One More Thing (Again)

Hi Five Oakers, The weekend is here again, and there are a few things I want to share with you.

The Weekend

Christmas is a good news story for us only when we can face the bad news it addresses. 

We're concluding our Christmas series with the brutal and barbaric part of the Christmas story found in Matthew 2. But what I hope you see in the joy and the hope and the love contained in this darker story.

This will be a powerful message that underscores the good news of the gospel for all of us who admit we need Jesus, we need rescue. Bring a friend who needs to hear the gospel, and come ready to be refreshed in the gospel that is the power of our salvation.

FYI

Russell E. Saltzman on "The Nativity of Our Lord"

Jesus came as a stranger, uncelebrated and unremarked, and he was greeted only by other strangers, strangers who could recognize in themselves a restless need only Christ could fulfill. Isn’t each of us to a degree a stranger in this world too, alone, unsettled?

John Stonestreet on "Do Your Kids 'Get' Christmas? More than Rules and Stories"

Most of these children’s Bibles told great stories about heroic men and women who did what God said and everything worked out for them. And if you do what God says, it follows everything will work out for you, too. Right? Well, that’s the version many kids get from well-intentioned Christian teachers, videos and Sunday school curriculum. The problem is, it’s not the story of Scripture.

One More Thing

Matt Woodley on being like Herod:

Like Herod, I'm not just an imperfect human who needs a little improvement; I'm a rebel who must lay down his arms.