This year, the staff is going to be publishing a blog article each day until Christmas. There are a number reasons for this, and we have lots of hopes and prayers for our worship as a church this Christmas season!
The first reason for the Advent posts is to announce the good news of the incarnation of Jesus Christ! We live in a world filled with Black Fridays and Christmas presents, and holiday traditions. Those things aren’t bad, but we need to constantly remind ourselves of the good news that Jesus has come to us. He is with us—our Immanuel.
The past two years have been massively challenging for everyone, with COVID, lockdowns, polarizing politics, and the like. Plus there are the countless other pains that each person faces—sickness, loss, financial struggles, relational pains, etc. With all this bad news, we have the joy of spending the advent season thinking of the good news - Jesus Himself.
Second, our hope is that this good news would produce just that - great joy. There is nothing that can generate lasting joy in our hearts besides Jesus Himself. A perfect Christmas, quality time with family, vacation time, financial security, and good health can all be taken away in a moment.
But the good news that Jesus came into the world, lived a perfect life, and died in our place is ours forever. Nothing can interrupt that joy. No suffering, no loss, no need, no sickness can change that God has set His glorious love on us, has adopted us into His family, and has done so through the death of His son. So - we long for you to have great joy throughout this time!
Finally, this good news that produces great joy is for all the people. We long for this news to fill your hearts and souls with such profound joy that you cannot help but share it with those around you! What better Christmas present could any of us receive than to see a child of wrath transferred into the kingdom of light?
And the good news of Jesus is the very means by which this is possible. So our prayer is that, like the angels, our church would herald Christ! That we would announce to all that Jesus has come, that God knows our sorrows, and that He has offered hope to a world in darkness through His blessed Son.
Pray with us, this season, if you would! Pray that God would accomplish these things in our hearts as a church, and in those who are impacted by our lives!
