Sometimes, when we look at the Christmas story, it almost seems like a fairy tale, doesn’t it? ‘Lowing cattle as Mary gives birth in a barn, while the little drummer boy looks on. There’re shepherds summoned by little flying cherubs; and soon the three kings—Gaspar, Balthazar, and Melchior—follow the bright star to that first century barn in order to lay their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh at the base of the little wooden manger filled with straw… This version of the story makes for great Christmas carols, but did...
When the original Advent Conspiracy churches got together to change Christmas in a very tangible way—to really live out their faith through the story of Christmas, they journeyed to Africa with a team from Living Water International—the non-profit organization who digs freshwater wells in places around the world that most of us don’t even know exist. The villages they work with are so far off the beaten path, some of that original team of Advent Conspiracy folks didn’t even know if they could reach these folks to see what was...
Through the shepherds comes the meaning of the most significant event in cosmic history! The meaning is ‘peace’—God’s peace, shalom, blessedness, fullness. This is the message from the angels to the shepherds … and from the shepherds to us, tonight. Christ’s coming means ‘peace.’ Not the abolition of war, necessarily, but a different kind of peace—a peace that only God can give us. Jews in Israel, even today, still greet each other with ‘shalom’ (peace). You could offer no better wish to anyone than … ‘shalom.’ So, as we begin...
