In the early 18th century George Whitefield preached in Bermuda. In fact, he preached at Christ Church, Warwick. Whitefield was a founder of Methodism, a contemporary of the Wesley brothers, and he was a prolific evangelist, having made numerous Atlantic crossings in order to preach in the American colonies.He was a leader of a revival in the colonies known as the “Great Awakening”, and was capable of drawing audiences in the tens of thousands for his open air meetings. Benjamin Franklin once tested the theory that Whitefield might actually be heard by a crowd of 10,000 and he found that it was possible.The two men, Franklin and Whitefield, enjoyed a friendship that transcended the fact that Whitefield was a Christian and Franklin was not.At Christ Church there is a plaque on the wall commemorating the preaching of George Whitefield. I observed it there when, a few years ago, I preached myself at that church. It sits off to the left as you face the altar, right under what they call the Whitefield pulpit. Often a bouquet of flowers can be seen covering it up.This last Sunday Barry Dunsmore was preaching at Christ Church. Barry is the pastor there now. He looked regal in his grey hair, beard, and richly deep blue and red gown. His Scottish accent was just right enough to be discernable but not so much as to make it a challenge to understand him.I love his cadence when he reads the Scripture or offers his prayers. He spent a majority of the service standing in the preaching pulpit, which at Christ Church sits half way up the wall on the right side of the altar. Risers for the children's programme took up the space at the altar, and in front of the risers were tables where the instruments for the hand bell choir were located. It was a special day.Barry's sermon reflected that. It was about the Christmas we need as opposed to the Christmas we want.Christmas is the kind of anniversary or holiday that tends to bring up emotions in people, and often at such a time these people have difficulty.One kind of emotion that is common is sadness or grief. This is especially so when a person has lost someone dear, and the memory of that one comes as a feeling of melancholy. Being alone in a room one always inhabited with a loved one in the past can make the loss come rushing back in waves too crushing to stand without some kind of emotional support.Another kind of emotion is frustration or anger at not being able to provide the kind of Christmas experience to give good enough gifts that one would like to offer. Christmas for many is supposed to be about giving and loving, but if one doesn't have the means to provide, and the evidence of loving is giving so that someone else receives, then the emotional toll can be quite devastating. It leaves people desperate.Christmas is also for many about being together with loved ones. Maybe it's not so much about giving and receiving gifts. Maybe it's much more about giving oneself connecting and being with so that other people feel the quality of being related in some way. What if, however, a person is alone and does not have anyone?I met a man once who had just undergone a divorce, and he could not be with his family on Christmas.He lacked the funds to send them gifts. Christmas loomed up ahead like a road that is washed out by floods; it left him stranded.However, instead of sitting alone in his place and missing people he could not be with, he volunteered at a local homeless ministry and helped feed people who did not even have a place to spend the night.He found a way to give and to be with others, even though it was not the way he would have preferred. Whether it is Jesus being born, so that what we really need is for a saviour to come in the first place, for the thing to take place that is captured in the name Emmanuel (God with us), or whether it is that Christ might be born in us, that His Spirit might come to give us personally and individually a guiding light by which to steer through the dark passages of life, what we need at Christmas might not match what we want.That is one thing I took away from Barry's message this last Sunday. It was a good message, and I value him for his integrity, his knowledge of the Bible, and also for his spirit, which seems given to people and to service. What we need at Christmas is to be blessed by such people in our lives people who give us a glimpse of Jesus, because the spirit of Christ lives in them and shines through and out to others.I am taking this column and time to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I hope you get what you need. Whether you be with others in large families or you be perhaps with just one or two, may you be aware that it's no accident and that God brings people into our lives for a purpose. At the right time Jesus came into the world. May you each sense the “right time” for you to come into someone else's world, and may you be appreciative for the ways in which people come into yours, especially this year at Christmas.