Pastor Eric Christmas Stories Day 20!

Our final Christmas story is entitled "Barrington Bunny" from a book by Martin Bell entitled, "The Way of the Wolf."  In his book, the wolf represents God, and, of course, the bunny represents Jesus, who came and lived and died to give us everlasting life. It's kind of a sad story, but it reminds us that Jesus didn't just come to show us how to be nice to one another, he came and died for us, giving himself to save us.

Today, Christmas Day, is a time to reflect past the creche to the cross, and give thanks to God for the real gift of Christmas, Jesus, grace, and salvation.

Starting January 4 we'll be looking at the amazing letter of Colossians:  The Cosmic Christ of Colossians!  Until then, take care and keep safe!

Here's today's video:

Enjoy this version of Joy to the World - and even though this Christmas is different from any other, my hope is that you do have joy in your world!

Pastor Eric Christmas Stories Day 19!

Tonight, Christmas Eve, is a chance to spend some time with the story behind O Holy Night. You'll hear how O Holy Night was originally written for a small Christmas mass in France in 1847, and has been sung millions of times in churches in every corner of the world. It was originally requested by a forgotten Friend parish priest, written by a poet who would later leave the church, given high and soaring music by a Jewish composer, sung to bring peace on the battlefield, brought to America to affirm the equality of all people, and spread across the radio waves through the early use of technology. It is truly one of the most beautiful, inspired pieces of music ever created!

Here's the video:

And here's a beautiful recording of O Holy Night that you can sing along with!  Enjoy!

Pastor Eric Christmas Stories Day 18!

Silent Night, Holy Night is our song for today, and it's one of the most beautiful songs we sing, and has an interesting history! Written in 1818 when the Nikloaus Church's organ went out, it was played by guitar and sung that Christmas Eve by the parish priest and the minister of music. Then, when the organ repair man came, he stole a copy of the song and started distributing it more widely without crediting the original composers of the song, so it was attributed to people like Mozart or Haydan, until finally in 1854 the parish priest finally wrote to tell the whole story, and claimed it as his own.

Here's the video:

And here's a beautiful video of our song, so sing along!

 Pastor Eric Christmas Stories Day 17!

Today our Christmas story is the story behind the beautiful hymn, "What Child Is This?"  And notice that it is a question - a question that many were asking as Jesus was born.  What child is this?  And the hymn wonderfully answers that question, from Jesus' birth in a manger to his death on a cross.  It's beautifully theologically articulate and splendid in its depth of answering the question!

Here's the video:

And here's Josh Groban singing What Child Is This?

 Pastor Eric Christmas Stories Day 16!

Today is just a short story about gifts, and the importance of remembering the Gift of Jesus.  Just as gifts tell us what we think about one another, God's gift of Jesus tells us how much God loves us and cares for us.  As you listen to the video, think of the Christmas gifts that many kids will be missing this year, and the importance of us making sure that they know the real gift of the Season, Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

And here's a newish video called Memories from the One Voice Children's Choir made during this pandemic time.  Let's make sure their memories of Christmas 2020 are about the most important reason for the Season!

 Pastor Eric Christmas Stories Day 15!

Today our Christmas story is  "The Little Match Girl" is a fairy tale about an impoverished girl who, afraid to return to her violent family after not having sold any matches, strikes matches which induce hallucinations of her desires for warmth, food, prosperity, and love as she dies due to hypothermia.  Written in 1845 by Danish Author Hans Christian Andersen, who also wrote The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid, and The Emperor's New Clothes!

Here's the video:

Here's a great song by Meredith Andrews called He Has Come For Us/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.  Sing along!!

 

 Pastor Eric Christmas Stories Day 14!

Today's story is actually a reading of "God's Very Good Idea" that I recorded for our Zion Sunday School kids.  I thought it would be a good story for us, too, because it tells us (and the kids) the history of salvation to a broken world - broken because even though we all were created in the Image of God, we didn't reflect God's love to one another, or to God!  But God had a plan...to send us Jesus!

For the past 3 months Gloria McLeod and Joy have been recording weekly messages for the kids and put them up on a blog:  https://zionsundayschool.blogspot.com/  Gloria puts the kid's weekly lessons in the mail so they get it before Sunday, and then can do the lesson at home with their parents.  Gloria and Joy have done tremendous work with this in an attempt to keep connected with our kids!

SO - this is actually the third book we've sent our kids because we want them to read good and Godly stuff during this time!  And if you like this particular book you can order it here from Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Very-Good-Idea-Delightfully/dp/1784982210/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1PBPNFGLROAZ8&dchild=1&keywords=god%27s+very+good+idea+tales+that+tell+the+truth&qid=1608254859&sprefix=God%27s+very+good+%2Caps%2C410&sr=8-1

Here's the video!

Here's a song - Where Are You Christmas?  It asks the question, but the song answers the question - If there is love in your heart and your mind, you'll feel like Christmas all the time.  Enjoy!