And a Merry, and a Different Christmas to All!

I’m writing this the morning after having seen the first snow flurries of the season. There weren’t many of them but it was a good reminder that the season is changing once again and that Christmas will soon be upon us. This time of year… can be a challenging one for people of faith as we balance preparing ourselves to receive the Christ child while at the same time attending to all that accompanies the hoopla of the holiday.

My hope for each of you is that you might commit yourselves to being present in worship throughout the season of Advent and that we can provide a place of sanctuary away from all the hustle and bustle of the season.

For me Christmas, like Easter, always begs the question, “So what?” What difference does it make that Jesus was born onto this earth, lived, died and rose again? What difference does it make for each of us?

This year Pastor Kelly and I will be using a sermon resource called “A Different Kind of Christmas.” And as we move through the  Sundays of Advent we will come to realize that just as Jesus was not the sort of messiah people were expecting…maybe this Christmas won’t be the usual kind of day we’ve come to expect. Maybe…just maybe…we will experience Christmas and the birth of our savior in a new and different way…a way that might just bring a whole new understanding of “comfort and joy.”

So why not come along with us as we journey once more to that little stable in Bethlehem?

May God bless us, every one!

 Pastor Andy