Monday Morning Clarity (one day late)

Christmas is fastly approaching. I know that many of you have already finished your Christmas shopping while many others haven't bought anything yet. My dad announced to my wife and I at Thanksgiving that he had one more present to buy and he would be finished. That's dedication! My wife and I went this past week to the Galleria Mall in Birmingham for our annual trip to get the mall Santa picture. I was reminded once again how hectic Christmas has become. Toys R Us resembled a battle zone with armored carts bumping into each other and people lining isles to get those Legos and video games. I was glad to be back in God's house Sunday morning for some sanity and the chance to refocus on the worship of our Savior.

• The Christmas season has affected our attendance with lots of families having to take the weekend to go and visit extended family. Crowd was down a little this past Sunday. However, the spirit of the crowd was strong. Sixth Street is a special place because of the people who love the Lord and love their church.
• Elisa Bowles did an awesome job Sunday morning on "O Holy Night"! That's one of my favorite Christmas songs. It's also not an easy one to sing, but Elisa knocked it out of the park.
• It's great to have some of our college students like Kendall Graveman and Morgan Jones back home. Some of our students will be going to Passion Conference in Atlanta in January. I'm stoked! Passion has long been one of my favorite events.
• Speaking of Morgan Jones, she is going to Honduras after Christmas on a mission trip with our old pal Dan Moran. I am trying to give Morgan a crash course in "How to Survive a Dan Moran Mission Trip." Please be praying for her and the people of Honduras. I am thankful for any church member who has a heart for missions.
• The Children's Choirs did a great job Sunday night on their musicals! These are by far one of my favorite things. One of the reasons I love them is because they are messy. Kids forget their lines, the motions to the songs are never in sync, they speak their lines too fast and without any inflection, and usually someone is picking their nose or putting their hands down their pants. However, in all this, these children present the gospel in such a simple way. And they really believe what they are singing! I wish we all had a little more childlikeness in us from time to time.
• Thanks to Carrie Keel and her team for their leadership so far in our Children's Choir! We've had record enrollment and the kids are having a good time.
• Don't forget the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering! I know that the economy is down and times are tough. However, let's be sure to be faithful to the task of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ above and beyond spreading the commercialism of Wal-Mart and Amazon. We have hundreds of missionaries that were denied appointment this year because of the lack of funds. The Lottie Moon Offering helps Southern Baptists to be the most dominant missional force among all denominations. Please consider making adjustments to your Christmas list this year and be generous to this important cause. Sixth Street has a goal of $10,000 and we've already collected $6,200! Let's close it out Sixth Street!
• I'm working on my sermon plan for 2010. This is the first time I have been responsible for setting out a long-term sermon plan for a church. It's an adventure. Pray for clarity and that I stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit as I go through the planning process.
• I want to challenge all of Sixth Street to be faithful in God's Word in 2010. Perhaps you can dedicate yourself to read through the Bible this year. Perhaps that's too ambitious and you can just work through the New Testament. Find a good Bible reading plan. Some good plans can be found on the ESV Bible website. Also check out bibleplans.org. Another great online site is youversion.com. Here you can not only select a plan, but you can jot down notes and interact with others who use youversion. I will be using youversion quite frequently during 2010 and would love to interact with you. Find something and let's dive into God's Word in a deeper, more faithful way in 2010.

Wow. That's a lot of stuff to get out of my head! See you Sunday!