A Word from our Pastor

What’s your gift-giving pattern on Christmas morning? It seems like every family has one. In my family, each person went to the tree to select a present in turn, opened it for all to see, and we continued to rotate until all the presents were opened. Afterwards, we would spoil our Christmas dinner by eating half of the candy in our Christmas stockings.

My wife’s family did things a little differently. My mother-in-law would put practical gifts like toiletry items in the Christmas stockings, and she would wrap them individually. This gave my wife and her brothers more presents to unwrap on Christmas morning. 

Both patterns helped to prolong the gift exchange in our households. I was stunned by the first time watching the movie A Christmas Story, where Ralphie and his brother simultaneously tore into their presents, each exclaiming, “Oh boy, that one is mine” before poor Ralphie had to try on that iconic pink bunny costume from his well-meaning, but misguided aunt. Such chaos! One thing my family had in common with the Parker family, the “good” presents were saved for the end. My parents wanted to build up the anticipation before we got to our main Christmas present each year.

This Advent season, we will be looking Christmas through the lens of the prophet Isaiah. I’ve titled the series, Wait and See! The people of Israel were eagerly waiting for their messiah to come when Isaiah wrote the passages we will enjoy together. However, while they were waiting, there were several wonderful things that God gifted his people with. Almost like small gifts before the big present at the end.

In a similar way, there are many wonderful things we get to experience as Christians. Wonderful community, a sense of purpose and fulfillment, and the hope of Heaven are at the top of most of our lists! However, the biggest gift is yet to come. We’ll talk about that together this Sunday!

~ Pastor Jeremy