Kevin

When it comes to charitable acts, it’s not always enough to personally help those in need, so we enlist the aid of others. If I come upon someone with serious injuries, I could give emergency first aid, but then I would most likely call for medical professionals. The same could be said for any service that others can do more effectively than I, although there’s still tremendous benefit for personally doing as much as possible because of the resulting deepened relationships.

I’m continually perplexed by Christians who fear death. If heaven is so wonderful, shouldn’t we welcome the opportunity to go there as soon as possible? A funeral today is often called a celebration of life, but for a Christian with a strong faith should it not actually be a celebration of death?

Leader: The presence of God is surely in this place. People: The presence of God is everywhere.

Leader: Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Christ. People: We celebrate the birth of Jesus, who showed us how to express God by letting the Christ within be our guide.

Leader: It is a night of anticipation, a night of waiting. People: We wait, as Mary and Joseph waited for the birth of their son.

Leader: In this Advent season, we honor a time in history when people anticipated the birth of a child. People: The child grew to be a man who gave hope to his people.