Scenario number one. In the video you see a dad and his child approach the bowl. It’s the child the approaches the bowl first and starts eyeing the candy. The child says, “Oh there isn’t a note saying how much to take.”  Enter dad, “Oh don’t take one, or two. Take a handful. I’ll take a handful too. They really need our help with this candy.” The little boys, reply: “Oh.” You see the father go first and take a huge handful of candy, then the son does the same. Dad finished up the interaction with, “Wow we really lucked out.” Now you may be in a panic, if you are now thinking about the fact that whatever you said near someone’s front door may be being reviewed by the homeowner at some point.  Sometimes we are like this dad. We decide that if something is available, I’m taking a bunch, and technically it didn’t say that you couldn’t. We have a habitat of justifying the greed in our lives, instead of calling it out for what it is. The dad in the video not only embraced this idea, but then convinced his son that they were doing us a favor—they really need help with this candy. I have a youth group full of 6^th- 12^th graders. Trust me, I have plenty of help when it comes to candy if I need someone to take it off my hands. We have all sorts of reasons we use to convince ourselves that we aren’t being greedy, because let’s face it, who wants to admit that they’re selfish?  An unmanned candy bowl was seen as an opportunity to take as much as they wanted, and we sometimes go through life seeing situations as opportunities to get what we want, instead of opportunities to show thanks.

Now before you lose all hope, and shake your fist in the air, or start to say, “What’s wrong with parents these days?” Let’s visit scenario number 2. The child and parent approach the bowl. The child literally squeals with delight, “There’s Hershey’s in here, and picks up their one piece of candy.” The parents’ response, “Oh that’s perfect. Say thank you house.” Then you hear a small voice say, “Thank you, house!” As they walk away, you see the parent look at all the Halloween decorations in the yard and say, “What an awesome house.” This mom has her child give thanks, even though Tim and I were not there to hear it. She has him stop before running to the next house for more candy. Then she notices the care that was put into decorating for the kids and compliments it. We should give thanks even when there’s no one around to hear it, because God always hears it. Giving thanks is so good for us, and it’s contagious. Unfortunately, greed is contagious too. We can encourage people around us to be thankful, simply by being thankful ourselves. We also can encourage people around us to embrace getting as much as they can, simply be how we behave. Don’t underestimate who may notice your gratitude and be inspired by it. Take the time to stop and say thank you, notice when people put effort into something and offer them a kind word. These tiny gestures go further than we sometimes realize, and they can chip away at selfishness in our hearts, change the way we see the world, bring us closer to God, brighten people’s day, and inspire others to do the same.

Matthew 2:9-10 "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.  When they saw the star, they were overjoyed."

Journeys, most of us set out on them with an end destination in mind. The wisemen followed a star, not knowing how long and how far this heavenly light would take them. They have little information about what the journey would entail, few details about what or who they would encounter, but they still keep following the star. Step after step, they continue on with the star being their focus.

Every year is a journey. None of us know what we will experience from the ups and downs that will come our way. We don’t get to have the details of God’s plan or his timing. There are times where, if I’m honest, I have pretended like I am more in control of what happens along my trek than I really am. I have lived like I know more than I do. 2020, in some ways, has been like a cold bucket of water being dumped on me. I had lulled myself into a slumber, and then this ice-cold reality shocked me awake. This year has been a reminder that our job is not to know what is up ahead. Our job is to follow. It’s to take just one more faithful step.

The thing is, we take one more step without fully knowing what we’re walking into next.  Sometimes I wish God would just tell me what to do and where to go. I wish he would spell it out, send a sign, but really, he has. He spelled it out--he tells me in his word “follow me.” He sent a sign--his son became one of us. He’s told us where to go--just follow in the footsteps of Jesus. We take one more step forward--that’s it. One more act of love, one more prayer, one more encouraging word, one more offer of forgiveness. Sometimes one more step might feel like all you can handle. The journey isn’t the focus; the focus is Christ. No matter what we experience, who we meet, what this life throws at us, every moment is a chance to follow Christ. It sounds too simple, but that’s what it’s all about.

2020—not a great year. Our job? Follow Christ.
The best year ever. Our job? Follow Christ.
You encounter some Herod’s along your journey. Our job? Follow Christ.

The wisemen take step after step, and finally they find the place where the star rests. They see Jesus with his parents, and they fall down and worship him. So many steps and events brought them to this moment. I wonder if there were ever moments where they thought about giving up or turning back? If they had, though, think of what they would have missed. I pray that if you feel weary this Christmas that you find the encouragement to take just one more step. We each are struggling in our own ways, and it can take its toll. We don’t know how much longer distance learning, COVID 19, shutdowns, economic issues, or job losses will continue on. But we know we have a faithful God who wants to guide us and reveal himself to us. Just like the wiseman, when we encounter Jesus, we will be filled with some much awe that we too will be overcome with worship—we just have to take one more step.

1. What have been some of the biggest challenges for you and your family this year?
2. Where and how have you experienced God’s direction and guidance in 2020?
3. Spend some time in prayer sharing your fears, what is wearing you down, or anything else you want to talk to God about.

Luke 2:12 "This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”

I remember as a first-time mom feeling overwhelmed by the long list of items I needed to buy for our
soon-to-arrive, Dylan. There seemed to be far too many things to prepare and purchase, and not
enough time or money for that matter. I’m not sure who it was, but someone commented to me one
day that really all we needed to have ready for him to come home were diapers, and a place for him
to sleep. That is just about all Mary and Joseph had for their newborn son—some swaddling clothes,
and a manger.
When I think about the manger, to me, it is a symbol of Jesus’ humanity. We often talk about
his divinity. The manger encapsulates the whole idea that something so holy, so other-worldly has
now become so ordinary. He is the son of God; in him, all of creation is held together, and here he is
needing a place to sleep, just like all babies. Like all babies, he is totally dependent on his parents.
Like all babies, he is helpless and fragile. Like all babies, he will have to be nurtured and cared for to
be able to grow, and one of his parent’s fist acts of provision we read is giving him a manger as a
bed.
I find that God has a way of taking ordinary moments and objects and making them holy. A
feeding trough is not something we would pay much attention to normally, but Christ’s presence in it
makes it something so much more than a wooden box that animals eat out of.
During Advent, we talk a lot about preparing and welcoming Christ. It kind of feels like our
hearts and lives become like the manger. Something that might feel ordinary, and plain, or as Pastor
Ted mentioned, flawed and rough, can now become something so much more when it holds Christ.
Our lives are not often glamorous. Most of the moments we experience are normal, everyday things.
We are rough, sometimes very rough—our hearts and lives are not perfect. There are flaws, and
pieces of us that cause splinters and scratches. We might feel plain, but Christ dwells with and in us.
That dwelling takes us ordinary people, with ordinary lives, and makes every moment ripe with the
potential for Jesus to make himself know. There are few things that get me more jazzed than waiting
with anticipation to see what God will do and how he is going to show up. I love to watch him work.
Like watching an artist’s painting slowly unfolding in front of your eyes, you see his hand at work in
ways and places that you would never would have imagined! You begin to wait with anticipation to
see his next move, and you cannot help but marvel as how his presence can inject life, joy, and
eternity into the most ordinary items, mangers included.

1. How have you seen Jesus show up in everyday moments, and ordinary places in your life?
2. What are you waiting with anticipation for?
3. Are you struggling to see the potential for the everyday to hold the holy? Why?

Luke 2:8-11

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.  Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!

    Shepherds--not something you usually talk about unless you’re in church. In fact, come to think of it, I’ve never known a real life shepherd. Maybe you haven’t either. From my experience, this isn’t a growing field of work. Our modern life has changed farming, how we raise livestock, and just about everything else we do. Yet, there is much we modern-day folk can learn from this group of wandering sheep herders.
    As Pastor Ted said some of the most important people in scripture started out as shepherds. Makes you wonder if all that time spent in the fields with your own thoughts was instrumental to connecting with God or if the lessons in leading sheep were the beginning of men like David and Moses learning how to lead people. By the time the New Testament story of Jesus birth rolls around, it seems like these famous shepherds are a thing of the past. The shepherds in the Christmas story aren’t even named. We don’t even know how many of them there are, and as Pastor mentioned, the reputation of a
shepherd now proceeds him, but not in a good way. They have fallen out of style and fallen from grace. Enter the angels and their proclamation. The all-knowing, all powerful, all loving God of the universe decides that this is the moment for his son to come into the world, and that of all the people to
deliver the birth announcement to....let’s go with shepherds! Despite our nativity scenes full of animals (and usually three wise men atop camels) the shepherds are actually the only ones who come to see the baby Jesus. I often wonder what Mary must have thought. If I had just given birth, in a less than an ideal setting, how thrilled would I be to have a group of stinking, dirty shepherds come strolling in to look at my baby in the middle of the night?
Shepherds are so ordinary, but when they are brought into God’s story they become extraordinary. It never ceases to amaze me how God shows up in such unexpected ways. How his invitation can change everything for someone. He is in the redemption business.

There a section of scripture that I love. It says, “see he is making all things new,” all things. Shepherds may have become fringe members of their society, but God pulls them from the peripheral right into the center of his story. The Christmas story is God’s story, not the shepherd’s story. You and my story is also God’s story.

In the same way that He pulled the shepherds near to him, he is inviting us to be a part of what he’s doing in the world. Doesn’t matter who you are, what your reputation is. You may be well respected, or a joke. God is writing his story in our lives, and this is a redemption story. This story is the one where against all odds love wins, this is the story where grace changes everything. This is the story where sacrifice, and service become more important than comfort. This is the story where God dwells among us, and our lives are never the same. This is the story where nobody’s become the ones who get
to be a part of what God is doing.

1. Think back over your life. How have you seen God show up in unexpected ways, and at unexpected moments?

2. How has God made you a part of his story? What is he inviting you to do this holiday season?

3. Where have you seen God’s redemption at work in your life or the lives of others?

LUKE 1:26-28
²⁶ In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

   
Pastor Ted shared how the word angel means messenger. They are the means through which God communicates throughout the Christmas story. They comfort, declare God’s purpose and plan, tell people that it’s time to rejoice, and warn. There are moments in each of our lives where we need that sort of messenger, or where we are called on to be that messenger. Maybe this holiday season you need a message of comfort. Perhaps you’re grieving right now. This year we’ve all experienced loss of some sort and to varying degrees. Loss of loved ones, loss of a job, loss of the life you once knew, loss of hope. Perhaps you need a reminder that there is a reason to celebrate—because Christ has come into the world. Maybe the message you need to hear is more along the lines of a reminder of God’s calling for you. Maybe you need to hear from your heavenly Father that he does have a plan, and purpose for you, or maybe the message you need is a warning. You might need to hear that there is danger if you remain  put. Like the angel's message for Joseph maybe it’s time to wake up, get up, move from where you’re at.

            Not only do we each need to hear one of these messages, but we get to also be someone who brings these messages to others. We each know someone who could use a message of comfort right now, “Fear not!” (Luke 2:10). There are individuals that need the encouragement that comes from the reminder that Christ is in the world, and there are still reasons to praise God. “Glory to God in the Highest (Luke 2:14). We can remind people that God has plans for them, and they will not have to go it alone. “The Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28). There are other times where we are the voice of warning, that wakes people from being asleep to the danger that’s far too close to them. Get up! (Matthew 2:13).

• Which of these messages are you the most in need of this Christmas? Comfort, reminder of God’s plan and purpose for you, or a warning?

• Who in your life do you think God is calling you to be a messenger to? Which message do you think you should share with them?