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We give all praise and thanks to God for being with us and blessing our Christmas worship service, held December 11, 2011. The title of the message was Immanuel: God with us, based on Matthew 1:18-25. The worship service began with the CBF children presenting 3 songs around the manger.

This was followed by our Praise and Worship team’s uplifting and energizing set of Christmas music. Our university students also presented a short Christmas skit portraying Joseph’s and Mary’s story as they accepted the blessing of becoming baby Jesus’ parents.

The skit clearly presented the passage with humor and meaning. The message was delivered by Russell Kille. In his message, we learned that God is not just nearby or close to us, but rather, God is with us. How wonderful that God is with us, he understands us and his almighty power is at work in and around us. Following the message, the Toledo Choir sang in beautiful harmony “Glory to God” from Handel’s Messiah. Toledo’s “Women of Faith” sang “O Holy Night” for the offering. The Christmas program finished with a beautiful World Mission Prayer Dance for China by Lena Wu and Ruth Kille. This Christmas service also featured wonderful YouTube videos that captivated the congregation during program transitions. Following the Christmas worship service, we gathered together to enjoy a delicious feast prepared by Toledo coworkers. After what has been a challenging year for Toledo UBF, our Christmas worship service was a wonderful confirmation that God is with us and his hand of mercy and grace is with his people.

-Report written by Mark Ohashi