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Christmastide Devotional THE MISSION OF CHRISTMAS A Christmastide Devotional Advent/Christmastide 2020 THE MISSION OF CHRISTMAS A Christmastide Devotional Advent/Christmastide 2020 Hope Church 2609 Seminole Road Columbia, SC 29210 hopechurchcola.org If you were like me, I grew up believing that 25 December was the end of the Christmas season. However, according to the Church calendar, it’s twelve days long! When you stop to think about it (if you have that time) it makes sense. Why, after an entire month of longing and waiting and remembering, would we celebrate for one day and be done? I would hope our celebration, not only spills over into the twelve days of Christmastide but that the hope and joy of Christmas would never leave our hearts. As with the Advent Worship Guide, this devotional was never intended to replace any regular study of the Word, but to supplement and be an addition to your regular time with the Lord. Each of these devotionals were written out of hearts that love the Lord and desire that all hearts are His alone. The hope is that you are not only encouraged in your walk with the Lord by the testimonies and encouragement from dear brothers and sisters at Hope Church but that a fire is stoked in your belly to go and tell. Go and tell your neighbor. Go and tell your friend. Go and tell the family member that you see only during the holidays. Go and tell! May this be our heartbeat. May we not be ashamed of the gospel! May we be compelled to tell everyone we meet that the King has come and He’s going to come back! He will right all the wrongs. He will heal the brokenness. He is the Light of Life and the Hope of all the world. Happy Christmastide to you! The King has come! Christmastide 2020 1 May our homes be filled with hearth-fires, dancing, singing, merriment-- and may the revelry over our dear Savior’s birth ignite within us a crackling roaring flame, that we may be compelled to follow the example of lowly shepherds and share with others the good news of Great Joy which is for all people. 2 25 Go Tel It On The Moun"in- DECEMBER The Mission of Ch#stmas Leiann Walther Applying all diligence, in your faith supply…perseverance. I realize that 2 Peter 1:5-6 are not your typical Advent Scriptures, but I was so surprised by the meaning of the original Greek word for perseverance and how it applies to the season. What do you normally think of when you hear the admonition to “persevere”? I think of someone in a marathon. They are tired at mile 20, wondering why they signed up for the marathon, and wishing they had done the 1/2 marathon instead. And then they pass a friend cheering them on and saying, "You got this! KEEP GOING!! You're going to make it!" I have always thought of perseverance in a “keep moving forward” way. So, I was surprised when I discovered that the root word for perseverance in this passage ‘Apart f%m means: "stay in place." The picture is not of a tired runner, but of a rooted tree that is Him, we can being blown by strong winds--and perseverance means that the tree doesn't come uprooted or move from its place: it remains firm no matter what is going on around it. do nothing.’ When Jesus told His disciples in John 15:4 to "abide (remain) in Me" it is the same root word--stay in Me; we get our resources and strength and power from Him. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. The one who hears Jesus’ words and acts on them is the house built on the rock that doesn’t collapse when the rain falls, the floods come, and the winds blow and slam against it. It perseveres: remains in place. REFLECTION QUESTIONS Has anything moved me from my abiding place in Jesus this season? How do the busy-ness, festivities, and commercialism of my secular culture affect my focus on the simple message of why Jesus came? Sometimes the challenge is not to come up with a new and exciting way to share the message of Jesus’ incarnation, life, death and resurrection, but to have the same fresh love and deep gratitude for who Jesus is while telling the: Same. Old. Story. 3 26 The Inconvenience of DECEMBER Ch#stmas - Part 1 Michael Battermann For us in the Western world, Christmas is often associated with good memories. There are lots of lights, feelings of love, Christmas trees with decorations, cookies, good food, presents, music, and often, wonderful family time together. Have you ever thought about how inconvenient that first Christmas actually was? Mary and Joseph’s family were still working through the whole issue of disgrace, because Mary was pregnant before being fully married. There was the extreme inconvenience Have you ever when the Romans decided to take a census, which meant that people had to return to the thought, “How area of their birth. What must it have been like, for Mary and Joseph to make this around 90 mile journey with their baby who was so close to being born? There was no other inconvenient?” means of transportation other than walking or possible riding an animal, if one was rich enough to own one. Imagine arriving in Bethlehem and trying to find a place to stay. They might well have had relatives living there, who must have felt obliged to take them in but could not, as others were also trying to find lodging. It must have been very inconvenient to turn away such a needy couple. Mary and Joseph might well have felt desperate and felt like they were such an inconvenience to those that they asked for help. They were finally able to get a place among the animals, that were used to having the place to themselves. Sometime before this, the “Wise Men” were also inconvenienced, in that they left their homes and places of comfort to being their longer journey to follow the star. If I were one of their camels (if they used them for transportation), then I definitely would have felt inconvenienced. They eventually made it to Jerusalem where their observations became quite an inconvenience for king Herod. He felt extremely threatened, and began to demand answers of the Jewish leaders, which would have inconvenienced them. It would have made them felt quite uncomfortable, in speaking the truth of prophecy to Herod, that a different king was to be born in Bethlehem. Think of the inconvenience of birthing a baby in a place so out of the ordinary. Was there somebody to help? That could well have been the case, which means that somebody else was inconvenienced, especially because of the crude conditions into which the baby would have to be born. REFLECTION QUESTIONS Does inconvenience ever keep you or your family from focusing on Christ? Does inconvenience ever keep others from seeing or hearing about Christ, from you or your family? 4 27 The Inconvenience of DECEMBER Ch#stmas - Part 2 Michael Battermann How would you like to have been one of those shepherds out in the fields, who were scared out of their wits when those angels cut loose? There was also the inconvenience of losing sleep, with a mixture of fear, awe and excitement, and having to choose who would stay back and watch the sheep, while the others hurried, without flashlights, into the town, to see if what the angels had spoken of was true. Then there was Mary and Joseph with a brand-new little baby, with all of these people crowding around. I can imagine the staring and babbling taking place, when I’m sure that these new parents were probably exhausted and just wanting to sleep. Think of the inconvenience for Mary and Joseph in not wanting to travel back home Let’s not forget with such a young child. Then the inconvenience of Joseph’s dream that caused them to that the baby, go all the way down to Egypt. They must have been scared and wondered if they were who cause al safe on that journey. How inconvenient to be immersed into a totally different culture, with possibly no of these friends, and have to find a way to make a living for those next few years. It must also inconveniences have been inconvenient for the soldiers, having to head out to Bethlehem and kill little children. I’m sure that they struggled with their own consciences, possibly for the rest of , actualy came their lives. ' die so that All of these occurrences sound quite inconvenient. Especially in comparison to us sitting we might truly in our cozy living rooms, with all of the conveniences that anyone would ever need. Don’t get me wrong here. I’m not saying that it’s wrong to have all of these things, or to live. be comfortable, but at the same time, let’s not forget the extreme inconvenience of that first Christmas. Let’s not forget that the baby, who caused all of these inconveniences, actually came to die, so that we might truly live. He was the focus, and must still be the focus of our lives. Let’s not forget that ministry is never convenient, and that we should choose inconvenience, if it would lead others or, even ourselves, closer to Christ. REFLECTION QUESTIONS What inconvenience will be a part of this Christmas, in order for you to refocus on Christ? What inconvenience will be a part of your Christmas this year, so that someone else’s focus may be on Christ? 5 28 Shout it f%m the DECEMBER Moun"in Grace Hamrick When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
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