To get set up to celebrate, you will need to make a candle tray out of tinfoil. The tray needs to hold 7 small pillar candles. You will also need 7 small pillar candles. The other items you will need are; children, a Bible, cookies and milk or hot chocolate.
Starting on the 7th night before Christmas gather together at the dining room table. Begin with a prayer, then read John (the gospel, not the letters) John 2:1-2:11. This covers Christ's first miracle - He changed water into wine. Light the first candle and discuss this miracle. It represents Christ's work on the earth. It is the new covenant. Then sing a Christmas carol.
On the 6th night, pray, read John 4:43-54. Christ healed the official's son. Light the 2nd candle and discuss this miracle. It represents Grace. You must be born again. Sing a second carol.
On the 5th night, pray, read John 5:1-9. Christ healed the crippled man at the pool of water. This represent the living water, by Grace are you saved, not of works. Light the 3rd candle and discuss this miracle. Sing a carol.
On the 4th night, pray, read John 6:1-5. Christ fed the crowd with 5 loaves and 2 small fish. The Messiah is the supernatural source of provision. Just as God provided manna in the wilderness Christ is the bread of life. Light 4th candle. (so now you have 4 candles burning). Discuss miracle. Sing a carol.
On the 3rd night, pray, read John 6:6-25. Christ walks on water. Through Faith are you saved. Light 5th candle, discuss miracle. Sing carol
On 2nd night, pray read John 9:4-41. Christ heals a blind man. This is about spiritual discernment. The Holy Spirit. Light the 6th candle, discuss miracle. Sing carol.
On the night before Christmas, pray, read John 11:1-44. Christ brings his friend Lazarus back to life. This brings into light the resurrection of the Lord. Light the 7th candle, discuss miracle, sing carol.
In this way Jill and her family enjoy the celebration of the birth of Christ while remembering what He came to do for us. It is the purpose of His coming that we, as a body of believers, celebrate. Merry Christmas!
If you are interested in a more in depth study of the seven miracles in John's gospel you might want to visit http://www.gracethrufaith.com/selah/spiritual-life/the-seven-miracles-in-john Jack Kelley is a Bible Expert and does a fantastic job of explaining the miracles.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Merry Christmas
Luk 2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Luk 2:9 And, lo, the angelof the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
Luk 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings, of great joy, which shall be to all people.
Luk 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
Luk 2:12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
Luk 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Luk 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Luk 2:15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
Luk 2:16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
Most of us know that Christ wasn't really born in the winter, but really what difference does it make. It is a time set aside each year to honor the birthday of our savior and an opportunity to share his message of peace gained by the knowledge of salvation with others.
By far the more important holiday celebrated in Christendom is Easter.
Luk 2:9 And, lo, the angelof the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
Luk 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings, of great joy, which shall be to all people.
Luk 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
Luk 2:12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
Luk 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Luk 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Luk 2:15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
Luk 2:16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
Most of us know that Christ wasn't really born in the winter, but really what difference does it make. It is a time set aside each year to honor the birthday of our savior and an opportunity to share his message of peace gained by the knowledge of salvation with others.
By far the more important holiday celebrated in Christendom is Easter.
Friday, December 8, 2006
Worship with an Old Deck of Cards
This is an email I received today, I don't know who to give credit for it, but please know it is not origional - just timely.
Please pray for our soldiers, no matter what you think of the war, the government, or our country. Our soldiers are putting themselves in harms way to fulfill a mandate that they didn't necessarily want or agree to.
Here is the email:
It was quiet that day, the guns and the mortars, and land mines for some reason hadn't been heard. The young soldier knew it was Sunday, the holiest day of the week. As he was sitting there, he got out an old deck of cards and laid them out across his bunk. Just then an army sergeant came in and said, "Why aren't you with the rest of the platoon?" The soldier replied, "I thought I would stay behind and spend some time with the Lord." The sergeant said, "Looks to me like you're going to play cards." The soldier said, "No, sir. You see, since we are not allowed to have Bibles or other spiritual books in this country, I've decided to talk to the Lord by studying this deck of cards." The sergeant asked in disbelief, "How will you do that?" "You see the Ace, Sergeant? It reminds me that there is only one God. The Two represents the two parts of the Bible, Old and New Testaments.The Three represents the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Four stands for the Four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Five is for the five virgins there were ten but only five of them were glorified. The Six is for the six days it took God to create the Heavens andEarth. The Seven is for the day God rested after making His Creation. The Eight is for the family of Noah and his wife, their three sons and their wives -- the eight people God spared from the flood that destroyed the Earth. The Nine is for the lepers that Jesus cleansed of leprosy. He cleansed ten, but nine never thanked Him. The Ten represents the Ten Commandments that God handed down to Moses on tablets made of stone. The Jack is a reminder of Satan, one of God's first angels, but he got kicked out of heaven for his sly and wicked ways and is now the joker of eternal hell. The Queen stands for the Virgin Mary. The King stands for Jesus, for he is the King of all kings. When I count the dots on all the cards, I come up with 365 total, one for every day of the year. There are a total of 52 cards in a deck; each is a week - 52 weeks in a year. The four suits represent the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.Each suit has thirteen cards -- there are exactly thirteen weeks in a quarter So when I want to talk to God and thank Him, I just pull out this old deck of cards and they remind me of all that I have to be thankful for." The sergeant just stood there. After a minute, with tears in his eyes and pain in his heart, he said, "Soldier, can I borrow that deck of cards?" Please let this be a reminder and take time to pray for all of oursoldiers who are being sent away, putting their lives on the linefighting. Prayer for the Military. Please keep the wheel rolling. It will only take a few seconds of your time, but it'll be worth it to read on.... Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them. Bless them and their families. I ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Amen. When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our servicemen and women all around the world. There is nothing attached, but this can be very powerful. Of all the gifts you could give a Soldier, prayer is the very best one.
Please pray for our soldiers, no matter what you think of the war, the government, or our country. Our soldiers are putting themselves in harms way to fulfill a mandate that they didn't necessarily want or agree to.
Here is the email:
It was quiet that day, the guns and the mortars, and land mines for some reason hadn't been heard. The young soldier knew it was Sunday, the holiest day of the week. As he was sitting there, he got out an old deck of cards and laid them out across his bunk. Just then an army sergeant came in and said, "Why aren't you with the rest of the platoon?" The soldier replied, "I thought I would stay behind and spend some time with the Lord." The sergeant said, "Looks to me like you're going to play cards." The soldier said, "No, sir. You see, since we are not allowed to have Bibles or other spiritual books in this country, I've decided to talk to the Lord by studying this deck of cards." The sergeant asked in disbelief, "How will you do that?" "You see the Ace, Sergeant? It reminds me that there is only one God. The Two represents the two parts of the Bible, Old and New Testaments.The Three represents the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Four stands for the Four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Five is for the five virgins there were ten but only five of them were glorified. The Six is for the six days it took God to create the Heavens andEarth. The Seven is for the day God rested after making His Creation. The Eight is for the family of Noah and his wife, their three sons and their wives -- the eight people God spared from the flood that destroyed the Earth. The Nine is for the lepers that Jesus cleansed of leprosy. He cleansed ten, but nine never thanked Him. The Ten represents the Ten Commandments that God handed down to Moses on tablets made of stone. The Jack is a reminder of Satan, one of God's first angels, but he got kicked out of heaven for his sly and wicked ways and is now the joker of eternal hell. The Queen stands for the Virgin Mary. The King stands for Jesus, for he is the King of all kings. When I count the dots on all the cards, I come up with 365 total, one for every day of the year. There are a total of 52 cards in a deck; each is a week - 52 weeks in a year. The four suits represent the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.Each suit has thirteen cards -- there are exactly thirteen weeks in a quarter So when I want to talk to God and thank Him, I just pull out this old deck of cards and they remind me of all that I have to be thankful for." The sergeant just stood there. After a minute, with tears in his eyes and pain in his heart, he said, "Soldier, can I borrow that deck of cards?" Please let this be a reminder and take time to pray for all of oursoldiers who are being sent away, putting their lives on the linefighting. Prayer for the Military. Please keep the wheel rolling. It will only take a few seconds of your time, but it'll be worth it to read on.... Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them. Bless them and their families. I ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Amen. When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our servicemen and women all around the world. There is nothing attached, but this can be very powerful. Of all the gifts you could give a Soldier, prayer is the very best one.
Its the End of The World as We Know it
Those who know me know that I firmly believe the world is ending soon. I also believe the rapture is near and that the 70th week of Daniel is just around the corner...The Lord is even at the door.
You may wonder what is the rapture or even the 70th week of Daniel for that matter.
The rapture is the snatching away of the church, the removal of the Holy Spirit which is fast at work keeping Satan from his plans of world domination. You may say there have been many antichrists all through human history. To that I have to say, absolutely. Satan also does not know the day or hour of Christ's return so he has always had to have someone in the wings so to speak waiting.
The funny thing about Satan is he hates all the fighting too! Satan would much rather we were obedient, like the religion of Islam, Satan hates free will. God, on the other hand, offers you a gift of Salvation, no strings attached. And besides offering the free gift, once you accept it, it doesn't matter if you screw up (because He knows you will, the future is not a mystery to Him) Even if you don't want the gift any more, He keeps it for you.
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
How do you get this free gift? You believe on the Son.
1Jo 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Sonof God.
You just tell God in the privacy of your soul that you agree with Him, that you are a sinful human and you need His righteousness to be worthy of acceptance into Heaven. That you accept the death and resurrection of His Son, Christ as satisfaction for the debt you have accumulated by your sins. That is all, nothing else. Salvation is based on what you believe, not on how you behave. Once you have accepted Christ as your salvation, you might want to consider what Peter wrote starting at 2nd Peter 1:4
Whereby are given to us exceedingly great and precious promises (not just any old promises, but exceedingly great and precious ones - you might want to see what these promises are) that by these we might be partakers (participants) of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (the wanting to have stuff)And beside this giving all diligence add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperence, and to temperence patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, charity. (most scholars refer to this as the stair step virtue, I think of it as a plan for spiritual growth) For if these things are in you, and abound, they make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
It is up to you where you will spend eternity. No one gets to the Father except through the Son.
As I said before I believe the rapture is coming soon, though you can spend this time frolicking around like a grasshopper, it might be wiser to work like the ant and store up the treasures that are God's words and commandments.
You may wonder what is the rapture or even the 70th week of Daniel for that matter.
The rapture is the snatching away of the church, the removal of the Holy Spirit which is fast at work keeping Satan from his plans of world domination. You may say there have been many antichrists all through human history. To that I have to say, absolutely. Satan also does not know the day or hour of Christ's return so he has always had to have someone in the wings so to speak waiting.
The funny thing about Satan is he hates all the fighting too! Satan would much rather we were obedient, like the religion of Islam, Satan hates free will. God, on the other hand, offers you a gift of Salvation, no strings attached. And besides offering the free gift, once you accept it, it doesn't matter if you screw up (because He knows you will, the future is not a mystery to Him) Even if you don't want the gift any more, He keeps it for you.
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
How do you get this free gift? You believe on the Son.
1Jo 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Sonof God.
You just tell God in the privacy of your soul that you agree with Him, that you are a sinful human and you need His righteousness to be worthy of acceptance into Heaven. That you accept the death and resurrection of His Son, Christ as satisfaction for the debt you have accumulated by your sins. That is all, nothing else. Salvation is based on what you believe, not on how you behave. Once you have accepted Christ as your salvation, you might want to consider what Peter wrote starting at 2nd Peter 1:4
Whereby are given to us exceedingly great and precious promises (not just any old promises, but exceedingly great and precious ones - you might want to see what these promises are) that by these we might be partakers (participants) of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (the wanting to have stuff)And beside this giving all diligence add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperence, and to temperence patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, charity. (most scholars refer to this as the stair step virtue, I think of it as a plan for spiritual growth) For if these things are in you, and abound, they make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
It is up to you where you will spend eternity. No one gets to the Father except through the Son.
As I said before I believe the rapture is coming soon, though you can spend this time frolicking around like a grasshopper, it might be wiser to work like the ant and store up the treasures that are God's words and commandments.
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