Glory To The Newborn King!

"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

  Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." 

Luke 2:10-14

Can you imagine being a young shepherd boy, working the night shift, trying so hard to keep your eyes open, when all of a sudden, the angels fill the sky heralding the arrival of the Messiah?!?  Talk about a great day to go to work!

I love the enthusiasm and joy we see from the shepherds.  I love that upon seeing the angel's words fulfilled, they are bursting to share the good news with everyone around them.  After experiencing Christ, they come back eagerly "glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen" (verse 19).    

May the Good News of the Gospel be a Great Joy for you and all the people today and always!  And may we, like the shepherds, join the angelic host in proclaiming, "Glory to the newborn King!"

Hark the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"

Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:

"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

(E-mail subscribers, click to hear Chris Tomlin sing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing")

Fa la la la la, la la la la!

Looking to get into the Christmas spirit with some new Christmas music? Right now, Amazon has a Free Christmas Sampler with five free songs.  My favorite is the Messiah's Hallelujah chorus at the end.  Also, throughout December, Amazon has been giving away a FREE Christmas song each day. You can download them straight to your iTunes or Windows Media Player. I will say that roughly 1 in 5 is worth downloading, but there's nothing like some free Christmas songs to jump start some quality fa la la la la, la la la la-ing...

Also, if you're looking for an entire CD with uplifting, Christ centered, Christmas music, here are two of my favorites:

Hillsong Celebrating Christmas

Glory in the Highest: Christmas Songs by Chris Tomlin
You can also sample some of Chris' songs on his MySpace page

Merry, Merry!

"Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Ephesians 5:19-20

Light of Life

"A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices..."

These words come from my favorite Christmas carol "O Holy Night."  We sang them at our Lessons and Carols service last Sunday night.  As I stood in the back singing after taking up the offering, I couldn't help but cry as I looked around and thought about how many of us have been weighed down this year by the weariness of the world, yet in the midst of that have been miraculously sustained by the eternal hope we have in Christ.

As we sang, I watched the dark sanctuary slowly light up as we began passing candle light from one person to the next.  I've been to candle light services before, but there is something profoundly moving about watching it come to life from the back of the sanctuary.  As the light slowly builds, you eagerly await your turn to light your small candle, and in one tiny motion, you have the light!  It's an amazingly beautiful thing to watch as just one small flame slowly ignites an entire church.  

That small light represents the thrill of hope Christ's birth brings to a people walking in darkness, weighed down by the weary world.  With this light, we can rejoice as we eagerly celebrate the wonders of His love and the luminous light that Christ has brought to us.

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, 

but will have the light of life." 

John 8:12 (NIV)

Standing next to me on Sunday was an adorable two year old girl who could hardly contain herself.  She was so excited about lighting her candle.  She kept swaying from side to side and anxiously looking at her mother asking, "Is it time yet?!?"  She was ready for the light!

As we walk through Christmas surrounded by lights on trees, houses, wreaths, and just about everywhere you can imagine, I pray that we will  reflect on the light of life that Christ has brought into this dark world.  And that just like the little two year old, we will eagerly await and yearn for more of the light of Christ.

"Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born..."

Don't Miss Out

 "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light."

Isaiah 9:2 (NIV)

Each year as Thanksgiving comes to an end and Christmas quickly begins, I make the same vow to myself, “This year, I’m not going to get stressed out and carried away with the hustle and bustle of Christmas.  Instead, I’m going to take time to focus on the hope and joy we have through the miraculous birth of Christ.  This year, I’m going to take the time to meditate on God’s truth and promises and let them saturate my heart as I reflect on the birth of Christ.”

Fast forward to December 25th around 11:30 pm and it’s the same story year after year… after all the presents have been opened, the Christmas cookies have been consumed, and my head hits the pillow, I can’t help but think, “Jesus, I missed it again.”  Not in a guilty or condemning way, rather a regret that throughout the Advent season, I missed out on truly abiding in Him throughout the Christmas season.  I missed out on the expectation, hope, and joy that comes as we remember and reflect on the birth of Christ.

Thanks Be to God that it’s not just the 25 days leading up to Christmas where we can experience Christ, it’s all year long!  And, when we feel pangs of regret or failure, He is faithful to give us more grace—it’s never too late.

In my fantasy blog world where I have everything together, I would have posted my mom’s Advent post from yesterday before Advent began, instead of three weeks into it, and I would have posted some kind of Christmas inspiration each day until December 25th.  Did you know it’s already December 17th?  How did that even happen?

Instead, with eight days to go until Christmas, I want to encourage each of us to find ways, big and small, where we can embrace the hope and faithfulness that God reveals to each of us through the birth of His Son.  It may sound cheesy, but Jesus truly is the reason for the season and I pray that we won’t let one more day go by where we miss out.

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.
Israel’s Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Charles Wesley, 1745

Lights...Camera...Action!

By Lisa Robertson

“A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.’” Isaiah 40:3 (NIV)

“Prepare the way of the Lord” is the title of the production that I direct every year. As the producer, I am responsible for the props, costumes, food and the performers. Even though preparations are made throughout the year, the show opens and closes in just one day - December 25th.

As the mother of five children, Christmas day is not my most successful day. Pressures, emotions and very high expectations dominate what should be a day of joy, reverence and gratitude. One of my lowest moments of mothering was on December 24th one year. Arriving at our church barely in time for my children to be dressed as angels and camels, I sat in the pew weeping. A young woman came up to me and told me that she was touched by my deep spiritual sensitivity. That couldn’t have been further from the truth! I was crying because I knew that I was the worst mother in the world. Before leaving the house with the children dressed in their matching Christmas clothes, I had a complete meltdown. I forced them into the car and chased them into the church.

Is this the way that we are supposed to celebrate the greatest gift ever given in the history of humanity?

God set the stage for the coming of His Son! He revealed His plan to many people over hundreds of years to prepare His people for their Savior. Did you know that in the Old Testament, over 400 Scriptures describe in detail the life of Jesus Christ? We should be prepared for Christmas! Decorating, shopping, gift giving are not the most important preparations we make.

Advent is the season of preparation.  A key element of Advent is the light of Christ. In many church traditions, the weeks before Christmas incorporate the use of an Advent wreath, both in the church and in people’s homes.

The Advent wreath includes five candles. On the first week, one candle is lit. The next week- two candles are lit and the weekly lighting continues until the last Sunday before Christmas. The progression of the lighting of the candles depicts the progression of the light of Christ as He penetrated the darkness of this world. The gradual increase of the light reminds us of the gradual increase of sunlight at dawn.

Advent has become the most important part of my family’s Christmas preparations. In these weeks, we gather daily and learn about the faithful promises of God. Over the centuries, God spoke His word and has been faithful to fulfill it. The Advent readings reflect on God’s promises to send His Son. Such as in Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel’” (NIV). “Immanuel” means “God with us!” He has also promised to return to the world again as the “...KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16, NIV).

Often on the day after Christmas I wonder what went right and what went wrong. If I spend time preparing during the Advent season for the coming of Christ at Christmas, the chaos of Christmas preparation becomes a peaceful radiance of Christ’s presence in our lives. This is the greatest gift that I receive each Christmas.

Heavenly Father, Thank You for the gift of Jesus. Help us to prepare for the coming of Christ this Christmas. Let Your light shine in our hearts as we prepare for Christmas day!