Merry CHRISTmas
“She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”- Matthew 1:21
Hello friends, I hope that you all had a Happy Thanksgiving! And now it is time to switch from Happy Thanksgiving to Merry Christmas. I was thinking this last week about the Advent season starting, the beginning of the Christian calendar, and about how we start our year off with the birth of Christ. I was reminded of a former parishioner named Lowell who would constantly wish me and members of the congregation a “Merry CHRIST-mas”, emphasizing Christ every time he said it. And it got me to thinking, how are we emphasizing Christ in our lives today and this Advent season? This season is a season in which often we focus on the gifts around the tree, the deals we got on items we wanted, or the hope that we can provide the “best” gifts to others. But what would this season look like if we focused on the greatest gift ever given: Jesus Christ? What would this world look like if we showed everyone the love, the joy, the peace, and the hope of Jesus? This Advent season, we are going to be looking at the lessons given to us by the characters of Christmas: The angels, the shepherds, Joseph, Mary, and on Christmas Eve, focusing on the reason for the season, Jesus. I hope that as we journey through this season together, our focus remains on the one delivered to us in a manger, and that we emphasize Christ in our words and deeds.
Pastor Mike
Hello friends, I hope that you all had a Happy Thanksgiving! And now it is time to switch from Happy Thanksgiving to Merry Christmas. I was thinking this last week about the Advent season starting, the beginning of the Christian calendar, and about how we start our year off with the birth of Christ. I was reminded of a former parishioner named Lowell who would constantly wish me and members of the congregation a “Merry CHRIST-mas”, emphasizing Christ every time he said it. And it got me to thinking, how are we emphasizing Christ in our lives today and this Advent season? This season is a season in which often we focus on the gifts around the tree, the deals we got on items we wanted, or the hope that we can provide the “best” gifts to others. But what would this season look like if we focused on the greatest gift ever given: Jesus Christ? What would this world look like if we showed everyone the love, the joy, the peace, and the hope of Jesus? This Advent season, we are going to be looking at the lessons given to us by the characters of Christmas: The angels, the shepherds, Joseph, Mary, and on Christmas Eve, focusing on the reason for the season, Jesus. I hope that as we journey through this season together, our focus remains on the one delivered to us in a manger, and that we emphasize Christ in our words and deeds.
Pastor Mike
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