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In the late 1950s, times were hard. My dad was a dairy farmer and made $25 a week, with a family of six to feed. Christmas was a special time at our house. In addition to all the special church activities, we could ask Santa for two gifts, one of which Santa would try to bring. When I was six years old in the first grade, my parents remodeled the upstairs of our farmhouse, making a large bedroom for my two sisters and a smaller room for me. I had a twin bed and a dresser, and

The third Sunday of Advent is when we light a candle to represent the joy Jesus brought to the world. The sermon for December 14th is titled The Incarnation of God, based on the scripture from Matthew 1: 18-21 . 18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her

Christmas is a time for shopping, baking, decorating, and making plans. It is also time to anticipate events to come and reflect on Christmases past... One of my favorite memories of the holidays is that of our traditional Christmas Eve as a youngster. We didn't have to "dream" of a white Christmas when I was growing up, we lived it each year. We always spent Christmas Eve at our house with my parents and my siblings. Of course, we had already been out in one of the woods aro

"...and on earth, peace." Luke 2: 14 Dear Lord, it's me again. I could use some of the peace, Lord. Things are so hectic. There is this Christmas dinner to go to and that party and the play and concerts. (Oh, I must remember to make some goodies to take for the organ concert.) Ham is going on sale at Kroger tomorrow; I have to make sure and get there. I need to get the cheesecake made. My kids think we can't have Christmas without chocolate cheesecake. I haven't even bought

The second Sunday of Advent is when we light a candle to represent the peace Jesus brought to the world. The sermon for December 7th is titled The Way to Peace in Your Storm, based on the scripture from Romans 5: 1-5 . Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we also have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we celebrate in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this,

I cannot think about Advent and Christmas without remembering the music associated with this time of the church year. I also cannot think about that music without remembering the person who taught me so much about it. That person is, of course, my mother. Miss Verna, as some of you may know her, has been a church musician all of her life. Trained as an organist, pianist, vocalist, choral director, public school educator, and private lessons music teacher, she worked in each o

As I reflect on memories of Christmas past I can't help but see how the meaning of Christmas has evolved for me into an entirely different focus. I believe as we age, our ideas change considerably. What once meant so much: the presents, the excitement of children, the wonderful meals, and of course the house decorated so beautifully, don't seem to be so important as when I was younger. The once merry time for giving gifts, practicing goodwill, just for a season, seems not to

The first Sunday service of the Advent season at First Christian Church is a little different. John and Patty Crawford lit the first Advent candle to represent the Hope that Jesus brought to the world. Instead of a sermon, we had the Hanging of the Greens accompanied by lots of Christmas hymns and scripture readings, under the direction of Associate Pastor Ronnie Mitchell. The sound is fixed about three minutes in. We invite everyone to join us for the Christmas Organ Concert

On Sunday when I went to church, I felt fine, but on Monday and Tuesday I felt like I had a virus. Wednesday arrived, and I didn't feel well, but better, and tried to do a few things around the house. I remember cooking supper which was still on the stove. My husband Claude said I had a butcher knife and meat fork on my plate as utensils. He said I was raising my hands to my mouth as if I were eating. When he spoke to me, I smiled. Realizing that something was wrong, he led m

December will be chock-full of activities at First Christian Church, all designed to celebrate the miraculous birth of our Lord and Savior! We hope you can join us in this joyous season of worship, remembrance, love, and fellowship. Elders for the month of December will be Lee Ann Strunk and Bertha Prewitt. Deacons for December are Robert Bales, Joyce Brown, Jerry Blankenship, and Zoie Burke. The Wednesday night Bible study for adults is going on hiatus during December due t