Announcements
SYMPATHY: to Nova Krolicki at the passing of her brother, William Wayne Brant, on Thursday, November 24, in Baltimore. Arrangements are pending.
SYMPATHY: to the family and friends of Margie Baker who passed away on Sunday, November 27, in South Carolina. Visitation will be today from 2pm-4pm at Haight Funeral Home in Sykesville. The interment will be private.
THANK YOU: Lacking better words, we say a heartfelt “thank you” to our COD family for the prayers, visits, texts, calls, and notes at the time of Frank’s recent heart procedure. Through you, we have been encouraged, comforted, strengthened, and greatly blessed. In Christian love, Frank and Ginny Elgersma
CHRISTMAS OUTREACH: Please make sure all gifts are dropped off at the Welcome Desk today. If you would still like to help with the cost of the Bibles and turkeys, please place your envelope designated for Christmas Outreach in the offering plate.
CHRISTMAS POINSETTIAS: Today is the final day to purchase a poinsettia in “memory” or in “honor” of loved ones for $13.60 each. Place your order online or stop by the Welcome Desk today!
SUPER SIXTIES: “The Love of God at Christmas” celebration will be held on Thursday, December 8, at 10am in the Great Room. The program will include our Super 60’s choir, CCS students singing Christmas carols, a delicious lunch, and a beautiful 2023 wall calendar for each family attending. To make your reservation, please call the church by Monday, December 5, at (410) 876-3838, ext. 307.
LIVE NATIVITY: Volunteers are needed to help with our Live Nativity, which will be for one night only, on Friday, December 23, from 5pm-8pm. Please sign up at the Welcome Desk or see Pastor Shutt for more information.
From My Heart
With Thanksgiving behind us, we now press on into the Christmas season. We need to keep an eye on the various dates for the activities that are scheduled - you certainly don’t want to miss anything! Our Sunday School classes usually have Christmas get-togethers and many of the various ministries usually have a party or an activity! Christmas is on Sunday this year, so we will have our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service on Saturday evening at 6:00 pm! On Sunday, Christmas Day, we will have one service at 10:45 a.m. There will be no Sunday School or Sunday Evening Service…just one service on Sunday morning. We did this schedule the last time Christmas was on a Sunday, and it seemed to work out for everyone.
I am often asked at this time of the year, “Was Jesus really born on December 25th ?” There seems to be very little evidence to prove this date, and there are several other dates in and around December 25th on which others have said Christ was born, but none of those dates can be guaranteed either.
The date of December 25th came from the writings of a fellow named Hippolytus who lived at the end of the second century and died in the early years of the third century. Hippolytus lived in Rome and was a very devout Christian man who wrote several things concerning the dates of various Biblical events. Folks like to say that Christmas was originally a pagan holiday connected to the Roman festival of
Saturnalia, which was the feast of the sun god, Sol. But there is much evidence to show that this pagan holiday was much later attached to December 25th and not the reverse. The establishment of the pagan holiday of Saturnalia came much later in 274 A.D. - long after Hippolytus had lived and died.
Here is why the date of December 25th was chosen as the day our Lord was born. Around 222 A.D., someone took a huge marble stone and carved out a very intricate statue of Hippolytus sitting in a chair. It shows him holding a copy of his book and a page out of that book is inscribed on the side of the chair where he was sitting. The side of the chair says that Mary was conceived of the Holy Spirit on Passover, April 2, 2 (BCE). Nine months later would have put Christ’s birth in the timeframe of the end of December. Now, other dates were chosen by other church councils from various times throughout history - but the world settled on Hippolytus’s date of December 25. Is this for sure the date on which our Savior was born? There is no way to know with 100% accuracy!
The main thing is that Christ was born! And 2000 years later, we are still marking that day as a national (actually - a worldwide) holiday. Let’s strive to keep our eyes on the Lord through this Christmas season. After all, He is the reason for the season! Have a great day!
Pastor Norris