A Christmas To Remember

A Christmas to Remember

Luke 2: 1-12

1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

2(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

Join me in PRAYER!

A Christmas to Remember, I want to ask you this morning is there one special Christmas that stands out in your life, Is there one Christmas that just overwhelms you when you think about it? Or when you think about Christmas do they all come together and you remember pieces of all of them? How many Christmas’s can you remember from when you were kids? Or are all your memories of Christmas ones that you spent giving to your children and grand children? What seems to be the strongest memory that you have of Christmas?

When I think of Christmas and try to remember what they were like I find that my memories aren’t what I would expect. Most people think that you remember the presents you have received, but I don’t. For the most part I remember gifts that I have given to others and I remember people and the great times we had together as a family and I remember friends that have shared Christmas with me.

One of the gifts I remember is a set of weights that I got one Christmas but I think the reason I remember them so well is that I found where mom had them hid and saw them before Christmas. I remember my brother getting a motor scooter one Christmas and then giving Mom a ride on it. He drove to the corner with her on the back and then told her to get off so he could turn around because he wasn’t very good on it yet. So Mom got off and he turned around and drove off and left her standing on the street corner. He did go back and get her though! I won’t go into too much detail but I remember the first Christmas I shared with Donna when we were just dating. And I remember several Christmas’s with my kids and I remember the last two or three with my grandkids.

But I remember, I think best of all a Christmas story that doesn’t even involve any of my family and this morning I am going to tell it to you, probably for the fifth or sixth time but I believe in it is the real meaning of Christmas.

It was Christmas Eve morning when Jay Robertson, who at that time was my Pastor, called me. The night before Jay, Brenda, Donna, myself, and the other deacons of Pittsburg Ave. Baptist had delivered several Christmas baskets to needy families. Jay called and asked me that since I had helped make up the baskets could I remember what we had put in them. I told him that I could and he then asked if I would meet him at the local grocery store where the church had an account and help him put together a basket for one more needy family. I told him that I would be glad to and we made arrangements to meet there about 11 Am.

When we got there we took a basket and began to put everything in it that I could remember we had in the other baskets. We went down aisle after aisle while I tried to remember everything, there was a sack of potatoes, a ham, some dried beans, some sugar, and all kinds of canned goods. When we got to an aisle where there was some Christmas candy Jay said that at Christmas every kid should have some candy and put several different bags of candy in the basket.