Greetings to you all! In the last few weeks the media has been dissecting the first trailer for the upcoming seventh installment of the “STAR WARS” franchise. All of these movies always began with “Long ago in a galaxy far, far away….” That is the way of fairy tales and such stories. However, the Christian faith is not about “once upon a time…” but instead is rooted and grounded in a particular people in a particular place and at a particular time. The Jesus event for which we are again preparing is rooted in the birth of a baby to a young couple in the Israelite village of Bethlehem two millennia ago. I don’t know what you are hoping for or even expecting under your tree but we do know what will be coming in the manger. Not simply a babe, easily dismissed, but the Son of God, the Messiah. May your wishes for Christmas be fulfilled, may your 2015 be safe, and may you receive a full measure of the Joy to the World available to us all because indeed the LORD has come into all our lives. In His service, Pastor Keith