Helpful ministry and prayer are the two primary human-effort, door-opening activities that we can do.  Christmas is an opportune time to do helpful ministry.  The atmosphere of the season creates a receptive attitude among people.

Ken Classmeyer, editor of Serve! magizine, suggests these effective Christmas ministries:

• Rest Stop Samaritan Team. Glassmeyer says, “People are weary and are probably pushing their travel schedules to make it to family outings for the holidays, so anything you can do to provide relief will be a welcomed gift.” Gather a few friends, pick up some quick supplies and ride to the nearest freeway rest stop. Gifts of candy, snacks and beverages go over big—especially coffee or hot chocolate. You even could avoid collecting supplies and bring rolls of quarters to just treat people at the vending machine area. Rest stops are also great places to wash windshields, or bring windshield wiper fluid and funnels and replenish the travelers’ reservoirs. “Any gesture to get folks to open up will be great,” Glassmeyer says. “Your goal here is to engage them and find out what they want prayer for. You will be surprised at how open to prayer people are at rest stops. Consider beginning by simply asking if you can pray a family blessing over them for the holidays.
• Christmas Eve/Day Baskets. “Many people work the holidays, and this just adds to their stress, loneliness or agitation.” Since many Christmas-themed snacks and treats are on clearance just before Christmas Eve, you can actually put together a little “party in a basket” fairly cheaply. Assemble them quickly and drop them off at police stations, firehouses or hospitals. Don’t forget to pray for the emergency workers at these locations; holidays are actually some of their busiest times, and they will likely appreciate a prayer requesting safety, energy and patience. “By the way, don’t forget the gas stations and convenience stores. Most of them are open even on Christmas, and the people working there could use some holiday cheer.”
• Winter Survival Kit. “The economy is bad enough as it is, but during the holidays, many folks have to do without just to make ends meet and to spend money on Christmas. Usually the first things to go are personal items like toiletries and cold medicine.” Put together a nice little personal-care kit in a zip-lock bag, including things like tissues, cough drops, lip balm, lotion, tea bags and instant chicken soup packets. Don’t forget to put a “connect card” in it!
• Christmas Tree Giveaway. “A few days before Christmas, lot owners are usually willing to give their leftover trees away or sell them in bulk for an incredibly low price, especially if they know what you are doing with them.” Pick up these trees, maybe throw in some decorations or holiday treats, and then deliver them to financially stretched families.

Premarital counseling is an important step in the process of preparing for a wedding.  An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure, and premarital counseling can be that ounce of prevention.

There are a number of approaches that counselors take in talking with engaged couples.  My goal in counseling is to open subjects that might later cause controversy, if not fully explored.  I want to talk to them about their personal relationships with Christ and their reasons for wanting to be married in the church.  I want to know how they relate to their own families, and the family of the person to whom they are to be married.  I want to know about their attitudes concerning money, about the roles of men and women in marriage, and how they settle conflicts.  After almost 41 years of marriage, I still remember some of the things our pastor said to us in premarital counseling, so I know it’s time well spent.

Weddings, if conducted properly,  provide a great opportunity for churches to minister the love and gospel of Christ.

First and foremost, a church wedding should honor Christ.  I’m sure that there are some people who are only looking for place with ample seating capacity and nice setting for pictures, but the church building is far too important for that.  A good rule of thumb is that nothing should be done that is inconsistent with the ministry of the church.  In other words, nothing should detract from the testimony of the church.

Several years ago, I attended a wedding at a church, and some of the music was not only secular, but it was crude.  I came away thinking that the Lord must be grieved, that a place dedicated to the worship of Christ would move so far away from that worship, just to accommodate people in a wedding.

Weddings are pleasing to the Lord.  Jesus began His earthly ministry by performing His first recorded miracle at a wedding.  We must always be careful that we plan weddings with pleasing Him in mind.

As a pastor, it has been my privilege to officiate many weddings.  Weddings can be a wonderful time of worship in which the entire atmosphere points to the goodness of God.  We have had several very nice weddings at our church, recently.

A great deal of difficulty can be avoided if there is a well written wedding policy, which clearly defines the expectations of all parties involved.  One church of which I was pastor had no such wedding policy, and the congregation had traditionally made the church building available to anyone wishing to use it for weddings.  There were many problems that followed, from furniture being left out of place to holes knocked in the walls.  The church soon realized that a wedding policy needed to be put in place.

An old saying is that, “A good understanding leads to a long friendship.”

Galatians 3:13 says that “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law…”   The curse of the law is that we are guilty, we are separated from God, and we can never do enough to fix it.  There was a sacrificial system under the law, but it only covered sins that had been committed, and it could not change the heart of the one on whose behalf the sacrifice was being made.  Hebrews 9:26 says that Jesus made one sacrifice and put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.   When we place our faith in His sacrifice, we are no longer guilty, but declared righteous; we are no longer separated, but brought near by the Blood of Christ;  we no longer have to try and fix it, because it is forever fixed by His amazing grace.

Galatians 3:14 tells us that Jesus did what He did so that the blessing of Abraham might come on us.   A little study of the blessing of Abraham will show that he was blessed indeed.  He passed that blessing on to his son, Isaac, then Jacob had it.  All of Jacob’s son’s should have lived in it, but only Joseph really did.  From the time of Abraham, the Bible spotlights those on whom the blessing rested.  Now, through Christ, that blessing rests on the born again believer who has the knowledge and desire to live in it.  Galatians 3:29 says, “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”