Thur. Dec. 22, 2011 The Journey 2011-36

And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you, He is Christ The Lord".

Good Thursday morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is a beautiful morning here at the Southern Location of the North Pole on this first full day of winter. Today is Families and Schools day on this prayer line, and today. Also starting today we are going to add in prayer for Churches. Dolores and I will be Santa and Mrs. Claus in a public school at 1.00 PM and this is the last public school we have. We, of course, ham it up with the kids, but we also, near the end of the program, get serious and tell them about why we have Christmas. We do it by singing Away in the Manger, and talking about the birthday, even singing Happy Birthday to Jesus. Other prayer requests, for the family of Curtis Reed. For Vicki (a different Vicki, folks) who has cancer. And remember as we pray for Families, please remember to pray for the family of God.

TOMORROW: On line communion! Always a highlight for me and I pray you will join in. So bring your bread and fruit of the vine to the computer with you tomorrow.

Reminder, I am going to take a few days off next week, so please do not worry if you don't see the message daily. I might do a few. I never did this before, only missing when I was in the hospital.

The Journey 2011 Day 36: Luke 2:7 - And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you, He is Christ The Lord". (NIV)

Joy to the World, The Lord has come. Yes, folks, I am running ahead of Christmas day but need to get the message to you. As we left yesterday I was in the stable, remember now, I am Jack, the donkey, who just transported Mary to the little town of Bethlehem in the city of David. Joseph bedded down Mary and then put me in the stable, and just after that a child was born and this child was wrapped in cloths and put in a manager. Now this manger was made from a food trough, a place where hay was placed for us animals. We animals were happy to give up our food trough for this. The stable got quiet, really quiet, and there was no sound from that new born child. I heard Joseph and Mary talking about this child being so special, I had heard that Mary was a virgin and this birth was really special for so many reasons, and I heard that this writer is going to talk more about that later. But for now, let's keep watching. Wow, it is getting brighter and brighter. Now we know today that this child was named Jesus, but back then when I was watching from my place in the stable, I just knew the child was special... After a while shepherds starting showing up to see this child. I heard them talking about this Angel of the Lord telling them about this birth and how this baby is Christ The Lord. Wow, now that is so special. I heard the shepherds talking about how the Angel of the Lord scared them and then he, the angel, told them "Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy, and that will be for all the people". Then I got to thinking, I just hauled, transported, took this very special child for His first ride on a donkey. This is so exciting, this is the first human birth I got to see. Yes, I have seen donkeys born in a stable, but this birth was so special. Wow, you should see the people coming out of the inn, I guess the excitement is catching up with them. I know the Bible today that you folks read does not talk about people coming from the inn, but think about it. With those angels coming around and glowing and bright and the shepherds coming in from the fields and the talking would wake them up, would you not want to come and watch? Wow, I just heard they are going to name the child Jesus. Well, folks, I am going to watch some more and I will tell you more tomorrow... Thanks for listening to me, and remember to check the back of my family when you see a donkey and look for the cross on my back. See you tomorrow.

Dear Father in Heaven, Thanks for the message and thanks for this very special child we call Jesus. Thank You, Father, for all You do for us. Thanks, Lord, for watching over us and for furnishing us all those things we need each day. Thanks for the air we breathe, the food we eat and the clothes we wear... Please, Lord, according to Your will for us, honor our prayer requests, and Lord, protect us today as we tell the Christmas story in a public school. Keep us safe on the roads today. In the name of Jesus, I ask You look after families, not just on this line but all families. I pray that You look after our schools, and Lord, I welcome You into Lawnton School in Lawnton to be with us. And Lord, I pray for churches and that they all get back to the Bible for their teaching. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Go forth now and serve the Lord and share your blessings. Love ya, Pastor Dan.