Today we celebrate Christmas. The Coming of Jesus into the world; coming in the form of human being, a baby, a divine baby, divinity and humanity. He dwelt among us and moved into our world, our neighborhood, our community, our home and our personal lives.

The pageant that we celebrated last week is a picture of the joy that we experience with Jesus, the happiness; that someone beyond our comprehension or ability to understand, came to us as a human being, a baby, and just like us. He had the same emotions, and similar reactions to life as we do, yet divine and human. He came and lived among us. And according the first chapter of the gospel of John, He moved into our neighborhood. The Word became flesh and blood,
    and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
    the one-of-a-kind glory,
    like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
    true from start to finish. (John 1: 14-15 Msg)

I am excited about Christmas. I am excited about the community of believers that comes together, the church of Jesus Christ, a church that meets together in worship and to receives life and love from a God who loves us and sent His only Son to be a witness, to be our friend, helper, and Saviour.

There have been more books about Jesus and the Bible than any other book in the world. The Bible is the best-selling book of all time, having sold around 5 billion copies to date. The Bible is the most read book in the world.  The very last verse in the Gospel of John tells us this: There are so many other things Jesus did. If they were all written down, each of them, one by one, I can’t imagine a world big enough to hold such a library of books. (John 21: 24-25 Msg)

We serve a God that loves us. He came to us in human form, and still longs for us to enjoy the benefits of a life in Christ, and benefits of being heirs to a family of God that has been going on for many, many, many, generations since Christ came into this world to live among us.

That’s what I like about Christmas. Shoot, I like the entire Christmas season, before and after Christmas day. I always have, ever since I was a kid. I do look at it differently as an adult differently than when a child, but you have to remember this: God calls us his little children, So, I guess at Christmas, the child inside of us is excited to celebrate Christmas. Amen? Christmas is not supposed to be all about presents, like what we are going to get, and what we need to get for someone else. I like Christmas trees. We all have other similar but sometimes very different family traditions at Christmas.

In our household, our family made an agreement years ago. We do not give each other presents at Christmas. We spend as much time together at Christmas, enjoy good food, fellowship, and a time to share memories and think about the meaning of Christmas Day. It’s a wonderful time of the year.

I know it’s not always easy for those who do not have family or close friends to turn to at Christmas. It can be a lonely and hard time. It’s also a time to reach out to those around us and share the love and Christmas cheer that we experience, realizing that not everyone is in a place or time to share that Christmas feeling. And I want to ask anyone here this morning, to come forward and let us pray with you after communion. Bring your fears, worries, anxieties and loneliness to the altar, and God will meet you there. I will also meet you there with prayer and anointing oil. The love of God is among us, and Jesus has moved into our neighborhood for a time such as this.

I want to wish you all a very merry Christmas. And, at this time and in this place, may God bless you and your loved ones, In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.