Announcements
CHRISTMAS OUTREACH: After the evening service tonight, Pastor Ray will meet with the Soul Winners (on the organ side) to assign and distribute the Christmas Outreach tags for delivery.
SOUL-WINNER’S CLUB TRAINING: The next 12-week session for Winter/Spring will begin on Wednesday, January 7, downstairs in the Music Room at 7:00 p.m. Sign up today online through the Church website or at the Welcome Desk.
ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING RESULTS: All items on our December business meeting ballot passed by a majority vote. The 2026 Deacons are Rob Ward, Buck Bowers, Steve Bond, David Brown, Josh Peterson, Omar Echegoyen, Mike Goodwin, Mike Mangum, Sam Muller, David Roberts, Levi Haines, Mark Peterson, and Vijay Parekh.
From My Heart
We will have our Christmas Cantata this evening during the 6:00 p.m. service. I sure trust you will be here and bring some folks with you to enjoy this beautiful presentation of Christmas music, which will reveal to us the birth of our wonderful Savior. Of course, I will share a Gospel message at the end.
Last Sunday evening, at our Annual Church Business Meeting, we had a question about the College and Career Age Sunday School Class needing a line-item in the budget designated for their needs. After thinking about that question, I agree that we need to have some funds to help with some of the activities they do. I remember being a “college kid,” and one thing most college-age people do not have is money! Our Church Board will not meet again until the end of January, and I will bring up this matter and will see if we do something to fix this need. This age group is so important, and we need to make sure we focus more support in their direction.
The Joyful Connection ladies left a great big bag of goodies on my chair last Monday evening, and I want to personally thank all of you! How kind and thoughtful to bring those treats for Karen and me to enjoy! Thank you again! Everything I have tasted has been so good!
I have many wonderful memories of Christmas I experienced as a child, but also with my own children and grandchildren. At the heart of it all, one word stands out: FAMILY. There is nothing any better than making memories with your family. My parents always went the extra mile to make Christmas special! Once I became an adult, I asked Dad why he and Mom always made Christmas so wonderful for us. He sat with tears in his eyes explaining how he grew up during the Depression, and it’s after-affects, and he never experienced a joyful Christmas. He told of how he only remembered two times when he received a present for Christmas, and on one occasion, he was given an orange, and then a couple of years later, he received a new pocket-knife.
So, he told me they did not want us to experience the poverty they had to face! He then said, “But also, when we saw the happiness and excitement in you kids, it stirred something neither of us ever got to experience growing up, so we just went wild at Christmas!” Those Christmas mornings, waking up to a tree with presents galore, were exciting, but sitting here and looking back on it makes me appreciate my parents even more. God certainly blessed me with two wonderful parents! Karen and I have loved our own children, and now their children, and that is what Christmas is all about: FAMILY!
Have a wonderful day, and may the Lord bless our Open Door Family!
Pastor Norris