2019 Worship Guide

Page 18 2019 Worship Guide LINCOLN DAILY NEWS Wednesday, December 4, 2019 getting a message from God that He’s the Father. And, about the time you start accepting the fact that you’ll never quite have the marriage and home life you’d been dreaming about, you find out you all – you, your bride, and your soon-to-be-born step- Son – are going to have to trek all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem because some politician decided you needed to go home to be counted for a census. Oh yeah, and the census meant that taxes would be going up. Again. Christmas was just one big inconvenience after another, wasn’t it? Now do you understand why I could be called names and excluded from participation in the reindeer games? Nobody wants to think of Christmas this way. Nobody wants to be told that Christmas is an invasion. No one wants to associate Christmas with words like intrusion, interference, and inconvenience. So, to avoid the less pleasant sentiments, many have chosen to push the real story, the birth of the Savior of the world, aside. They’ve substituted dazzling lights, festive songs, and feel-good movies for the true story that has changed everything: The infinite God sent his incomparable Son. Born via a virgin He became incarnate. Born into a world of insolent people who would reject Him, cause Him to suffer ineffable indignity, and ruthlessly murder Him. But incredibly, God intervened and raised Him from death. He has shown us His love, invited us into an intimate relationship with Him, and given us a chance to receive an eternal inheritance. Jesus went out of heaven so we could come in. And what does He want from us? Just to ask Him into our lives. I can only one think of one word to sum it all up: Inconceivable! Praying you make room for the ‘in’s this Christmas!