I’m looking forward to our Sunday morning series that will start next Sunday, December 4!  We’ll be focusing on characters from the gospel narratives that surround Jesus’ birth.

To begin the series, we will look at the character of Zechariah, the father of Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist.  An angel comes with great news, but the old priest won’t believe it until he can see it.

Mary, our second profile in receiving the unexpected Gift, accepts her surprise role in the coming of the Messiah with unusual grace, considering the circumstances.

Shepherds will be the focus of our third week in The Unexpected Gift.  The shepherds in the field model some of the best ways to receive great news from God–they believed, obeyed and told others about what they had experienced.

Finally, on Christmas morning, we will take a look at Simeon who saw Jesus at just eight days old and felt the relief that came from seeing “the consolation of Israel”.  We’ll take our own long gaze at our Savior on Christmas morning.  By the way, we’ll only be having one service, at 11AM on Christmas.  Please be sure to note that!

Here’s the schedule and the Bible passages you’ll want to read to prepare yourself in receiving The Unexpected Gift:

December 4      Luke 1:5-25, 57-79   Zechariah
December 11   Luke 1:26-45              Mary
December 18   Luke 2:1-20                Shepherds
December 25   Luke 2:21-35             Simeon

One other feature of The Unexpected Gift series will be an increased number of blog posts all dealing with themes related to the Season.  I love Advent and Christmas, don’t you?