Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel!
Shall come to thee, Oh Israel!

In case you hadn’t noticed, Christmas is near!

The shops have been playing Wham and Mariah Carey for weeks already, but as we move into December, everything ramps up a bit. Whether you’re a Christmas Eve shopper, or you’ve had things wrapped up for weeks, you’ll see the anticipation and excitement building wherever we go.

For Christians, advent has long been a season of anticipation and joy, possible even since the fourth century! The word advent means ‘coming’ and has been used to both remember Jesus’ first coming, born in Bethlehem, and also his second coming, when he returns to make all things new and bring his people home.

This December, we’re going to have 25 devotions, written by some of our staff team, to help us as a church fix our hearts and minds on the joy and wonder of knowing Jesus, Emmanuel, God With Us.

We’re going to follow the theme of Emmanuel through the Bible, and see the blessing and reality of God being present with his people.

In the middle of all the noise, business, and celebrations this December, let’s encourage one another to slow down and be intentionally aware that we’re in God’s presence. We can only do that through faith in Jesus.

Countless nativity plays will tell something of the story of Jesus being born in Bethlehem, but sadly the wonder and magnitude of that moment is often overlooked. This isn’t another fairy tale, this is the Mighty God, Creator of all the universe, stepping into his creation. The King of all Kings and Lord of all Lords became a tiny wee, crying baby.

Jesus came to us, so we might come to him.

We can never get to God ourselves. Our sin creates a massive gap, an eternal break in relationship. So, Jesus had to come to us, to bring us home to himself. He died on a cross to take the punishment for sin, rose to defeat sin and death, reigns once more as King of all, and one day will return again to bring his people fully and finally home.

For the next month, let’s take time to slow down, rest, and focus on the wonder of Emmanuel.

Let’s not ignore the manger, but let’s slow down to take it all in, and enjoy the season with Jesus, Emmanuel, God With Us.

Rejoice!

Written by Pete Bell