Christmas Message: Not Just "Good News" but "GREAT News"

I remember many years ago I was on vacation in the Province of British Columbia (in Canada) at Thanksgiving time and was staying with my Uncle & Aunt. Usually I would have skipped church for that one week I was with them, but since it was during "Thanksgiving" (celebrated in October in Canada), I really wanted to take the opportunity to give God praise for the myriad of blessings in my life. My Uncle kindly offered to drive me to church and back.

I was born into a big, Catholic family but I had been attending a Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC) church for about 30 years at that point and found one very near my Uncle's home. As he was dropping me off he asked when he should come back to retrieve me. The service started at 10:30 am and I told him not to bother to come back for me any time before 12:30 pm, but it would probably be closer to 1:00 pm. He had just parked the car in the church parking lot, looked at me and said rather incredulously, "What are you people doing in there for all that time?!" 

So I started estimating in a quiet voice, but out loud: "Let's see: 'Welcome' messages and the Bulletin, singing for at least an hour, perhaps going forward for special prayer requests, maybe it will be a 'Communion Service', about 45 minutes for the sermon, maybe a couple more songs and prayer, sending the kids off for "Childrens' Church", ...?" 
That's when he stopped me and said, "Wait a minute! Go Back. Forty-five minutes for a sermon?!"

I responded, "Yeah. And that will be the bare minimum." He looked at me amazed and said something like, "Your devotion is much stronger than mine would be. I couldn't sit through a sermon that was almost an hour long!"

I responded with, "Well, it depends on the minister, but if he was  talking about Auntie __________  [and named his beloved wife]  for that long, you'd think it had zipped by because she's your favorite topic. Same for me and Jesus."
My point being, though this video may seem long (at around 40 minutes), it's probably going to feel like it "zipped" by in only a few minutes! 

 For those of you who like to go to church at Christmas time and feel you haven't "done" Christmas properly until you've had your Christmas message or sermon, this is for you.

 Plus, tomorrow is also the "Sabbath Day" for those of us who follow the 4th Commandment  of "keeping the Sabbath Holy on Sunday of each week.

I came across this message on the Internet at YouTube. Not only is it one the best Christmas sermons I've heard, it's one of the best sermons I've ever heard!  

So, here it is for you now:

"Good News is Great News": Christmas Message by Mark Spence, from the ministry of Living Waters Ministries, as you turn your mind and heart towards Jesus. 

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas that will linger and cling to you throughout the year of 2016.

(Watch this video here or follow one of the Links provided.)

Turning Our Hearts & Minds Towards Jesus

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~~ Love Laura-Lee