Overheard at Five Oaks - December 13

"This might totally flop." Jeremy talking about the opening of the Christmas Eve services. And, no, it's not going to flop. Don't be late.

"I'm Cuban." A guest at 10-Minute Connect. 

"Yes! We can't have too many Cubans at Five Oaks." My response.

"They're different than when Dan led them, but not so different it's odd." Amy Thornton talking about the Advent services. I'm loving them. Like the ones Dan led, they enrich the whole experience of Advent and Christmas. 

"I'm glad it's over." Cindy Yarington about teaching at the Baptism Milestone class. She doesn't like being the up front person, but John said she killed it for 16 kids and 8 families that attended."

"They all had elf names." Rhiannon Rutledge talking about the Coffee House Jr. for kids event.

"I shared the message I was going to share with my daughter who is now a son." Justin Talk talking about what he shared at Tea with the Talks. Katie Talk is pregnant. Not sure if they were told they were having a daughter and it later to changed to a son or if it's a Christmas miracle of some sort...

You Can Nullify Fear this Christmas

I don’t know if you’ve noticed but Christmas and fear are often linked. 

They’re often linked in the classic carols. The most recognizable line, I think, is from Oh Little Town of Bethlehem, “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”

Fear is a common in the Matthew and Luke's telling of the Christmas story. 

And if you drill down into most of the fear expressed in the Christmas story, there’s almost always an angel involved. 

Angels are not the cuddly, cute beings they’re often portrayed to be. 

Read the description of the angel in Daniel 10 or in Isaiah 6. You’ll never decorate your newborn’s room with drawings of these angels! 

I have a theory I’ll expand on this weekend: Since angels often show up looking like humans in the Bible, I have to conclude that when they don’t, they want to scare people. They might even enjoy doing it.

In this weekend’s sermon passages, angels speak with Mary and Joseph. And they tell Mary and Joseph not to be afraid. But in both cases, it’s not about being startled by the angel, like the shepherds were startled; it’s more about the news they bear. 

For us, the announcement of the birth of Jesus fills us with wonder and warm fuzzies, but for Mary and Joseph it was frightening and overwhelming. 

They were told they were about to become the parents of God. 

You and I have lots of fears. 

Craig Groeschel, in Soul Detox, writes: “Fear poisons us a little each day if we don’t face it head-on and nullify its power.”

How do you nullify fear's power? 

Begin by listening and understanding the words of the angels to Mary and Joseph. The core of their message to them is a message for nullifying the power of fear, and it’s the core of this weekend’s sermon.

Who do you know that needs to learn how to nullify the fear that is poisoning their life a little each day?