GREETINGS TO THE CHILDREN OF GOD, WHO BEAR GOD’S IMAGE TO THE WORLD,

On Wednesday night worship, I invited us to imagine our good friend Jesus singing a song in our ear. A song just for them. I wonder what songs came to mind for people. Perhaps it was that 250-year-old hymn, Amazing Grace. God’s grace comes to us in so many ways, through songs, through cherished keepsakes and through little catch phrases that tickle our minds and help us remember.

Words that are important to us, we often fill them with more words and more meaning to give body and dimension to the word itself. Take for example the word GRACE, a word that means a gift that is undeserved, an extra abundance and fullness to what is already present. The website acronymsandslang.com gives these acronym phrases for the term "grace":

· God's Riches/Righteousness At Christ's Expense

· Great Redemption At Christ's Expense

· Grace Rightly Applied Changes

Everything

· Glorious Realities As Christ

Empowers

You may have one of your own. Preparing for Christ’s coming we so often respond with gift giving and generosity because we know the great gift we are given as Jesus comes to us. Many of us have the practice of not only giving gifts to our families and friends but also to strangers in need, especially children. One of our lecturers from Tantur in Jerusalem, who grew up in the United States in an orthodox Jewish community said that although she rarely came into contact with Christians, she did know about Christmas and the gift giving that surrounds this season.

It is a beautiful witness of God’s generosity as John 3:16 reminds us. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God’s generosity inspires our own generosity and gift giving in this Advent season. We have all been given just the gift we need because Jesus comes to us and that overflows into our lives and relationships.

Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,

Pastor Connie Spitzack