Christmas = JESUS > us

The time has finally arrived! Christmas! My favorite time of the year! I know all of us are excited to catch a break from school & work, and to have some time to spend with our friends & family. Don't forget all the great food, Christmas traditions, and BOWL SEASON. Truly the most wonderful time of the year!

But, most importantly, Christmas is the time to celebrate the birth of our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ. And to not only celebrate His birth, but to celebrate His death. To know that God sent His one & only Son, Jesus, for one purpose - to die. Jesus was literally born to die. He was born with a purpose, a mission, and a plan. And that was to die on the cross for our sins, take our place, and give us freedom & forgiveness through His death. And through His death & resurrection, Jesus cancels our sin & gives us eternal life.

AND just like Jesus was born to die, when we are reborn through His salvation, we are ALSO born to die. We have new life in Jesus, and when we are reborn, we are born to die. Born to die to our sins & old life, and to turn away from the way we used to live. And just like Jesus was born with a mission & plan, we also have a direct purpose in our new life.

Jesus gives us all a purpose in His call to "Follow Me." To follow Jesus is to live like Jesus, and to live like Jesus is to die. A daily death in picking up our cross, denying ourselves, denying our sin & what we want, and becoming more like Christ.

This is what Christmas should be all about, and we must daily think about our purpose given to us.
Christmas = JESUS > us

JV

New Year's Eve Lock-In

Come celebrate the countdown to 2010 at New Life this New Year's Eve! We're going to host a Lock-In, and party it up till morning light! We're going to meet at the church, and then head over to the Church at Rock Creek for a state-wide bash called New Year's Rush from 8 PM - Midnight. Then we'll head back to the church and celebrate the first hours of 2010 hanging out, playing games, & eating food until 7 AM. It's going to be awesome! Here's the details and what you need to know:

7:30 PM - meet at the church

8:00 PM - 12:00 AM - New Year's Rush ($15 if you signed up / $20 at the door)

12:30 AM - 7:00 AM - Lock-In at New Life

Call or email me with any questions, and be sure to sign-up! You don't want to miss out! And if you're doing something with family or already have plans, you can still meet us up at the church for the Lock-In portion of the night. Just come!

JV

Youth Christmas Party

Alright ya'll! This Wednesday night is our Christmas party! Here are the details you need to know before coming:

1) Wednesday @ 6:45 PM
2) Wear tacky/ugly Christmas clothes! I've got a pretty solid sweater...so I'm pumped to see what you got!
3) Bring a wrapped gift. Either a $10 gift from Wal-Mart/Target OR something AWESOME from home. Notice the capitalized letters there on the word AWESOME.

It's going to be a blast! Lots of food (including Ms. Ruth's bean dip!), drinks, Dirty Santa & games. We'll play some "Chilly Marbles", "Carol of the Chairs", & "Santa's Beard." So bring your friends & get ready to celebrate Christmas together. See you guys Wednesday night!

JV

Christmas Music Spotlight - Shane & Shane

In light of going to their concert last night, I find it only appropriate to make this album my final Christmas album review. I had actually planned this all along, so I hope you enjoy.

Shane & Shane's Christmas album, titled Glory in the Highest, is one of my new favorite Christmas albums. These guys are simply incredible, and having been a fan for the past 9 years, I was thrilled they decided to do a holiday release. The album covers quite a few of the classics, but they also have written a few originals. Their voices simply sound like they were made for each other, and their harmonies mesh together perfectly. My favorite song is actually the first track, "O Holy Night," and you can give it a listen on the playlist on the right (the first song).

If you didn't get a chance to go the show with us last night - GO WITH US NEXT TIME! You don't want to miss any opportunity to see Shane & Shane live, and their records won't let you down either. Head over to iTunes and pick up this release for only $9.90.

JV

Christmas Music Spotlight - Ben Rector

Yeah for more Christmas music! This will be the 2nd installment of 3 Christmas music reviews, so be sure to stay tuned for the last review next week.

Ben Rector is an up-&-coming artist, and he really hit the spot with his Christmas release, Jingles and Bells. Hailing as an Arkansas native, this guy has a tremendous talent. He produced & performed every instrument on the record itself, and I'm thrilled he decided to release a Christmas record in between recording albums. He has such a unique sound, and really put his own twist on each track. You can head over to iTunes and pick up the 6-track EP for only $5.94.

His track "White Christmas" is the first song in the playlist on the right. Give it a listen.

JV