Part 1-The Christmas Story told from a different perspective

FAITH:
All over the world the story is being told. Around a campfire on the African Savannah, under the star filled skies of the Australian Outback, in the store
fronts and meeting halls of Asian and American cities, gravely voices rise and fall with emotion, telling the oldest of stories, phrase by phrase, once again…as if for the first time…

In the Beginning

Long ago, before shepherds watched over their sheep by night, and even before there was a star in the sky, a great king asked for silence.

Then the king spoke and the universe exploded into existence. He said,"Let there be light," and the darkness ran from him. By the power of his words he created high mountains and deep valleys. With endless imagination and attention to detail, the king filled the land, waters, and sky with living
creatures of every shape, color, and size.

Then, as evil eyes watched from a distance, the king reached down, picked up a handful of the earth he had made, and breathed into it his own likeness.Then the great one motioned to a surrounding paradise and said to his likeness, "All of this I am entrusting to you. Care for the land, and
it will care for you."

For a while the new caretaker was too absorbed in his work to recognize the emptiness within. The king,however, knew that it was not good for the
man to be alone. So he put his likeness to sleep, and from the package the king had used to protect the man's heart, he made a helper and a friend.

One of the gifts the king gave the couple was something they never would have thought to ask for. He hid it in two trees that he planted in the very
center of the garden. One he called the "tree of life" and the other, "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Pointing to one of them, the king said, "Eat from anything in the garden except this. If you eat from this one you will die."

Sharing the king's happiness, but not understanding the riddle of the forbidden fruit, the couple's days were filled with surprise, laughter, and growing wonder.

Pause and reflect: This is only the beginning of the unfolding drama that would eventually send heralding angels to the Shepherd's Fields of
Bethlehem. Long before wise men from the East made their way to worship the newly born king of the Jewish people, the first chapters of
Genesis describe the wonder of the One who,

1. Makes something out of nothing.

2. Speaks light into darkness.

3. Brings order out of chaos.

4. Breathes his own likeness into a handful of dirt.

5. Fills loneliness with friendship?

6. Gives meaning to everything?

7. Gives life to those who haven't earned it?

One of the ironies of a modern Christmas is that gifts around a tree are at the center of our celebration of an ancient story… a story that begins
and ends with a tree-centered gift of immortality (Genesis 1-3; Revelation 22:1-3)



Freedom to Choose

Hiding in the shadows, a rebel watched the caretakers and envied their happiness. In the innocence of another time and place, he too had known the king's favor.

Disguising himself as a beast of paradise, the rebel surprised the woman first by speaking, and then by claiming to know the answer to the riddle
of the trees.

Why was one tree off limits? According to the most streetwise of creatures, the king was holding out on them. There were secrets he didn't want the couple to know.

A fatal mix of freedom, curiosity, and distrust got the best of the couple. Tasting the forbidden fruit was like taking a mind-altering drug. In the
rush of lost innocence, the caretakers suddenly felt afraid and vulnerable. Grabbing leaves to cover themselves, they ran to hide from the king.

(Pause here for a moment and answer this)

Do you agree that there is irony in the way this Christmas story begins and ends with trees?

1. One for life.

2. One for death

3. Two for freedom of choice.

4. Who could have imagined that someday we would put up a tree… to celebrate the birth of a king… who died on a tree… to pay for our life… and our freedom of choice.

5. Is it possible that it is no accident or coincidence that the king whose birth we celebrate on Christmas died on a tree? Does his death on a tree show that he himself was willing to pay the ultimate price…for the gifts of life and freedom he didn't just give us…but bought for us? by Mart DeHann

FRIENDS:
Blessed Lord and God, we come to you, aware that you have pierced our world. You became flesh, you dwelled among us, you saw us in our fallen state, you reached in and pulled us out. You offered us salvation, you offered us mercy. And we are ever thankful. In Jesus' name, Amen.

10 THINGS I AM THANKFUL FOR:
1. Friends who are so comfortable with us they tell us "I need your help"
2. Jen, the sweet receptionist from my building
3. People with a sense of humor
4. Knowing where I will be going for my next life
5. Finding a clean pair of jeans after all
6. My son's generosity towards me
7. Having a safe place to share my heart
8. Christmas cookies
9. Phone call saying, "remember, I love you"
10. The medicine I take to keep me well. Where would I be with out it?


FOOD:
Perfect Molasses Cookie Mix
6 c flour
3 c sugar
1 T baking soda
1 T baking powder
1 T ground ginger
1 T ground cinnamon
1 t ground nutmeg
3/4 t ground cloves
1/2 t ground allspice
Mix the above dry ingredients in a very large bowl with a wood spoon or wire whisk. When completely mixed divide the mixture evenly into 3 large ziplock
baggies with 3 cups of the mix in each. Make one ziplock at a time.
When you are ready to make cookies;
Add;
3/4 c soft butter (real), 1 egg, 1/4 c molasses to each 3 cup dry mix in your ziploc. Roll into 1 inch balls and roll in plain white granulated sugar. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes until the edge is firm and the top is
cracked. Cool on the pan for 1 minute before moving to wire racks.

FUN:
A 4-year-old boy was asked to give the meal blessing before Christmas dinner. The family members bowed their heads in expectation.
He began his prayer, thanking God for all his friends, naming them one by one. Then he thanked God for Mommy, Daddy, brother, sister, Grandma, Grandpa, and all his aunts and uncles. Then he began to thank God for
the food. He gave thanks for the turkey, the dressing, the fruit salad, the cranberry sauce, the pies, the cakes, even the Cool Whip.

Then he paused, and everyone waited, and waited. After a long silence, the young fellow looked up at his mother and asked, "If I thank God for the
broccoli, won't he know that I'm lying?"