Pastors to focus on hope, peace, joy and love

BY RUTH RICE

RRICE@TRIBDEM.COM

Area pastors will once again make the age-old retelling of the Christmas story new.

At Emmanuel Baptist Church, 425 Luther Road, Richland Township, there will be five services to accommodate the crowds expected Christmas Eve.

“Last year, we had 2,500 to 2,600 people,” said the Rev. Ray Streets Jr.

“We’re trying to get the Pasquerilla center or a local high school auditorium for next year.”

Streets will review his series, “A Savior Is Born,” which he has spoken about for the past month.

“It will be on hope, peace, love and joy,” Streets said.

“We make our service a big deal because many only come on Christmas and Easter.

“This is geared more toward inviting people than our own people. We want to present the meaning of Christmas.”

Streets will speak at services at 3, 5 and 7 p.m. His brother, the Rev. David Streets, will speak on Matthew 2:1-6 at services at 1 and 9.

David Streets’ message is titled “The King Has Come,” and will include how people respond to that truth.

“People today react to the birth of Christ by responding, fearing or ignoring,” Streets said.

Worship pastor Dave Buckwalter said music for the services will range from a skit featuring the praise team in rehearsal for traditional services at 1 and 9 to videos of Ray Streets’ series interspersed with songs for contemporary services at 3, 5 and 7.

The Most Rev. Joseph V. Adamec, bishop of the Altoona-Johnstown Catholic Diocese, takes his text from Matthew 2:1-2, which talks about Magi from the east coming to pay homage to the newborn king of the Jews.

“The Christmas season gives a good feeling of security, of peace, unlike any other,” Adamec said.

“I do not think I’m alone in this, nor was it absent with the shepherds or the Magi. The long-expected one had finally arrived.”

When Jesus was presented in the temple, Simon prophesied that the child was destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and the holy family then fled to Egypt.

Adamec said the apostles had a difficult time understanding the totality of the Lord’s mission, that it involved entering into the very life of Christ, including acceptance of unpleasant situations, the way of the cross.

“May we be different, more like Simon, the Magi or the holy family in the stable,” Adamec said.

“I pray that our observance of the birth of the Savior be an observance not only of Jesus’ birth into the history of humankind, but a birth into our own personal lives, as well as into our life as members of this Diocesan Church of Altoona-Johnstown.

“In all of life’s situations, be they pleasant or difficult, may we find peace and joy knowing that the Christ was born to free us from the prisons of this world.”

At Oakland United Methodist Church, 1504 Bedford St., Johnstown, the Rev. Randy Bain is asking “Where Is Christmas?” as he goes through a sermon series that began Nov. 29 and will end on Jan. 3 with Epiphany Sunday.

“As pastors, we are always telling the greatest story ever told again, and Scripture tells it better than anyone can,” Bain said.

“As a pastor, I feel small to try to retell it, so I look for a hook for people to hang the message of salvation on.”

Bain has taken his congregation on a tour of the Holy Land in his series. Christmas Eve will focus on Bethlehem.

“I wanted to make it as meaningful as I can,” Bain said.

“Christmas Eve will focus on the birth of Jesus and what it means to us personally, how we become the manger.

“The intent is to make our hearts the manger.”

Pastor Keith Fink of St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, 132 E. Union St., Somerset, will speak on “Good News! So What?”

His Scripture text will be from Luke 2:8-20.

“It’s good to ask ‘so what’ of Scripture, especially with familiar verses,” Fink said.

“The angel announced the good news. The shepherds responded in worship. We’ve heard it so often. What difference does it make to us?”

Fink said pastors shouldn’t be trying to find new material, but making sure they don’t forget the old.

“Pastors shouldn’t be asking how they can jazz up the Christmas story,” Fink said.

“It’s an amazing story as it is.

“Don’t miss asking, ‘So what does it mean to you.’ ”

Fink said the nature of the message from pulpits on any given Sunday shouldn’t be searching for something new, but telling the old, old story.

At Lakeside Community Church of the Nazarene, 1006 Rowena Drive, Ebensburg, Pastor Bret Metcalfe will go over the message of Advent.

“Hope, peace, joy and love are the four reasons why Jesus came,” Metcalfe said.

“It’s why he came when he came.

“Our expectation of hope, joy, love and peace is for when he comes again.”

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