Jesus Christ is not one more lovely story pointing to these underlying realities – Jesus is the underlying reality to which all the stories point. + Timothy Keller, Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ
Love | Week 3
Love is beautifully displayed by the One who came. "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us." + 1 John 3:16
Love | Let Us Adore Him
O come, let us adore Him!
O come, let us adore Him!
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ, the Lord!
+ John Francis Wade, O Come All Ye Faithful
O come, let us adore Him!
O come, let us adore Him!
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ, the Lord!
+ John Francis Wade, O Come All Ye Faithful
Love | Dare to Hope
Christmas reveals that you are more sinful and flawed than you ever dared believe, and more loved and welcomed than you ever dared hope.
+ Elyse M. Fitzpatrick
Love | He Wants the Relationship to Be Restored
Christmas reveals that you are more sinful and flawed than you ever dared believe, and more loved and welcomed than you ever dared hope.
+ Elyse M. Fitzpatrick
Love | He Wants the Relationship to Be Restored
The gift of Christmas gives you a comfort and consolation for dealing
with suffering, because in it we see God's willingness to enter this
world of suffering to suffer with us and for us. In the gift of
Christmas, the unassailable, omnipotent God became a baby, giving us the
ultimate example of letting our defenses down. There is no way to have a
real relationship without becoming vulnerable to hurt. And Christmas
tells us that God became breakable and fragile. God became someone we
could hurt. Why? To get us back. He wants the relationship to be
restored.
+ Tim Keller
Love | Astonishing Still
Let the stable still astonish:
Love | Up to the Sky
The work of the very heart of Christmas: simply rest. Here is holy. The wonder of all this—God looks at you at your lowest and loves you all the way up to the sky.
+ Ann Voskamp
Love | Astonishing Still
Let the stable still astonish:
Straw-dirt floor, dull eyes,
Dusty flanks of donkeys, oxen;
Crumbling, crooked stone walls;
No bed to carry that pain,
And then, the child,
Rag-wrapped, laid to cry
In a trough.
Dusty flanks of donkeys, oxen;
Crumbling, crooked stone walls;
No bed to carry that pain,
And then, the child,
Rag-wrapped, laid to cry
In a trough.
Who would have chosen this?
Who would have said: “Yes,
Let the God of all the heavens and earth
be born here, in this place”?
Who would have said: “Yes,
Let the God of all the heavens and earth
be born here, in this place”?
Who but the same God
Who stands in the darker, fouler
Who stands in the darker, fouler
Rooms of our hearts
And says, “Yes, Let the God
And says, “Yes, Let the God
of all the heavens and earth
be born here – in this place.”
be born here – in this place.”
+ Leslie Leyland Fields
Love | Up to the Sky
The work of the very heart of Christmas: simply rest. Here is holy. The wonder of all this—God looks at you at your lowest and loves you all the way up to the sky.
+ Ann Voskamp
Love | Found By Emmanuel, God With Us
Seekers and searchers of all times have looked toward the heavens in order to find God.Then the gift was given. Mary's searching was interrupted by an angel who promised that soon, very soon, in a matter of nine months, she would look not up but down, into the face of the baby in her arms, into the face of God. So it is with all who wake up to find themselves found by Emmanuel, God with us.
+ John Neuhaus
Love | Across Cultures with Jesus
Because of the Incarnation, we have a mentor in Jesus who teaches us and empowers us to love well across cultures like He does. Because of Jesus, Christmas is about giving sacrificial gifts of our cultural preferences, our power, and our resources. Because of Jesus, Christmas is about exiting our cultural comfort zones and connecting with people whose stories and problems are nothing like our own. Because of Jesus, Christmas is about seeking to understand the perspectives of people who have much less power and agency than I do. Because of Jesus, Christmas is about spending time with people on their terms, in their homes, and on their turf.
Seekers and searchers of all times have looked toward the heavens in order to find God.Then the gift was given. Mary's searching was interrupted by an angel who promised that soon, very soon, in a matter of nine months, she would look not up but down, into the face of the baby in her arms, into the face of God. So it is with all who wake up to find themselves found by Emmanuel, God with us.
+ John Neuhaus
Love | Across Cultures with Jesus
Because of the Incarnation, we have a mentor in Jesus who teaches us and empowers us to love well across cultures like He does. Because of Jesus, Christmas is about giving sacrificial gifts of our cultural preferences, our power, and our resources. Because of Jesus, Christmas is about exiting our cultural comfort zones and connecting with people whose stories and problems are nothing like our own. Because of Jesus, Christmas is about seeking to understand the perspectives of people who have much less power and agency than I do. Because of Jesus, Christmas is about spending time with people on their terms, in their homes, and on their turf.
+ Christena Cleveland
Love | Proud of Stretch Marks
Like Hail Mary, full of grace, she was proud of her stretch marks,
how her skin expanded to bring forth the Son of Man. That’s pain, but
it’s beautiful.
+ Jason Petty (aka Propaganda), Beautiful Pain
Love | Let Us Find Our Rest in Thee
Come, thou long expected Jesus,
Born to set thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
+ Charles Wesley, Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus, 1745 A.D.
Love | Broken Hearts to Mend
Born to set thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
+ Charles Wesley, Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus, 1745 A.D.
Love | Broken Hearts to Mend
Helpless and human,
Deity in the dirt
Spirit married with flesh;
We couldn’t make it to You
But You come to us.
You always come to us.
In our stubbornness and desire,
Entitlement and shame,
Remind us that we need You.
Merge Your untamed Spirit with our flesh.
We try to forget those
Years of wandering,
Shackles and masters,
An eternity of doubting.
And still, You come to us.
From Your manger lowly,
Mighty and mysterious,
You come to us.
Seed of Heaven,
Spirit wed with flesh,
These broken hearts to mend.
+ Charlie Lowell
Love | The Gift of Real Life
The birth of Jesus is a birth with a message. It takes the entire Bible to bring the complete message, but this birth is the core of it: In Jesus, God is here to give us life, real life.
+ Eugene Peterson
Love | Jesus Puts Redemption in Our Blanket
Here is an image. The young woman who lives in the Port Authority Bus Terminal has been a crack addict; she has lied, cheated, and stolen. She has learned to manipulate people. At twenty-six, she has wasted her education and lost several jobs. When she is asleep in her blanket on the floor, there is no way for a passerby to know whether or not she is trying to kick her habit and better herself. Yet, according to the article, she constantly finds that bus passengers put one dollar bill, two dollar bills, even a twenty-dollar bill into her blanket while she is asleep. (This is Christmas) Jesus stoops down to us in our miserable condition, bringing the gifts of new life. He does not ask us what we are doing to make ourselves better; he just gives the gift. He does not ask if we are working to turn ourselves around; he does not ask for a receipt; he puts redemption into our blanket.
+ Fleming Rutledge
Love | The Profound Mystery of Christmas
Loving God, help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and worship of the wise men. Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world. Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting. Grant that we may share with all our hearts in this the profound mystery of Christmas. Put into the hearts of women and men the peace brought by Christ incarnate. Immanuel! God With Us! Amen and Amen!
+ Brenda Salter McNeil
You always come to us.
In our stubbornness and desire,
Entitlement and shame,
Remind us that we need You.
Merge Your untamed Spirit with our flesh.
We try to forget those
Years of wandering,
Shackles and masters,
An eternity of doubting.
And still, You come to us.
From Your manger lowly,
Mighty and mysterious,
You come to us.
Seed of Heaven,
Spirit wed with flesh,
These broken hearts to mend.
+ Charlie Lowell
Love | The Gift of Real Life
The birth of Jesus is a birth with a message. It takes the entire Bible to bring the complete message, but this birth is the core of it: In Jesus, God is here to give us life, real life.
+ Eugene Peterson
Love | Jesus Puts Redemption in Our Blanket
Here is an image. The young woman who lives in the Port Authority Bus Terminal has been a crack addict; she has lied, cheated, and stolen. She has learned to manipulate people. At twenty-six, she has wasted her education and lost several jobs. When she is asleep in her blanket on the floor, there is no way for a passerby to know whether or not she is trying to kick her habit and better herself. Yet, according to the article, she constantly finds that bus passengers put one dollar bill, two dollar bills, even a twenty-dollar bill into her blanket while she is asleep. (This is Christmas) Jesus stoops down to us in our miserable condition, bringing the gifts of new life. He does not ask us what we are doing to make ourselves better; he just gives the gift. He does not ask if we are working to turn ourselves around; he does not ask for a receipt; he puts redemption into our blanket.
+ Fleming Rutledge
Love | The Profound Mystery of Christmas
Loving God, help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and worship of the wise men. Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world. Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting. Grant that we may share with all our hearts in this the profound mystery of Christmas. Put into the hearts of women and men the peace brought by Christ incarnate. Immanuel! God With Us! Amen and Amen!
+ Brenda Salter McNeil
Christ is all,
Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan
Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan
Email Pastor Mike | Website | Visit Us | Support Us | Facebook Us
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