A Merry Christmas Indeed

“When I think of Christmas Eve, Christmas feasts, Christmas songs, and Christmas stories, I know that they do not represent a short and transient gladness. Instead, they speak of a joy unspeakable and full of glory. God loves the world and sent His Son. Whosoever believed in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. That is Christmas joy. That is the Christmas spirit.”—Corrie ten Boom

“Infinite and an infant. Eternal, yet born of a woman. Almighty, and yet hanging on a woman’s breast. Supporting a universe, and yet needing to be carried in a mother’s arms. King of angels, and yet the reputed son of Joseph. Heir of all things, and yet the carpenter’s despised son. Oh, the wonder of Christmas.”—Charles Haddon Spurgeon

“Jesus, Lord, we look to thee,
On this day of thine own Nativity;
Show thyself the Prince of Peace;
Bid our jarring conflicts cease.
Let us for each other care,
Each the other burden bear,
To thy church the pattern give,
Show how true believes live.
Make us one of heart and mind,
Courteous, pitiful, and kind,
Lowly, meek in thought and word,
Altogether like our Lord.”—Charles Wesley
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Christmas: A Special Time, Like All Others

“It ought to be the business of every day to prepare for Christ’s return.”—Matthew Henry

We live between the comings of Christ, after His incarnation but before His return. This unique, in-between period of redemptive history is what originally prompted the early church to adopt the language of “Advent” in their celebration of the incarnation. Far from being a season of busy party-going and merry-making, Advent was marked by solemn remembrance of Christ and patient preparation for Him. During the observance of Advent, Christians readied themselves for Christ’s return by spending much time in reflection on God’s faithfulness to His promises in the incarnation and by giving themselves to self-examination, fasting, prayer, confession, repentance, reconciliation and other such spiritual disciplines.

In this way, the discipline of Advent prompted Christians to look back and forward. It was a time to give thanks for what God had accomplished in Christ at the incarnation and a time to express hopefulness for what God will advent-ually do through Christ in His return.

So, in a very real sense, Christmas is a “special time” just like all other times. The truths we contemplate at Christmas are not exclusively reserved for the days running between Thanksgiving and Dec.25th, but are the truths every Christian is called to contemplate everyday of the year! Our whole life, if you will, is Advent—a remembrance of what God has done for us in Christ and a patient preparation for Christ’s return.

May the Christmas season at FPC be marked by such remembrance and preparation, and may the spirit of this season extend throughout the year, into all our days and moments together as a church.
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Missionary Spotlight ~ Jim & Caty Tate, Ecuador

Jim has been involved in Mission to the World church plants and other mission work in Quito and Guayaquil, Ecuador since 1989. He works full time with Rose of Sharon Presbyterian Church, Guayaquil. He is also presently working with a national pastor in a church plant, Eternal Grace Presbyterian Church in the marginal area of Guayaquil. Caty is a native of Quito, and she received training in crisis pregnancy counseling in the US. She is director of Showers of Grace Crisis Pregnancy Center, the first in that country. They have two children Philip and Eliana.

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Luci Shaw on the Incarnation

Four years ago at a used bookstore in Nashville, TN, I happened upon a gently worn copy of the Green Earth: Poems of Creation (Eerdmans, 2002) by Luci Shaw. Having never read her before, but being vaguely familiar with the book, I thumbed the pages with interest. Intrigued by the title of one of the poems I paused and read these lines:

When a tree is topped
for the power lines,
the emptiness afterwards is
inhabited by a green
throb of leaves

Like the vividness we feel about
someone just dead,
the gap,
shivers with presence.

I was hooked in no time flat! Shaw's capacity for noticing prophetic murmerings in the fallen world, even in the unsightly nubs left by the power line company, exceeded all my expectations. For me, cutting tree limbs to make space for power lines was a kind of "necessary evil," but for Shaw, it was a moment to contemplate the "shoot" that arises from the "stump of Jesse" (Isaiah 11). It is such spiritual attentiveness to the going-ons around her that has made Shaw one of the premier Christian poets of our age.

During the holiday season, I’ve revisited one of Shaw’s older works, Widening Light: Poems on the Incarnation (Harold Shaw, 1984) and received tremendous spiritual benefit from it. Here’s a snippet from “Mary’s Song,” a poem that captures some sense of the mystery we call the Incarnation.

Quiet he lies,
whose vigor hurled
a universe. He sleeps
whose eyelids have not closed before.
His breath (so slight it seems
no breath at all) once ruffled the dark deeps
to sprout a world…

Breath, mouth, ears, eyes
he is curtailed
who overflowed all skies,
all years.
Older than eternity, now he
is new. Now native to the earth as I am, nailed
to my poor planet, caught that I might be free,
blind in my womb to know my darkness ended,
brought to this birth
for me to be new-born,
and for him to see me mended
I must see him torn.
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Missionary Spotlight ~ Ron & Peg Smith, Florida

Ron and Peg met at a Bible study in Washington, DC in 1981 when Ron moved there to work at a local radio station. They married in 1983 and lived in Arlington, Virginia until 1992.

Being unsuccessful at starting a family, Ron and Peg pursued an international adoption, culminating in a six-week trip to South America in 1990, where they adopted their son, Benjamin Ramón. Ten months later, Peg gave birth to Allison Maria!

The Lord opened their eyes and hearts to overseas missions on that adoption trip, so they left their careers in 1992 and moved to Jackson, MS to attend Reformed Theological Seminary.

Following seminary and Ron's ordination, the Smiths joined MTW's Guayaquil, Ecuador Church Planting Team, where they served from 1996 to 2005. Ron and Peg began English conversation clubs and classes, children's ministries, women's Bible studies and couples' ministries -- all with an evangelistic thrust. Peg taught Sunday school and trained others to teach, while Ron was involved in discipling and counseling, as well as planting and pastoring San Agustín Presbyterian Church.

In 2005 San Agustín and another church plant combined to form a congregation with an Ecuadorian pastor. With their ministry coming to an end, the Smiths returned to the U.S. to see where the Lord might lead them next.

They have been asked by Mission To the World to open new fields of mission opportunity in the English-speaking Caribbean. Their efforts include training pastors and church planters, along with mentoring, challenging and encouraging leaders as they develop strategies for communicating the Gospel and growing the church.

In the States, they hope to develop church partnerships, encourage churches to send their pastors to teach, and find some who will want to join ministry teams.

The Smiths have two children: Benjamin (12-7-89) and Allison (10-5-91).

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Missionary Spotlight ~ John & Kathy Lesondak, Slovakia

The Lesondaks are Mission to the World missionaries in Trnava, Slovakia. Their work began in 1997 when they arrived at Trnava University to oversee Covenant College’s studies abroad program. It was a real pioneering ministry. The mission work began with English classes, children’s clubs, Bible studies, and eventually, at their ministry center known as 'The Building', a church was born. Previously they served with MTW in Seychelles Islands, in Kenya, and in Prague, Czechoslovakia. John and Kathy have six children, with the youngest about to graduate from high school.

Prayer requests:
(1) Due to the devaluation of the dollar they need to raise over $2,000 more a month before they can return to the field.
(2) Pray that the plans to expand their work in Slovakia would go forward.
(3) Pray for personnel and funds to match the vision for the ministry.

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Missionary Spotlight ~ Steve & Rita Williams, New Zealand

Since 1990 the Williams family has served with Mission to the World. Much of their earlier ministry was in Germany and Austria where they established an interdenominational retreat-counseling ministry for vocational Christian workers called Barnabas Zentrum.

In early 2006 the Williams redeployed to New Zealand where they now serve with the Grace Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. Steve serves as Coordinator of the Grace Care Community, a ministry providing pastoral oversight and counselor training for the GPCNZ. Rita works alongside her husband as Program Administrator. They are also involved in establishing Barnabas Pacific, a retreat-counseling ministry for Christian workers serving throughout the South Pacific. On the Bethlehem Campus Steve serves as a consultant with the Christian Education Trust where he is involved in interdenominational ministry, particularly in family life education providing marital preparation training for young adults. The Williams family also plans to be a core family for a church plant in their city of Tauranga, one of the fastest growing areas of New Zealand.

Steve, born in Jackson, Mississippi, grew up in Huntsville, AL and is a graduate of Grissom High School. He obtained the PhD degree from Florida State University with concentrations in both Family Social Science and Family Therapy. He also holds an M.A. degree from Wheaton Graduate School with concentrations in theology and interpersonal relations. He formerly served as adjunct professor at Reformed Theological Seminary (Jackson. MS) and as Director of Family Science at Montreat College (Montreat, NC). Rita, a native of Asheville, NC, holds a B.S. in Psychology from Liberty University (Lynchburg, VA). She later served with Ben Lippen Ministries. The Williams are the parents of April (11/11/89) and Stefan (01/27/92) and live in Tauranga on the Bay of Plenty. The Williams family can be contacted at: stevewwilliams@yahoo.com

Their present prayer requests are as follows:

(1) Their soon to be published book Intimate Odyssey: A Journey in Discovering Your Marriage Partner (Xulon Press) is designed to be used as a ministry tool in homes, churches and Christian schools. Pray that the Lord would use this book to bless, instruct, encourage, and challenge those who read it.

(2) Finally, please continue to pray for Grace Theological College (Auckland). While there has been some continuing interest in counseling, there has been a decrease in the number of men preparing for pastoral ministry. This is a note of concern as there is a great need for men to serve as pastors in this newly developing denomination. Please pray that God will raise up men who will be called to serve as pastors and receive training at GTC.

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Missionary Spotlight ~ Tom & Ann Austin, Cape Town, South Africa

Tom and Ann Austin are currently training leaders through MTW in South Africa and have been since 1983. Tom’s main concentration is on facilitating and guiding MTW ministries in theological education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ann is serving through leading a women’s Bible study. She is also a speaker for women’s groups in the area. Previously Tom and Ann served in Kenya where they were involved in the Nairobi International School of Theology from 1987-1995. Tom served on the faculty while Ann taught Bible courses to the wives of seminary students. The couple has 2 daughters, Anna and Rebecca.

Prayer Requests:
(1) Pray for both their daughters who are in college. Pray for continued spiritual growth and development.

(2) Pray for financial support. They will need to raise their travel budget to cover their new responsibilities in Africa.

(3) Pray for Tom as he trains leaders in South Africa.

(4) Pray for safety as they travel.
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Missionary Spotlight ~ Jay & Maureen Kyle, New York City, New York

Jay is currently the Coordinator of Intercultural Church Planning in New York City, New York for the Redeemer Church Planting Center. He coordinates church plants in large Asian global cities, and directs the China Partnership. Jay and Maureen previously worked with Wycliffe Bible Translators and founded the short-term missions program for Mission to the World. They served with MTW in Mexico City for fifteen years. Jay and Maureen both attended Belhaven College in Jackson, MS, and Jay later attended Reformed Theological Seminary. They have three children.

Prayer Requests:
(1) Pray for a quick recovery for their son Jeff who recently had neck surgery.
(2) Pray for Jay as he leads a seminar on East Asia at the PCA Global Missions Conference in November.
(3) Pray for safety as they travel back and forth from New York to Asia.
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Missionary Spotlight ~ Wayne and Amy Newsome, Japan

Wayne is originally from Chattanooga, TN, and Amy is from Enterprise, AL. After serving with MTW in Japan since 1990, the Newsomes are more encouraged than ever before about what God is doing. Their team has been involved in planting four churches and is moving into a new phase of ministry.

With “Equipping Japanese to Reach the World” as the motto, the Nagoya Church-planting Team’s new vision encompasses a variety of ministries. The Newsomes work to expand church-planting ministries by partnering with Japanese co-workers to target new locations for new church plants. The team is also involved in beginning a seminary to enable Japanese Christians to identify their gifts and receive training for ministry. The International Christian Academy of Nagoya, which the team stared in 1999, meets the educational needs of many children in central Japan. Team members and Japanese co-workers are preparing for a counseling ministry with a desire to assist local churches in developing lay counseling programs to serve and help their communities. And with 50,000 university students in the area, the student ministry continues to be a high priority for the team.

Wayne and Amy have five children: Katelyn, Samuel, Mary Grace, Sarah, and Joshua.

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