Show THE FIS METHODIST Specia Christmas Sevies H ld at the Church H THE JJSSOts OF tHE DA + l IFIE LOVE OF GOD T CENRA THOUGH + I Chtas Kindles I idwiJ a 1ly Fire of Love and GT dead de-ad Preces In the jgcst Night the Glory of the LaThe Scene at Bethlehem LtThe Tle Christma services aJe First 11 E church were especi appropriate appro-priate The church was autfuly decorated and a large cont alon enjoyed en-joyed the musical featur consistng of a solo by Mrs Piummeftfld several fJectons by the chor ani1 n eloquent sermon by Rev Henry tl pastor On Christmas Ce efirens exercises exer-cises Were held the storOf the Christ child being Illustrted t stereopticon views The Sunday s 01 received a treat and its members ought gifts to be distributed among > poor today Dr henry took for I text yesterday morning Psalms Luke i 120 and Luke I 15 He ske substantially a follows I The Christmas stcY has been told yoU so often that yoiare each familiar with its slightest oare and yet it never loses its chfm I is not its novelty that COUls attention I is simple straightfoard quickly told I is not curiositJ that urges us to listen to its repeti11WC do not anticipate antici-pate a new ersiQ The passing of the centurie has bJght very little to light that was t lmown to the first evangelists Arj yet we love to linger over the scene j that first Christmas night for our etions are engaged 1 our very life fd hope are strangely wrapped up i1 it 1 is a story that 1 challenges thlfath of the ord it is destined to i the heart of distant ages For t humble manger of the infant Jesus us the frt restngplace of the SavioOf the world Chrstma an never fall to be the object of aHost universal interest I is concernct with the event which forms the enter and turniigoint of the hIstorOf the orld The light of history coes to a focus on the manger i of Bethlem I Mighty foree wt wrapped up in the career of this Cld sleeping peacefully in the arms ofUs mother forces that should triumph over power of Rome that should minate human life and human pasioI that should overcome mans selfsh ss and fear lrces of sufficient valt to survive all change and the I passe of the cars forces that are perifent in our day in spite of inf del in spite of practical materialism in site of our bent toward selfshness the are destined to conquer and prevaIl pre-vaIl YaUd all festivals Christmas is the one mt intimately connected with the fany life of all the people Every were it is a day of good cheer and jy Christmas day is at the head of te great feasts of the church year The out of Christmas i8 the Christ In millions of homes the sweet story of Jesus birth is reverently told Let early memories of this day make your heat tender Every language hs at least the semblance of Christmas carl In many places singing bands of c1ld ren chant praises of the Christ Throughout the world Christmas is the chidrens jubilee day Christs teachings have made childhood sacred and the home a sanctuary On this day innumerable gifts celebrate the infinite 1 in-finite love of God In the gift of his only begotten son Every true Christmas t day is a sermon on the text John i 16 What makes a gift valuable Not lone value but love and sympathy Gods rift to the human race was an expression of love and of understand jug of our deepest ned For three reasons Christmas day will never lose its interest I kindles in midwinter a holy fire of love and gratitude grat-itude and preaches in the longest night the rising of the sun of life and the glory of the Lord I denotes the advent ad-vent of the true golden age of the freedom and equality of all the redeemed redeem-ed before God No one can measure the joy and blessing which flow like a river from the varlds loving contemp laton of the holy child Jesus in his heavenly innocence and divine humility Let us look at this scene frt from the standpoint of the shepherds They are watching their flocks talking together to-gether slowly stolidly about their flocks about their home One topic would interest them epeial There was unusual stir in Bethlehem They knew tIle cause of this assemblage They thought of the spread of the Roman Ro-man power of their lost liberties They remember of the uprising of the lIacca bees their thought would naturally goo go-o traditions of past geatnessto the hope of the Messiah When will he come They are sim pie and unlettered men but they share in the hop of their nation Their talk I may have ben about these thing I Around them the beauty of the night calm and stmso still tat the slight I ft sounds are heard at a distance They hearken to the movement of the sheep They listen to the noises from the erwdedme Their own voices are subdue Above them the strs resting in eternal calm I I Suddenly they are startled In a light rin the heaven A heavenly visitor ap i pers The glory of the Lord shines aund They are sore afraidand then a voice of reassuring sweetness Fear not for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to aU people For unto you is born this day in the city of DavId a Savior which is Christ the Lord And this shal b a sign unto youy shall find the bae wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a IFing manger And suddenly there was with the angel an-gel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying Gqry to God in the hIghest and on earth peace and good wi to men Wthat a chorus I ha thrilled the heart of the age I will ring down the centuries till the end of time The shepherds wonder greatly But they believe and hasten to the city to tel what they have seen and heard and to look upon the face of the hOly child I Ion to think of these shepherds as they make the first visit to our Savior I reminds us how he began his life No rank to make hem conscious and timid no state t bring into sharp contllst their own rudeness and poverty pov-erty 10 appointment pf luxury to dazzle Thp shepherds feel perfectly at home They go to a stable They find 1 th chid in a manger We her now and then an insinuation that Christianity is a religion for the rich Invented perhaps ly the rich to keep down the poor But would a Savior Imagined by the rich te born of a poor woman in a stable Would he associate net only with the sons of the soil but eveI he kith and kin or l theIrs follow a trade dwell among < J them his whole life long No indeed 1 1 And here comes tn very much to the Iurpoe the Credo quia impossihie or old Tetula I believe the story of Christ not only because it is reasonably reason-ably proved from history but because it Is impossible that they who tel It should have made up out of their own fancy such a birth and such a career I for tile Son of God No mr friends thee is a fable invented for or by a cass Iever a scene or pace could be Imagne fitted to unite all men in sym path aId union it is thisstable where the rich can admire pity and help and very poorest find themselves at home here there is nothing toxclte envy 1 avarIce where the thoughts and lings of aU are gently bu pow erf bplt to tender wondering ador atil f this little child the Son of at ho came to unite us all and Save ust1 I himself being the common cent cen-t f union Jierh was joy in the hearts of the pheds as they went away to tel ir story And yet how much hIve Li to tefl of which they knew nothing Ie meaning of Christs mission has xpanded through the yea On this hristmas morning let us try to appre elate what ChrisTs coming has meant S 0 S S Let us offer the gifts of our hearts love and our loyal service to him who has redemed us strengthened strength-ened us comforted us and who has promised to lea us ever |