Christmas: The Miracle of Self-giving Love
Dear Friends,
This coming Saturday evening, we will come together as a family of faith to celebrate the miraculous gift of God, offered to us in the birth of our Savior, Jesus, in the obscurity and poverty of a Bethlehem stable. With songs, poetry, scripture, carols and candlelight, we set aside this time to pause and soak deeply in the richness of that moment; the tangible self-giving of the Creator God unto humanity, the breaking of an irrepressible dawn across the whole of the universe, once hopelessly darkened by our sin, rebellion and death. As the eternal Word of God breaks forth in the world in the whimpering cries of a newborn child, we can only but stop in absolute wonder at the thought. This is an impossible joy, an inconceivable hope... but for the fact that it is TRUE! Such is the miraculous depth of God's love; such is the true miracle of Christmas.
Thanks be to God.
As we gather, ponder, celebrate and sing, we do so not merely as an act of nostalgic remembrance, but that also of prophecy and promise. There is much still about our world that remains in darkness, crying out to see an inbreaking of the light. In our worship we proclaim and actively wait upon the coming-again of our Savior King to redeem, heal and make all things new. In our life together, we embody and incarnate that eternal hope, each and every day as a witness to our world.
As the people of the Savior King, Jesus, this Christmas we consider the people of Syria and the cries of those suffering in Aleppo. In the Gospel of our refugee, infant Messiah, we discover a God who inhabits their struggle and pain in a manner that most of us simply cannot comprehend. But though we cannot comprehend, the love of God and the truth of Christmas means that the Church cannot fail to consider; to pray, to weep, and to give.
Below, you will find some links with opportunity to do just that. As the Church, may the light and joy and hope of Christmas spill beyond the warmth of our own living rooms, and into the world to whom we have been given to proclaim this miracle of self-giving love.
Every Blessing,
Pastor Chris
----------
Aleppo Response:
1. Donate to relief efforts: https://preemptivelove.nationbuilder.com/ann
2. Support Global Refugee Efforts: https://wewelcomerefugees.com/solidarity
3. And be on of the ones who welcome, Jesus, the refugee: https://wewelcomerefugees.com/welcome/
Through the ECC - Covchurchgiving.com/syria