God Bless Us Everyone

In the book A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, the main character, Scrooge, learns that the meaning of Christmas is love and giving. He then throws the best Christmas for his employee, Bob Cratchit and his family, including his son, Tiny Tim. Tiny Tim then blesses everyone saying, "God bless us everyone!"

I'm not saying those in Crash are like Scrooge by any means. But they all got the opportunity to feel like Scrooge at the end of the book when he learns that Christmas is a time of love and giving. I'm talking about the Operation Christmas Child boxes. On November 17th, the Crash students put together care package presents for children in other countries who aren't going to get any presents. Our Crash students were able to give to others in need and share the love.

Not only were we able to put together 3 boxes (which was my goal), but we ended up sending a total of 6 boxes!! This week I got an email from Operation Christmas Child that confirmed that the care packages went out. Our boxes went to needy children in the Philippines. We were able to share love and give to those in need which is a great feeling. This idea of love and giving is at the center of Christmas. All of you Crash students have helped make Christmas awesome for 6 children- 6 Tiny Tim's. This is fantastic! Good job! You've all made me proud. So, may we never forget to love; may we never forget to give, and may "God bless us everyone!"

Cameron's Musical Christmas

This week is Christmas. I love Christmas time for many different reasons; the people, the love, its the temperature of the weather, egg nog. But most importantly, I love Christmas songs. I start listening to them on Thanksgiving week while driving up to Yosemite. So I started thinking, what are my favorite Christmas songs. Off the top of my head I can come up with 20 or 30 off the top of my head, and those are just the traditional Christmas carol type songs. But there are so many. So I have my top 5 favorite Christmas Albums and my top 10 Christmas single songs that all help get me into the Christmas spirit.

Top 5 Christmas Albums
5. "Christmas Pageant" By Family Force 5 - R&B, auto tuner sounding dance music.
4. "Dig That Crazy Christmas" By Brian Setzer Orchestra - Rockabilly music with an orchestra as back up. Very fun, fast, and somehow still traditional.
3. "Christmas Celebration" By Mannheim Steamroller - Electric, classic & mostly instrumental.
2. "Christmas With Weezer" By Weezer - Acoustic takes on surprisingly very religious Christmas song.
1. "Let It Snow Baby, Let It Reindeer" By Relient K - Very fun traditional carols mixed with awesome original Christmas songs, including my favorite (see below #1).

Top 10 Christmas Single Songs
10. The Chipmunk Song - Tegan & Sara
9. Santa Clause Is Coming To Town - Sugarcult
8. Christmas Time Is Here - Gatsby's American Dream
7. All I Want For Christmas - My Chemical Romance
6. Carol Of The Bells - August Burns Red
5. Holly Jolly Christmas - The Format
4. Rocking Around The Christmas Tree - Cartel
3. Noel! Noel! - Eve 6
2. This Time Of Year - The Mighty, Mighty Bosstones
1. I Celebrate The Day - Relient K

Honorable Mention - The band The Killers don't have a Christmas album. But for the last 5 years they have recorded a Christmas song every year for the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa. Each song is awesome. The frontman Brandon Flowers is quoted this year as saying, "Our Christmas single with (RED) is one of our traditions as a band. We didn't want to let it fall by the wayside just because we're on hiatus; this cause is too important." This I think is awesome!

I hope these help you get into the Christmas spirit. Don't forget, our Christmas Eve service is this Friday at 6 PM. I hope to see you all there! Merry Christmas =)

Keep It On The DL

Today I'll be answering a question, but it's not a question a student asked, it's a question I asked. This week in fact. Contrary to what you may think, I do not know everything. There are things even I have questions about. When I have a question, I go to those whom I know and respect and ask them. The question is this, " There are more than a few instances when Jesus, after he preforms a miracle, tells those involved not to tell anyone. There are times when He even doesn't want His disciples to tell people things. Why does He not want them to tell people what He had just done?" For those of you with Bibles at home, the passages I am talking about are Matthew 8:4, Matthew 16:20, Mark 7:36, Mark 8:26, Mark 8:30, Mark 9:9, Luke 5:14, Luke 8:56 & Luke 9:21. Now because they are in different gospels, some of them refer to the same story, so really there are 6 different instances where Jesus tells people not to tell anyone.

To make matters worse, there is another instance when, after He casts a demon out of someone, that He tell him to go tell his family and tell them all about it (This is in Mark 5:19). So does He want us to tell others or not? If He does want us to tell others (which I believe is God's command throughout the New Testament), why does He tell these people to keep it on the DL?

Here are a couple possibilities as to why Jesus didn't want a whole lot of people to know. First, Jesus was not "show-boat-ie" He wasn't a showoff. Every recorded miracle He did was to prove a point, to point them to God. It was never for His own fame and fortune. So Jesus telling people not to talk, was to make sure it was more about loving people and pointing them to God. Another theory as to why He wouldn't want people talking about it, is that maybe one or more of these people He interacted with, wasn't that credible, and people wouldn't listen to them. There is even one instance when Jesus heals a blind man, and the man goes to the Pharisee's to tell them of the miracle, and they didn't believe him and wanted him to lie. It also could have been because, as Jesus said at different points, "My time has not yet come." He didn't want people to know, because He wanted to help someone, and get the one-on-one interaction with the person, but didn't want a huge commotion because it wasn't time for that. It wasn't time for Jesus to fulfill what He came to do.

Whatever the reason, we know that God loves us, and wants us to share this love- His love, with others and point them to Him. Jesus' time came, He died for our sins, rose from the dead, and now commands us to go and teach others, to tell them all that He's done. It's not on the DL anymore, but, as the Christmas carol goes, we should, "Go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is LORD."

The Nativity Scene

How many of you have seen a Nativity scene before? It's the picture of Mary & Joseph huddled around baby Jesus in a stable. There are also a couple shepherds, a few wise men, and some animals watching. It's a very tender, warm & loving picture. It is THE picture of Christmas and what Christmas really is all about.

But what is the actual story behind it? Why is each character necessary? The Nativity scene is what gives meaning to Christmas and every piece is important; every character had a role to play. They all have their own story to tell about the birth of Jesus, and each story contributes to the larger story; the story of Christmas, the story of Immanuel, "God With Us".

Join us this Wednesday at our Crash Christmas party as we celebrate Christmas together. We will look at the story each of the Nativity characters has to tell and we'll see the larger story of Christmas and what it's truly all about. Our Christmas party will actually be at a secret holiday location, so call the church office for directions, (760) 568-3646.

Be Prepared

I am an Eagle Scout, the highest rank in Boy Scouts. The Boy Scouts of America trains young men to be prepared for any and all situations. They earn merit badges by showing knowledge and proficiency in various subjects like: first aid, swimming, wilderness survival, basket weaving, orienteering etc. Essentially these scouts are trained to have knowledge and handle any situation they may find themselves in. The scouts get equipped and prepared, in fact that's the Boy Scout's motto, "Be prepared."

This idea of being prepared, reminds me of a great passage, the "Armor Of God," found in Ephesians 6:13-17. It's a great passage not only to read, but to memorize. When I was in high school I had it memorized word for word (though now I must admit I don't quite remember it that well). In this passage, Paul encourages the people in Ephesus to be prepared, using the imagery of a soldier putting on armor before a battle. He encourages them to stand strong against the Devil. He encourages them to be prepared. He encourages us to stand strong and be prepared. Join us this week at Crash as we continue to look at the Armor of God and how putting it on prepares us to resist Satan's schemes, and fight off temptation.