Forest Lake Talks

Christmas Day! The Christ Child

December 25, 2018

Worship at FLPC is enriched during Advent and Christmas by Worship Banners that were designed and created by Margaret McKinnon Harris and given to FLPC to the glory of God in 2016. Each week another pair of banners will be hung in the sanctuary that invite us into the ancient story of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth and into the current call to be transformed into a disciple of Jesus Christ.  We hope these banners will enhance your worship on Sundays and will invite you into the journey of discipleship every day of the week.

 Artist’s Notes:

It’s a boy!  He is here!  Emmanuel.  Messiah. Our journey is over.  No, wait.  Now the JOURNEY begins.  Whatever you do and where ever you go, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him [Colossians 3:17].  And may the peace of God the Father, the love Christ the Son, and the presence of the Holy Spirit be with you and give you peace wherever God may lead you.  Now and forever.  Amen.

 

John 1:1-5

Matthew 1:22-23

On the banners for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the Angels trumpet the good news of Christ’s birth!  God is faithful, though we are not.  God is present, though we are not paying attention.  God will not leave us alone, in the dark, or orphaned.  The birth of Jesus really is the basis on which we claim hope and faith instead of fear and sorrow.  God does not and will not leave us desolate – even when the world around us is crumbling – God is faithful.

The trick is that to trust this promise of faith, we must decide that our true citizenship is in the Kingdom of God rather than in the Kingdoms of this world.  We cannot hold onto security that armies and guns and wealth provide and claim to trust in the security that God provides.  The angels proclaim the eternal truth of God’s love, God’s Presence and God’s Kingdom.  Will we believe?  Will we trust?  Can we bring ourselves to trust more in God than we do in ourselves, our own wealth, power or strength?

The answers to those questions are answered by how we live every single day.  The Angels trumpet the good news.  We decide if it is going to be our good news, or if we – like Herod – will continue to live as if it never happened.

  • How has your Advent journey changed you?
  • What will be different in your life because of your celebration of God come to earth?
  • In which kingdom does your deepest loyalty lie – the Kingdom of God or the kingdoms of earth?

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