Christmas & Epiphany Takeaways
Growing in our faith during a pandemic has been a challenge. With so many supports, activities, freedoms etc… having been temporarily taken away, many of us have felt distanced from God and each other. Isolation is tough and over time it can eat away at our faith. In our worship services the last several months we have been reminded repeatedly that God uses the circumstances of this world to help us both encounter God and grow in our faith.
Learning how God chooses to be part of our lives, calling us to live a life greater than we could ever dream of – has been a big part of what we have learned. Here are some more of our takeaways (remember takeaways are the Biblical truths we discover in worship that we can hook our faith on, take home with us, and put into practice throughout the week).
Advent 2020 Takeaways
- God uses the circumstances of this world to help us prepare for Our Coming Savior.
- A big part of advent is allowing God to remove/heal the unhealthy connections we have to this world.
- During Advent, God meets us – even in the wilderness.
- Repentance is often what follows after a powerful encounter with God.
- Getting ready for Christmas might include sacrificing your plans for the benefit of someone else.
- A path to Joy often involves taking our eyes off what we have lost and seeing what we have gained.
Christmas & Epiphany Takeaways
- Jesus came for people like you and me.
- Christmas provides a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with Jesus.
- We are the blessing. The treasures we receive from God are meant to guide us in being this blessing to the world.
- You are my Child, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.
- We have some cleanup work to do. God’s image has been tarnished by the events of this past week. Staying silent and avoiding the task only makes us complicit.
- Jesus knows who we really are. Yet he calls us to follow him anyways.
- The attribute that makes it easier to follow Jesus – Having no deception in us.
- There is a difference between observing Jesus and following Jesus.
- Change will happen in us. How we act, feel, think, see others, our speech and our decision making –everything will be transformed as we follow Jesus.
- In following Jesus, we become Agents of Transformation.