Please consider donating just one side dish or one dessert to the Christmas dinner this year. Many hanks to those of you who have contributed money toward purchase of the hams for the entree. We plan on delivering the meal on Christmas Eve at about noon, and the menu will be posted on the back bulletin board.

Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:21, Luke 2:25-35

The birth: and his name shall be called Jesus, Son of God.  The Lord is with you.

The blessing in the Temple:  the Nunc Dimittis

• Christ is “the glory of Israel.”
• Christ is “the light for all people.”
• Christ is a Presence that will bring about human resistance and rejection.
• Christ offers a “future with hope.”

The birth and the blessing allow us to contemplate the person of the Savior Himself.  Here is found the Messianic hope at its highest.  Old Testament prophecy finds New Testament fulfillment.   The careful reader will discover all kinds of hints as to what the future holds for this One whose Presence cannot simply be ignored.  A response is demanded.