Christmas

I write this Christmas greeting during our wonderful Advent Season. Each week in Advent we shared the importance of being ready, how to share with the words of John the Baptist, trust in God through the wisdom of Mary and Joseph, and marveled at the joy of our Sunday school when they presented their Christmas Pageant. Now we are at the big day- Jesus is Born. Here at Christ The King that season will culminate in the rather quiet celebration where we will gather and exclaim the message “Emmanuel “- God With Us.

      The biblical account is very familiar to us all. Angels came first to the shepherds and said, “Do not be afraid, this very day in the city of David, a savior has been born for you.” It’s kind of interesting. If I was one of those shepherds ,I might have responded with “why me”? We’re shepherds! Not fancy people, not religious folk. We never worshipped in the temple. We wouldn't know the difference between a prophet and a non-profit. But the angel repeated the message-“ A savior has been born for You!”

       Well, we are the 2025 shepherds. Maybe not the illiterate smelly kind, but shepherds all the same. Though we live in a land of relative prosperity and in an age of creature comforts; though we are educated and sophisticated and think of ourselves as relatively good people, our need for God’s gift is just as vital as for those first century shepherds.

       Yes! God came into the world for us. Why? To check up on us? To make sure we are towing the line and living righteous lives? No! God came to the world because he knew we are a broken people in need of a savior. God knew that, even at our very best, we live in a world of unfulfilled relationships and shattered dreams. We live in a world of unfairness, injustice, dishonesty and disappointment. So God sent the gift that only God could send, a gift specifically designed for you, a Savior. Jesus! The only gift that would allow us to make sense of this crazy life, to bring order to our chaotic living.

Join with me as we celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas Eve at one of our Worship services- 10:30am, 3pm, or 5pm.

       So rejoice 2025 shepherds. A Savior Has Been Born For You. And we rejoice and say Emmanuel. Indeed God is With Us.

God’s Peace to you and your loved ones,

Pastor Dennis E Ellisen