Crescent City SDA Church

December 27, 2024

Dear Crescent City SDA Church Family and Guests,

A newspaper reporter, an atheist, was working on a series of articles about Chicago’s poorest people when he came across a family whose roach-infested tenement apartment had been burned out, and were now living in a tiny two-room apartment. He couldn’t believe how empty it was. There was no furniture, no rugs, nothing on the walls; only a small kitchen table and one handful of rice. They were virtually devoid of possessions.

In fact, eleven-year-old Lydia and thirteen-year-old Jenny owned only one short-sleeved dress each, plus one thin sweater between them. When they walked the half-mile to school through the biting cold, Lydia would wear the sweater for part of the distance and then hand it to her shivering sister, who would wear it the rest of the way.

But despite their poverty and the painful arthritis that kept their mother from working, she still talked confidently about her faith in Jesus. She was convinced He had not abandoned them. She never showed despair or self-pity in her home; instead, there was a gentle feeling of hope and peace. Although the reporter was an atheist at the time, she had his complete attention.

He wrote an article about this poor family, and then quickly moved on to other assignments. But Christmas Eve, the reporter continued to wrestle with this irony: here was a family that had nothing but faith and yet seemed happy, while he had everything he needed materially but lacked faith; and inside he felt as empty and barren as their apartment.

He decided to drive over to the family he wrote about and see how they were doing. When Jenny opened the door, the reporter couldn’t believe his eyes. The newspaper readers had responded to his article by showering the family with a treasure trove of gifts: roomfuls of furniture, appliances, and rugs; a lavish Christmas tree with piles of wrapped presents underneath; carton upon bulging carton of food; and a dazzling selection of clothing, including dozens of warm winter coats, scarves, and gloves. On top of that, they donated thousands of dollars in cash.

But as surprised as he was by this outpouring, he was even more astonished by what his visit was interrupting: the family was getting ready to give away much of their new-found wealth. When he asked why, he was told: “Our neighbors are still in need. We cannot have plenty while they have nothing. This is what Jesus would want us to do.”

That blew him away! He said that if he had been in their position at that time in his life, he would have been hoarding everything. He asked the family what they thought about the generosity of the people who had sent all these goodies, and again the response was amazing.

“This is wonderful; this is very good,” they said, gesturing toward the largess. “We did nothing to deserve this. It is a gift from God. But,” they added, “It is not his greatest gift. No, we celebrate that tomorrow. That is Jesus.”

To this family, this Child in the manger was the undeserved gift that meant everything, more than material possessions, more than comfort, more than security. And at that moment, something inside of this reporter wanted desperately to know this Jesus– because, in a sense, he saw Him in this unselfish family.

They had peace despite poverty, while the reporter had anxiety despite plenty; they knew the joy of generosity, while he only knew the loneliness of ambition; they looked heavenward for hope, while he only looked out for himself; they experienced the wonder of the spiritual while he was shackled to the shallowness of the material. And something made this reporter long for what they had. Or, more accurately, for the One they knew.

It should be no surprise that this atheist reporter ended up spending nearly two years investigating the identity of the Christmas Child and at the conclusion, he found the evidence to be clear and compelling and has become a strong believer in Jesus ever since.

Yes, Christmas is a holiday overlaid with all sorts of fanciful beliefs, from flying reindeer to Santa Claus sliding down chimneys. But if you drill to its core, Christmas is based on a historical reality– the Incarnation: God becoming man, Spirit taking on flesh, the Infinite entering the finite, the Eternal becoming time-bound. It’s a mystery backed up by facts that are simply too strong to ignore (Story copied and paraphrased from “The Greatest Gift of All,” by Leon Stier).

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Our Sabbath School and the Worship services are live and viewable via Zoom. Two Adult Sabbath School classes are presented each week. One of them is viewable via Zoom. The Junior/Earliteen Sabbath School class meets in the Pathfinder Room. Cradle Roll and Kindergarten classes are available for younger children. If you are unsure where the rooms or classes are being held, please don’t hesitate to ask one of the greeters for directions. The Worship service is in the Sanctuary and via Zoom. The Zoom Meeting ID# and Password are listed below.

Zoom access for Crescent City SDA Church meetings:

Meeting ID #: 993 5770 413

Password: 4642738

You can join by going to Zoom.us, click on join a meeting, and then enter the Meeting ID # and password; or by dialing 1 669 900 9128, entering the meeting ID# and password as prompted; or accessing through the Zoom app.

December 27, 2024 – December 28, 2024

Friday 27^th Sunset 4:53 PM

Sabbath 28^th

Sabbath School 9:30 – 10:40 AM

Worship Leader Wilmer

Church Worship 11:00 – 12:00.  PM Communion – Verlyn Benson

Sunset 4:54 PM

Tuesday Bible Study: Genesis 6:00 PM

Wednesday Community Services 1:00 – 3:00 PM

Prayer Group 5:00 – 6:00 PM

Church Bible Study, VOP Discovery Lessons –postponed until January 8, 2025

Friday 3^rd Sunset 4:59 PM

Sabbath 4^th

Sabbath School 9:30 – 10:40 AM

Worship Leader Bob Phang

Church Worship 11:00 – 12:00.  Dwight Jones

Sunset 5:00 PM

January 11 – Carole Bliss

January 18 – Jerry McCamman

Fellowship Luncheons are usually on the first Sabbath of the month, but because of special Sabbath events, please note the weekly updates for any changes.

Tithes and offerings are being collected during the 11:00 AM Worship service each Sabbath. Other options include the locked offering box on the rear wall of the Sanctuary, the link to Adventist Giving on our church website:

https://crescentcityca.adventistchurch.org

or you can download the Adventist Giving app. Tithes and offerings may also be mailed to Crescent City SDA Church, P.O. Box 1905, Crescent City, CA 95531. Please designate where the funds are to be deposited: tithe, church budget, Little Red School House (School), special projects, etc.

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Thank you for taking the time to be part of our church family, in person or via media. Please reply to this email (orccadventistchurch@gmail.com) if you have specific prayer requests. The Prayer Ministry team is active and cares about your needs—let us know!

In the gift of His Son, God has given His believing, trusting, working, waiting people the greatest gift heaven can bestow. He could give us no stronger pledge of His willingness to receive those who return to Him and obey the laws of His kingdom.  17LtMs, Lt 13, 1902, par. 46

Seek the Lord while He may be found. As you give yourself to Him to be cleansed from all sin, He will accept you as His child. He has revealed His love for you by sending His Son to this world to die for you, and He will help you to serve Him. 

Will you appreciate the great sacrifice Christ has made in your behalf? Give yourself, body, soul, and spirit, to the dear Saviour who loves you. This is the greatest gift you can make to Him. Will you do this?  15LtMs, Ms 71, 1900, par. 2 & 3

“There is no chapter in [your] experience too dark for Him to read; there is no perplexity too difficult for Him to unravel. No calamity can befall the least of His children, no anxiety harass the soul, no joy cheer, no sincere prayer escape the lips, of which our heavenly Father is unobservant, or in which He takes no immediate interest.... The relations between God and each soul are as distinct and full as though there were not another soul upon the earth to share His watchcare, not another soul for whom He gave His beloved Son.”  SC, Pg 100 (1892).

Hoping you received the greatest gift of all,

Verlyn