With us

With all of the splendor,
the lights,
the programs,
the concerts,
the giftedness,
the real Christmas story can be condensed into two simple words:
                                 with us.

The good news of the gospel did not just suddenly appear, but seamlessly woven throughout the Old Testament, from the beginning of time itself.  Written eight hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Isaiah promised:  

Behold,

 a young woman shall conceive

                   and bear a son,

and shall call his name

                 Immanuel,

which means

                   God is with us.

                            Isaiah 7. 14

Amidst the suffering and pain in this world,

right in the thick of this messy broken world,

                    Jesus was born.

"We sometimes wonder why God doesn't just end suffering.  But we know that whatever the reason, it isn't one of indifference or remoteness.  God so hates suffering and evil that He was willing to come into it and become enmeshed in it," said Tim Keller in a Christmas sermon in 2001.

With us.

And the Word became flesh

     and dwelt among us,

full of grace and truth;

we have beheld His glory...

   

                            John 1. 14

Please make sure that your little ones know

    --and even the bigger ones around you--
that the Christmas story is not just another "story"
      but the truth about Jesus
who came to change the world,
one life at a time,
         oh, so precious in His sight.

And the angel said to them,
"Be not afraid;
for behold,
I bring you good news of great joy
    which will come to all the people;
for to you is born this day in the city of David
a Savior,  
         who is Christ the Lord.

                        Luke 2. 10-11

Be not afraid.
REJOICE!
He has come.
Immanuel
            God with us.