How to Prepare for Christmas
How do you prepare for Christmas? Camping out at the store to be first in line for the “Black Friday” sales on the day after (or even the day of) Thanksgiving? Filling your home with the sights, sounds, and smells of the holiday season? Watching Christmas special after Christmas special after Christmas special? Getting the [...]
Advent and Christmas Events at Pilgrim Lutheran
As we enter December we enter a time of preparing for Christ’s coming to us as a Child at Christmas. Here at Pilgrim Lutheran we offer several different opportunities for you to prepare and share in this celebration. Please come at 11:00 AM on Saturday, December 4th, as we decorate our Sanctuary in anticipation of Christmas [...]
Lessons and carols
The traditional Christmas Eve service using Bible lessons and Christmas carols was first held in England in 1918 at Cambridge University’s King’s College. Eric Milner-White, a 34-year-old who had just been appointed dean of King’s, planned the service. His previous experience as an army chaplain convinced him that the Church of England needed to make [...]
Pilgrim Christmas activities
Holiday Sing-A-Long You can join the Senior Choir as they join the U.S. Marine Band and over 400 other choir members to kick off the holiday season with family and friends at Wolf Trap’s 2009 Holiday Sing-A-Long. The performance date is Sunday, December 6th. Rehearsal begins at 3:30 PM and the concert at 5:00 PM [...]
I hate holidays???
On Monday of Thanksgiving week my wife Cindy and I went up to Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, to bring our daughter Melissa back to Bethesda for Thanksgiving. Before picking her up we stopped in to shop at the local mall since we both needed some new jeans. I went to check out with the jeans as Cindy [...]
Previous Christmas Content
Since we’ve had our web site online for a while we’ve put up Christmas materials in the past. Here’s a list of some of what’s available. Enjoy! A Baby Changes Everything (part 1) The Symbolism of the Advent Wreath Watchful Waiting X Marks the Spot He Is Coming (an Advent 1 C sermon) To Prepare [...]
A Baby Changes Everything (part 3)
Here’s a video of the song by Faith Hill along with some video set to the music. It is a good conclusion to our A Baby Changes Everything series. May the words and pictures touch your soul as you consider them and their meaning for your life during this Epiphany season.
A birth foretold
Micah 5:2-4 Advent 4, Series C by Pastor Jim Kreft It seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Many people just want to get drunk. “Binge drinking” is increasing on college campuses. More people end up spending hours drinking at bars. And all too many of these folks drink and [...]
Rejoicing in repentance
Zephaniah 3:14-18 Advent 3, Series C by Pastor Jim Kreft Presents and parties, cards and cookies, decorations and dinners. These traditions surround the Christmas season. Yet these good traditions are not the reason for the season. Christmas occurs for one reason: we’re sinners. We do what we want to do. Who cares if God says [...]
To prepare the way
Malachi 3:1-4 For Advent 2, Series C by Pastor Jim Kreft Introduction As we prepare by looking forward to Jesus’ birth at Christmas, it’s also good for us to “look back” at the promises about His birth. If we do this, we can better understand the purpose and meaning of His birth. Today’s Old Testament [...]