The Group Around The Cradle By REV. J. EVERETTE NEESE, Pastor, First Christian Church, Henderson “Let us go now oven unto Bethle and see this thing which is come which the Lord hath made known ’unto us.” Luke 2:15. “When . , t h:w had opened their treasures fhV presented unto him gifts; gold, frankincense and myrrh.” Matt. 2:11. Proud Augustus sat in imperial calender upon the Roman throne. With a touch of his hand he set in l{ion the machinery of government "f l the civilized world. Proud of his °, a ith he compiled a register of the Population of his vast domain. That p ,[ ct sc t in motion the whole land of Tul a. For, in accordance with Jew custom, the census was taken at Th e places where the people were born as members of the original melve tribes. Tims a humble pair leave Galilean Nazareth to enroll themselves in royal Bethlehem —Joseph, the village car npr, and Mary, his espoused wife. Southward like an invisible hand, that r oV al decree draws them. They find Bethlehem overcrowded with strang le on the same errand. Neither inn nor friendly house receives them, and co that very night the infant Savior ■, cra dled in a manger. Next morning the registration proceeds and on goes the busy world, ignorant of the fact that the greatest event in history has t 3 ken place. Every cradle holds a shut cLket of unknown possibilities. But that one in the lowly stable holds the Messiah of the Jews, the Son of God., and the Savior of the world. A group, strangely prophetic, and as strangely absent led. surrounds the cradle. I. In The First Group We Find the Shepherds. Under the starry sky of those rocky ridges they tended their flocks, where David had done the sum-- centuries before. They were the plain, honest toilers and were looking somehow for the coming One. Suddenly from the starry heavens burst the angel song. | Before Christmas f g |9 I Goes By f » & | I * May we express' our appreciation || 9 for you who have made our busi- W v-v *' .Vv£ jjf ness possible by your loyal sup | port. Our best wishes are for a || i Christmas and a New Year of joy S * M g and contentment. || | Centre Sport Shop | I W. A. Hoyle. M 9 at * W g m i Christmas Tidings § | Wishing Christmas | § 1937 And The g I New Year 1938 ... 1 Si £ Will be one filled with happiness for you. g? S That all your wishes may be granted be- "g gg cause we feel that our friends deserve, the j? best. We are grateful for your friendship g ig and patronage. > : 'B 39 I » We are striving to perfect our service to you and trust that we may be worthy of your loyalty as we continue to serve you through- \ A out the New Year. « w i • & § Home Furniture g | Exchange g 47 Corner Garnett and Montgomery Sts. ! j£ 1 New Year’s Greetings § “Eear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy.” First, we may say. It was a mes sage of good cheer. “I bring you good tidings of great joy.” It was a dark and dreary world in which the child was born, but his birth was the beginning of a new hope When Christ made his advent mto the world it was in a deplorable condihon. Human wisdom, philosophy and false worship had failed to lift the world’s tired head. The human soul had a deep yearning for some hing upon which to rest and build its lopes. The world Was sinking undhi the weight of woe and guilt. There was no free government, no equa’ lights; childhood was neglected, motherhood unhonored, marriage cor rupt, the religion was pagan and with out love, the false Gods, who were without pity, brought no relief to the sin-cursed world. This new message.id the world was good tidings indeed. Ti lifted the weight, opened a path to'a brighter and better condition and se* in motion ideals which were soon .to revolutionize the world. . -v U Second, It is a message of good cheer to us today (“I bring unto you this day.”) > f. Two expressions should be em : phasized in this part of the text, “You” “this day.” This message is fori us today, because it meets the desires of the soul as it did in former days* It answers the question, “Shall I liyci again?” It is the only thing that dan give us hope. It is indeed a star hha 1 is capable of illuminating this life and the life to come. This good mes sage is like a fountain in the desert Wherever it sends forth its healing streams into the desert of sin, the beautiful and fragrant flowers df Christian virtue grow and flourish; This good cheer message of Christ's birth is for you today. A mother took her little daughter St Nicks-in Full Uniform—HoldFirst Convention itefl i wmbP®! Tn full .uniform, delegates to the first Santa Claus convention . in' New York drink a toast to each Other. More .than a dozen department store St. to church,. when the minister preach ed an earnest sermon against sin, try ing to bring the subject home to the hearts psi-bis. hearers. The little girl listened with wide-open eyes, and sud denly, turning to her mother, in great distress,. She .whispered, “Mamma, he means us!" Unto us, to you, to me— is born ‘ a ’ Savior. Tt means us. Christmas is the universal festival. The world, is on pilgrimage to Bethle hem today because the world’s Savior was born thebe. Jesus is the Savior for all races: the Hebrew with his re ligion, the Greek with his culture, the Roman with his strength, the civilized man with his refinement and the savage with his courseness—a Savior for all sorts and conditions of people. I have read that somewhere in Eu rope tbbre is a bridge with pictures of Christ on its sides. One picture re presents him as a peasant, another as a physician, still another as a car penter, and yet another as a teacher. The thought of the artist was to por tray a Savior suited to every class. Jesus is this, because he goes beneath the surface of men’s lives and touches the deeper need, and this need is the same in all men. Luke : tells about the shepherds. They were of the poor; class of peo ple, yet the message was for them, and they were drawn to the manger in which the Christ-Child lay, and went away rejoicing. 11. In ’the Second Group We Find The Wise 1 Men. The angel preacher and th e heaven ly choir were followed by the Mage. “There came wise men from the east,” the story runs, “And when they were come intb 'the. house, they saw the young child; .with Mary, his Mother, and felj down and* worshipped him; and when they- had opened.' their treas ures, they ,f>beserited hinaf with gifts; gpld, frankincense, and myrrh.” , The ; chpir cannot voiOe ' the entire Christmas spirit. The Magi are need ed. The .song ' must be accompanied by the , gift—gold, frankincense and myrrh. The sentiment of the wise men found, its expression in gifts. They gave, gold—a gift to relieve wants, and it probably was used on the journey to Egypt. The y gave frankincense, a gift of fragrance. It was the most fragrant of. all incense, and was burned before the veil of the temple and in the most Holy place. They gave myrrh—a gift of friendship. It was given when one wanted to] show real friendship. From these gifts we get an excellent Christmas lesson. It is impossible for us to gether a round the manger cradl e and offer our gifts to the Lord, but he has said, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these,” etc. Our gifts today should be gifts which relieve wants. Riches are a blessing when they can be used for the relieving of human suffering. A poor little girl went into a coun try store and said to the clerk, “I want some good warm mittens for fcmnmiiss f I For The Season f % We feel that we have merited your || gg patronage by our desire to serve you in the best way possible. We £§ jK hope that the New Year will re- 39 H -... new your confidence in our ability H to serve you. May this season 5t bring happiness to you and pros- 39 perity during the New Year. 39 i Adams-Richards g i Furniture Company i A* HENDERSON, N. C. DAILY DISPATCH, FRIDAY. DECEMBER 24, 1937 Santa Clauses drink a toa Safe And Sane Driving During Holidays Urged By State Patrol Chief Raleigh, Dec. 24.—An intensive cam paign for safe and sane driving dur ing the Christmas season is hearilty my mamma’s Christmas present, be cause mamma is a washer-woman and has to be out in the cold so much that her hands get cold.” That is true giv ing. Our gifts at this Christmas season should, also, be gifts of friendship. The tie of friendship is one of the strongest ties of the human heart. Your Christmas gifts should be such that they will strengthen this tie. A true friend is an inspiration as well as a comfort, not so much by what he does for us as by what he incites us to do and be, because of his example, his deeds and his ideals. Friendship cheers like a sunbeam; charms lik e a good story; inspires like a brave lead er; .tinds like a golden chain; and guides like a heavenly vision. The best gift we can make is to giv e ourselves to Christ. There has been no gift which has meant so much to the world as God’s gift of his only Sen. God made his gift to us. Let u.s give ourselves to Him. A story is told of an Indiean man, to whom the Gospel was given—the message of the love of Christ for us. As he listened his heart was touched, and he said, “I must give Jesus something. I will give him my dog.” This was much for a poor Indian hunter to give. His dog was his companion and helper on the hunt, and he loved him. Because he loved him and because of his helpful ness, he placed a high value upon him. And this possession, woi’th so much, he wanted to give Jesus. He. listened to mor e of the wonder ful love of a more wonderful Savior, and he said, “I must give him my gun.” The gum meant his living; but he was willing to give it to the One who had given so much for him. A little while passed, and he said, “I must giv e Jesus myself.” Now the Indian had reached the place where God wnated him—the condition of mind and heart in which he was ready to give all, even self, to the Son of God. God wants us to give ourselves to Him. What an excellent time it is to make such a gift! Just as we are thinking of God’s gift to us, and of presenting gifts to our friends, we should also think of presenting our selves unreservedly to our Savior. Let us now join the group around the cradle. st at New York convention Nicks attended the conclave which was called to elevate Santa Claus standards. But what would a child say coming upon all of them at once ? endorsed by Major Arthur Fulk, head of the State Highway Patrol and di rector of the Safety Division of the Motor Vehicle Department. Such a campaign has been launched by the executive committee of the National Safety Council. It has been endorsed by Governor Clyde R. Hoey in a recent proclamation calling on all citizens to cooperate in its suc cess. A “Safe and San e Christmas Re solution” of the council calls atten tion to the fact that each Christmas a vast number of American citizens are slaughtered by traffic on the streets and highways. It cities the fact that last Decern’er th e human toll reached the “terrifying total” of 4,290 —more Americans than were killed in the Revolutionary War. Another “whereas” clause points to the hurry and hustle of holiday ac tivities,- the icy streets, lowered visi bility, sleet and snow and fewer hours of layiight as contributory factors in making driving at this time parti cularly dangerous. The council urges all citizens to “replace indifference with indigna tion, to temper sentiment with sanity, and to interpret the - Christmas spirit; of good will in concrete terms, of pro tecting life and limb on the high way.” Specific recommendations ar e that all participate in the campaign by “being careful and considerate of others on the streets and highways, whether driving or walking; by driv ing and walking with special caution during the holidays; by not driving after drinking, and by supporting strict enforcement of the laws against reckless and drunken driving.” • ADMINISTRATRIX NOTICE Having qualified as Administratrix, of the estate of A. R. Walters, deceas ed, late of Vance County, North Caro lina, this is to notify all persons hav ing claims against the estate of said deceased to exhibit them to the under signed on or before the 27th day of November, 1938, or this notice will be pleaded in bar to their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate settlement. This 27th day of Novmber, 1937. MRS. A. R. WALTERS, Administratrix of the Estate of A. R. Walters, deceased. | THE HAPPIEST TIME jj i OF THE YEAR | &: . | H At Christmas time we lay aside our wor- jp || ries and cares and have a season of mirth gjfyH Bfrl |f p and fellowship. We welcome this glad pM* 5C —— || 5K holiday that we may show appreciation pg ijtp Hpj IHI p %of our patrons and friends by wishing DDRIJfiIS 55 JW 22 H them happiness and prosperity during || Christmas and the New Year. p 1— M. G. EVANS I f? ' % 2 May We Say I Ckustmai f | -And- | | Happy New Yenr | 5 In The Good Old ' i || Fashioned Way p | Hester Motors i jjj ' € gg Near Fire Station. M 6 SK ' . v< Ks ‘ ! % ' ‘•fe-x $ • * 4 ****** *J ? ’* * %s * * j| I . A Christmas |