8A Madison Enterprise-Recorder www.greenepublishing.com Church Friday, December 25, 2009 J1appen'wq At Madison First Bapti Church By Kristin Finne 'As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he be- lieved-the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. "Ro- mans 4:17 Sunday morning be- gan in a very special way; Beth Carey wel- comed everyone to ser- vice with a beautiful song called "Unto us." This special piece was then followed by Dan Campbell and Cindy Brown singing an old southern gospel piece called "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem." Pastor Fer- rell said the offertory prayer and was followed by the Choir singing "The Kings Came Call- ing," a piece from the Christmas Cantata. Pas- tor Ferrell's message came from Luke 2:10. He spoke of the room for improvement in every aspect of life. While we may be doing well in our activities, there is al- ways room as a church and as an individual for improvement. This week has been busy in the life of Madi- son First Baptist. Tues- day we had caroling around Madison County, Wednesday was the youth's Christmas party And, Christmas eve we had our annual Can- dle Light Service in the 1898 Sanctuary We pray that everyone has had a blessed Christmas holi- day, and with the coming new year, God's love will remain strong in your heart. The History Com- mittee would like to re- mind you of the upcoming Homecoming Celebration" 175 Years." They are trying to compile a Memory Book and everyone is C. - & ..7711 Christmas And Easter Cannot Be Separated By James J Jackson Following a parochial school Christmas program, one person complained about parts of the program. "Why did the pastor have to intersperse so much about Christ's cru- cifixion in the story of Christmas? I wondered about those comments later that day Why would the Easter story disturb anyone, no matter when it is told? Actually both stories are interchangeable as well as in- separable. Perhaps many people would just as soon leave Christ in the manger as a baby rather than consider the fact that He went on to grow up and move toward His manifest destiny ordained by God Himself. As we go through the motions of the Christmas celebration, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that the story of a beautiful baby who was foretold by prophets and announced by legions of angels who appeared in the skies, giving Him glory and honor. We could sim- ply revel in this heart-warming story of two people, who could not find lodging or a place to birth their baby Some writers have even taken the story of Christ's birth and related it to today's so- cial issues, calling Joseph and Mary homeless. In fact, they had a home, but God had led them to Bethlehem. He first used Herod's greed to move him to call for a census, which meant that each adult would have to return to his or her ancestral home to be registered and counted and placed on the tax rolls. Since God had ordained that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, in Judea, He arranged for Joseph to take his wife, who was pregnant by the Holy Spirit, to the City of David for two purposes-to obey man's law, and to fulfill prophesy The Creator of the uni- verse could have simply sent His Son as an adult into the world to live a blameless life, for- give sins, and offer Heaven as a free gift to those who would receive the gift. But God, in His infinite wisdom, sent His Son to enter earthly life as mankind does, rendering Him true man, and to live a perfect life and become the only sufficient sacrifice for all human sin, which only true God could do. Had Jesus Christ not entered human flesh the way man does, and had He not lived a perfect life, and had He not suffered and died to pay for all sin, God's own standards for payment for our rebellion in The Garden of Eden would not have been satisfied. If we, therefore, attempt to celebrate only the birth of Christ, without attaching it to His suffering and dying for us, or if we only focus on the suffering and dying, then we fail to grasp the complete story of Christ. Christ came into the world the way mankind does. He died by giving up His spirit, as mankind does. But, in God's magnificent plan, Christ arose from the dead to show us that death has no power over us. That is the beauty of John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave His only Son, so whosoever believes in Him will not die, but have everlasting life." Christ did not remain in the manger. He grew up to change the world forever, by teaching us repentance, forgiveness and the Way to eternal life. He paid with His life for the sins of even those who hate Him. He offers eternal life to all who repent and believe in Him. Christmas and Easter are the celebration of His life, resurrection the end of the fear of death. The two cannot be separated. (850) 222-5997 944 W. Birevaird St. Trallsahassee, Floridla 019% CuliIgantit ttinl oq P., ,4.. o.1,9 je Sirce Culligan Dealers am irndepen~dentir operated ,.:ffersand participation m-ayvaryj asked to share their memories. The dead- line has been moved to January 1st. Also the Historical Committee will be selling com- memorative orna- ments. These ornaments are now available in the church office and on Sundays in the church foyer for $12 each. For more in- formation contact Jean McWilliams. (973-2841) AWANA is being held every Wednesday at 6:00p.m. All students are welcome to be a part of AWANA or M- Pact Youth. Youth Min- ister Jim Carey would also like to invite every- one to join in fellowship with our youth group. They meet every Wednesday at 6:15p.m. We would like to in- vite you to join us for our services! Our wor- ship schedule is as fol- lows: Sunday School 10-11 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship 11 a.m.-12 noon. Sunday Evening Worship 6-7 p.m., followed by youth dinner and fellowship until 8 p.m. Wednesday evening services begin at 6 p.m. for both the adults and youth and lasts until 8 p.m. "Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased." Luke 2:14 God Bless!