Whew! What a wonderful week!
Tuesday we had my niece, Carla, and her family over for lunch.
Wednesday afternoon we spent with my niece, Ginger, and her family. Curt, John, Ginger, and I all visited indoors while the young people all played football outdoors! The weather was great, about 60 degrees, and it just seemed a perfect Christmas Eve.
That evening we had a Christmas Eve service at our church, and my nephew, Johne, and Elly's friend, Willie, also came for services. We had a beautiful candlelight service! Then we (my family + Johne and Willie) came back home, ate dinner, played some games, and headed over to Hampton Park Baptist Church for their 11:00p.m. service. This is the "things change" part. Sadly, this was the last years we will be going to Hampton Park.
Years ago, Curt and I started attending Hampton Park's late Christmas Eve services. They were breathtaking for us. We would drive the 40 minutes to the church, wait in line with traffic to get a parking space, and finally be seated in the balcony. I loved the balcony! We could look down on the auditorium and see the sea of people below. The church would be lit by candlelight and white Christmas lights. The service consisted mainly of specials - solos, duets, trios, choir arrangements, instrumentals, and some congregational songs. The pastor would have a short message. At the very end of the choir songs, they would invite anyone in the audience who wanted to, to come up and join the choir and they would sing the Hallelujah Chorus. It was absolutely the best way ever to end a Christmas Eve. I loved hearing the sound of almost 1,000 people singing praises to God during the congregational songs. Sometimes I would just close my eyes and listen for a verse. We go to a very small Baptist church, only about 35-40 congregants, and so once a year hearing all those people sing together was really special. (I don't care for crowds, so I couldn't join a church that size, but for one day a year, I really loved it!) There were many years when we couldn't go because our church was having a late Christmas Eve service or some of our children were too small to take or someone would be sick, etc., etc. But any year we could go, we did go. It was always a highlight of the season for me.
However, in recent years, the late services have changed. We went a year or two ago to the 7:00 p.m. service and there were only about three specials and a few congregational songs, and a regular message. We figured the 7:00p.m. service was just different from the 11:00p.m., so planned on coming to the later one the next time. So, we did just that.
Imagine our surprise when we pulled into the parking lot and there were not more than 3 dozen cars there. Parking was certainly not a problem. We walked in, and the balcony was not a seating option. We entered into the main auditorium, and there was only a small crowd near the front. The decorations were still beautiful, as were the lights and the candles...but much of the element was gone without the throngs of people. Where was everybody? There were a few congregational songs, a couple of instrumental specials, a story reading, a solo, a really nice duet, and a short message. No choir songs. No choir. No Hallelujah Chorus.
They did serve the Lord's Supper....but in a way that made us rather uncomfortable. Again, I guess I can't really say it was wrong, and yet it just didn't fit into the way we've always seen it done, not just in my current church, but in other Fundamental Independent Baptist Churches. They had the elements at the front and it was a "serve yourself" situation...no formal blessing or prayer of thanksgiving for the juice or the bread, no final prayer of thanksgiving...it was just very different.
I make no apologies for being a Fundamental, Independent, KJV, Baptist. I am uncomfortable in "contemporary" services, and I really feel that's the trend Hampton Park has taken. The songleader was dressed casually, as was the pastor, who wore a suitcoat over a turtleneck...he looked nice, but it's not really my definition of pulpit-wear. Except for the congregational songs, I didn't recognize most of the specials. They were fine...I can't really say there was anything wrong with them....but they just weren't what I was used to hearing from previous years at that church. And, their verses on the walls....are no longer in the KJV. As I looked around and considered the HUGE loss in attendance over what I remembered and enjoyed from previous years, I can't help but wonder if their shift to a more contemporary service has been a poor choice for them.
Regardless, Christ is Always the Same - Yesterday, Today, and Forever! He will never disappoint us, though our friends, families, ~ and churches ~ may from time to time. We still had a wonderful day. I'm still thankful we got to hear the Word preached and Christ proclaimed. I'm so thankful Christ was willing to leave the splendor of Heaven and come to earth to save sinful mankind. I'm so thankful I don't have to pay for my own sins - that Christ was willing to suffer my awful punishment for me, so that I might one day spend eternity with Him in heaven. If you are reading this and you are not saved - I beg you to confess your sins to God and ask Christ to save you. Believe in your heart that God has accepted Christ's death as payment for your sin, that Christ resurrected from the dead and sits on the right hand of the Father in heaven, and that by trusting in Christ, we are assured of a home in Heaven if we but repent and believe.
Christmas Day, we had a wonderful time! We slept in late, made lunch, had Willie come for lunch and to spend the afternoon and evening with us (he even made a homemade cheesecake for us! YUM!), ran by my niece's house for a quick hello and a game of football (again!) and then ran back to the house because my oldest daughter, Ginni, and her husband, Scott, were coming over for the evening with the children, my grandson, Austin, and my granddaughter, Danica. Ginni worked really hard making a lot of homemade gifts for her siblings - she's becoming quite the seamstress! We had a lot of fun, and after Ginni and Scott went home, Willie stayed and we all put a puzzle together until two in the morning!!! It was a really, really nice way to spend the evening. We all had a wonderful day!
Friday, we went over to Marlee and Taylor's house (another niece of mine!) for dinner. We got to see Susan and Joey, just back from their honeymoon. It was really a lot of fun. We ate, played a game, had a family devotional, visited...all around a great evening.
Well, as you can see, we managed to s-t-r-e-t-c-h Christmas over 4 days! We sure praise the Lord for all His blessings!
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