December 10

New City Church

December 10

December 10, 2023

The Bible says about Jesus, “They will call Him Immanuel, which means God with us.” [Matthew 1:23] In the 1960’s, when a Soviet cosmonaut became the first human to leave earth and go into space, he famously reported that he had visited the heavens and had not found God. C.S. Lewis responded by saying that this was like Hamlet going into the attic of his castle and looking for Shakespeare. How could Hamlet, a creation of Shakespeare, ever hope to find him? Lewis pointed out that the only way would be for Shakespeare to write himself into Hamlet’s story. Christmas is the infinite God writing himself into our story. It’s God with us in our joys and sorrows, pain and loss. It’s God with us in a way we can know and have access to. Aren’t you thankful today that when we couldn’t find God, God found us? Because of Jesus, we can experience God’s constant faithfulness, not just in joys, but in sorrow and loss. Today, you can be a witness to his with-ness.

Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).”

Download The Advent Journal Here

December 1, 2023

Dear Reader, Thank you for taking the time to walk through this daily devotional. As you read, reflect and journal, our prayer is that these simple thoughts from the scriptures will encourage your heart and stir a deeper sense of devotion and appreciation for the gift of our Savior this season. Merry Christmas! Pastor Steve Andres and New City Church

December 1

December 1, 2023

Advent is anticipation and preparation. Hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah looked ahead to the coming of Christ and said, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.” As we start this Christmas season, we are inviting God to shine a light on our hearts and lives, to search us and give us clarity and vision for who He is calling us to be and how we should live. We want that light to clarify the way we see ourselves. How can it do that? 1 Peter 2:9 says, “God has called you out of darkness and into his wonderful light.” Our destiny is not darkness, it is light. Someone once said, “Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.” Just because there is darkness in your past doesn’t mean that you aren’t made for light. Thank God today for sending light into our world at Christmas, for rescuing us from darkness and putting us on a path to light and life! 1 Peter 2:9 “God has called you out of darkness and into his wonderful light.”

December 2

December 2, 2023

Words are a miracle. The act of speaking is incredibly complex. It starts in the speech center of our brains, where a message is sent to our diaphragm telling it to push breath from our lungs, through our throat, making our vocal cords vibrate. Subtle movements of the palate, tongue, and lips shape those vibrations into the sounds we know as words. Those are the mechanics of speech, but words are more than mechanics. Words bring us closer to people. They form bonds and give meaning; they express who we are. Words aren’t just for communication, they are for communion. The Apostle John begins his biography of Jesus saying, “In the beginning, the Word was with God and the Word was God.” God has always been speaking, inviting us to know Him, but at Christmas He spoke with a thundering clarity, His word expressed in flesh and bone, the language we understand best. Are you listening to Him speak today? John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”