By Glenn Hecox,
Minister for Worship,
Abiding Hope Lutheran Church
Christmas seems to grow more stressful with each year - family issues, financial stress, loneliness, busy-ness - the list can go on and on. A time of celebration has become a time of desperation. The birth of God's priceless son has become the most expensive time of the year.
While Christmas has always been a time of giving (following the example of God's gift to us that very first Christmas), over time, the object of the gifts has changed from Jesus to ourselves. Though we did not create this conundrum, we certainly do our part to perpetuate it. If Jesus is truly the gift of Christmas, why do we continue to linger in the darkness rather than choosing to celebrate the Light?
Each year, on the second weekend of December, we have the opportunity to do just that:
Celebrate the Light! On this glorious weekend of worship at Abiding Hope Lutheran Church, we seek to put aside the craziness of a secular Christmas in order to worship the true Gift and its Giver. On Dec. 8 and 9, you are invited to join over 150 dedicated worship leaders in celebration of the One who came to set us free from our fears, harness our anxieties, cure us from our afluenza, and give us eternal life.
God's gift to us that first Christmas was life. And when we see that God is in the center of that life, we really have no choice but to stop perpetuating death and begin experiencing the freedom of true life. As they gave of themselves, those surrounding Jesus' birth experienced this life and its freedom. By giving their gift to God and to the baby Jesus, they each, in some way, enabled God's story to reach the hearts of all who would hear. God's gift to them became an opportunity for them to give a gift to God. This year, we celebrate these servants and their gifts and share in their stories so they may serve as inspiration for us as we seek to give our lives to the King.
Each year, we look for new ways to experience the Christmas season. We hope to discover a new kind of peace that will rest upon us during frenzied times. We wonder if we will ever break out of our holiday insanity. Jesus entered the world in similarly hectic times, yet individuals took time to honor the new-born King. Stop the insanity and come. Make this the year you journey back to that first Christmas, where God unveiled God's hope for the world - God's hope for you. Maybe then, we can present God with the gift of our hearts. Maybe then, we can celebrate the Light.
Celebrate the Light Worship
Come rediscover God's hope for the world. Rediscover the Gift of Christmas.
Saturday, Dec. 8, 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 9, 8:15 and 10:45 a.m.
Abiding Hope Lutheran Church
Coal Mine and Robb
Littleton, CO 80127
abidinghopelutheranchurch.org