ZPCBlog

About the author: Scott is the Associate Pastor of Discipleship at ZPC and has served here for almost 28 years. He and his wife Claire have 4 children, Jacob, Lexia, Luke, and Graham.  Two in college, and two now are college graduates - yay! Scott loves serving in a variety of ways at ZPC, including missions, Home Groups, worship, pastoral care, Great Banquet, Grace Marriage and many other ways. He also loves just being with the church family on Sunday mornings and at other times during the week. 

Today's scripture: John 1:1-14

Merry Christmas! First let me say how impressed I have been at all your thoughtful, beautiful, and personal devotionals that you all have written during this Advent season! So, thank you!

We have hope at Christmas. Hope is one of the truly important things that God offers to us. Paul says the big three are faith, hope and love. Paul says the greatest of these is love, but maybe hope and faith are tied for second!

Recently, I was reading a short devotional about hope. The author said that hope is really based in the hope of Heaven, eternal life that truly does exist. This hope helps to shape our lives today, our thoughts, our goals, our attitudes. Hope is an antidote to despair, anxiety and trouble.  

The hope at Christmas is that Jesus came and that Jesus is truly God. Jesus came for you and me. In the beginning was the Word – and the Word was God – that Word is Jesus.  Jesus is the Word become flesh.

John 1 says that Jesus gives us the right to become children of God. We can’t do this on our own, or earn it through doing good things, but only through Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Jesus is truly the Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16) – the once and for all time sacrifice for our sins – who was both human and divine, and that through Jesus – the Word – we have the hope of Heaven.

The year 2021 has been another difficult one because of the ongoing pandemic. In other ways it has been a difficult year in the life of ZPC as we have had many funerals – many of whom have been faithful members or even founding members of the church. To see them pass away, some too soon, has made me grieve. But during loss, I hold on to Jesus – who came to give life, to even give eternal life. When I go to a funeral or a cemetery, I must hold on to hope – that this life is not all there is.  There is an eternal life with Jesus – because of Jesus – who is the Word of God, Son of God, the Messiah. When life is hard, when times are tough, when we have experienced pain, failure, and loss, we can still have hope.

We read today from John 1. John also writes this near the end of his gospel in John 20:31: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

This is the true meaning of Christmas. God came near in the form of a baby who would live and then die for us – that we might live and have life in his name – even the eternal life someday that we hope for now!  God bless you on this Christmas day and in this season!

Activity:

Since it is Jesus’ birthday do one of these brief activities:

• Make a toast to Jesus at one of your meals on Christmas day, and raise a glass and say “Happy Birthday Jesus!”
• If you have kids (or even if you don’t), sing Happy Birthday to Jesus.
• Share a small birthday cake and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus too!

Prayer:

Most Loving Jesus,
What a joy it is to celebrate your birth today! We are so grateful that you loved us so much to come to earth, that we might have life abundant and life eternal! So we thank you for what you have done and we praise you for who you are. Help us to remember and celebrate you simply through food and fellowship, through family, through gift giving and through how we treat others. 
We pray in Jesus’ name,
Amen

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