Bethlehem Lutheran Church
The Heart of Bay Ridge
Sunday Service 10:30am
4th & Ovington Avenues
Brooklyn NY 11209
718.748.9502
Bethlehem Lutheran Church ® | 4th & Ovington Avenues, Brooklyn NY 11209 | 718.748.9502
A member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
Pastor Paul's Christmas Message
Dear Members and Friends,
In my Christian Living class at LES last week, I asked my 8th graders to tell me everything they could think of pertaining to the celebration of Christmas. I wrote all their responses on the board. We had quite a list, probably around 35 “Christmas things”. We had Santa, Frosty and Rudolf. We had Christmas trees and ornaments. We had classic Christmas movies and popular Christmas songs. Certainly we needed to include mistletoe and blow up figures in the yard. Dyker Heights made it to the list, as well as the Rockefeller Christmas tree. Scrooge and The Grinch made the list too.
After filling the board with our Christmas list, we counted how many of their items were actually in the Bible. There were five. Not a very large percentage. Quite possibly, Christmas is filled with an incredible amount of distractions, keeping us from focusing on the reason for our celebration. My advice to you this year is to make sure you join us at Bethlehem, because the message you will receive will be from scripture.
On Sunday, December 22nd, at our 10:30 a.m. worship service, our Sunday School children, Confirmation Class students and our choir tell the story of Jesus’ birth in our Christmas pageant. The choir will sing, narrators will describe the events, and the children will act out the parts. Matthew & Luke’s birth stories will be presented and God’s Word will come alive through the simple faith of our children. Yes, the Bible tells the story of Christmas.
Keeping with tradition, we will worship at 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 24th. Our Christmas Eve Candlelight worship is very meaningful in a quiet reflective way, as we sing Silent Night with a darkened sanctuary aglow with candlelight. On Wednesday, December 25th, we will worship together on Christmas morning at 10:30 a.m.
I can assure you that Christmas at Bethlehem will focus on the wonderful message of the birth of our savior, without distraction, without the trappings of our misguided society. Christmas at Bethlehem tells of a God who loved us so much, that he sent his Son. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us…full of grace and truth.” Join us as we celebrate Emmanuel, “God with us.”
In the Lord’s Service,
Rev. Paul H. Knudsen
Christmas Pageant
Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
Christmas Morning Service
