3835 W WT Harris Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28269 704-369-8000 • www.ucumc.org Giving Christmas Away We hope you’ll join us this Christmas Season! Join us for regular Worship times: December 1, 8, 15 - 9:45 & 11:00am Cookie Walk - December 7, 9am-12pm: Join us in the Worship Center lobby to hand-pick your own box of home-made cookies. All proceeds go to beneift the FUSION Christmas Store. A University City Christmas Musical: Friday, December 20, 7pm Saturday, December 21, 3pm Children’s Nativity - combined worship: December 22, 10:00am Christmas Eve services - Tuesday, December 24: 4:00pm - Children/Family friendly 6:00pm - Traditional/Candlelight Communion 8:00pm - Contemporary/Candlelight Communion “Giving Christmas Away” – it’s a little confusing…can you really give Christmas away? Our hope at UCUMC this year is that you will certainly try! There will be many opportunities for you to “give Christmas away” – from purchasing toys for the Christmas Store to sponsoring a child from the Angel Tree to baking and/or purchasing goodies for the Cookie Walk (proceeds support the Christmas Store) to volunteering to serve the homeless of Charlotte through Room-in-the-Inn to purchasing food to send home in backpacks for elementary children in local schools during the Christmas break. Everyone can find some way to “give” tangibly to others this year. But it’s also more than giving food or clothes or toys or even giving of your time…there is something that is even more important than these things… LOVE! By giving these things mentioned, you are showing love to others and I believe the Lord is pleased but there is an even greater love that we can offer to people…not only at Christmas, but throughout the year…that is the love that God shared with us in the form of His Son, Jesus. If we simply purchase a toy or volunteer some time or give someone some food we have certainly done a very good thing but the best thing we can do is to share Jesus with people…maybe even people who don’t “need” anything like food or toys or clothes…maybe the one thing they truly need is Jesus and His love! Our theme for Advent this year is “Giving Christmas Away” – the scripture focus is John 3:16 where we learn that God “gave” His Son Jesus for us so that we might have eternal life if we believe (trust) in Him. There is no greater gift that can ever be given to us and we hope that you will partner with us during the Advent season (and beyond) as we look for ways to share Jesus, our Savior, with others by GIVING CHRISTMAS AWAY!! In this devotional booklet you will find thoughts about Christmas and our theme from UCUMC staff and laity…there is one for every day from now until Christmas…we hope you will be encouraged, challenged and inspired by these personal stories but most of all that you will look for your own ways to give Christmas away this year. God Bless and Merry Christmas!! UCUMC Staff November 25th - “Give This Christmas Away”, by: Ron Smith Matthew West wrote a beautiful song back in 2009. He performed the song with Amy Grant in a number of public appearances. It was, and still is, very popular. It captures the “spirit of Christmas” so well that Samaritans Purse adopted it as their Operation Christmas Child theme. Veggie Tales adapted it for use in one of their animations (VeggieTales: “Saint Nicholas - A Story of Joyful Giving”). Here are the lyrics to the song. Take time to meditate on the them and ask God to give you the true spirit of Christmas and the desire and ability to “Give This Christmas Away!” What if I told you? You have the power To give someone hope Far beyond their wildest dreams ] What if I told you it’s right there in your hands? In your hands It’s hard to imagine How something so small Can make all the difference Tear down the tallest wall What if December looked different this year? What if we all just Give this Christmas away If there’s love in your heart Don’t let it stay there Give this Christmas away And your life will be changed By the gift you receive When you give this Christmas away It’s feeding the hungry It’s serving the poor It’s telling the orphan You’re not forgotten anymore It’s doing what love does Even when no one’s watching you Give this Christmas away If there’s love in your heart Don’t let it stay there Give this Christmas away And your life will be changed By the gift you receive When you give this Christmas away For God so loved the world, He gave His only son So we could be His hands, His feet, His love; His love from the album Something to Say - Christmas Edition by Matthew West November 26th - My Favorite Chapter in the Bible, by: Harry Smith Psalm 19 This chapter begins with “The heavens are telling the glory of God and the firmament proclaims His handiwork.” The rest of the chapter is well worth the reading for its lessons on life and it ends with an often used benediction. As a child , I remember that my mother’s favorite hymn was This is My Father’s World which also highlights God’s wonderful and awesome creation. In Romans 1:19-20 Paul claimed that mankind is without excuse as he wrote: “For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature, namely, His eternal power and deity has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made.” Creation could have been drab but it was filled with a vast array of delightful colors and sounds for our appreciation and God’s glory! God gave and we received! God’s greatest gift, however, came over 2000 years ago. At Christmas we are reminded that God gave his only Son that those who believe can receive salvation and eternal life. With such a loving, giving, Heavenly Father, it behooves us to give also. Malachi 3:10, however, reminds us that we cannot out give God: “Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house; and thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.” CHRISTMAS IS A TIME OF GIVING AND WE SHOULD SEEK OPPORTUNITIES TO HONOR GOD BY GIVING ALSO! November 27th - Give Christmas Away…in a Plastic Shoebox, by: Sherry Lail Isaiah 49:16 (NIV) A plastic shoebox measures 14” by 8” by 4.58”. But what it holds is measureless. Every year, our family has enthusiastically embraced the Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child project. For us, and for many others, it’s not just the trips to the dollar store, the planning and collecting all year long, or the November packing party on the bonus room floor. It’s the knowing that among the socks and candy and whistles and yo-yos and Kleenex and dolls and crayons, there sits the Holy Spirit. Even after years of packing boxes, it wasn’t until I volunteered for the first time at the OCC warehouse five years ago with UCUMC friends that I “got it”. During the training session, we heard stories about how God destines each box for a particular child. We are trained to never move anything from one box to the other, only to add the extra items provided at the warehouse, or to remove prohibited items. God – in his infinite intimacy, knows the specific needs of each child. A story I’ll never forget: One child, when asked about his favorite gift in his shoebox, responded, “A pair of gloves.” Even though he lived in a warm climate where hands don’t grow cold from snow or ice, he was part of a fisherman family. His small hands were already bruised, calloused, scarred and infected from handling rough fishing line and nets with his bare hands. This simple pair of gloves would ease his pain. The smile on his weathered face brought tears to the eyes of the OCC distribution team. God sees us. He knows us. He has our names written on the palm of His hand. November 28th - Doing the Little Things, by: Nancy Hall Matthew 25:34-40 (NIV) I never had really had a bible verse that I would say was my favorite until about 4 years ago. My daughter, Sarah and I went with the youth group to Monterrey, MX on a mission trip, the summer of 2009. We went down there, not really knowing what to expect or knowing how it might change us. I had heard stories from people who had been. I had even helped a good friend raise money to go the year before. After seeing pictures of her there, I knew I had to be a part of it. She had been through the loss of her father, just as I had. My sister had become very ill and we were still helping my mother get over the loss of her husband of 59 years. I was so busy caring for others, I became resentful of everything I was faced with. I had lost a part of me.