PONDERING CHRISTMAS - THE LOG CHURCH SERMON, DECEMBER 25

Can you imagine the excitement and even confusion at the time of the birth of Jesus? Excitement especially for the shepherds! Shepherds, whose job it is to watch through the night over the flocks of sheep, are not accustomed to excitement. Actually, they do not want excitement. What they want are quiet nights with their sheep—no wolves, no lions, perhaps only an occasional bleating of a lamb looking for his mother.

But on that night—that night, they were suddenly confronted by some sort of other-worldly being, glowing with such an intensity and emanating with such light that it illuminated the ground all around them. The shepherds fell back in terror.

What could these men have been thinking at that moment? They must have feared for their lives!

“Take the sheep! Take everything! Just leave us alone!”

But that was not the purpose of this “alien.” This was an angel of the Lord who had come with news, good news—great news!

“A Savior has been born to you, Christ the Lord!”

But then, just as the fears of the shepherds had been somewhat allayed, and as they were contemplating the words of the angel, at the announcement of the birth of the Savior, a great multitude of heavenly beings suddenly appeared along with the one who had made the announcement. This multitude sang such a song of praise to God that the whole countryside reverberated with their music.

Then, when the angels' song of praise was completed, almost as quickly as they appeared, they departed. The angels ascended back into heaven.

The shepherds must have stood in silent shock for some good long moments, wondering about what had just occurred—and if it indeed had occurred. Perhaps they imagined it.

Finally one spoke: “Did… you see… what I saw?”

Then another: “I was hoping someone else would speak first. I was afraid I was going mad.”

After that, everyone began speaking at once. “Did you see these hills, how they were covered with all the angels singing?”

“What about how they shone with light that illuminated the entire pasture?”

“I thought I might go blind!”

 “Have you ever heard such beautiful singing? The air was filled with their song!”

Then, as the shepherds began to again get their feet back on the ground, they remembered the purpose of it all. It was the message of the first angel: “A Child had been born in Bethlehem—the Christ child, the Savior.”

The shepherds now excitedly began speaking to one another. “Let’s go! Let’s go into Bethlehem and find the baby so that we can worship Him. The messenger angel told us that we could find him in a manger and wrapped in swaddling cloths.”

FOOD PURCHASED - DECEMBEER 20, 2023

Dear beloved Friends,

Our prayers are with you all, the church and leadership of the Log orphanage Kenya are humbled for the work you are doing, we have no reward for you, but we are praying that heaven to honor you and bless you all. Thanks to all who have donated throughout the year 2022. We request your hand of help for the work in Kenya. Thank you for the food and necessities.

Ksh.700,000 ($6000) received for food budget

Rice=592 Kilogram, one kgs=Ksh. 250 x 592kgs=Ksh.148,800

Cooking oil =120 litres, one litre cost Ksh. 450x120litres=Ksh.54,000

Maize =862 kilogram, one kg =Ksh.290 x 862=250,000

Omo  17 kilograms , one kg @ 150=Ksh.2,600

Vegetables 363 kgs. 1kgs = Ksh. 160x363kgs=Ksh.58,000

Unga ngano/baking flour 200kgs One kilogram =Ksh.160 x200 kgs=Ksh.32,000

Salt 76Kgs=Ksh.7600

Beans 343kgs one kilogram Ksh. 350=Ksh.120,000

Transport cost Ksh.7,000

Workers appreciation Ksh. 19800 we have four volunteers work one @Ksh.4950

Thank you, God bless you all, we are praying for you all daily and we pray that God will supply for your needs also and provide for these children here with us. Our prayers are to God who made heaven and earth who is our helper and sustainer. Kindly join us in prayers for the breakthrough for the children to have school building school, school fees, food and clothes. By the grace of God we request your prayers.

We are praying that God will send you to Kenya and see the work you are support. Welcome Kenya all of you to witness the great work God is doing through your prayers and help.

God bless you all. We love you and may God keep you all in good health. God bless you all. We look forward hearing from you beloved. We are humbled to wish you Merry Christmas and prosperous happy new year 2023. We look forward to the blessings that God has for us in heaven places.

The food we bought will last until 29 Dec. 2022. We have received shoes and clothes will come this week before Christmas. We send pictures later. Thank you

Yours Son Joel and church/orphanage Leadership-Kenya

(Receipts below)

MINOR CHARACTERS WITH MAJOR LESSONS TO TEACH - THE LOG CHURCH SERMON, DECEMBER 18

The story of the birth of Christ is so well known and has been so often celebrated that we often allow the telling of the story to pass by without actually thinking of it in any deep manner. We have seen the story depicted so many times in Christmas-time programs at church, we see it on Christmas cards, in nativity scenes, and by many other methods, we think that we probably have learned all that there is to know about it. 

Simeon

But then we come across passages such as the one concerning Simeon and we discover that we actually know very little about this man. About him we read these words:

Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Led by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. (Luke 2:25-27 BSB)

Consider that single sentence, “He was waiting for the consolation of Israel.” It seems a rather interesting way to put it. Reading the entire paragraph, we know that he was waiting for the Messiah. “The consolation of Israel” was no other than Jesus Christ. This is the only time in the Bible that this particular description is used for Jesus. What does it mean?

We know what the word consolation means in English. We usually use it for to describe the comfort one gives or receives after a loss, such as after the death of a family member.

In referring to what Simeon was waiting for, it means much the same, but there is an additional element to the word.

TO SEE THE GLORY OF THE LORD - THE LOG CHURCH SERMON, DECEMBER 11

One of the aspects of the Christmas story that has captivated me this year has been the message that the angel and a host of heavenly beings brought to the shepherds on the night that Jesus was born. The passage reads like this:

And there were shepherds residing in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night. Just then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord! And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a great multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!” (Luke 2:8-14 BSB)

The Shepherds’ Sudden Awakening

As we can see, first a single angel appeared to the shepherds, who were surrounded by “the glory of the Lord.” It was an experience that put them in great fear. After some words of comfort by the angel to calm the men and news about the birth of the Savior, a “great multitude of the heavenly host” joined this angel, all of them praising God.

This all must have been astounding beyond comprehension for these simple and unpretentious men who lived the quiet lives of watchers of sheep and who were accustomed to long hours of stillness in the night hours.

We actually have little understanding about how those shepherds must have felt on that night. It is difficult for us to put ourselves in their place and

SURPRISED BY CHRISTMAS - THE LOG CHURCH SERMON, DECEMBER 3

Sometimes our spiritual journeys take on the manner of basically just plodding along in our lives, step after step, one event followed by another. Our lives can become so routine that we almost forget what our real purpose in the journey is. We become so accustomed to dealing with a chaotic and sometimes combative existence that we must face almost every day in this world, that we lose sight of our ultimate goals.

Then suddenly, when we expect it the least, we are surprised by the possibility of something that can lift us higher than our daily struggle. We are given a reminder that there is more to life than we are presently experiencing. We catch a glimpse of the Redeemer, and remember that our ultimate destiny is not tied to the things of this world.

When the Redeemer came in the first millennium, some of the more observant people, as well as those who had been carefully listening to the message of God, may have been looking for Him, but very few had had the patience to wait. Most of the people of the day were too involved with their day-to-day activities and their attempts to secure their own positions in this world to be concerned with the coming of a little baby born to a poor young woman and her husband.

The Surprise that Appeared out of Swirling Dust

Many years ago, as I was driving through an arid and desolate region of Venezuela, I came upon a little village in the midst of that swelteringly hot and dusty area of the country. The houses were mostly of adobe, and the people of the village were poor goat-herders whose daily task was to wring out a living from the dry and nearly barren soil of the desert plain. Everything around me spoke of struggle.

Even the basic necessity of water had an alkali smell, and could only be obtained with much effort by walking to a village well, dropping a bucket into the deep round shaft dug into the ground, and pulling it up using a pulley system and a rope.

And the air—which especially should be equally abundant and vitalizing to all, refused to be too charitable with its refreshment. Every breath only brought into my lungs air that felt too dry and too hot. The dust that it contained mixed with the sweat rolling down my face and made dirt form around my nostrils. My nose was working doubly hard to strain out the dust before allowing the air to enter my lungs. It seemed that I could not get enough oxygen breathing in this way only, but because the air was so dirty, I was very hesitant to part my lips even just a bit in order to draw in a deeper breath. I envisioned all of that dust entering into my lungs.