Christmas 2020
Resident Aliens - December 19/20
December 20, 2020 • James Paton
Familiar, yet foreign ... A house — welcoming and warm, but not quite home ... Residents, but restless, in a place where permanence can be fleeting, but purpose can still be found not in where we are but in Whose we are. In a love that defines us and compels us to share it. What if the why behind where we live has to do with Who we represent — and to whom? Philippians 3:20 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
Welcoming Strangers - December 12/13
December 13, 2020 • James Paton
It can take you by surprise ... Be where you’d least expect to find it ... Transcend logic or circumstances ... Inexplicably appear with the simplest offerings of care. The joy of simple acceptance and trust and community. At the end of a journey that began in fear, life can feel overwhelming and lonely ... What small gift can we offer to ease the loneliness? Matthew 2:13-15 13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
Expanded Worldview - December 05/06
December 6, 2020 • Kyle Trigg
The search ... The relentless restlessness of unanswered questions ... Of leaving the familiar to settle the deep longings ... The long-sought-after missing puzzle pieces that would complete the picture too long left incomplete. Seeking peace that calls the heart by its very absence. Many have searched and arrived ... Who will welcome them? Who will extend the peace so desperately needed? Matthew 2:1-12 1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Leaving Home - November 28/29
November 29, 2020 • James Paton
Leaving behind all they’d ever known ... Saying yes to what seemed impossible ... Fixing their eyes on the promise of freedom ... Trusting, believing God would do what only He could do. Choosing to hope when hope is nowhere to be found. Mary’s and Joseph’s journey resonates with many of us ... What are we called to leave behind as we prepare to celebrate this Christmas season? Luke 2:1-7 1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.