Dear First Pres,
The kids are home. The house is full. The nights are late. And, I love it.
Yet, in the midst of all the activity, it’s easy to lose focus on why the kids are home and why the to-do list is so long. As Diane confessed on Sunday, in this season when we’re called to focus on the Advent of Jesus many of us have minds full of “check lists, shopping lists and groceries lists.”
So, right now … yes, right now, take a moment to do a status check on your soul. In these final days before Christmas, how are you doing? If you feel close to the Lord and dialed in to the purpose of this season, praise God for that. And, if you feel far from the Lord, hurried and harried, I encourage you to take a moment, right now, to pause … yes, really, pause … and just put those feelings in front of the Lord. Tell the Lord how you’re feeling and invite the Holy Spirit to bring a fresh anointing of the Lord’s peace over your life.
Invite the Holy Spirit to remind you of what is true. Your identity is not rooted in those lists or activities. It’s not found in your social plans over the weekend. It’s not found in the way people think about your gift or your meal or your outfit. Your identity is found in your relationship with Jesus. He is the Eternal Word of God who took on flesh, forever, to bring the salvation, redemption and restoration of God to us.
And, invite the Holy Spirit into the activities, into the preparation, into the lists, into the feelings, into the pain of grief or whatever it is that you are facing today. That’s a prayer our gracious Father in heaven loves to answer.
It’s a big weekend. For some it’s full of activity and potent for chaos. For others it is an overwhelming reminder of grief. Either way, Beloved, pause. Tell the Lord how you’re feeling and invite the Holy Spirit to minister to you.
Finally, Saturday night is going to be wonderful. Worship with us at 4:30 or 6:30. They’re both identical services led together by our Classic and Modern worship teams. And, don’t forget that we’re worshiping together on Christmas morning. I know this gets in the way of so many things that you normally do on Christmas morning, but it’s a Sunday morning too. The Christmas morning service will be informal, fun and a huge blessing. I encourage you to carve out space to celebrate with your church family this Christmas morning. I truly believe you’ll be glad you did (plus, you’ll get to see a unique tradition I have for Christmas morning worship).
Blessings,
Pastor Jeremy
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