Dieu tout-puissant

Éternel, notre Seigneur! que ton nom est magnifique par toute la terre; tu as mis ta majesté au-dessus des cieux! Psaume 8. 1

Oh! que ta bonté est grande… envers ceux qui se confient en toi! Psaume 31. 19

Dieu tout-puissant, quand mon cœur considère

Tout l'univers créé par ton pouvoir,

Le ciel d'azur, les éclairs, le tonnerre,

Le clair matin ou les ombres du soir…

De tout mon être alors s'élève un chant:

“Dieu tout-puissant, que tu es grand!”

Quand par les bois, ou la forêt profonde,

J'erre et j'entends tous les oiseaux chanter;

Quand sur les monts, la source avec son onde

Murmure en paix son chant doux et léger…

Mon cœur heureux s'écrie à chaque instant:

“Dieu créateur, que tu es grand!”

Mais quand je songe, ô sublime mystère!

Qu'un Dieu si grand a pu penser à moi,

Que son cher Fils a porté ma misère,

Et que je suis l'héritier du grand Roi…

Alors mon cœur redit, la nuit, le jour:

“Que tu es bon, ô Dieu d'amour!”

Quand mon Sauveur, éclatant de lumière,

Se lèvera de son trône éternel,

Et que, laissant les douleurs de la terre,

Je pourrai voir les splendeurs de son ciel…

Je redirai, dans son divin séjour:

“Rien n'est plus grand que ton amour!”


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The Best Gift Ever

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. 1 Peter 3:15

The best Christmas gift is Jesus bringing peace and forgiveness to others.

At a winter retreat in northern New England, one of the men asked the question, “What was your favorite Christmas gift ever?”

One athletic man seemed eager to answer. “That’s easy,” he said, glancing at his friend next to him. “A few years back, I finished college thinking I was a sure bet to play professional football. When it didn’t happen, I was angry. Bitterness ate at me, and I shared that bitterness with anyone who tried to help me.”

The best Christmas gift is Jesus bringing peace and forgiveness to others.
“On the second Christmas—and second season without football—I went to a Christmas play at this guy’s church,” he said, gesturing toward his friend. "Not because I wanted Jesus, but just to see my niece in her Christmas pageant". It’s hard to describe what happened because it sounds silly, but right in the middle of that kids’ play, I felt like I needed to be with those shepherds and angels meeting Jesus. When that crowd finished singing ‘Silent Night,’ I just sat there weeping.

“I got my best Christmas present ever that very night,” he said, again pointing to his friend, “when this guy sent his family home without him so he could tell me how to meet Jesus.”

It was then that his friend piped up: “And that, guys, was my best Christmas present ever.”

This Christmas, may the joyful simplicity of the story of Jesus’s birth be the story we tell to others.