Will Vaus

Dr. George McCauslin was one of the greatest YMCA directors this world has ever seen. Nevertheless, some years ago, he found himself serving a YMCA in western Pennsylvania that was losing membership, that had terrible financial difficulties and staff problems. George McCauslin found himself working 85 hours per week. He was getting little sleep at night. He took little time off and when he did have time off, he was thinking about the problems of this YMCA. McCauslin went to a therapist who told him he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He had to learn somehow to let go and let God into his problems but he did not know quite how to do that. Therefore, one day, George McCauslin took the afternoon off. He took a pen and paper and went for a walk in the western Pennsylvania woods somewhere. As he walked through the cool forest, he could just feel his tight body and his stiff neck start to relax. He sat down under a tree and sighed. For the first time in months, he let go...

When I was growing up, there was one LP we played more than any other at Christmas time. It was an album called “Season’s Greetings” by Perry Como. We played that record so much it crackled, simulating the sound of a cozy fire on the hearth on a winter’s day. The first song on that record was entitled “Home for the Holidays”. Many of you probably remember the words…. Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays ‘Cause no matter how far away you roam When you pine for the sunshine of a friendly gaze For the holidays you can’t beat home sweet home! I think those words summarize what most of us want most for Christmas—to be home for the holidays, to have family and friends with us . That’s what gives us a sense of real warmth in the midst of the chill of winter. We have already heard a Scripture this morning that contains perhaps the most important, the most cheering word in all of the Bible—Immanuel, God with us . Immanuel is the one word that gives us hope, that fills...