LIVERMORE FALLS — At the Sunday, Dec. 22, First Baptist Church of Livermore Falls service, Pastor Russ Thayer spoke about, Joseph the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Pastor Russ asked the Congregation about their knowledge of Joseph. It turns out, we knew very little about the man. Joseph was a true “man of God”.

He never questioned what God asked him to do and was very obedient to God’s demands. He was engaged to Mary, who was 13 years old. Joseph was about 20 years old at the time. When the Holy Spirit visited Mary and she became pregnant,

Joseph was stunned until God spoke to him and told him to stay with Mary. Joseph obeyed , against all odds, sacrificing his reputation in his community. Keyboards were played by Maggie Houlihan and Margaret Emery.

On this last Sunday in Advent, Byron Bean lit the four candles on the Advent wreath: Hope, Love, Joy and Peace. He read Scripture from Matthew, Chapter 1, Verses 18 – 24. We sang Verse 4 of the “Advent Song”. The Worship Team opened the Service as they sang “Mary’s Little Boy Child”. Special Music was offered by Dianne Hirsh as she sang “A Baby Changes Everything”.

The Congregation sang: “Come On, Ring Those Bells”, “What Can I Give Him?”, “Angels From the Realms of Glory”, and “Good Christian Men Rejoice”. Maggie and Margaret played “Mary, Did You Know?” on organ and piano during the Offertory.

On Christmas Eve, we enjoyed an inspiring Candlelight Service. The Service was bittersweet because it was our last celebration of Christmas with our Pastor Russ and his wife, Carol. The Service featured many familiar Carols, including: “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear”, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”, Angels We Have Heard On High”, “O Little Town of Bethlehem”, “Silent Night”, “go Tell It On the Mountain” and “Joy To the World”.

Soloists who performed Special Music for the Service were: Dianne Hirsh who opened the Service with “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” and, later in the Service, she sang, “Some Children See Him”. A visiting Soloist, Abbey Despres, sang “In the Bleak Mid-Winter”. The final Solo was sung by Pastor Russ as he offered “O Holy Night” as a parting gift to the Congregation.

All solos were accompanied by Maggie Houlihan. All candles on the Advent Wreath were lit by Dianne Hirsh and she read scripture from Luke, Chapter 2, Verses 1 – 20. We sang the last Verse of the “Advent Song”. The title of the Christmas Eve Sermon was “A Savior Is Born” – ‘ALLELUIA!”