Follow the Star in 2023

 

It’s interesting that the most famous star in history really isn’t at all about astronomy, but rather with the people who followed the star and why. The story of a group of influential political and religious men suddenly dropping everything in their daily lives and putting themselves in danger to follow an enigmatic star has intrigued people for millennia. Why such effort, expense, and risk? In their own words, the so-called Magi or Wismen said, “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 

How much these individuals understood the significance of the one born “King of the Jews” or their level of conviction, it was sufficient to compel them to take any measure necessary to find out more about this one to whom the star pointed. Isn’t that pretty good advice in 2023 for people professing to believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. 

Whether you have been a Christian for a short or long time, whether your understanding of who he is and what he has done for you is in its beginning stages or deeply embedded in your life, make the commitment of the Wisemen to find out more about him in the coming 365 days. Jesus never promised an easy or comfortable life to those who followed him. He did promise Truth and eternity. 

We stand at the threshold of a new year. Will you follow the Star in 2023? 

Weekend worship service times: Saturday: 6:00 pm – Sunday: 10:00 am 

Binge-watching

 

The technical sophistication of current Netflix and Amazon Prime mini-series makes shows of the past such as Gilligan’s Island seem like home movies. The writing and production skill has reached such levels that people will spend a day and night watching all the episodes of an entire season. We have even developed a new word for this addiction – binge-watching. Such a phenomenon is impressive given the entertainment savvy of the American people. 

It may sound counterintuitive, but the irony of our age is that our attention is consumed by stories which are of little lasting importance, and those which profoundly affect our lives, we ignore with an air of sophisticated boredom. Such is the case of Christmas. The opening words of Luke 2 can lead many to a state of drowsiness: “In those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed…” And yet, the story of God becoming a human being continues to be the one story in human history which stands as the most spectacular, profound, mysterious, exciting, and scary of all time. Try as you will, nothing comes close to it – especially when it dawns on us that our reaction to what we are reading determines the ”forever” of our lives. 

If your feeling toward the Christmas story is “been there, done that” or “same old, same old”, it might be you never really got below the surface. Join us for one of our weekend services – Christmas still is and always will be “the story of stories”. You owe it to yourself to get to the heart of it. 

Weekend worship service times: Saturday: 6:00 pm – Sunday: 10:00 am