There was once a great king. His love for his people knew no limits. Although the
kingdom was very large, the king knew every person by name. Everything the people of the
kingdom had was a gift freely given by the loving king so to show their love and appreciation to the king for all he had done for them, the people decided to have a great celebration to honor his birthday. Everyone agreed it was a
marvelous idea. Preparations for the celebration were very elaborate. No expense was
spared by the people. They adorned their homes with lights, decorations, and expensive
ornaments. There were parties, dinners, and celebrations throughout the kingdom.
All the people brought gifts for their friends and family. Many of the gifts which the
people gave each other were quite expensive, involving considerable indebtedness. In fact,
the people spent more on the birthday celebration than they spent at any other time of the
year.
Many who were not citizens of the kingdom, and who did not even know the king,
joined in the celebration. Their celebration of the king’s birth was marked by excessive
drinking. Since they did not know the king, they invented a good natured, fat fellow in a red
suit. He laughed a lot, but never said anything. But that didn’t matter because they were too
busy celebrating to listen anyhow.The day set for the birthday celebration drew near. The gifts which the people had
brought for each other were piled high. The decorations were beautiful. Huge amounts of
food were prepared in all the homes and banquet halls.
The king watched eagerly during all the preparation. A number of people
mentioned him and spoke of what a great king he was. The king waited
each day expecting at any time to hear from the people about his role in the celebration. Weeks in advance, he
prepared his house to receive the many people who would be coming with their presents for
him.
The great day of celebrating his birth finally arrived, and some of his people did
come bringing gifts and thanking him for his goodness to them. But to his dismay, most of
the citizens never came to his house at all on this day of celebration. And the gifts brought to
the king by those few who came were meager when compared with the gifts they had given
themselves.
For the most part the people said they had been so busy with all the celebrations
and personal plans that they had forgotten about the king. Several said they had thought of
him, but really could not work it into their schedules or budgets to come to see him or bring a
gift. A few were known to be quite put out when it was suggested that going to the king’s
house or remembering him with a gift was important. Those people who did come to his house and who brought their loving gifts were welcomed and blessed by the king. He told them again of his great love for each of them.
And each received from the king a priceless gift. But when they had gone and he was alone
a gain, the king fell to thinking of the vast numbers of his people who had forgotten and
forsaken him. How could they have forgotten? How could so many of his beloved people
who had found the time and money for shopping and feasting and partying and decorating
and all sorts of celebrations how could they possibly be so thoughtless, so ungrateful, or
so selfish? Did they not know that he too, had feelings? Was not the purpose of the birthday
celebration originally planned to honor him? When the king was alone, pondering these questions,
he felt the tears well up in his eyes. And in his loneliness, he wept.
One thought brought some hope and consolation. Even though they had forgotten
him, he had not forgotten them.

In my message this past Sunday I spoke about one thing we can't do in heaven. You can view the video of the entire service on this website. 10,000 years from now most of the things that matter the most to us on the earth won't matter for all eternity. Money, cars, careers, sports, popularity, and beauty won't last. Only one life will soon be passed and only what's done for Christ will last.
In heaven we will have all of our questions answered about God and His Word. We will have a great time of fellowship. We will experience worship at it's best. We will enjoy the presence of God. One thing we can't do in heaven is tell someone else how to get there. Everyone in heaven will already be saved. The only time  and place that we can share the good news of Christ is here and now. Who have you told lately about Jesus? What kind of difference are you making on planet earth for heaven's sake.
We have a great opportunity coming up, Round Up Day on September 9th. Invite family, friends and neighbors to join you for this very special day. We have a goal of 125 in Sunday school and 200 in worship. Will you help us meet that goal? There will also  be a meal served after the service.
Together let's round people up on that Sunday for the glory of God.
In His Love,
Pastor Don

Most weekends I spend at least one or two days, Friday and Saturday with my family. This is because when all is said and done they will be the one's who will be with you in the end. You start together with them in life and ministry and hopefully if the Lord is willing you will end with them. I'm very thankful that God has blessed me with a loving and caring family. I'm speaking not only of my wife, children and grandchildren but also of my brothers. I believe that heritage of a close family came from the long and loving relationship of my parents and from the way that we stuck together when things weren't so good. We had our share of troubles but God carried us through every trial.

The family of God which exhibits itself through the local church is also a family. How we relate to each other is a reflection of our relationship with the Father. We share a common faith, "For you are all the children of God through faith in Christ Jesus" Galatians 3:26. We also share a common mission, "to know Him and to make Him known." When troubles and trials come we need to love one another and stick together for the common good and the glory of God.

I love serving as the pastor of Calvary and trust that God is going to do greater things in the future as we are obedient to Him.
Yours for the Family,
​Pastor Don

A popular song many years ago said, "What the world needs now is love sweet love, that's the only thing that there's just too little of." God's love is available to everyone in the world. "For  God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that  whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Have you recieved God's love which was expressed through Jesus Christ death on the cross to pay the penalty of your sin. When you trust Christ alone as your only hope for heaven you can know that you have eternal life.

If you have recieved this love, God wants you to share that love with others. All you need to do is tell others what they need to believe, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." What are  you doing to make a difference for eternity in someone else's  life?

You can pray a simple prayer like this "God, I know I'm a sinner and can't make it to heaven on my own but the best I know how I place my faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the one who died and rose again for me. Thank you for saving me. If you will sincerely pray that prayer you can know for sure that you have eternal life. Trust Him today.

If you have been dreaming of a White Christmas it just might come true this year in Sedalia. We have close to two inches of snow and since we will be staying in the deep freeze I'm sure it will be around tomorrow. Snow at Christmas is one of those acruemements that I never know growing up in Florida. It wasn't until I was 16 years old at a snow camp in Maggie Valley, NC that I first saw snow. Through over 40 years of ministry I've lived through many snowy winters in PA, NY, MD & CT. I'll trade the White Christmas for a 75 degree green one anytime. It's beautiful though and hopefully this snow won't stop too many people from coming to church.

The concept of a White Christmas is one of the fun things about Christmas. Let's not let all of the trappings stop us from celebrating the ONE who is indeed "the Reason for the Season". May you and yours have a wonderful Christ filled Christmas.

Merry Christmas from Calvary Baptist Sedalia,
Pastor Don