Sunday Reflections
12/23/07 09:02 PM
Let me start off by saying that I am so excited
about our Christmas Eve Service tomorrow night! For
the last hour or so, I've been making phone calls -
inviting people to join us and bring friends. Over
the years we've given away a lot of stuff at
Coastal - movie tickets, Nascar tickets, Harley
Davidson rides, DVD players, gift certificates,
etc. Well tomorrow night as we continue in our
"Unwrapping Christmas" theme, everyone will walk
away with something! But 4 people will be extremely
glad they came! My message title is, "My Favorite
Things." Hmmm. What are Pastor Chris' favorite
things? What might we be giving away? Pastor Chris
is a huge Clemson fan isn't he? Clemson is playing
in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. Hmmm. What could it be?
We had a bunch of people out of town today. Our attendance was definitely down as far as numbers go. But we did have several visitors. Keep it up Coastal - invite, invite, invite. One little highlight for me lately has been watching people enjoy hanging out in our "new" Welcome Room & Cafe'. We could already add another table and chairs. People really seem to love having a place to sit, relax, laugh, share, and drink a good cup of coffee (Krispy Kreme doughnuts are nice too). We're drinking like twice the coffee we did before.
Loved hearing, "Run, Run, Rudolph!" to open up the service (I know - we're crazy). We will definitely be playing that tomorrow night! Did I mention that I'm jacked about tomorrow night? Another one of my "Favorite Things" is Apple Computer. Hmmm. But we can't afford to give away a computer. What could it be?
My message was about the gift of joy. Joy is different than happiness. It's not based on our circumstances. Joy is also a choice. We looked at the choices the shepherds made that first Christmas - choices that we can make that will bring joy into our lives. We can choose to hear, accept, and believe the good news. We can choose to obey God. We can choose to tell others.
Another highlight of the day was watching our High School students and families bless our Youth Pastor Jeremiah with a Playstation 3! As they say, "He was as excited as a kid in a candy store!" (And yes, I do think he cried like a baby girl!) Just like a parent, it fills my heart with pride, when I see people in our church expressing their love in generous, extravagant giving.
After church, I went out to Trident Hospital to see Brad & Melissa's new baby boy - Braden (not sure of spelling). Mom & Baby are doing great. What a great Christmas present! And then I had a wedding out at Kiawah. What a day! Well, that's about it. I need to spend some time on my message for tomorrow night. I love this time of year. Leverage the opportunity you have to reach out to those around you and share the love of Christ! See you and as many people you can get here tomorrow night at Coastal!
We had a bunch of people out of town today. Our attendance was definitely down as far as numbers go. But we did have several visitors. Keep it up Coastal - invite, invite, invite. One little highlight for me lately has been watching people enjoy hanging out in our "new" Welcome Room & Cafe'. We could already add another table and chairs. People really seem to love having a place to sit, relax, laugh, share, and drink a good cup of coffee (Krispy Kreme doughnuts are nice too). We're drinking like twice the coffee we did before.
Loved hearing, "Run, Run, Rudolph!" to open up the service (I know - we're crazy). We will definitely be playing that tomorrow night! Did I mention that I'm jacked about tomorrow night? Another one of my "Favorite Things" is Apple Computer. Hmmm. But we can't afford to give away a computer. What could it be?
My message was about the gift of joy. Joy is different than happiness. It's not based on our circumstances. Joy is also a choice. We looked at the choices the shepherds made that first Christmas - choices that we can make that will bring joy into our lives. We can choose to hear, accept, and believe the good news. We can choose to obey God. We can choose to tell others.
Another highlight of the day was watching our High School students and families bless our Youth Pastor Jeremiah with a Playstation 3! As they say, "He was as excited as a kid in a candy store!" (And yes, I do think he cried like a baby girl!) Just like a parent, it fills my heart with pride, when I see people in our church expressing their love in generous, extravagant giving.
After church, I went out to Trident Hospital to see Brad & Melissa's new baby boy - Braden (not sure of spelling). Mom & Baby are doing great. What a great Christmas present! And then I had a wedding out at Kiawah. What a day! Well, that's about it. I need to spend some time on my message for tomorrow night. I love this time of year. Leverage the opportunity you have to reach out to those around you and share the love of Christ! See you and as many people you can get here tomorrow night at Coastal!
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