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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">God's Timing Is Perfect</span></div>
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Christopher
Columbus, discouraged one day, walked by a monastery. He was thirsty,
so he went in for a drink of water. An old monk sat with him and
listened to how he wanted to go on an expedition to find another land.
Bad timing? When the story was over, Christopher Columbus went on, but
the old monk was a personal friend of Queen Isabella, and he was the one
who convinced her to finance Columbus' expedition. Europe's discovery
of America started with a drink of water in a monastery.<br>
<br>
Abraham
Lincoln was out in the back of his store one day, rummaging through an
old barrel. As he finished, he reached down and felt a couple books in
his hand. And he pulled them up and saw they were Blackstone's
Commentaries. Something happened to Abraham Lincoln as he read those. He
became a lawyer, and it totally changed his direction. He got into
politics and became the President of the United States and healer of the
wound of the Civil War. It all started with him rummaging in a barrel.<br>
<br>
John
Calvin was going down to Italy. War broke out and the road he was going
to take was blockaded, so he went to Geneva. Bad timing? His time in
Geneva made a change in his life that has changed many lives since.<br>
<br>
George
Whitfield was a bartender in England and couldn't get along with his
sister-in-law, who owned the bar, so he left. Bad timing? Out of that
experience he turned to God, went to Oxford, became part of the Holy
Club with John Wesley and helped change England.<br>
<br>
What I'm saying
is this: God's timing is perfect and purposeful. We can trust Him and
make the most of the opportunities He has given to us in His time.<br>
<br>
Dwight Gunter, Time <br>
___________________________<br>
<br>
Gloria! Christ Is Our Own</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">It
doesn't seem that long ago. It is as clear as yesterday. It was in
the morning, 6:30, a Sunday morning, and I heard the patter of little
feet. And the patter of the feet came into the kitchen, and it was dark
in our kitchen except for the light above the kitchen table. I was
putting the finishing touches on the Sunday sermon, and the little child
came in half asleep, and he said to me, "Where's the scissors, Dad?" I
gave him the scissors and he went over to where there was a chain which
was made of paper, a paper chain link for each of the days of Advent,
and he went and cut off the chain and he said, "Dad, one more day to
Christmas!" And then that little boy got up into my lap, and he put his
arms around my neck, and he just sat there and hugged me, for what
seemed like five minutes of stillness and five minutes of love. And I
put my arms around his little body and that child was my very own, my
very own child, belonging to the world, belonging to my wife, belonging
to his family, belonging to God, but also, belonging to me, my very own.
And there was an inner glow of satisfaction deep within me.<br>
<br>
And
when you finally realize that Christ is your very own, not only for all
the world, not only for all the shepherds, not only for all the angels,
but when you realize that Christ is your very own, then there becomes a
glow in your heart, and you begin to sing the Gloria.<br>
<br>
Edward F. Markquart, Gloria! <br>
___________________________<br>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">A Grown Up Christmas<br>
</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">Recently,
I was in a department store doing some Christmas shopping. Christmas
music was playing and I was getting into the spirit of it all... when
suddenly I realized that I was singing along with Natalie Cole. Natalie
and I were singing her new Christmas song. It's a big hit. It's called
"My Grown-up Christmas List." Have you heard this? In the song, Natalie
Cole reminisces about how when she was young, she sat on Santa's knee
and told him about her childhood fantasies. And then she sings about how
she's all grown up now, but she still has dreams... things she would
like for Christmas, not just for herself but for our needy world. Then
she sings her "Grown-up Christmas List." Here are the things she wants
for Christmas now: <br>
<br>
"No more lives torn apart <br>
And wars will never start, <br>
And time will heal all hearts. <br>
Everyone will have a friend <br>
And right will always win, <br>
And love will never end. <br>
This is my lifelong dream, <br>
My Grown-up Christmas List." <br>
<br>
Do
you know what Natalie Cole is longing for in that song? She is longing
for the peace of Christmas... and the place to find that is in the
miracle of Bethlehem. When we go back to Bethlehem, we discover that
real peace means being set right in all our relationships. It means
being... right with God, right with ourselves, and right with other
people.</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">James W. Moore, Collected Sermons, Sermons.com</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">The Antidote to Fear</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">In
a Peanuts cartoon, Linus tells Charlie Brown, "When I hear those
coyotes howling at night, it totally depresses me. I start to feel
lonely ... Then I get scared."<br>
<br>
Charlie Brown says, "I thought holding onto that blanket made you secure."<br>
<br>
Linus replies, "I think the warranty has run out."<br>
<br>
Isn't
that true for us? We fear life, we fear death, and everything in
between. We are afraid of little things like a black cat crossing our
path or spilled salt. Or, leaving our home at night lest we become a
victim of crime. Or, the fear that floods our hearts as we wait for the
doctor to<br>
tell us if we have cancer. Or, the fear that startles us
when the shrill sound of the telephone jolts us awake in the middle of
the night.<br>
<br>
The antidote to our fears is found in the coming of
Christ into the world. The first words of Adam are "I was afraid." But
the first words at the birth of Jesus are, "Don't be afraid."<br>
<br>
<span> </span>Ian Chapman, Don't Be Afraid<br>
_____________________________<br>
<br>
Christmas Turns Everything Upside Down</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">A
preacher tells of the time when a woman, her arms filled with Christmas
presents, came out of a department store and bumped right into him. It
was a good, solid bump, and all of her parcels dropped on the sidewalk.
As he bent down to help her pick them up, she said, more to herself than
anyone else, "Oh, I hate Christmas. It turns everything upside down."
And so it<br>
does. Christmas turns the world topsy-turvy because it is
centered in a baby, and babies change everything! Just watch a doting
grandmother or grandfather and you'll see how life is changed!<br>
<br>
The
Christ child is no exception. This child will change the world! This
child is God's son, the one foretold by the prophets. As the gospel
writer put it: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God
and the Word was God."<br>
<br>
Ian Chapman, Don't Be Afraid <br>
_____________________________</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">A Gold Filled Box of Love</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">We
often learn the most from our children. There is an old story about a
man who punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold
wrapping paper. Money was tight, and he became infuriated when the child
tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless,
the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and
said, "This is for you, Daddy." </span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">The
father was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction once he realized the
gift was for him. He opened the gift, but his anger flared again when
he found that the box was empty. He yelled at her, "Don't you know that
when you give someone a present, there's supposed to be something inside
of it?" </span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">The
little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, "Oh,
Daddy it's not empty. I blew kisses into the box. All for you, Daddy."
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he
begged her forgiveness. He kept that gold box by his bed for years.
Whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and
remember the love of the child who had put it there. </span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">In
a very real sense, each of us has been given a gold container filled
with unconditional love and kisses from God. Through the sacrifice of
Jesus, God's "one and only Son," we have the access to eternal life. </span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">While
there are those times when it seems as if He has left us to make it on
our own, and there are those times when it appears as if we cannot go
any further in life, there is no more precious possession anyone could
hold than the gold box filled with the love of God. </span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">Don Emmitte</span></div>
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