Announcements have been reduced to one this week because we are making room for the greatest announcement of all - Christ has come!
Theologian and author Andreas Kostenberger wrote a wonderful article called "Christmas is Too Big for One Day." Here's a sneak peak we hope encourages you as we look toward Christmas Day:
Jesus’s birth did not come in a vacuum. His coming was the culmination of centuries, even millennia, of mounting expectation of the coming Messiah and Savior of humankind.
Being mindful of this larger story of God’s promise to his people, we finally can understand the angelic announcement in Luke’s Christmas story in its fuller biblical context:
“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10–11)
This is no ordinary child. And this is no ordinary birth. This is the coming of God himself in human flesh. This is the most important arrival in the history of the world. This marks the earthly beginnings of the gospel of God’s in-person rescue of his people from sin, suffering, destruction, and death. And this is far too glorious to contain to only one day’s celebration.
A day as significant as Christmas warrants an Advent of four weeks of preparation and enjoyment. We will marvel for eternity over the coming of God himself to save his people from their sins, and Advent’s four weeks of awe are a good place to start.