The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Acton Press Wednesday Dec Christmas religious holy day clergy God celebrates His sons birth Rev John Cooper Christian Reform Church The birth of Jesus was wit nessed by only Mary and Joseph And God directed widespread notice Luke records Joseph and Marys trek to Bethlehem for census purposes as de creed by Caesar Augustus After their arrival she came full term And she brought forth his firstborn son Luke God had aeons before promised this child Isaiah 7 14 Behold a virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and they will call him Immanual which means God with us More recently God had given notice to Zacharlah on duly as priest in Jerusalem The angelic messenger pro mised that his son would be herald to Jesus the promised Messiah He doubted how he and his wife Elizabeth who were far beyond child- bearing years could have a son The angel Gabriel with standin credentials declared that he would be unable to speak until this son was bom Then God gives notice by the same angel or messenger Gabriel lo Mary in Nazareth Hail you are highly favored the Lord is with you you shall con ceive bring forth a son Jesus He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High How can this be Mary asked the angel since I am a virgin The angel answered The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month For nothing is im possible with God I am the Lords servant Mary answered May it be to me as you have said Then the angel left her Luke 1 21- The Lord immediately continues to have us take as follows Mary hurries to Elizabeth some miles south in Judoh When Elizabeth heard Marys greeting the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit Dr Luke writes In a loud voice she exclaimed Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come lo me As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears the baby in my womb leaped for joy Blessed is she who has believed hat what Ihe Lord has said to her will be ac complished Luke 1 3943 Spirit blessed Mary responds in her original song poem praising the lord my spirit rejoices in God my Savior Luke 1 By the time she returns to Nazareth she noticeably with child Joseph Marys betrothed assumes the worst and thought about canceling marriage plans Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said Joseph son of David do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit She will give birth to a son and you are give Him the name Jesus because he will save His people from their sins Malthew 1 Then he takes her to his home and docs not have union with her until after Jesus was born Meanwhile Elizabeth gives birth to a son Neighbors and relatives rejoice and expect him to be named But mother said No He is to be called John They check with father who is supplied with a writing tablet To everyones astonishment he wrote His name is John Immediately his mouth was opened and he began to speak praising God Filled with the Holy Spirit father Zacharlah speaks on behalf of God in grandiloquent Hebrew poetry Praise the Lord the God of Israel because He has come and has redeemed His people He has raised up a of salvation for us in Ihe house of His servant David as He said through his holy prophets of long ago see Luke Having returned from Nazareth Mary gives birth to her fintbom a son in a stable in Bethlehem She wrapped Him in strips of cloth and placed Him in a manger Again the Lord gives notice time to shepherds keeping walch over their flocks at night An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around about them and they were lerrified But the angel said the Do not be afraid I bring you good news of great Joy that will be for all the people Today in Ihc town David a Savior has been born to you He No room for Christ the shepherds said to one another Lets go to and see this thing has happened which the Lord has told about So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and baby who was lying in the manger When they had seen him they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them But Mary treasured up all ihesc things and pondered them in her mind The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things Ihey had heard and seen which were Just as they had been told Luke Only God can direct such by Itev ten Him not but no lime to love God and St Are not we in the same our fellow man We have lime lobe busy but no Christmas comes but once predicament Only But hove time for Jesus Godstill in another sense it comes offers His gift but few accept more than once a year It is Him As the hymn says the annual and a daily event world has Room for plea On that first Christmas God sure room for business but gave His only Son lo for Christ the Crucified not a world and He has been giving place that He can enter In os many as received Him ever since the heart for which He died Him to them gave He the When God first gave His Few have time even to power to become the sons of Son very few people wanted lough or be courteous We even thorn that He offered His most become irritated when some- on His name Christ precious Ire as it re but the one crosses our path Our may come to you today world at large had no room to entertainment is artificial m receive Him When Mary and There is no room for the Joseph arrived in Bethlehem enjoyment of simple there was no room or them pleasures There are so many in the inn That Is ihe tragic trivial things to do We have from the Gospel of to work harder to buy the things we cannot afford The inn was booked for the never seem to find time to weekend It was filled with know and appreciate Are you asleep to Gods offer Have you received Gods gift The scripture This a time of giving arid receiving God is offering you His gift wont you receive II The poet says far to Bethlehem imcndous events His people But it was probably a friends let some of the W marvelous people in the love gift The faithful have through the ages adored Him Such majestic celebrating of the birth of our Savior and Lord and will be a sign to you You will find a baby wrapped in strips or cloth and lying in a manger Suddenly a great com of the heavenly host appeared with the angel praising God and saying Glory to God In the highest and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests When the angels had left them and gone into heaven until the Day Redemption and the shadows of present grace flee before the grandeur of Gods final gift His perpetual presence on a new never to be corrupted earth where as sans of God and daughters of the Almighty we will Him forever peopli guests wcrcstrangers to each world around us Wc never other and everyone was find time to talk about the busy preoccupied with their things that matter or even own concerns and fleeting di the things that dont matter versions There was no This an age that has very room in the inn For this little time for God He might reason King Jesus was born interfere too much with our in a cattle shed plans Finding God a bit of a wus asleep when God offered bother it is easier to forget Him So we say that He Is It was the same during the relevant and a little obsolete life of Jesus Very few people We have time to make war had time for Him Even His own people did not want Him We read He came unto His own and His own received Christmas and we wish you the best of gifts peace on earth good will toward men Thanks for your kindness and loyalty BETTY and CHARLIE CHEYNE Thistle Custodial Service Mam St Acton abiding The road to Bethlehem runs right through The hearts of folks like mi and you To really enjoy the spirit of Christmas make room for Christ in your hearts today The wonder of it all by Rev Chuck Beaton Trinity United Church Of all the players in the unfolding drama of Christ mas the shepherds are my favorites They were simple men startled by a great light on the hillside An angel calmed their fears and told them of a baby who had been bom Hurrying to Bethlehem they worshipped Jesus becoming the first persons on earth to celebrate Christmas Moreover they were awed by the wonder of it all At Bethlehem they discov ered an inner warmth When they returned to their fields with a song in their hearts they were Joyfully convinced that something great would come from the life of this child Something has It is remarkable how Christmas still warms the coldest hearts People who have been hard to get along with all year often mellow a little during the season Human beings seem to be in tune with one another at Christmas than at any other time of the year The shepherds found some one to worship In these days when we are discovering that many people have fallowed and worshipped false gods and false people its import ant to remember the shepherds worshipped someone in whom the eternal truth was found They bowed not to a God whom they fear ed but knelt before a crib which bore Gods love for all people At Bethlehem the eternal God has stepped from his celestial framework and come close to us In one way or another all of us will celebrate Christmas Many will enjoy the long weekend packed with food fun and festivities Many will get a new load of debt Some will have a dandy headache and others will have a week- long hangover But if that s all that happens to us weve missed what Christmas is all about May you find in your Christmas the blessings the shepherds found of wonder warmth and worship Its the real thing VjnM In the hush of the holiday we quietly say thanks and hope you have a simply wonderful holiday and lK are coming your way hove Merry Christmas Acton Pet Food and Supplies 10 River Street 8534201 NOTICE The schedule for refuse pick up during the coming Christmas and New Year s season will bo as lows RESIDENTIAL Monday December 25 will be picked up on Thursday December Tuesday December 26 will be picked up on Friday December 29 Monday January will be picked up on Thursday January COMMERCIAL Tuesday December will be picked up on Wednesday Decembcr27 1978 JIM JOHN EXTEND THE FULLEST CHRISTMAS GREETINGS TO EVERYONE THANKS FOR YOUR KINDNESS REAL ESTATE LTD