I love Christmas time. Yes, the schedule is busy. Yes, the weather is unpredictable. Yes, we spend more money than normal. BUT . . . I love the confluence of our spiritual lives and our everyday lives. Music about Jesus is playing at the mall. It is normal and natural to invite friends to church with you for a special holiday service. Worshipping with your local church is normal on the weekends . . . and families even build worship into their times of celebration. People are more generous with their time and money. For these reasons (and many more), “it’s the most wonderful time of the year.”
I think it is especially appropriate this time of year for the Sacred and the secular to blend . . . after all, at Christmas time we remember that the SON OF GOD, the Creator of all things, the all powerful, all knowing One . . . He humbled Himself and was born as a BABY and laid in a MANGER! If this is not a mashup of all facets of life, I don’t know what is. And He did it to identify with us, to show us the way, and to BE the Way so that we might be reconciled to God.
In the midst of this season, we can get moving so fast that we never stop to reflect on the words of the songs that surround us. We may hear “Joy to the World” sung 1,000 times this month . . . but what does that song mean? What does it point to?
This Sunday at Wildwood, we will begin our new sermon series, “The Christmas Carols” by looking at “Joy to the World” together. We will find this song’s roots in Psalm 98, Genesis 3, and Revelation 21-22 . . . and in the midst of this, we will come to know the HOPE of Christmas past, present, and future.
Make plans to join us Sunday (and bring friends!) at Wildwood in our 9:45 and 11:00 worship service.
P.S. All December long, I will be posting a devotional each day reflecting on the meaning of a different Christmas Carol. You can find these posts daily beginning Saturday, December 1, 2018 . . . or download the entire devotional now by clicking here.