December 21, 2025
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Christmas Eve Worship Services: 2 pm, 4:30 pm, 9:00 pm. All services have special music, Holy Communion, and a candlelight portion. 2 pm and 4:30 pm have a children’s sermon. Come worship the newborn king!
No Bible Study December 22nd or 29th
Office Closed December 25th & 26th
Blood Mobile December 29th, Noon till 6 pm. Sign-up at www.redcross.org
No Worship on Wednesday, December 31st,
There is a new way to give at Trinity: Venmo! You can find us using: @TrinityLutheranBoyceville. If it asks you for a phone number, use 1349
MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD
Christmas is a time in which we give gifts to others, but also a time in which we receive gifts. And sometimes those gifts are things (like bacon!) and sometimes those gifts are not material possessions. I was reminded of this last night as I couldn’t sleep, first because I had to get my heart rate down after a thrilling Bears victory over the Packers, and then because my brain wouldn’t start working.
Often at night when my brain won’t start working, it is because I’m thinking about work. Running sermons in my head, going through lists of things to do, thinking about where the church is going. The other thing I’m often thinking about is the state of the world or myself, and those thoughts are much worse and often negative (kind of how I often feel about the Bears). In those darkened hours, I often see my own failings and failures and beat myself up on how I could be better in every aspect of my existence, and at the same time I start to despair about the world. The devil loves to hit me at these times and take away my positivity and rip away my believe that people will rise above hatred and violence and bigotry and their own self-interest for the greater good.
But last night, as I tossed and turned and couldn’t get to sleep, the Lord gave me the gift in reminding me of the gifts of life that weren’t the physical gifts of the world, though at one point I did think about the deliciousness of the Peanut Butter Blossom cookies Amy made and almost got up and had one at 2:30 am. I thought of the little gifts I had throughout the weeks, little gifts that remind me of the joy of life.
I thought of finally have a night home with Amy, the first in awhile, of having meats and cheeses and watching some Disney YouTube with a drink and how just fun that is, giving the dogs treats and then having them lay between us on the crowd as we relax together. I thought of the little kid who ran up to me and gave me a big hug when I walked into the ELC room at Tiffany Creek Elementary School dressed as Santa on Wednesday. I thought of the joy of great conversation with a close friend at our annual Christmas lunch on Monday. I thought of the privilege of being in a living room of a church member who needed some comfort and asked me to provide it, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. I thought of the joy of another member who is a shut-in who was excited for my visit with them and took me all around their nursing home introducing me to all of the workers. I thought of a short nap I got the other day with both of the dogs snuggling on me. I thought of the joy of watching two people in love exchanging vows on Saturday at the wedding I got to do. I thought of all the great talents and dedication of our church staff that put in so much work this time of year and how they make everything happen behind the scenes that not a lot of people see. I thought of Amy who let me sit in her chair last night so I could watch the Bears. So many gifts.
Life can be rough and is rough. It is easy to despair. One of the things I beat myself up at night, and the devil likes to exploit, is that I despair so much more easily now than I used to. But there are so many moments of joy too, so many gifts. God put those gifts in front of us to remind us that we are blessed, loved, and valued. After all, we have the greatest gift of all: salvation in Jesus Christ. The babe born in Bethlehem was sent to bring us to eternal life, give us hope, and shine light on us every day. May you feel that light today, may you see the gifts in your life, and may you know that you are loved every day. Have a very Merry Christmas and may God bless you!