(December 24, 2021) Christmas Eve-“Come Home to Jesus”

from Luke 2:1-20

There is a longing for home within each of us. Try as we might to fill that longing with promises of this world, with relationships, with achievement, or any other number of things in which we seek to find meaning and identity, there is only one place we are meant to be “at home.” 

In the season of Advent we celebrate that God did not leave us to wander alone looking for home, instead, in Jesus He came to find us that we might find our home in Him.

This Christmas Eve we hear clearly the invitation to come home to the Light that has come into the world. It is not a light that is, “left on for us,” rather it is the Light that has come TO US and calls us home.

w/ Vern Collins

(12.24.2020) Christmas Eve “Altogether Christmas”

from Luke 2:1-20

There is much we make of the birth of Jesus. And while there should be…while it is a pivotal point in the history of the world, have you ever considered that for all of the build up in Luke’s Gospel leading up to that birth, he spends very little time focusing on the actual moment?

Perhaps it is not the birth of Jesus that Luke wants us to stop short at…perhaps it what that birth means for the life that will transform the world.

What if you allowed yourself to say yes to the fullness of what the life of Jesus could mean for you? What it means for the world?

w/ Vern Collins

“Manger and Mystery: Recalling the Story, Restoring the Call” (Christmas Eve Service 6:00pm)

from Luke 2:8-20

The story of Christmas is often a familiar one. Come to think of it, the story of your life can begin to feel familiar as well. The hope of Christmas is that the birth of Jesus speaks something NEW into the familiar!

w/ Vern Collins

“Manger and Mystery: Remembering the Song” (December 16, 2018)

From Luke 1:39-42, 46-56

We all have those songs that define a moment or a season.  Those songs that transport us back in memory, or that focus and excite us toward some goal or event in the future.  

But what about a song that names a promise?  What about a song that claims hope in the face of trial?  What about a song that offers a future for the forgotten?  What about a song named and still can spark a revolution?  

In week 3 of Advent, listen to Mary’s Song as Luke records it in his Gospel account…yes it is the song of an expectant mother, but it is also the song of a faithful follower…one who longs to see God’s Kingdom become a reality on this earth.  Imagine what could change, if you took up this song!

w/ Vern Collins

“Advent Conspiracy: Worship Fully” (November 27, 2016)

from Isaiah 9:2-7

The Advent of Jesus meant something to the small corner of the world in which He was born.  In fact, it would go on to mean something to the ENTIRE world.  From the birth of a baby to a criminal’s cross, the entrance of Jesus into humanity would forever alter the course of history…but has it altered yours?

Is your life different because of the Advent or arrival of Jesus?  Do you think differently about your time?  About your treasure?  About your future?  About those around you?

This and so much more is what we are invited into in Christ.  This Advent season, you are invited to pursue something a bit different from what this world says the season leading up to Christmas should be.   Come be a part of the conspiracy…it begins with worship!

w/ Luke Edwards

 

“Revelation: Worship” (Christmas Eve 2015 6:00pm service)

from Luke 2:1-20

Order.  We spend a great deal of time and energy in our lives seeking to achieve and maintain some sort of order.  And yet, all it takes is a phone call, a meeting at work, a notice in the mail, a visit to the doctor to realize that at any given moment we are a breath away from chaos breaking in and disrupting our safe, calculated lives.

The good news is, as a census was being taken in the Roman Empire…as order was being set…Jesus was entering the world…not in the midst of order, but on the fringe of it…on the edge of chaos.

In unexpected ways to unlikely people the birth of Jesus and news of His birth came…with a proclamation that through Christ, God is coming to make peace in the midst of the chaos…

w/ Vern Collins