In EMH this week : Tom Nelson and Ann Watt. Please keep them in your prayers.

Announcements • In EMH this week: Tom Nelson and Ann Watt. Please keep them in your prayers. • Last “Walk through the Bible” for the year: Will be this Tuesday, December 11th at 1 or 7 pm. We will finish our study of the Book of Deuteronomy. • New Year’s Contribution Envelopes are ready for pick up. Please do not use them until the NEW year.

Confirmation Program LASTCHANCE To help the Crisis Center & High School Youth Program They need new socks and underwear (for all ages and sizes) and also new bottles of shampoo and conditioner.

Poinsettias for Christmas Order your poinsettia for Christmas. Cost is $8.00. Order deadline is December 9th. Take your plant home after the Christmas Eve Service.

It Isn’t Easy Getting Ready for Christmas Luke 3:1-6 HARD WORK!

How did you pack away your Christmas Lights last year? That tangled mess can make a wonderful table decoration.

It’s not easy getting ready… Luke quotes Isaiah in our text, “A voice of one calling in the desert, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God’s Salvation.” “Prepare the way for the Lord!”

Play Station 2 – Video GameGrand Theft Auto IV “This is a game in which all boundaries of civilized behavior have vanished. You get to shoot whomever you want, including cops. You get to beat women to death with baseball bats. You get to have sex with prostitutes and then kill them (and even get your money back).” -New York Times-

A television interviewer asked… The interviewer stopped a woman busy shopping for Christmas and asked, “What is the meaning of Christmas?” Laughing, she responded, “Oh, I don’t know. Was it the day that Jesus died?”

It’s Not Easy preparing for Christmas in such a world as ours! • It never has been easy. Christ came then and now because this world needs saving. • Christ came into a cruel world at His time. • King Herod of Judea; • Murdered 3 of his sons; • Murdered his mother-in-law; • Murdered his wife; • Arrested citizens with the order to kill them when he died – that way there would be mourning at his death; • Slaughter all boy babies in Bethlehem;

It’s Not Easy preparing for Christmas in such a world as ours! • Has our world become any less cruel? • Former President Bush and his wife Laura sent out Christmas Card following 9-11; • “I believe I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

It’s Not Easy preparing for Christmas in such a world as ours! • Christmas gives us Hope. • The year 1942 – World War II; • Steve Goodier in his book “One Minute Can Change A Life” describes the scene; • Even amongst warring nations, at that moment, peace was discovered for all;

It’s Not Easy preparing for Christmas in such a world as ours! • The Christ of Christmas can transform human society. • When a baby is born, it transforms that family; • The coming of the Babe of Bethlehem transforms our world; • Even though the promise of “Peace on Earth” is not complete, the coming of Christ provides us hope.

Senator John McCain We’ll all be home for Christmas SOON! God bless America! “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”

In EMH this week : Tom Nelson and Ann Watt. Please keep them in your prayers.