First Presbyterian Church 208 East Cypress Altus, Oklahoma 73521 (580) 482-3936 altuspresby@sbcglobal.net http://www.altusfpc.org Special Christmas Edition Believing Christ died - that's history; believing he died for me - that's salvation! Page 1
Children s Christmas Stories The Shepherds and the Angels adapted from the Bible And there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. And an angel of the Lord stood by them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Be not afraid; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people: for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this is the sign unto you; ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, Good will toward men. And it came to pass, when the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in the manger. And when they saw it, they made known concerning the saying which was spoken to them about this child. And all that heard it wondered at the things which were spoken unto them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, even as it was spoken unto them. And when eight days were fulfilled his name was called: Believing Christ died - that's history; believing he died for me - that's salvation! Page 2
The First Christmas Tree In a forest in the far, far East grew a great many pine trees. Most of them were tall trees, higher than the houses that we see, and with wide, strong branches. But there was one tree that was not nearly so tall as the others; in fact, it was no taller than some of the children in the kindergarten. Now, the tall trees could see far, far out over the hilltops and into the valleys, and they could hear all the noises that went on in the world beyond the forest, but the Little Tree was so small and the other trees grew so high and thick about it that it could not see nor hear these things at all; but the other trees were very kind, and they would stoop down and tell them to the Little Tree. One night in the winter time there seemed to be something strange happening in the little town among the hills, for the trees did not go to sleep after the sun went down, but put their heads together and spoke in strange, low whispers that were full of awe and wonder. The Little Tree, from its place close down to the ground, did not understand what it was all about. It listened awhile, and then lifted its head as high as ever it could and shouted to its tall neighbor: "Will you not stoop and tell me what is happening?" And the big tree stooped down and whispered: "The shepherds out on the hilltops are telling strange stories while they watch their sheep. The air is filled with sweet music, and there is a wonderful star coming up in the east, traveling westward always, and the shepherds say that they are waiting for it to stop and shine over a humble stable in their little town. I have not heard why it is going to stop there, but I will look again and listen." So the tall tree lifted up its head again, and reached far out so that it might hear more of the wonderful story. Bye and bye it stooped down again, and whispered to the Little Tree: "Oh, Little Tree, listen! There are angels among the shepherds on the hills, and they are all talking together. They seem to be awaiting the birth of a little child, who will be a king among the people, and the beautiful star will shine above the stable where the little king will be laid in a manger." The tree again raised its head to listen, and the Little Tree, much puzzled, thought within itself: "It is very strange, indeed. Believing Christ died - that's history; believing he died for me - that's salvation! Page 3
* * * Oh, how I wish that I could see it all!" It waited a little longer, and everything grew quiet, and a great peace came upon the forest. * * * Then suddenly the town, and even the forest was illuminated with a strange, white light that made everything as bright as day, and the air was filled with the flutter of angels' wings, and with music such as the world had never heard before. The people and the trees, even the stars in the heaven, lifted up their voices and sang together and the whole world was filled with music and joy and love for the little Christ-child who had come to dwell upon the earth. The Little Tree was filled with fear and wonder, for so great was the excitement that the other trees had almost forgotten it, and it could not understand the mysterious sounds; but bye and bye its tall friend said, "Listen, listen, Little Tree! Such news I have to tell! The Christ has come-- the King! And the whole world is singing such beautiful music. There are wise men coming from the East, bringing beautiful gifts to the Christ-child. The angels, too, are upon the earth, and they bear gifts of gold and rare, beautiful stones. Wait! I will tell you more." The tall tree had scarcely lifted up its head when it stooped again and whispered to the Little Tree, "Look! Look! Little Tree! They are coming this way; the angels are coming here, into our forest! Lift up your head high and you will see them as they pass." The Little Tree lifted up its head and saw the white flutter of angel robes and heard the weird, sweet voices of the heavenly host who came with precious gifts into the forest. "Oh," said the Little Tree, "they are coming here, toward me! What shall I do?" And in fear it bent its head so low that it almost touched the ground. But the music came nearer and nearer, and the Little Tree felt a tender hand upon its branches, and a soft, gentle voice said to it, "Arise, Little Tree, and come with us, for we have come into the forest to seek you. Yes, you, the very smallest among the trees, are to be our gift-bearer. Come; lift up your head." In fear and trembling the Little Tree did as the angel bade it. But when it looked into the angel's face and saw the love and kindness there, all fear was gone, and it said to the angel: "Yes; make me ready. I will come with you to the little Christ-child in the manger." Believing Christ died - that's history; believing he died for me - that's salvation! Page 4
So all the angels brought their gifts of precious jewels and shining gold, and fastened them upon the branches of the Little Tree. Then the leader of the angels' band took up the Little Tree from the ground and bore it, laden with its precious burden, to the feet of the Christ-child. Children s Christmas Prayers O Lord Christ, our Savior dear, Be Thou ever near us; Grant us now a glad New Year. Amen, Jesus, hear us! O holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us, we pray; Cast out our sin and enter in. Believing Christ died - that's history; believing he died for me - that's salvation! Page 5
Be born in us to-day. O welcome, little Christmas Guest, Dear Jesus, from above; Upon Thy face, so pure and mild, We see God's smile of love. Precious Babe of Bethlehem, Gift of love to sinful men, Thou, our Savior, Lord, and King May we all Thy praises sing! Ah! dearest Jesus, holy Child, Make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled, Within my heart, that it may be A quiet chamber kept for Thee. Reverend Stacie s Corner Dear Friends, As I was pondering what to write for this month s newsletter I was reminded of Paul s letter to the Corinthians, in which he states, For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body Jews or Greeks, slaves or free and we were all made to drink of the one Spirit...If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it (1 Corinthians 12: 12-13, 26). Then as I was reading Healthy Congregations by Peter L. Steinke, I found Ten Principles of Health and Disease. ---I ve condensed. 1. Wholeness is not attainable. (But it can be approximated.) 2. The body has innate healing abilities. (No one can give you or the congregation what you don t already have.) 3. Every body is different. (There s no universal treatment for every organism or congregation.) Believing Christ died - that's history; believing he died for me - that's salvation! Page 6
4. A healthy circulatory system is the keystone of health and healing. (Feedback systems promote health.) 5. Breathing properly is nourishing to the whole body. (The Spirit must be active among the members of the body of Christ.) These two approaches to understanding the body of Christ, i.e. the members of any congregation, are helpful in reminding us that dysfunctionality is part of life. Mistakes will be made by the pastor and the lay people. We aren t all going to perform well together during every new challenge, but we can certainly try our best to see the vision that is being carved out ahead of us by the Holy Spirit. Working, living, and worshiping collectively are what Christ has called us to do. Respect is how we are to treat one another. We may differ with how things are done or with one s point of view, but that does not mean that we are to stop seeing Christ in that person. The added bonus is love. Christ s love for us and our love reflected back through our conduct. Communication and trust are essential for the well-being of the relationship that is forged between pastor, session, and laity. We have covenanted with God and before each other to be compassionate, faithful, supportive members of this body we call First Presbyterian Church. Seeing that Advent is quickly approaching let us be reminded of the hope this season brings to our hearts. As we gaze toward the light of the star shining in the darkness and as we prepare to celebrate our Savior s birth, may we feel the Holy Spirit s presence embody this congregation with Christ s love. Blessings upon you and yours, this season and always! Rev. Stacie December Events December 2 December 2 December 4 December 7 December 10 December 16 December 19 Congregational Meeting following Worship Service Fellowship Dinner following Congregational Meeting Women s Luncheon at Main Street Grill-11:30 am Advent Recital 7:00 pm Women s Association Christmas Party at Sally George s Home, 816 East Commerce 6:00 pm Christmas Cantata-Children putting on Christmas Play Session Meeting 7:00 pm Believing Christ died - that's history; believing he died for me - that's salvation! Page 7
December Birthdays December 06 December 10 December 17 December 28 December 30 Rebekah Grimes Bill Appleby Connie McQuinn Frances Herron Nancy Cofer Last but by no means least, keep our men and women serving in the Military Service and our leaders in the National, State, and local levels as well as the men and women in Public Service in our prayers. Pray that God look over and protect each and every one of them during this most Holiest of Holidays. Reverend Stacie, The Church Staff, The Church Session and Yours Truly wish each and everyone a very Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year. Believing Christ died - that's history; believing he died for me - that's salvation! Page 8