Dear Faith Family,

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth, (Luke 2:6).
Tomorrow is Christmas!  Wait, tomorrow?!  Tomorrow we celebrate the birth of Jesus?  Are you sure that it is tomorrow?  Anybody else feeling not like it’s Christmas?

I’m thinking that the shepherds in Luke 2 were feeling not like it was Christmas.  Was it just another night?  Sheep still here?  Check.  Sheep killers not here?  Check?  Angel here?  Check.  Wait a minute!  Where did he come from?  And why shouldn’t we be afraid?

Suddenly everything changed.  Those shepherds would never be the same.  What made so much difference in the lives of those shepherds?  J-E-S-U-S!  What they heard was true.  The Messiah was here!  They found exactly what they had been told they would find.

“Let’s go see.”  The shepherds didn’t pretend that they hadn’t heard the angels.  The shepherds didn’t consider their current responsibilities as more important than seeing Jesus, the Christ.  They didn’t even send live feed to their YouTube channels or their Facebook pages.  What they did do was see Jesus.  I like that verse 16 says they went with haste.

For us, everything has changed indeed.  Christmas may look (and feel) a bit different this year.  Is that all bad?  Or, could it simply be a call to come and see?  See what?  A Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Worship with us tonight (make sure you’ve RSVP’d).  Join in later tonight and worship using our recorded Christmas Eve service on YouTube.  Spend some time around the Word of God as a family tomorrow.  Celebrate Jesus.  Consider who He is.  Consider what He has done.

Last night around 10:30 our youngest son arrived from Washington D.C.  We’ve been preparing for his arrival.  Cleaning, cooking, and grocery shopping.  We have looked forward to his coming.  When I heard him at the front door, I had to go see!  He was now my focus.  Not the clean floors.  Not all the good food (although I’ll still enjoy that!).  My son – so thankful to see him.

Praying and hoping that Jesus will be the reason for your season.  And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them, (Luke 2:20).

Let’s go see,
Pastor Karl