreds of people trapped in a burning building, he became frantic. He wanted to warn them of their impending destruction.

He thought to himself, “How can I warn them? If I could write in the sand, they wouldn’t be able to read it. If I shouted to them, they wouldn’t understand me. The only possible way I could communicate with them would be by becoming an ant, if I had that ability.”

Then suddenly he had a revelation from the Spirit of God. He saw why God, the Creator of the universe, chose to become one of us by becoming a man, in the Person of the God-man, Jesus of Nazareth.

Through his experience with the ant hill, the light suddenly came on in the heart of that Hindu man, and now he understood the words of Paul: “Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form” (Philippians 2:6- 7, NLT).

– From Bill Bright, Daily Insights, a service of Global Pastors Network

Christmas Quotes

“He was truly born of a virgin… He is God existing in flesh, true Life in death. He is both of Mary and of God.”
— Ignatius of Antioch

“We even affirm that He was born of a virgin.”
— Justin Martyr

“Christ Jesus, the Son of God, because of His surpassing love towards His creation, humbled Himself to be born of the virgin. Thereby, He united man through Himself to God.”
— Irenaeus

“The Son of God—He who made the universe—assumed flesh and was conceived in the virgin’s womb.”
— Clement of Alexandria

“This ray of God, then, as it was always foretold in ancient times, descended into a certain virgin. And He was made flesh in her womb. So, in His birth, God and man were united.”
— Tertullian

“He in the last times divested Himself and became a man, and was incarnate although still God. While He was made a man, He remained the God that He was. He assumed a body like our own, differing in only one respect: that the body was born of a virgin and of the Holy Spirit. This Jesus Christ was truly born, truly suffered, . . . and truly died.”
— Origen

“He enters into a virgin. Through the Holy Spirit, He is clothed with flesh. God is mingled with man.”
— Cyprian

“I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord.”
— Martin Luther

“Some things strange and tragic have been happening in recent years within Christianity. For one, some ministers have advised their congregations not to be greatly concerned if theologians dispute the virgin birth of Jesus. The issue, they say, is not important. For another thing, some professing Christians are saying they do not want to be pinned down as to what they really believe about the uniqueness and reality of the deity of Jesus, the Christ.”
— A. W. Tozer

“If we accept that Jesus was the incarnate Son of God, does not belief in the virgin birth become logically inevitable? Who could be the Father of the Son of God but God Himself?”
— Oswald Sanders

“The virgin birth of Christ is a key doctrine; for if Jesus Christ is not God come in sinless human flesh, then we have no Savior. Jesus had to be born of a virgin, apart from human generation, because He existed before His mother. He was not just born in this world; He came down from heaven into the world. Jesus was sent by the Father and therefore came into the world having a human mother but not a human father.
— Warren Wiersbe

“Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35), and not by Joseph, in order that His human nature might be sinless. This is why He would be called ‘the Son of God’ at His birth.”
— Tony Evans

“The Virgin Birth alone insured both the full deity and full humanity of Jesus. If God had created Jesus a complete human being in heaven and sent Him to earth apart from any human parent, it is difficult to see how He could be truly a man. If God had sent His Son into the world through both a human father and mother, it is difficult to see how He could be truly God.”
— Sam Storms

It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself.
— Charles Dickens

“On the first Christmas, God didn’t merely send humanity a principle or a doctrine or an ethical system. He sent His only Son. It’s personal.”
– Richard Blackaby

“Who can add to Christmas? The perfect motive is that God so loved the world. The perfect gift is that He gave His only Son. The only requirement is to believe in Him. The reward of faith is that you shall have everlasting life.”
– Corrie Ten Boom

“The spirit of Christmas needs to be superseded by the Spirit of Christ. The spirit of Christmas is annual; the Spirit of Christ is eternal. The spirit of Christmas is sentimental; the Spirit of Christ is supernatural. The spirit of Christmas is a human product; the Spirit of Christ is a divine person. That makes all the difference in the world.”
– Stuart Briscoe

“You can never truly enjoy Christmas until you can look up into the Father’s face and tell him you have received his Christmas gift.”
– John R. Rice

What is Jesus’ birth all about? “The Son of God became fully human to identify with sinful humans, to live a sinless life, to sacrifice Himself in our place to atone for our sin, and to rise again to conquer death and give believing sinners the gift of eternal life. Jesus volunteered for this mission and willingly endured the suffering to bring glory to His Father, to receive a name above every name, and to transform sinners into saints who glorify God.”
– David and Warren Wiersbe

“A virgin birth seems a most appropriate and creative way for God to enter His world.”
– Paul Smith

“Jesus Christ, the condescension of divinity, and the exaltation of humanity.”
– Phillips Brooks

“Let not thy peace depend on the tongues of men, for whether they judge well or ill, thou art not on that account other than thyself.”
– Thomas à Kempis

“Christ was born in the first century, yet He belongs to all centuries. He was born a Jew, yet He belongs to all races. He was born in Bethlehem, yet He belongs to all countries.”
– George Washington Truett

“It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you… yes, it is Christmas every time you smile at your brother and offer him your hand.”
– Mother Teresa

How many observe Christ’s birthday! How few, his precepts! O! ’tis easier to keep holidays than commandments.
– Benjamin Franklin

“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.”
– Calvin Coolidge

“Though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem be born, If he’s not born in thee thy soul is still forlorn.”
– Angelus Silesius

“He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.”
– Roy L. Smith

“Christmas is based on an exchange of gifts: the gift of God to man—his son; and the gift of God to man – when we first give ourselves to God.”
– Vance Havner

“Christmas is not just a day, an event to be observed and speedily forgotten. It is a spirit which should permeate every part of our lives.”
– William Parks

“Christmas is a day that holds time together.”
– Alexander Smith

“The simple shepherds heard the voice of an angel and found their Lamb; the wise men saw the light of a star and found their Wisdom.”
– Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

“God grant you the light in Christmas, which is faith; the warmth of Christmas, which is love; the radiance of Christmas, which is purity; the righteousness of Christmas, which is justice; the belief in Christmas, which is truth; the all of Christmas which is Christ.”
– Wilda English

“The Son of God became a man to enable men to become the sons of God.”
– C.S. Lewis

“The coming of Christ by way of a Bethlehem manger seems strange and stunning. But when we take him out of the manger and invite Him into our hearts, then the meaning unfolds and the strangeness vanishes.”
– C. Neil Strait

Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Clause

Editorial Page, New York Sun, 1897

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

Dear Editor,
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

– Virginia O’Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation

October 15, 2014/in Holiday Resources /by Tony Cooke

Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

Thoughts on the Resurrection of Christ

October 15, 2014/in Holiday Resources /by Tony Cooke

Great Thoughts on the Resurrection of Christ

While there is a progression of thought in the following, it is not necessarily presented as a sermon in its entirety. Rather, these are thoughts that can be drawn from in developing a message. Individual stories, quotes, or points can be lifted and interwoven into your own Easter message. May you and your congregation have a very blessed Resurrection Sunday!

Romans 1:1-4
1. Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called [to be] an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2. which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3. concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4. [and] declared [to be] the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

The doctrine of the resurrection is absolutely central to the Christian faith.

If the resurrection of Jesus is not totally true, then everything in the Bible and in the life of Jesus that precedes it (Genesis through the end of the Gospel Accounts) and everything that follows it (The Book of Acts through the Book of Revelation) is absolutely meaningless.

1 Corinthians 15:14-19
14. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching [is] empty and your faith [is] also empty. 15. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up — if in fact the dead do not rise. 16. For if [the] dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17. And if Christ is not risen, your faith [is] futile; you are still in your sins! 18. Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

Without the Resurrection:

1. Our preaching is useless.
2. Your faith is useless.
3. We are false witnesses.
4. No dead will ever be raised.
5. Your faith is futile.
6. You are still in your sins.
7. All who have trusted in Christ are lost.
8. We are to be pitied more than all men.

If Jesus has not risen from the dead, His own expectations are disappointed and His repeated promises proven false, His assurances worthless. In that case, whoever else the Nazarene might have been, He certainly was not and is not “Lord.” If Jesus has not risen from the grave, His disciples are incompetent transmitters of truth, for this doctrine was the cornerstone of their apostolic teaching. Worse, they are actually false witness, claiming to be eyewitnesses of a miracle that never truly happened. And if Jesus has not risen from the grave, if His body once lay moldering in Joseph’s tomb and is now forgotten dust, then death is still victorious and final. There is no good news for the dying. If for a Savior we have only a ghost, then for heaven we shall only have a dream.
(The Glory of Christ, Peter Lewis. Moody. pp. 358-359)

If the resurrection is not true, what difference does it make if…

…Noah built an ark
…Moses led the children of Israel to Canaan Land
…David slew Goliath
…Joshua conquered Jericho
…Daniel spent the night with in the lion’s den
…Jesus walked on the water and fed the multitudes
…The Church in the Book of Acts grew rapidly
…Paul wrote letters

If the resurrection is not true, it’s all totally worthless and meaningless.

You can’t have a living faith with a dead Savior!

In his argument in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul went on to say (verse 32): “If the dead do not rise, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’”

Of what are considered the great faiths or religions of the world, Christianity alone stakes its entire claim and bases its entire existence on the Resurrection of its Founder; nothing more, nothing less.

Christianity is not based on a set of ideas, creeds, morals, beliefs, lifestyle, discipline, or practices.

Christianity may produce some of those things, but genuine, biblical Christianity is based entirely and exclusively on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The resurrection is a vital part of the total uniqueness of Jesus Christ!

Jesus was unique in every aspect of His Person.
• Unique in His birth
• Unique in His life
• Unique in His nature (totally God, totally man)
• Unique in His death
• Unique in His resurrection

The Resurrection places Jesus Christ in a class by Himself. It makes Him unique. Other religions can compete with Christianity on some things. They can say, for example, “Your founder gave you a holy book? Our founder gave us a holy book. You founder has a large following? So does ours. You have buildings where people come to worship your God? We have buildings where people come to worship our god.”

But Christians can say, “All of that may be true, but our Founder rose from the dead!” End of conversation.

(Who Is This King Of Glory? Tony Evans. Moody. pp. 81-82)

What Does the Resurrection Mean?

Resurrection is more than just the reviving of the physical body.

Jesus raised three people from the dead under His own ministry. However, all of those people died again.

The Resurrection Transformed the Incarnate State of Jesus Himself.
• Jesus had willingly come to earth.
• Willingly laid aside His might power and glory.
• Willingly emptied Himself.
• Willingly made Himself of no reputation.
• Willingly took on the form of a servant.
• Willingly accepted the limitations and restrictions of humanity.
• Willingly submitted Himself to the Father’s will.
• Willingly accepted the penalty and punishment of sin.
• Willingly died, not just normal or common death…

John 10:17-18
17. Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.

Once He had died, Jesus was ready to receive His former glory.

John 17:5
5. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

When He was resurrected, He had the same body He had when He was on the earth, but it was transformed. His wounds were all visible (John 20:25-29).

This transformed body engaged in some of the same physical activity of any human body.
• He still breathed (John 20:22).
• He still talked (John 21:15).
• He still stood (John 21:4).
• He still ate (Luke 24:41-43).
• He still walked (Luke 24:15).

Seated now, at the right hand of majesty on high, is a man… The man Christ Jesus.

1. The Resurrection Vindicated All the Claims Jesus Made for Himself.

After Jesus “cleansed the Temple…”

John 2:18-22
18. So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” 19. Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20. Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21. But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22. Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

If Jesus could back up his pledge, promise, and prediction to be raised from the dead, it stands to reason He can back up any other promise He made.

2. The Resurrection Signified Jesus’ Complete Success.

Colossians 2:12-15
12. buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with [Him] through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14. having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Paul affirms that Christ has “disarmed” these forces of evil. He has stripped the powers and authorities just as a conquered antagonist was stripped of his weapons and armor and put to public shame. Paul goes on to say that God (in Christ) “made a public spectacle of them.” That is to say, he exposed them to public disgrace by exhibiting them to the universe as his captives. The added words, “triumphing over them by the cross,” expand this idea. The picture, quite familiar in the Roman world, is that of a triumphant general leading a parade of victory. The conqueror, riding at the front in his chariot, leads his troops through the streets of the city. Behind them trails a wretched company of vanquished kings, officers, and soldiers–the spoils of battle. Christ, in this picture, is the conquering general; the powers and authorities are the vanquished enemy displayed as the spoils of battle before the entire universe. To the casual observer the cross appears to be only an instrument of death, the symbol of Christ’s defeat; Paul sees it as Christ’s chariot of victory.
(New International Version Bible Commentary)

3. The Resurrection of Jesus is the Power and Pledge of our Resurrection.

Christ undertook a battle not rightly His; we share in a triumph not rightly ours.

Romans 6:4-5
4. Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be [in the likeness] of [His] resurrection…

1 Corinthians 15:20
20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, [and] has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

• We were crucified with Him.
• We died with Him.
• We were buried with Him.
• We were quickened with Him.
• We were raised with Him.
• We have been made to sit with Him in heavenly places.
• He is the firstfruits, and we are the harvest that follows!

Two hundred miles northeast of Los Angeles is a baked-out gorge called Death Valley — the lowest place in the United States, 276 feet below sea level. It is also the hottest place in the country, with an official recording of 134 degrees. Streams flow into Death Valley only to evaporate in the scorching heat, and a scant two and on half inches of rain falls on the barren wasteland each year.

But some years ago, and amazing thing happened. Due to a freak weather pattern, rain fell into the bone-dry earth for nineteen days straight. Suddenly, millions of seeds, which had lain dormant for untold years burst into bloom. The Valley of Death exploded into beauty, color, and life.

This is the message of the resurrection. Life springs forth from death. A desert becomes a garden. Beauty transcends the ugly. Love overcomes hatred. A tomb is emptied. The grim and haunting outline of a cross is swallowed in the glow of an Easter morning sunrise.
(Jesus in 12 Lessons. Max Anders. Nelson. p. 155)

Because He lives, we shall live also!

Miscellaneous Quotes, Songs, etc.

The Strife is Over, the Battle Done
(1695 – Latin translated – 1861)

The strife is over, the battle done;
The victory of life is won;
The song of Triumph has begun.
Alleluia!

The powers of death have done their worst,
But Christ their legions hath dispersed:
Let shouts of Holy joy outburst.
Alleluia!

The three sad days have quickly sped;
He rises glorious from the dead:
All Glory to our risen head!
Alleluia!

Lord, by the stripes, which he wounded thee,
From death’s dread sting thy servants free,
That we may live and sing to thee.
Alleluia! Amen.

He is literature’s loftiest ideal. He is the philosopher’s highest personality. He is the critic’s supreme problem. In theology, He is the fundamental doctrine. His name blossoms on the pages of history like the flowers in springtime on a thousand hills. His name sounds down the corridors of time and through the centuries like the music of all choirs. Jesus, the Son of God, is the One all together lovely, the bright and morning Star, the Rose of Sharon…

To the doctor, He is the Great Physician
To the Judge, He is the Righteous Judge.
To the Juror, He is the Faithful Witness,
To the Philosopher, He is the Wisdom of God
To the Preacher, He is the Word of God.
To the Student, He is the Incarnate Truth
To the Theologian, He is the Author and Finisher of our Faith
To the Toiler, he is the Giver of Rest.
To the Sinner, He is the Lamb of God
To the Christian, He is the Son of the Living God!
– Unknown

“Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf of springtime.”
– Martin Luther

As Vice President, George Bush represented the U.S. at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev’s widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev’s wife performed an act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed: She reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband’s chest. There in the citadel of secular, atheistic power, the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life, and that that life was best represented by Jesus who died on the cross, and that the same Jesus might yet have mercy on her husband.
– Gary Thomas, Christian Times, October 3, 1994, p. 26.

“In many respects I find an unresurrected Jesus easier to accept. Easter makes him dangerous. Because of Easter, I have to listen to his extravagant claims and can no longer pick and choose from his sayings. Moreover, Easter means he must be loose out there somewhere.”
– Philip Yancey

“As we remember the crucifixion, know that Jesus was not a helpless victim of mob violence, neither was He merely in the wrong place at the wrong time. Peter says that Jesus was, ‘delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God’ (Acts 2:23), and John calls Jesus, ‘the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world’ (Rev. 13:8). Jesus Himself testified, ‘I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again’ (John 10:17-18). Jesus was no powerless victim; He is the Savior and Redeemer. His death was as deliberate as His resurrection. He was in the right place at the right time, and all who believe in Him are the eternal beneficiaries of His sacrifice.”
– Tony Cooke

“The Example—He faced every temptation and overcame.
The Substitute—He bore all iniquity and every shame.
Through death, the Sinless One was swallowed in the earth.
Risen, victorious, He gives each of us new birth.”
– Tony Cooke

“The empty grave does not do anything to us. You need to meet the Risen One.”
– Alex Harten

“Jesus entered Jerusalem to shouts of ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’ Shortly, those accolades turned into the cries of ‘Crucify Him! Crucify Him!’ His joy was turned into sorrow, so that our sorrow could be turned into joy.”
– Tony Cooke

George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

The Geese and the Snowstorm Author Unknown

Father’s Day Quotes, Humor, and Stories

Christmas Stories & Illustrations

Birds Set Free

Missing the Big News

Which Virgin?

Recognizing Jesus

If You Ever Want to See Your Mother Again

The Three Wise Firemen

If I Could Only Become a Bird

Our Greatest Need

Next Time It Will Be Different

The Best Christmas Ever

Look What Has Come

A Politically Correct Christmas

Augustine’s Reflections

Remembering Atheists at Christmas

‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas

Praise God for Christmas

Some Christmas Reminders

Keeping Christmas

The Christmas Problem

C.S. Lewis

Heavenly Peas

Consider Again Christmas

I’ll Just Take the Skates

Some Gifts to Give

Martin Luther

The Christmas Carol Dilemma

The Ten Commandments for Christmas

Materialism & the Meaning of Christmas

The Real Picture

Is Jesus Still a Baby?

What Children Hear

Purposes of the Incarnation

Mary Had the Little Lamb

“One Solitary Life”

St. Nicholas

The Hindu and the Ant Hill

Christmas Quotes

Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Clause

Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation

Great Thoughts on the Resurrection of Christ

Without the Resurrection:

If the resurrection is not true, what difference does it make if…

What Does the Resurrection Mean?

1. The Resurrection Vindicated All the Claims Jesus Made for Himself.

2. The Resurrection Signified Jesus’ Complete Success.

3. The Resurrection of Jesus is the Power and Pledge of our Resurrection.

Miscellaneous Quotes, Songs, etc.

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