Pastor Rick Warren Delivers Message of Hope for Changing Times as FOX News Channel will Broadcast Saddleback Church's Christmas Service

Pastor Rick Warren Delivers Message of Hope for Changing Times as FOX News Channel will Broadcast Saddleback Church's Christmas Service

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

LAKE FOREST, CALIFORNIA (ANS) -- "What do you do when your plans don't go the way you want them to, like the economy drops out of the bottom? What do you do when all of a sudden your future seems uncertain and you don't know which way to turn or what to do?"

Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren

These are the questions 'Purpose Driven Life' author and Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren will seek to answer during his Christmas sermon series.

During the current economic state, many Americans are looking for a sense of peace amidst troubled times.

Warren says: "When things don't go the way you plan you need to remember three things -- God is trying to get your attention; God has a better plan; and God wants you to trust Him."

Warren observes that people have been on a similar quest since the first Christmas day more than 2,000 years ago, when one man sought a place for his young fiancee to give birth; shepherds searched for a baby in a manger; and wise men traveled from afar to find a newborn King.

Warren's Christmas message brings hope by looking past the commercialization of the Season to recognize the true meaning of Christmas.

"God's plan is bigger than your plan and God's plan is often harder than your plan but God's plan is also better than your plan," Warren says.

He adds: "Whenever you cooperate with God's plan and purpose for your life, you get something that you can't get any other way -- significance and meaning."

"Some of you, since September, have lost a lot of income," Warren continued.

"Some people have been laid off. Some of you have seen your retirement income, your savings, your investments just go way, way down and all you can do is trust. And God is saying that's exactly what I want you to do."

According to a media release from A. Larry Ross Communications, Saddleback Church will hold a total of 16 Christmas services for the 2008 holiday season.

The release says the church began these services Dec. 20 and will conclude with six on Christmas Eve at 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m., 7 p.m., 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. PST.

FOX News Channel will broadcast four special airings on Dec. 24 and 25 of Saddleback Church's Christmas service featuring an inspirational message from Warren titled "When God Changes Your Plans." Warren is pastor of Saddleback Church in southern California and author of "The Purpose Driven Life" and "The Purpose of Christmas."

FOX News Channel recorded one of the earlier programs that will be broadcast nationwide in real time on Dec. 24 at 10 p.m. EST, repeating overnight into Christmas on Dec. 25 at 1 a.m., 4 a.m. and 2 p.m. EST. Check local listings, as all times are subject to change.

This is the third year FOX has chosen to broadcast the Saddleback Christmas services, which in previous years have drawn more than 40,000 people.

Various musical selections from the Saddleback orchestra, choir and congregants will be interspersed throughout Warren's inspirational message focusing on the "unexpected change" surrounding Christ's birth and the lessons God teaches through it to help us cope with change in today's society.

Founded in 1980 by the Warrens, Saddleback Church is located in Orange County, California. With an average weekly attendance of 22,000, it is one of the five largest churches in America.

For more information about the Saddleback Christmas services, visit http://christmas.saddleback.com .

For more information about Dr. Rick Warren, please visit www.rickwarrennews.com  .

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS RELEASE, CONTACT: 
A. Larry Ross, +1-972-267-1111, or Kristin Cole,
+1-615-289-6701, media@rickwarrennews.com , both for Saddleback Church, or log-on to:http://christmas.saddleback.com  or www.rickwarrennews.com  

** Michael Ireland, Chief Correspondent of ANS, is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station. Michael has traveled to Albania and the former Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany and the former Czechoslovakia, Israel,and Canada. He has reported for ANS from Jordan, China, Russia, Jamaica, Mexico, and Nicaragua. Michael's involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- Michael Ireland Media Missionary (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International.

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