DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Park Cities Baptist Church

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Sunday, November 27 Merry Christmas! You hold in your hand a Christmas gift from our church staff to you. We thought it would be fun this year to offer to you and your family a gift that you could enjoy throughout the holiday season. Throughout the Advent season we’ll be looking at “A Christmas Masterpiece.” We’re taking an artful journey to the manger as we consider the coming of our Savior. You will enjoy stories told and lessons learned from members of our great staff. We also hope you’ll take time to meditate on the Scripture and answer the thought-provoking questions. This devotional guide serves as a wonderful way for families to join together as well – to read, to discuss, and pray together each day as we approach Christmas Day. On behalf of our entire church staff, let me say that it is our great joy to serve our Savior, Jesus, with you throughout the year. We wish you and yours a joy-filled, Christ-centered Christmas. As a child, one of the favorite things I remember about Christmas was a tradition carried on by my grandmother. Instead of labeling the presents with who they’re to and from, she would label them with numbers. She would assign each person several numbers, which only she knew, so even if you were able to figure out one gift, it didn’t give away all the rest. As kids, trying to find the list and guess who each gift belonged to before Christmas morning provided for countless hours of fun and guessing for my sister and me. Not having grown up in a family that followed Christ, Christmas’s were not about celebrating the birth of our Savior. However, having trusted Christ as an adult, it’s overwhelming at times what Christmas and the gift of grace means to me now. Today, one of my favorite Christmas songs, by the Christian band, Third Day, says, “Halleluiah, the King is here, given for all men. For today the Holy Son of God, is born in Bethlehem.” The ultimate gift is here and the gift is for everyone - no guessing involved. Halleluiah! Ann Roberts is the Assistant to Miller Cunningham. She and her husband, James, have two daughters, Caroline and Mary Margaret, and live in Dallas. Dr. Jeff Warren Senior Pastor
Monday, November 28 Tuesday, November 29 It was a year of burgeoning independence and adventure that called for the fastest transportation and my best friend and I knew we had only to ask. So we went straight to our fathers. We were well loved, so that would be no problem. The minute my father and I stepped through the doors of the shop to check out the possibilities, my heart locked in on the beauty of the design, but more so, on the enamel candied apple red of my entire life’s dream ~ that 10-speed Schwinn was all I wanted for Christmas. I made several attempts to seal the deal, but my father fell silent. As our Advent calendar doors increasingly opened and the chocolates disappeared, I started to get a little nervous. There was no sign from my father. Then again there was always hope. After all, he was a good father. Christmas morning came and at the get go, my sister and I threw open the doors to see…no bike. My heart raced. Stockings, breakfast, and gift exchange came and went. Outwardly, I kept a stiff upper lip, but disappointment and doubt started tugging. As if he knew just what I was thinking, at just the right moment, my father tapped me on the shoulder and pointed me in the right direction, toward the living room. There, placed not as expected, was the sweetest gift I’d ever received….and my bicycle, too. The desires of my heart have changed over the years and the discipline of waiting, instilled in me by my earthly father, has become more anticipated as I counsel with my heavenly Father and see his glorious gifts revealed. “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.” Isaiah 64:4 “…but wait for the gift my father promised” Acts 1:4 For Discussion: • Have you told God the desires of your heart, even the ones you think inconsequential? • Has God met these desires? If so, how, and were they as you had envisioned? • How do you wait on God? May your Christmas overflow with long awaited and unexpected joys! Stacey Rauscher is the Assistant to 20s/30s/40s, College & Prayer Ministry. She is the mother of Cole and KayAnne. I remember the first Christmas with my family after I had moved to Dallas. I grew up in Atlanta, and I have a very close relationship with my parents. My plane landed in Atlanta a few days before Christmas, my brother picked me up, and we drove to my parents’ home. I can still remember walking into the place I used to call home. Nothing had changed, and everything had changed. My mother stood at the door with tears in her eyes. My dad stayed a few steps behind her, and he grinned like I hadn’t seen him grin before. He let my mother hug me for as long as she wanted, and then he stepped in and gave me a hug of his own, patting me on the back and saying: “How are ya, boy?” It felt like a hero’s welcome. Although the circumstances are different, I think that is what the Prodigal Son’s father looked like from Luke 15:11-32. There was great rejoicing. Wrongs and errors were forgiven, and I felt that same feeling when I walked through the door. Any difficulty and stress I had caused my family by packing up and moving to Dallas was washed away in the rejoicing of having their missing member back home to celebrate the birth of Christ with them. I have never had a better Christmas than that one. I don’t remember what gifts I received, or even what we did, but I can still picture the look of joy on my parents’ faces. I can’t help but think that is what our Father looks like when we return to Him. “It is appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:32). I hope that this Christmas year, you are mindful of your Father in Heaven, and your relationship with Him. Some of us may need to turn to Him for the first time, others may need to return after being a straying sheep. In either case, our Father rejoices, beams with excitement, and waits to embrace you. Travis Cook serves as the Interim Minister to the Bridge (Young Single Adults). Travis likes baseball, soccer, history, reading, and writing...and he lives in Dallas.
Page 1: PCBC.ORG/CHRISTMAS 2011 DEVOTIONAL
Page 5 and 6: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2 SATURDAY, DECEMB
Page 7 and 8: Tuesday, December 6 Wednesday, Dece
Page 9 and 10: Saturday, December 10 Sunday, Decem
Page 11 and 12: Wednesday, December 14 Thursday, De
Page 13 and 14: Sunday, December 18 Monday, Decembe
Page 15 and 16: Thursday, December 22 Friday, Decem

DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Park Cities Baptist Church

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?