Gloria,
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in excelsis Deo.
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It's here, it's finally
here. Christmas has come.
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I just love
Christmas, don't you?
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I love the
presents, I love the food,
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I especially love the
weather, the cold weather,
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I love the decorations.
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I just love everything.
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And especially when
it comes to presents.
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I like receiving the
gifts, and also giving them.
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Can you think of
anything I left out?
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Hmm.
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Oh yes, it is Jesus'
birthday in this season.
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Well, although December
25 isn't His actual birthday,
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but this time of year
we celebrate His birthday.
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But sometimes, you
know, we get caught up in the
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decorations, and the
parties, and the food,
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and all of the presents,
and sometimes we forget
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what Christmas is truly about.
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And that reminds
me of a story I know.
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This story is about
a boy who always wanted
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to go to the circus.
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And lucky enough, one day
he was walking down the street,
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and then he saw a sign.
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And this sign told him that a
circus was coming to his town.
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And he got super excited.
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He was really
excited because he found out
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it only cost one dollar.
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So he took the poster
home and ran to his dad.
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And he said, "Dad,
please, dad, please, help me
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and let me go to this circus. "
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His father told him,
"You have to work for
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what you're going to get. "
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And he sighed and
he said, "Okay, dad. "
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And so his dad told
him, "You have to do chores
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early on Sunday
morning, and then I'll give you
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your one dollar bill. "
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And he was super
excited, he said, "Okay. "
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And so early on that
Sunday morning he woke up,
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did all of his chores,
I mean all of his chores,
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and maybe even a little extra,
and he got that one dollar bill.
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So he headed off to the circus.
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He was super excited.
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And he got there so early that
he was in the front of the line.
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He saw the trapeze
artist walk through,
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the clowns, all the people who
do those weird flexible things,
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the wild animal
tamers, and he was just
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loving what he was seeing.
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And then he saw
the cool ring master.
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So he got out of his line
and he ran to the ring master
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and he took out
his folded dollar bill
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and he handed it to him.
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"Thanks, mister," the boy said.
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"That was a very great parade. "
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And then he turned
around and walked home.
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He never realized
what he had missed.
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He had only seen the parade,
he hadn't gone to the circus.
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He just saw the people
walk in and he didn't even
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get a chance to see the circus.
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And he paid his one
dollar, he did his chores,
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and all he saw was the parade.
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Sometimes we must be
careful to not be like this boy.
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We get caught up in all
the celebration and the parade
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that we forget to
remember what the real thing is.
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For Christmas, we get
caught up in the decoration,
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the food, the presents, that
we forget what the real point
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of Christmas is.
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And that is the
birth of our Savior.
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Our verse, Isaiah 9:6, says,
"For unto us a Child is born,
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a Son is given to
us, and the government
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will rest on His shoulder.
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These will be His world titles:
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Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
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Everlasting Father,
and Prince of Peace. "
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This is our
wonderful celebration
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that we should be
celebrating this season.
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God sent His one
and only Son, Jesus,
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to save us from all our sin.
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He saved the
whole entire humanity.
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And ladies and gentlemen,
that's the greatest gift of all.
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Gloria,
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in excelsis Deo.
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Gloria,
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in excelsis Deo.
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