Merry Christmas!

[Alan]

My prayer for all of you.

May the Lord bless all of you during this Christmas season.

May the Lord give all of you a blessed time with your loved ones.

May the Lord bless your churches with a loving spirit this Christmas season.

May the Lord bless the churches with souls entering church to find hope during this Christmas season.

May the Lord protect you as you drive seeing loved ones.

May the Lord give all of us a love for the Lord Jesus as we remember His birth and leaving Heaven to this world of woe, that we may enjoy the blessings of heaven for eternity.

Alan

Brethren,

Feel free to post you favorite Christmas music.

Feel free to express your joy of the season.

Feel free to share your blessings of the season.

Feel free to share any photos of the season.

Feel free to express your thanks for the Lord Jesus leaving the realms of glory, and with a humble birth, become the Son of Man.

Enjoy the music!

Alan

 

 

[heartstrings]

Merry Christmas and God's blessings to you too Brother Alan.

[HappyChristian]

Merry Christmas to everyone from the DePriest household. We are excited as we have our first Christmas service with my hubs as pastor - we are praying for 25 in attendance. And we are having a party on Saturday. And we are suspicious that our son is going to surprise us with a visit. 

May God bless each of you in the coming new year as well.

[Rosie]

Merry Christmas to all of you and a blessed New Year

[*Light*]

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, 2018. May God bless you all, brothers and sisters in Christ.

[Alan]

19 hours ago, HappyChristian said:

Merry Christmas to everyone from the DePriest household. We are excited as we have our first Christmas service with my hubs as pastor - we are praying for 25 in attendance. And we are having a party on Saturday. And we are suspicious that our son is going to surprise us with a visit. 

May God bless each of you in the coming new year as well.

It is our hope that your son will visit during the Christmas season you and that maybe even more than 25 people are in attendance on Christmas Sunday.

May the Lord give your husband the power from on High to preach the message of the birth of Christ.

[HappyChristian]

Our son is here! 

[Alan]

All of us are glad to hear that your son was able to make it to your house for Christmas.

[Invicta]

We went to our service yesterday, we had 60 or more at the service compared with our usual Sunday service of 22-30.  Many were those we see only once a year, but one man who goes to our lunch club has told me for years that he would like to come to our church but works at the cricket club on Sundays,  He came for the first time two Sundays ago for our Carol service and again last Sunday and again yesterday.  Another of our lunch club attenders came for the first time and brought her daughter and son in law who were visiting her.  

We went over to our daughter immediately after the service.  They had beef and all sorts of vegetables,  with an apple flan which they brought back from a visit to France on Friday.  

[Alan]

Thank you for the wonderful testimony concerning the increase in attendance in your church services. Even if some folks come once a year, or maybe twice a year, the Lord can use the one or two messages to sow some seed in the hearts of those who attend.

When I was growing up my parents did not even attend once a year and all of the siblings in our family were almost completely devoid of a church experience.  Before I was converted at age 19, I can only remember three times we ever attended a church service. One of those three times was when we went to (if memory serves me correct),  the, "Hollywood Bowl,"  in Los Angeles, CA, to see a Christmas musical.

It is also encouraging to hear of your good relationship with your daughter. Glad to know that you had a good Christmas.

In my thoughts, even if a person attends only once a year for a Christmas or Easter service,  he is helping his family, and his soul, for his attendance.

 

[Invicta]

On 27/12/2017 at 12:36 AM, Alan said:

Thank you for the wonderful testimony concerning the increase in attendance in your church services. Even if some folks come once a year, or maybe twice a year, the Lord can use the one or two messages to sow some seed in the hearts of those who attend.

 

Thanks Alan.  I have tried to answer the above posts a number of times but it just doesn't post, although I have answered other posts OK.  

[Alan]

Could it be the "Grinch" that stole Christmas fault?

I do hope that everybody had a good time with their loved ones.

[Alan]

Like a lot of families, our family enjoys giving, and receiving, Christmas cards.

The  Lord has blessed us with many fine Christmas cards from our friends, family, churches and some saints we have met but once in a church. I would like to share one of them to my friends on OnLine Baptist who I have never met (and to some that I have met).

Whoever has a Christmas card that you would like to share with your friends here on OnLine Baptist; please do so.

 

[Invicta]

Thanks Alan I still have the reply that I couldn''t send keeps popping up saying my text has been restored, but it still won't post.

Thanks Alan I have removed the quote and will try again.

A few years ago we had a vote on a pastor who some of he members wanted to invite.  He was voted down by the membership and  those who voted for him walked out. on the spot.  Our service attendance went right down  and some of the leaders thought the church may not survive, Our evening service was down to about seven.  However the Lord has been good to us,  We had two former members who hand moved away moved back into town, and anothe did later. we have a number of non members attend and one couple moved to us from an ecumenical church, the husband said "I was starved of teaching"  We have had three ladies who had left  another ecumenical church coming fairly regularly for some months. A man in his mid 30's who I invited to come to our Easter service last hear and said he would and  gave various reasons for not coming , one day said he would come with us and has been regularly ever since and has just asked for baptism. 

What we are praying for is that more younger Christians to come and take over some of the work as most of us are a bit long in the tooth.  We have only two young families, which is something we praise the lord for as for a long time we only had one.

[Invicta]

My wife looking at the TV listings for today, said "The Archbishop of Canterbury is giving his new year message today, it will be ever so profound, it is all of five minutes."  I said  "It doesn't matter how long it is, it will be only political."  So it was.  If he was to call the nation to repentance, I suppose that would cause a storm.