HOGANSVlIAE th)Ml,; Nl,:ws -TItURSl)AY, DECEMBER 21, 2000 PAGE S
Meeting Mankind's Great,00st Need•
• " ."..', ' ..... .' . song
A psychologist was once fhe Bible says 1 ( (,od so need I said earlier that there says about Godslove It
as saying, "Man has two
basic needs, one is to be loved
and the other is to have some-
one to love." One must admit
that statement has a world of
truth in it; however, there is an
greater need experienced
'man. During this time of year
that many needs arise.
church receives numerous
alls from people who have var-
needs and at this time of
those needs intensify. We
mr best to try and help those
some have need of
food, others have need with
bills while still others
gas and water.
God has blessed Antioch and we
are thankful for the God given
r to help many who call.
Although many calls are
and many folks are
there is one great need
no civic organization, no
program or even a
can meet. That is man's
of a Savior. More than the
of clothes and shelter,
than the need for food and
aresomethatwehereatAntioch reaches to the lowest valley as
i: Pastor's can help and unfortunately well as to the highest mountain."
Column sometimes there are those we We here at Antioch Baptist
cannot help. May I share with Churchhopethatyouknowwhat
you the good news that there is it is like to enjoy God's greatest
..... , ::::. : By Wesley no one who is beyond the help gift to mankind. From myself
.... Boatman of God. No one is so good that as well as all the folks here at
k they need not be saved and no Antioch, we would like to
............ one is so bad that they cannot express our desire that each of
S ' "
be saved. God s gift is a gift that you have a very Merry
is made available to all. lake the Christmas.
water and even more than the
need of air, human beings need
a Savior. While no earthly
agency can supply that need,
that need has already been sup.-
plied. It is the supplying of that
need that allows us to celebrate
what one secular song calls,
"The most wonderful time of
the year."
This indeed is the most won-
derful time of the year and while
the lights are brilliant, the dec-
orations beautiful, and the
excitement at a fever pitch,
there is another reason for this
time of year. It is the time of
year that has been set aside to
celebrate the giving of the great-
est gift that could ever be given.
loved the world, that he gave his
only begotten son. 1 ha whoso-
ever believeth in hiln. should
not perish, bnl have everlasting
life." Christmas is lhe time we
celebrate God's gitt thal meets
man's greatest need. While
studying for this past Sunday's
message, I ran across a little
quote that bears repealing. It
said, "I f man's gFealest need had
been information, (;od would
have sent him an educator. If
man's greatest need had been
technology, t',od would have
sent him a s¢icntiM. If man's
greatest need had been money,
God would have senl him an
economist. If nlall'S grcatesl
need had been pleasure, God
would have sent him an enter-
taineE
But man's greatest need was
forgiveness,.so God sent him a
Savior."
That is the reason for such
joy; that is the reason for such
celebration; that is the reason
for such a time as this, God sent
his son to meet man's greatest
A better
all mA
that is o,
this c
Se
Come Home for Christmas
.It's been a long time since
I've had the Christmas spirit. I
can't tell you why it has hap-
tuned to me this year. Maybe
' life is better now
than it's ever been. Maybe
my daughter is happi-
' married and doing very well.
it's because I have a lov-
and caring wife. Maybe
I'm making a comfort-
able living and have a warm
Maybe it's because
retirement is just around the
corner. Maybe it's because I
on the first Christmas I
parent to celebrate
with. And maybe it's because
I've suddenly realized I have a
lot to be thankful for and have
had a lot to be thankful
for. Whatever the reason, I'm
g an inner peace I
can't remember experiencing
since I was a child.
Not siaee my daughter was
very small have I wanted to hear
songs; not just
"Jingle Bells," but carols like
"Oh Come All Ye Faithful." I'll
my faith hasn't been
all it should over the years. I've
chosen not to take responsibili-
• for what has happened in my
placing the blame conve-
niently on whom I believe con-
trois us all. Trouble is, He gave
us rules and if we don't abide
' them then...well I don't need
to you. So, I got our
Christmas cassettes
and played the old standards on
the way to work. Bing, Dino, and
Dinah haven't lost it, and possi-
bly there'll never be voices like
Dale
Columnist
those again. But, that doesn't
mean today there aren't voices
as beautiful if not more so than
those from my childhood, name-
ly Charlotte Church. To show
you how consumed with the
Christmas spirit I am I actual-
ly chose listening to her
Christmas concert on PBS over
watching Muscle Car Magazine
on Speedvision. Don't tell my
wife, she already suspects I'm
developing a mild form of senil-
ity.'
I'm remembering things
this Christmas I thought my
memory had permanently
erased. My mother, daddy, and
I used to turn out the lights, plug
in the tree, and sing "Silent
Night" every Christmas Eve
without fail I can't get the pic-
ture out of my mind of that tree
standing in the pine knotted din-
ing room of our house. The pan-
eled living and dining rooms
were separated by a half book-
shelf that allowed us to see the
tree from either room. By the
fireplace was always where my
presents were placed. I can't
figure out why Santa never put
them under the tree with all the
gifts for our friends and fami-
ly. I suspect it had something to
do with him keeping warm.
Those rooms were the formal
part of our house and never used
except when the preacher came
for dinner, or when our relatives
from the "valle," came up to
see us which was about once
every five years. They always
seemed a bit cold to me except
on Christmas Eve and morning.
My most fond memocy of
Christmas was my dad taking
me in the evening to get a H'ee
to brighten up those cold rooms.
My parents never gave a
thought to getting a white fake
one until in the '70s when it was
deemed that I was grown. You
don't see too many of those trees
anymore, and I don't under-
stand why. ()h yes, i do. We
would check several tree lots
before settling on a good spec-
imen. All the bright lights
strung around the lots mesmer-
ized my little mind, and all the
different shapes and sizes of
trees to choose from. It's my
considered opinion m:: ,tad Eked
the lights too, and that's why he
waited till evening to go and get
the tree. We would ahvays select
a smaller tree, bul (me that had
lots of branches, lie, and later
I with my daughter's
Christmases, found it very dif-
ficult to screw the three bolts
in the base into the small trunk
and keep the tree standing
straight. I was never trusted
with the task of putting the
sugar water in the base. Now
that I remember, that's held true
Continued on Page 6
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Amid all the holiday bustle, let us remember the
three kings, their journey of faith, and gifts
of goodwill. Let us all reflect on our blessings
this year and follow the star to the true
meaning of the holiday season.
Merry Christmas and many thanks to all of our
good friends and neighbors.
your support/
State Sentaor
DAN LEE
