Christmas is Coming!

Christmas is coming and the calendar fills up with parties and concerts and shopping and decorating.  Please remember to leave a space for the SPPC Christmas Musical, this Saturday, Dec. 8 at 7:00 pm. here at the church.  Admission is free.  



Now, here's another note about Advent.
I subscribe to the PCCWeb Daily Devotionals.  They land in my inbox every morning -- a good reminder to start my day with God.  Recently I received the following, with a request to share it with my congregation.




Question: What joins 6000 readers in 55 countries every day of the year?
Answer: PCCWeb Daily Devotionals.  These are available online and by e-mail every day and are free of cost.
The Daily Devotional has been published by volunteers every day for the past 16 years. Here is what readers are saying about it:
In an increasingly troubled world, the PCCWeb Daily Devotional reminds us of what is truly important: the love of God and His active presence in our lives. I have started every day for the past year with Daily and the Bible reading selections. While the world remains troubled, Daily is helping me to live "in the world" and not "of the world." – Robert Foster, Escondido, California, USA.
I love these devotions, and every morning, it is the first thing I read. Because of the devotions, I see God more and more in the ordinary things of my daily life, and I find myself asking what God is teaching me here now in this time. I see God in everything. I am amazed how often the message is just what I need to hear as I hear God speaking to me through the devotions. – Liz Samis, Drayton, Ontario, Canada.
I find the Daily to be a calming reprieve in the hubbub of day-to-day earthly matters that cause us stress and concern. Whether I read the Daily in the morning, evening, or somewhere in between, I find it calms my thinking and reminds me that God is in control, that I am one of His children, and that He loves me in spite of my sins. – Peter Morrison, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Although the Daily website is provided by the Presbyterian Church in Canada, writing is not restricted to Canadians or Presbyterians. Devotionals are submitted by volunteers from all over the world, from places like Uganda, Brazil, Australia, Mexico, India, Sri Lanka, and Britain, as well as Canada and the USA, making Daily truly on online community with friendships throughout the world. The sincerity of the writers is obvious. A “PrayerLine" is also part of Daily, where readers can ask for prayer, or pray for the concerns of others.
There are some 6000 known subscribers by e-mail, but there are several untrackable formats besides e-mail, such as webpage, text feed, podcast, Facebook, Twitter, and smartphones. In addition, subscribers find the devotionals useful to take to meetings of ladies, men, elders, trustees, and study groups. Readers pass them on to friends and relatives by e-mail or word of mouth, and use them for children's stories and sermon illustrations, so the grand total of beneficiaries is impossible to calculate accurately.
Check it out at www.daily.presbycan.ca. We really hope that you will subscribe! The coming season of Advent and Christmas is a time of particularly pleasant devotionals.
(with contributions from Jack Vallance, Nanaimo BC, Canada)