Dear Southern Gables Friends,

Old-timers in the backwoods of Kentucky used to tell of a cold and rainy day in February of 1809 when a rural mail carrier made his weekly trip through Hardin County. A local farmer met the mailman at a crossroads and asked him what was going on in the outside world.

The mailman told the farmer that there was talk of a war brewing between Great Britain and the United States, that Napoleon was invading Spain and Congress back in Washington was talking about creating a federal bank.

Then the mailman turned the conversation around and asked, "What's going on in these parts?"

The farmer smiled and said, "Aw, shucks, mister, nothin' ever happens back here. I hear that there was a baby born to Tom and Nancy Lincoln. I hear they called him 'Abraham.' But shucks, nothin' important ever happens back here."

Little did that farmer know that his news was very big news. Abraham Lincoln's birth was an event that would change the nation. He would go on to become the sixteenth president of the United States. He would become one of our nation's most beloved leaders, freeing the slaves and saving the Union against division.

In Luke's gospel, chapter 2, in the obscure little town of Bethlehem in Israel, another baby was born too. It was tax time and all the inns were filled. An ordinary-looking man and his wife were allowed to sleep in a stable. In the middle of the night, the baby was born. His parents gave him a common name for that day, Jesus. His name in Hebrew, Jeshuah means deliverer. How fitting.

If that same Kentucky farmer had been in Bethlehem, he might have yawned and said, "No big deal." But that baby of Bethlehem changed the world! James Allan Francis in a 1926 book of sermons titled, The Real Jesus and Other Sermons described the effect of Jesus' coming:

Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself...

While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. While He was dying His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth - His coat. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

Nineteen long centuries have come and gone, and today He is a centerpiece of the human race and leader of the column of progress. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built; all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life.

What we see in Christmas is hope. It may be hidden. But God's kind of hope changes history from behind the scenes. It is a hope that sneaks up on us and surprises us with its greatness. Just when things seem hopeless, God invades history with precise accuracy. God's style is to send hope out of obscurity. It is like the old quote that my dad used to say: "Little is much when God is in it." God's hope starts small and takes over the world!

Folks, this is how God works in our lives. He is silently working out the details of our lives. He knows where the road leads. He planned the road. He owns the road. God knows what is best. God's plans are for good and not for evil. We may not see His good plan at the time, but God knows what we need much better than we do. God uses difficulties to weave the tapestry of His will. Romans 8:28 is still true. He can make the terrible things of life and even our sins turn out for a good end.

God is working right now. He is working in cancer and heart attacks, in our pain and our sorrows, job losses and lawsuits, divorces and deaths, in hardships and heartaches, in wayward kids and hurtful relationships. God is working when we least expect it. God is working when we most likely doubt it.

As a result of this hope:

• We can rest in God's rule over everything.
• We can trust in His wisdom and care.
• We can submit to God's rule in everything.
• We can stop worrying.

Romans 8:24 says: "For in this hope we were saved." This hope, however hidden it may be, rules over your problems, over your bills and over whatever you are facing. This hope gives us eternal life!

At this Christmas time, God offers His hope to you. Do you know it? Have your accepted it? Are you resting in it? Are you living in it? If you want to know more, contact the church. We would love to tell you about God's eternal hope for you life.

This Sunday I am speaking on one of the most beloved passages in all the Bible -- John 3:16. I am looking forward to telling you what God has taught me this week and how it applies to our lives. My title is "The Best Christmas Gift in the World." We will celebrate the Lord's Supper in both services this Sunday morning, too.

Sunday night is our Christmas musical. This year it is Vivaldi's Gloria! I have been listening to excerpts on my IPod the last few days and it should be marvelous. Scott Naden, our choir and orchestra have been working hard on it. This might be a wonderful outreach to the community, to our unbelieving family, to our friends and business contact. Christmas is a great time when many hearts are open to the Good News.

Well, that is my epistle for this week. See you this Sunday for worship! Bring a smile, a Bible, and an open mind to let God talk to you. Remember, we have two worship choices for you:

• 9:00 AM Worship — praise, worship, and songs of the faith
• 10:30 AM Worship — songs of the faith, praise and worship

I still love being your pastor!

mplatt@sgc.org