Part 1 is about gifts God has given in the Old Testament. Next week part 2 will look at additional gifts New Testament and that’s when it gets really good.

Why does God give commands? In other words, why are there rules? Because he loves us.

We are not legalists; do not approach the 10 Commandments as a list of requirements we must memorize and follow. But do not ignore them either. God only gives good gifts to his children and the Law is a really big one.

We made the decision a few days ago to not have service at Unity Baptist this morning and we are not going to change that. Very few of us live in Plainville, most of our people drive in from Calhoun or as far out as Oakman. I am not going to complain that the power is on, the heat works or that Mr. Coffee automatically made us a full pot this morning. If there is no black ice on the road or tree limbs across your street, be thankful. I have recorded a short word of encouragement. Read your Bible, pray for one another, love God and love others. Hope to see you next Sunday!

It wasn’t mentioned in the sermon (because although I thought about it the idea never made it into my notes). Some of you know that I work a demanding on-call schedule during the week. But even then we are on call for five consecutive days then take two days off. I am on call 24 hours, I never work 24 straight hours. There are fire fighters and EMT’s that sometimes do things like that. We live in a world where some people have to; but it’s not what we were made for and it isn’t healthy.

Most people are busier than they need to be, filling every available moment with work, family, hobbies and entertainment. Technologies meant to make our lives easier often convince us that we need to get even more done. Take a breath. Find a moment of calm. It doesn’t have to be a nap every afternoon but find time during each day to be still and acknowledge God.

It sounds simple. It should be simple. But making these things a part of one’s regular routine on an ongoing basis is a different matter. 60% of Americans say they wish they read the Bible more. Reading is not the problem, routine and time management is the issue. Once these things become a matter of course they should actually be hard to quit.

The Gospel is for everyone; rich and poor, scholarly and uneducated, and for those near and those far away. There are many apparent differences between the shepherds and wise men but both groups looked for Jesus, found him, and then rejoiced in worship.

After four Sundays of Advent, I preached a Christmas sermon this morning. While I would usually try to avoid fielding questions during the sermon I went ahead and dove in head first when asked about Bethlehem and other first century locations still existing today.

We continue in Luke 2 with the shepherds response to the angels message from on high. Today we light the Shepherds candle and the theme is Peace.

The focus this week is on the angels and their message. Next week we will look at how the shepherds respond.