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BY JOHN VOELZ in Response to Many Requests for Small Group and Sunday School Materials, Light and Life Publishing Is Pleased to Present the Freemo Journals

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BY JOHN VOELZ in Response to Many Requests for Small Group and Sunday School Materials, Light and Life Publishing Is Pleased to Present the Freemo Journals The Freemo Journals | Advent 2016 | Volume 2 issue 5 | the eyes of nativity 2016 | Volume The Freemo Journals | Advent Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, amditka lams Duis faucibus nisl ac tortor vmalesuada, vel pretium diam accumsan. Vestibulum cursus in eros at maximus. Fusce vulputate turpis ante, non auctor lectus viverra consequat. Aliquam erat volutpat. Integer sed congue purus. Curabitur lobortis feugiat tincidunt. Maecenas fermentum tortor id tellus elementum tincidunt. Etiam vehicula lorem eget erat luctus, sit amet dignissim justo dignissim. Nullam ullamcorper vulputate pharetra. Nam ullamcorper et erat sit amet finibus. Etiam vel pretium turpis. Mauris vel turpis vestibulum, volutpat nulla eu, aliquet purus. Sed tincidunt imperdiet eros, non porttitor est vehicula ornare. Curabitur auctor aliquet arcu non hendrerit. Suspendisse diam nisl, facilisis in dolor eu, euismod iaculis mi. Suspendisse vitae suscipit nisl. Pellentesque orci sem, congue eget lorem id, blandit blandit enim. THE EYES Curabitur blandit hendrerit massa id dapibus. Phasellus fermentum porttitor risus, eget viverra diam varius eget. OF THE John Voelz is an author, speaker, and the Pastor: Curator of Lakeside Church, Folsom CA. John’s creativity and penchant for doing church different has grabbed the attention of news and media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Collide, Worship Leader NATIVITY Magazine, Relevant, TIME Magazine, FOX News, and A Current Affair. He’s published two books with Abingdon Press—Follow You Follow Me and his most recent, Quirky Leadership: Permission Granted. BY JOHN VOELZ In response to many requests for small group and Sunday school materials, Light and Life Publishing is pleased to present the FreeMo Journals. These books have been ideally prepared for any leader to facilitate discipleship in a small group setting, or for individual Christians to employ as a resource for their daily devotions. The FreeMo Journals cover a wide variety of topics, but have been framed around the Free Methodist Church’s Nine Strategies for whole church growth. - Rev. Jay Cordova, Publisher, Free Methodist Church - USA If you would like to purchase more issues of the FreeMo Journals please go to: www. WPHStore.com If you need to order FreeMo Journals and have an Evangel account, contact Wesleyan Publishing House (800) 493.7539 for the discounted rate. Copyright © 2016 Free Methodist Church-USA. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are taken from the New International Version Bible, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Founda- tion. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Design by Jake Blythe THE EYES OF THE NATIVITY THE EYES OF THE NATIVITY CONT ENTS THE NATIVITY INTRODUCTION 01 THROUGH THE EYES OF 1 THE CURIOUS 03 2 A CHILD 11 3 A TEEN 23 4 A PARENT 33 5 A ZEALOT 39 6 A PART-TIME TRADITIONALIST 45 7 A HUSBAND 51 8 AN EMPATH 59 9 A STUDENT 65 10 A PASTOR 71 11 A GRANDFATHER 77 12 A HUMAN 85 13 AN ARTIST 93 CONCLUSION 99 CONT ENTS INTRODUCTION INTRO- DUCTION The front yard displayed one of the gaudiest Christmas spectacles I had ever seen. The tiny modular home was adorned with (but not limited to) an inflatable Mickey-Mouse- as-Santa, poorly fashioned plastic animals, gnomes, elves, gingerbread men, mechanical reindeer, a lighthouse (for some reason I still can’t figure out), a large University of Michigan flag, and a traditional crèche. A casual guess would put the number of odd décor ornaments and holiday treasures somewhere around a bazillion. The mechanical reindeer were made out of a stick framework and full of white twinkle lights. They moved their heads up and down around the manger. “What do you think the reindeer are doing?” I asked my granddaughter, Clara. I would have accepted any number of potentially correct answers, although I think they may have been arranged to look as if they were bowing their heads and worshipping the baby Jesus. “Pooping,” was Clara’s answer. I don’t know how she arrived at that answer from the mere motion of their mechanical heads, but I got a good laugh anyway. And it made me think, “You know, that’s exactly what the animals would have been doing around the manger.” But, we don’t really tell those stories. We leave those details out. 1 INTRODUCTION For many, the nativity is clean. Bright. Colorful. Plastic. If you are a Jesus follower, it’s easy to fall in the trap of telling the Christmas narrative with the enthusiasm of someone reciting, Hickory Dickory Dock. The degree of dullness with which we deliver the goods is often directly proportional to the years we have heard and/or told the story. If you are not a Jesus follower and you’ve heard the story from some of us lackluster old-timers, I’m sorry. I’ve come in contact with the nativity many times throughout different stages in my life and each stage has taught me something new—something that de-plasticizes and animates the nativity. I will be your tour guide through much of that journey. My prayer is that you take note of your own experience and stories as we take this trip together. There are stories we’ve simply heard and then there are stories that change us. There are stories we casually enjoy and then there are stories that compel us and propel us to act. This book has 13 chapters about the nativity. Each one looks at the nativity through different eyes—different stages of life—different responsibilities and roles. I pray the nativity changes us and propels us to follow Jesus with great confidence and surety that he has aspecial and unique role for us to play. I pray the nativity changes us and propels us to follow Jesus confidently— not as if he were far away and we’re tracking his footsteps hoping to find him because we think he may have been here before, but rather because we know him and see him as Immanuel—God with us. 2 CHAPTER 1 THE CURIOUS After Jesus was born As I write this book, I’m sitting in a coffee shop. There in Bethlehem1 in Judea, is a couple sitting next to me talking about the kinds during the time of King of things churched people talk about. Men’s groups. Herod, Magi from the Women’s groups. Bible studies. Some guy’s wife at east came to Jerusalem church that she thinks is super nice. What they like and asked, ‘Where is and don’t like about their church. I’m not trying to the one who has been eavesdrop. They are right next to me. born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it She just asked me what I’m writing. rose and have come to worship him.’ “It’s about the Nativity,” I told her. “The nativity? Who’s the audience?” she asked me with a quizzical and MattheW 2:1-2 NIV confused look. I told her the book will be written mostly to an audience of Jesus followers but I would love if someone who doesn’t know Jesus finds it interesting enough to pick it up and ask questions. I told her, “I want to view the nativity through the lens of different life stages—childhood, the teens, as a parent, grandfather, and—for me—from the perspective of a pastor.” “I had no idea there was enough information to write about the nativity,” she said. “Christians will actually read that?” (Since tone is lost in the written language, let me assure you she wasn’t being snarky). 3 THROUGH THE EYES OF THE CURIOUS I get it. I’m not offended. I understand her response. She’s not ignorant. She’s interested. She’s curious. And, that’s refreshing. In my experience, many who have been saturated in church culture usually fall into one of three extreme camps: CAMP 1: Those who berate the nativity for the historical and biblical inaccuracies and contradictions in relation to the story that has been handed down to us (e.g. “Was Jesus really born in December?” “Weren’t there potentially more than three Wise Men?”) CAMP 2: Those who accept the traditional nativity for what it is—even with the inconsistencies—but unapologetically ignore it, finding it unnecessary to their own experience. CAMP 3: Those who venerate the nativity, think they know everything there is to know about it, uphold the liturgical calendar and think everyone who doesn’t observe Advent has a deep spiritual deficit, and sometimes treat the non-enlightened with a bit of contempt. I have been in at least two of these camps and a few places in between at different points of my life. Of course there are other stopovers along the what-about-the- nativity continuum—it’s not simply these three extremes. Some are genuinely curious and motivated by the potential of having answers to the anonymities surrounding the nativity. Many have enthusiastically questioned the popular extra- biblical details of the Christmas story that have been handed down to them as encapsulated in the popular crèche they see in their neighbor’s yards or in front of the church down the street—in order to understand Jesus more deeply. I’d like to discuss a bit of my nativity excursion with you. I’d love it if you would indulge me for the sake of conversation. Perhaps we’ll find some things to talk about and grapple with. CONSIDER Do you fall into one of these extreme camps above? If you aren’t THIS: quite sure, ask someone you love and trust if they think you do.
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