2020 Worship Guide

Page 10 2020 Worship Guide LINCOLN DAILY NEWS December 2, 2020 Living – Growing – Learning - coming to understand who He was (Is!) and why He was born. The Greatest of All - humbling Himself among the least and embracing all sinful humanity as His family. Even being willing to wash in the same dirty water they used to feebly symbolize their change of heart and life toward God and their fellow humans. That’s new, isn’t it? Loving - Teaching - Urging - Correcting - leading people to look at their God with fresh eyes. An immovable God - who would welcome the friendless sinner, touch the untouchable leper, forgive the repentant adulterer, sit at the table with the notorious, and personally dry the tears of the mourner. That’s especially unique. Wrestling – Weeping, the Author of Life travailing in sweat and blood as He accepts the last and most crucial part of the mission that He came to accomplish – to die in a most humiliating and violent fashion at the hands of the humanity He loved so much. The kind of love that can endure such undeserved hatred is truly, divinely, without equal. Rising from the dead a few days later - escaping the tomb? That’s a feat not even the Great Houdini has been able to pull off. A complete novelty. And he promised another advent, a coming day when He would not be born, but the whole groaning world would be re-born into unprecedented dimensions of peace and plenty, comfort and contentment, health and wholeness when He takes control of this globe gone wild. Can you imagine a world that will never again see the likes of 2020 with its pandemic, elections, riots and hurricanes?!? There’s only one word in our language that comes close to adequately expressing all that Jesus is, has done, and will do – unprecedented! How you celebrate Christmas may look substantially different this year, but why you celebrate – the unprecedented birth of the Son of God – can’t be touched by a virus. That’s more than enough reason to have a Merry Christmas!