YOU MIGHT BE A SCROOGE IF…
You turn on the lawn sprinklers on Christmas Eve to keep carolers away;
You get your Christmas tree at a rest stop at night;
Your idea of holiday decorations is a rotten pumpkin;
Your favorite Christmas pastime is putting defective bulbs in your neighbor’s string of Christmas lights;
Your favorite Christmas drink is rotten Egg Nog;
Your favorite Christmas song is“Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer;”
Your idea of a staff or company Christmas party is“O, just forget it;”
You like snow only because you know it will mean there will be some cool car accidents;
Your favorite Christmas snack is one-year old fruitcake;
You don’t like the ending to “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Miracle on 34st Street,” “The Grinch,” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
You put a laxative in Santa’s cookies,knowing and laughing about the outcome;
And finally, if your three favorite words are“Ba Hum Bug”

A Prayer

The sleigh was was all packed, the reindeer were fed,
But Santa still knelt by the side of his bed,
"Dear Father, " he prayed, "Be with me tonight.
There's much work to do and my schedule is tight.
My sack will hold toys to grant all kids' wishes.
The supply will be endless like the loaves and the fishes.
I can do all these things, Lord, only through You.
I just need your blessing, then it's easy to do.
I do this only to honor the birth of the One,
That was sent to redeem us, Your most Holy Son.
So to all of my friends, lest Your glory I rob,
Please, Lord, remind them who gave me this job."

Luke 2:8-20

8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Another Favorite Christmas Song

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawian Christmas Day

That's the island greeting that we send to you from the land where palm trees sway

Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright

The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night

Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way to say Merry Christmas to you

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawian Christmas day

That's the island greeting that we send to you from the land where palm trees sway

Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright

The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night

Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way to say Merry Christmas to you

Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright

The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night

Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way to say Merry Christmas to you

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawian Christmas Day

Thats the island greeting that we send to you from the land where palm trees sway

Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright

The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night

Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way to say Merry christmas a

very merry christmas , a very, very, merry,merry Christmas to you.

GLARE at the Mall

This past Saturday GLARE (SCC's Music Team) presented Christmas songs at the Chesapeake Square mall in Chesapeake, VA. The music was well done as usual. Thanks Ruth and GLARE for going the extra mile and spreading some Christmas Joy.

I am glad that the members of GLARE are willing to put in the extra practice and spend most of a Saturday afternoon setting up, playing and singing, visiting with people and then tearing down. The time and effort places the message of CHRISTmas in the heart of the modern market place, the Mall. It is a gutsy thing to play in an atmosphere that is not real condusive for the best sound and to play for an audience that is on the move and may be wondering, "What is this?" But this is the place to be. In the public. In the market place with a message of hope presented in a medium that most enjoy, music.

Thanks to all who helped with GLARE at the Mall.

Sunrise and Lee Memorial Update

Progress continues with the ministry partnership between Sunrise and Lee Memorial. Sunrise's first meeting at Lee Memorial is with Lee Memorial on Monday, December 24, 2007 from 6:00 -7:00 PM for a Candlelight Christmas Service. Please be in prayer for this service and begin to invite family, friends, neighbors and co-workers to the service. As we move towards being ready for the Candlelight Christmas Eve Service and our first Sunday morning service at Lee Memorial on Sunday, December 3o, 2007 from 10:00 - 11:00 AM progress is being made in various areas.

Progress:
Saturday, November 3rd over 40 people gathered at Lee Memorial for the first clean and prep day from 10:00 - 12:00 noon. The transformation begins.
Saturday, November 10th over 100 people gather for an Open House to see the facilities of Lee Memorial and people from Sunrise mingle with those from Lee. A spirit of unity and cooperation are evident.
Wednesday, November 28th Scott and I met with two leaders from Lee and Roy Smith of the Norfolk Area Baptist Association to discuss a the ministry partnership. Positive dialogue.
Saturday, December 1st over 25 people come together at Lee Memorial for the second clean and prep day. The transformation continues and the the facilities are almost ready for ministry on Monday, December 24th. Cleaning, decorating, organizing, and facilities maintenance are completed by people who are having a good time meeting one another and serving together.
The Music Team is rehearsing at Lee Memorial and is preparing for the music presentation at the Mall and for the services that will be held at Lee Memorial. they are working on the lighting and stage setup at Lee. It is looking good. The music team has some pretty sharp people involved and they are all going the extra mile in regards to this move.
Tuesday afternoon, December 4th I met with a Rick Page who is a co-ownwer of ChemDry Carpet Cleaning and Monday, December 17th was booked to have the carpets cleaned and refreshed. There going to look and smell niiiiiiice.
Today, 12-6-07, Scott and I met with a man to discuss projector's, screens, cable's, etc. After a great deal of thought, discussion and previous research it was decided to move forward with a few purchases that will look really good, be very practical and help us continue to create and open, relevant, visual, and celebrative atmosphere for our worship services.
More than the above is being accomplished but I hope the above gave you a better idea of the progress Sunrise is making as we move forward.

Please continue to pray for unity, cooperation, and for people to come to know Christ through this ministry partnership. Your prayers, Sunday morning attendance during the worship services and your personal invites to others are very important as we seek to reach out and touch lives.

For SCC - The Art of Gift Giving 12-2-07

Our new series "God's Gifts for You This Christmas" began this past Sunday with the Sunday morning theme of "The Art of Gift Giving". The Christmas Tree and other lights on the stage set the mode for a Great service. The Christmas songs that GLARE led us in are right on, fun to sing and the lyrics are thought provoking. The DVD clip "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was hilarious. It is so real to what we experience. Anybody plan on throwing a scale out the window this Christmas?

Scott Slasman's message was based on the text found in Matthew 2:1-12. Scott shared with us some truth from the passage in regards to giving gifts. I especially liked how Scott ruined the song "We Three Kings Of Orient Are" by pointing out that there were not 3, they were not Kings, and they were not Orient. That song now has a whole new meaning for me this Christmas. The following are helpful truths we can apply in our lives that Scott shared this past Sunday. The passage of Scripture can be found in a blog I posted on 12-3-07.

The Art of Gift Giving

The Wise Men started with planning. The trip these Kings (not) took had to be planned out and thought through. You and I need to plan our gift giving. Be wise.

The Wise Men personalized their gifts. Think through what you are going to give. Seek to be personal and the gift will have more meaning.

The Wise Men wrestled with the appropriate price for the gift. We need to think through expenses for the Gifts we will give.

The Wise Men got their presentation right. When you give gifts this year realize that even giving the gift in the right spirit and right way matters.

Let It Be Christmas Everywhere

The followong are lyrics to a song by Alan Jackson. This is my favorite Christmas song this year.

Let it be Christmas everywhere

In the hearts of all people both near and afar

Christmas everywhere

Feel the love of the season wherever you are

On the small country roads lined with green mistletoe

Big city streets where a thousand lights glow

Chorus

Let it be Christmas everywhere

Let heavenly music fill the air

Let every heart sing let every bell ring

The story of hope and joy and peace

And let it be Christmas everywhere

Let heavenly music fill the air

Let anger and fear and hate disappear

Let there be love that lasts through the year

And let it be Christmas Christmas everywhere

Let it be Christmas everywhere

With the gold and the silver, the green and the red

Christmas everywhere

In the smiles of all children asleep in their beds

In the eyes of young babies their first fallen snow

Elderlys' memories that never grow old

Chorus

Let it be Christmas everywhere

Let heavenly music fill the air

Let every heart sing let every bell ring

The story of hope and joy and peace

And let it be Christmas everywhere

Let heavenly music fill the air

Let anger and fear and hate disappear

Let there be love that lasts through the year

And let it be Christmas Christmas everywhere

Let it be Christmas everywhere

In the songs that we sing and the gifts that we bring

Christmas everywhere

In what this day means and what we believe

From the sandy white beaches where blue water rolls

Snow covered mountains and valleys below

Chorus

Let it be Christmas everywhere

Let heavenly music fill the air
Let every heart sing let every bell ring

The story of hope and joy and peace

And let it be Christmas everywhere

Let heavenly music fill the air

Let anger and fear and hate disappear

Let there be love that lasts through the year

And let it be Christmas Christmas everywhere

Christmas everywhere Christmas everywhere.

12-1-07 Clean and Prep Day

Progress continues. A good group of people gathered at Lee Memorial Baptist Church from 10:00 - 12:00 noon and continued to clean, do some maintenance, and accomplished some Christmas decorating. Children, students and adults all pitched in as we worked together in different areas of the building. The rooms that Sunrise will use for infants, preschool, school-aged children and the students are looking good and will be ready for ministry. The Family Life Center is being transformed into an auditorium with a nice large stage, theater style seating, lighting for nice effect and a large foyer area for greeting, refreshments and visiting prior to the and after the service. Many thanks (thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks) to all who helped. I understand how full the month of December is with all of the Christmas things to be done and that makes me even more gracious for all who gave of their time and give of their time to touch the lives of others with the love of God.

Saturday was time well spent. The payoff will be everlasting for some people who accept Christ through Sunrise. The payoff will be children discovering God, accepting Christ and developing and new friends as they enter into a room that was cleaned and prepared for ministry by a group of people who gave of their time in December. The payoff will be people entering into the building who are going through some tough times and discover that God does care and will help them as they sit in a chair that you carefully placed out so that they would feel comfortable in regards to space and so that they had a clear view of the stage and screens. The payoff will be new friendships that you develop because you helped set up the foyer area and made sure the atmosphere was comfortable and open so that people would feel welcomed when they came into the building. The payoff will be Heavenly. Your time this Christmas season will help people experience Jesus Christ. That is time well spent.

Matthew 2:1-12

1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."
3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5"In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 6" 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"
7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."
9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I'm Thankful ...

Hi, my name is Brittany Tilley and I’m a junior at Western Branch High School. This week Mr. Steve called me and asked me to do a little survey of what people are thankful for. So I went around and asked random anonymous people that I normally come in contact with throughout my day. The 1st question asked of me when I asked a person what they were thankful for was “what is this for?” So I told them “my church.” In hearing this most of my interviewees would automatically begin giving me the generic “church” answers. I laughed and asked them to tell me what they were really thankful for. The following is a list of answers I got, keep in mind this is a very diverse group of answers in no particular order. (Let’s see how many you agree with)

I’m thankful for my family, music, drums, church, girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, wife, GOOOOD food, guitar hero, good health, dog, football, cat, life, best friend, smart teachers who care, cheering, Harry Potter, shopping, a house to live in, animal print!, mosh pits, cozy bed, a hard working team, parents who care, mail, big trucks, mudding, kids who clean, God, basket ball, heating and air conditioning, grandparents, the leaves changing, soft toilet paper, SHARPIES!, good grades, coffee!, being tan, pie, vacation, advances in cures for cancer, Chick-fil-A, oxygen, the dictionary, pilgrims because they made us a holiday to get out of school for!, shoes, computers, Jesus, vegetables, Google, the trash man, lunch boxes, gloves and hand warmers at a freezing football games, halo, gym, iPods, art, brothers and sisters, a warm smile, Starbucks, fruit, city workers, college, playgrounds, candy, America, books, record player, Vogue, ballet, cell phones, the ocean, surfing, Spiderman, forensics, singing, decorations, a hand to hold, cars, turkey, knee braces, a good coach, a plasma TV, Christmas catalogs, a bus to drive, babies, laughter, our founding fathers, the Children's hospital of Kings Daughters, flowers, mechanical pencils, and for the love that I have for others and that others have for me.

O Lord that lends me life,Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.~William Shakespeare

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving. ~W.T. Purkiser

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Psalm 100
A psalm For giving thanks.
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.

Homilophobia. What is this? I know. I want to see if you will find out.

phobias

http://www.phobialist.com/

Interesting. Be careful.

"Fear not that life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning."
John Cardinal Newman

I am finishing up a book titled In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day by Mark Batterson. Good book about going for it, living with risk, acting in courage and not having to fear if your life had a beginning.

Open House

The Open House this past Saturday, 11-10-07, was a very positve time for Sunrise and Lee Memorial. Both churches had a good number of people in attendance and it was encouraging to see people visiting with one another and introducing themselves to one another. It really is amazing how many relational coonections have already been made as people meet one another and begin discovering the relationships they have in common. Thanks to all who brought food and for those who helped in the kitchen area so we could enjoy the food and drink. Please continue to pray for openess and cooperation. Please begin to spread the word about this partnership and begin to invite your friends to the Candlelight Christmas Eve service that will be held at Lee Memorial on Monday, 12-24-07, from 6:00 - 7:00 PM.

Veterans Day

Armistice Day Becomes Veterans Day
World War I officially ended on June 28, 1919, with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The actual fighting between the Allies and Germany, however, had ended seven months earlier with the armistice, which went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. Armistice Day, as November 11 became known, officially became a holiday in the United States in 1926, and a national holiday 12 years later. On June 1, 1954, the name was changed to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans.
In 1968, new legislation changed the national commemoration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. It soon became apparent, however, that November 11 was a date of historic significance to many Americans. Therefore, in 1978 Congress returned the observance to its traditional date.