JOY to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King!

This week in December, we begin by asking our preschoolers a Key Question: “How do we know God loves us?”

A person close to me swears that his last name brings bad luck. He is convinced that all of the suffering and sorrow in his life is just a matter of being unlucky and, if he’s truly honest, unloved by God. Recently he laughingly told me, “I’m not saying Jesus is a bad person. I mean, I know he’s a good person and all. I’m just saying that God doesn’t like people with my last name. It brings bad luck.” He regularly posts on Facebook things like, ” god hates me.” “I’m sorry to every Sox fan ever. Having me as a fan has brought upon you the curse and wrath of god.” “Lame.” “The short end of a short stick.” And his favorite hashtag is #ihatemornings.  Don’t get me wrong, his “poor me” posts can be really funny… often. But, for every time I see a post that makes me laugh, it also breaks my heart. I desperately want him to know that bad things happen to even good people, luck is a myth, and most important, God has already done everything needed to show His great love for ALL.

Our Bottom Line this month says it all. How do we know God loves us? “God gave us Jesus.”

This month we anticipate and celebrate the Incarnation. The audacious breach of the boundary between Heaven and Earth. God in the flesh, bursting through the darkness to bring Light and Life to all. The Divine become human, willingly submitting Himself to all that being human means – suffering, loss, rejection, sorrow, abandonment, pain, and death – even death on a tree. How “unlucky” can you get?

I hope that as we journey through this month of preparation for Christmas that you will prepare your own heart as well. I hope that you will make space for silence and solitude in the midst of the hustle and bustle. I hope that you will remember God’s unimaginably great love for you – for ALL His creation – and that you will eagerly anticipate His coming with a new freshness and longing.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not understood it.” John 1:5

Oh, that we would understand and embrace the Light this season.

Let every heart prepare Him room.

-Alicia Lewis-Cumberland Church Children’s Ministry Director

  After finishing a recent FPU class at Cumberland, this was collected by our FPU Director, Robbie Poe!  I was so amazed to see these stats and hope you are too.  I am reminded, yet again, why FPU is so important to helping people grow in a relationship with Jesus Christ.  If you have never experienced an environment like this, I hope you will attend the January group or... 

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