Sunday @ West Side

What a great Sunday we had yesterday. Yesterday kicked off our new sermon series “The Colors of Christmas,” as well as the Advent Season. Yesterday the Baker family came forward and to light the first candle, the light purple one, which for us represents the hope we have in Christ, the hope that came in His birth.

We kicked off our sermon series with a sermon that told the Christmas Story from a different perspective. In doing so I began a new Christmas tradition of repeating a sermon. It is a sermon that take us through the entire Bible to show how the Christmas story unfolds. It is a sermon that connects the dots of how the entire Bible works together to bring out the birth and death of Christ to save man.

Last night was the highlight of it all. Last night we began a new tradition at West Side with our first ever Hanging of the Greens Service. We met at the church at 5:00 to begin decorating the Church. The worship area looks wonderful thanks to all the people who came out and helped us accomplish this beautiful task. At 6:00 we met for a time of worship, communion, a short devotional, and the first ever hanging of the ornaments on the family Christmas Tree. We followed the service with a time of fellowship with cookies and Hot Chocolate. The night was a tremendous blessing.

Christmas Traditions

One of the things this time of year is known for is family traditions. Most of us can reach into the crevasses of our minds and pull to memory many of our favorite family traditions.

One of my favorite Christmas traditions no longer takes place, but the memories I have are great. I remember when I was little we would meet at my Grandma’s house every Christmas Eve. It would be my family, all my aunts and uncles, their children, and my Grandma. That night we would share a meal, open presents and just spend time together as a family. After that we would load up the car and then go home. On our way home we would take a few detours to look at Christmas light in various neighborhoods. Finally we would get home and my mom would hurry my brother and I off to bed so that they could stay up to meet Santa when he came (They always told us that they had to pay Santa for the gifts that he brought us on Christmas.).

We had to stop doing that tradition once my aunt started working on Christmas Eve. Now the whole family meets on Christmas day at Grandmas for brunch. The first year we did not do this it did not feel like Christmas to me. The tradition was so much a part of Christmas to me as the actual day itself. Isn’t it funny how are traditions can define our experiences?

What are some of your favorite family traditions you have during the Holiday Season? What are some of the things you used to do in the past that you no longer do now? Do these traditions help you to remember that Christmas is about the birth of Christ? Feel free to comment in the comment section below.