This is Us

We are the church, whether we are gathered or scattered--each one of us, a part of the body of Christ, wherever we go, whatever we do.

So, where can you find us, and what are we doing?

Ever wondered how in the world you can impact China? Here is a group from Five Oaks serving a Traditional American Thanksgiving Meal to Chinese Students and their families at the Hospitality Center for Chinese on November 17. Adults and children alike had a great time, and there was good discussion around the topic of Thanksgiving and the gospel.

What Angels Deliver That We Desperately Need

We don’t always know what we desperately need.

I might be exhausted all the time and think, ‘All I need is more sleep.’ 

But a trip to the doctor may reveal sleep apnea that needs to be treated because it could damage my heart.

I might think all I need is an antacid, but what I really need is treatment for an ulcer.

We don’t always know what we desperately need.

When the angels show up, making announcements before and after the birth of Jesus, they deliver what we desperately need. 

And if I tell you right now what that is, you might be a bit incredulous. You might not immediately realize the deeper need to which they speak.

But these needs are real. 

I’ll give you just one, the others will come on the weekend.

We desperately need wonder. 

We live in a world that an influential philosopher calls “disenchanted”—a world drained of supernatural presences like angels and God who actually speak to us and guide us, a cold and hostile world with no ultimate meaning. 

Even as believers, we often lack wonder.

Disenchantment so permeates the air we breathe and the messages we hear that it eventually forms our hearts and minds.

A favorite author of mine points out that we don’t choose to believe in a world devoid of God, it’s just that it’s told to us in thousands of stories we hear every day. 

The angels bring wonder. We feel it in the songs we sing in Advent and in the Scriptures we revisit. 

And we desperately need wonder.

Our Advent series, “Angels We Have Heard,” is about meeting our need for wonder, and some other desperate needs, this Christmas and beyond. 

Is there someone you can invite who also needs what you and I desperately need?

Photos by Vu Thu Giang on Unsplash and Photo by Oshomah Abubakar on Unsplash (edited).