Take a moment and think about a favorite childhood Christmas memory. What did it involve? Was it all about opening the bright, festive and neatly wrapped Christmas presents (unless dad did the wrapping)? Was it all about the Christmas stocking filled with tasty goodies and miniature toys of all kinds? Was it all about the vast array of cookies representing the various shapes of Christmas? Or was it all about listening to dad or mom retelling the story of the nativity and the blessed birth of Jesus?
Whatever your favorite memory may be, it probably revolves around the place you called home and the people you called family. What better place to be or with what better people to be during the Yuletide season.
Have you ever spent a Christmas away from home? Have you ever had to celebrate the birth of Christ apart from your loved ones? Have you ever been lonely at Christmas?
Soldiers in Iraq will be spending Christmas away from home. College students who cannot afford the airfare will be spending Christmas away from home. Business people who get stranded at airports will be spending Christmas away from home. Missionaries in far away places will be spending Christmas away from home. People who have moved to distant places will be spending Christmas away from home.
For most people who have had a positive home life experience, their favorite memories normally revolve around the home. At the heart of most Christmas traditions is the home. At the center of most Christmas interactions is the family.
This Christmas, our Church Family will be experiencing our first Christmas in our new home. Corporately, this will become our place of Christmas worship. It will be the place of Christmas joy. It will be the center of Christmas hope. It will be the inspiration of Christmas love.
In the seasons to come, we will be developing Christmas memories as a Church Family. From children dressed as angels… to adults lifting their voices to favorite Christmas carols… to family and friends bringing their favorite dishes to the Christmas potluck… to the myriad of fellowship groups celebrating together at Christmas parties, we will be building lasting memories at our new church home.
As Mary reviewed in her mind the events of the first Christmas, she “treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” Luke 2:19. Mary was building memories that revolve around her own family.
My prayer is that this first Christmas in our new church home will begin a legacy of memories and traditions that will bless us for years to come.

Blessings,
Pastor Cory, d.v.
d.v., deo volente: God willing