I’m a little bit behind for posting this. Sorry about that. My week was anything but normal. Besides, what is normal anyway? But I guess better late than never.

Depending on circumstances, announcements can be either a curse or a blessing. How many of us can remember the announcements made over the loud speaker at the beginning of every school day.  (Oh you can’t remember that far back? They didn’t have PA systems when you went to school? I’m sorry. 🙂 )  You don’t mind hearing announcements of a special award or a day off from work. But you don’t want to be on a airplane and the captain coming on the speaker saying, “Strap in folks. We are going down.”  Then there is the infamous church announcement time when most don’t hear or it goes over their head. Gender reveal parties are all the rage today as the big announcement is made about the sex of the baby.

Can any announcement be bigger than the proclamation to the shepherds at the fields of Bethlehem? While we have Christmas plays with cute kids dressed up in towels and robes and groans of “Ooooh” and “Aaaah” and “Ain’t he cute!” coming from our mouths, this story is so much bigger than that.

My sermon this Sunday continues the theme for this month of “Don’t Miss Out!”  As you probably can guess, my sermon will be based on the story of the angel’s announcement to the shepherds. While I will be talking about the shepherds, the main idea will be the names Jesus is given: Savior, Christ, and Jesus (Matthew 1).

I’d appreciate your prayers for Sunday. And I thank you ahead of time.