December 22, 2025 • 32 mins
Hope doesn’t live behind us; it’s being prepared ahead. We dive into Advent as a season of patient, forward-looking formation, pushing back on the rush to celebrate early and the nostalgia that quietly tells us the best days are gone. From Mary’s courageous yes to the early church’s costly love, we trace a simple thread: God meets us in the middle of ordinary life, and hospitality is how hope takes shape.
We unpack Luke 2 with cultural clarity: the “no room” moment likely refers to a full guest room, not a failed inn, placing Jesus’ birth inside a bustling home where animals warmed the night. That shift changes everything. The manger sits in the center of human life, not on the edges, and the incarnation becomes a model for how we welcome Christ now—by welcoming people whose presence may complicate our schedules and challenge our assumptions. Mary’s forward-looking faith counters the despair of longing for rooms we can’t return to; Advent trains us to prepare a place while Christ prepares one for us.
From there, we connect the dots to the early church’s witness. The gospel spread less through polished arguments and more through embodied compassion—tables set for strangers, care for the vulnerable, and courage to love beyond convenience. As we move toward Christmas, we name the most sacred work many of us will do: set the family table, slow down enough to notice the lonely, and make room for God in the mess, the noise, and the real. If Jesus was born in a house, then our homes can become holy ground today.
My hope is that this podcast helps grow your faith and equips you to accomplish your dreams and goals!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:06):
Welcome to another episode of the podcast.
Today I'm going to be sharing ateaching that I recently did at
our staff chapel.
My hope is that this encouragesyou and that your love for God's
word deepens.
Okay, today we are continuingour Advent little series that
(00:32):
we've been in, if you will.
I don't know if you can call itthat.
It's a staff chapel series.
Um, only I would do that.
Um silly, but I guess it's aseries within a series because
we're still seriesingPhilippians.
That's coming back.
We gotta finish.
We're like right there.
(00:52):
So we're gonna be in Lukechapter two.
Luke chapter two.
And um, I kind of touched onthis a little bit on Sunday, but
um, it's just like in me.
I could talk so many thingsabout Advent and this Christmas
season.
I feel like I'm like full andoverflowing.
(01:13):
Um, have you has uh talkingabout last week, candle miss and
all of those things?
Are you seeing things differentin the world around you?
I pray that you are.
Um, keeping in mind that for us,whenever we're thinking about
Advent and the purpose of Adventis the this entire Advent
(01:34):
season, what it's about ispreparing our hearts.
It's about waiting for Christ.
It's that's what the wholepurpose is.
And I'm not saying this any kindof way, so just hear my heart.
But even when you look atculture, we're so immediate with
everything, you know.
And I talked about several staffchapels back about how even as
(01:58):
culture accelerates, theformation of our souls will not
accelerate.
So there's no fast track to likegetting to the spot where you
want to be.
Now, I can put myself intorooms, I can open myself to the
work of the spirit, but thespirit only does what the spirit
wills.
And so even when you think aboutAdvent, again, like I said, love
(02:22):
me, I hear my heart.
We are so expressed in oursociety that like even when
stores roll out Christmas keepsgetting earlier and earlier and
earlier.
And used to, it would be likeyou never saw anything till
after Thanksgiving.
And now it's like the minuteOctober 31st is over, it's
(02:44):
deemed like Christmas time,November 1st.
And everybody immediately isthrust into celebration, like
thrust into like we're inChristmas mode, it's go time.
And I'm not saying that's bad,but I want you to understand
what the whole purpose of Adventwas originally was that we were
preparing our hearts to for God,that we're preparing our hearts
(03:09):
to celebrate.
The Advent season, we thinkwe're celebrating Christmas up
till December 25th.
The early church didn't see itthat way.
This time of Advent waspreparing so that we can
celebrate.
The 12 days of Christmas is notthe 12 days before Christmas.
And I know that your Instagraminfluencer is doing their 12
(03:31):
days of giveaway leading up toChristmas, and they're
correlating that with the 12days of Christmas.
That's not what it is.
Um, actually, we don't startcelebrating till December 25th,
and then 12 days after.
And that is so counterculturalto what we see happening.
And when we see Mary, um, Maryprays this prayer and she says,
(03:56):
Lord, like not basically be untome what you will.
I want what you want.
And Mary for us is what she'sthere for and and as a reminder
of, is she was looking forwardin hope, in hope of what God
said is surely going to come topass.
(04:17):
And that's what Advent is about.
And even um, I posted this on myInstagram stories, but I think
it's good to belabor it becausewe never learn something by
hearing it once or like umconsuming it quickly on a
15-second story that we viewed.
Um, but even like Christmastime, think about how much
(04:38):
nostalgia is tied up intoChristmas.
We're so nostalgic at Christmastime, and that's that's good.
It's not bad.
Um, we want to play songs thatinvoke an emotion in us.
We're trying to relive childhoodmemories.
We're playing movies that wewatched as children that we want
(04:59):
to remember.
And even like we tell storiesand we relive moments from our
past.
And all those things are good.
I'm not demonizing any of them,but the point of Advent is not
nostalgia.
The point of Advent is longingfor a place that we've never
been.
(05:20):
That's the point of Advent.
And nostalgia often leads todespair because there's not hope
in our past.
Hope only exists in our future.
And culture is literallycentered around reverse living
at Christmas time.
It wants us to look over ourshoulder.
(05:42):
All the marketing that's done toyou around Christmas season is
to invoke an emotion to make youlong for the past as though it's
better than the present.
There's a song, I don't know whoit's by.
Bear, bear and brand probablywill know because they're good
at knowing songs, but it's likeum it goes, uh, talk about the
good old days, about how it usedto be.
(06:06):
Clint Black.
I was gonna say Clay Walker ClayWalker.
Um he says, we've worn out thesame old lines, and and it's
true, like we relive when gasprices were lower, when that
family member was here, whengrandma used to make her fill in
the blank, when we had this,when Christmas looked like this,
(06:30):
and all those things, what it'sdoing is it's pulling us back
and it's affirming an internalbelief that the hope that we
have, we've already passed it.
The exit ramp already happenedand we missed it.
It's gone.
Like our children, it's gone.
Like they used to be little, itwas so good back then.
Now I have them here.
(06:50):
Like it's it's this exit rampthat we feel like we've missed,
and it's this longing.
That's why people are depressedat Christmas time.
Why?
Because we're wanting to goback.
But Mary's prayer was forwardfocus.
It was, God, I believe that whatyou have ahead is better than
what I'm presently experiencing.
(07:12):
And the point of Advent is notpreparing that our houses are
Instagram worthy or that we makethe best, fill in the blank, the
cookies, or whatever.
Like Matt said, it's not acompetition.
Um, it's it's not a competition,Matt.
It's not.
Um anyways, uh, but it's not,it's not all those things.
(07:32):
The point of Advent is that Ilook forward and hope that God,
what you I'm I'm longing.
There's this TikTok trend, andit's like I long, I'm longing
for a room I can never go backto.
And it's talking about I pull upto the house and I'm at
grandma's house, and this is Ican hear her voice from the
other room.
(07:52):
And that trend is really strongright now in my TikTok feed.
And what is it doing?
It's telling you that thelonging in your heart is for a
place you can never go back to.
It's gone, it's done.
That season, it's over.
And there's what does that makeyou feel?
Total despair.
Like that sucks.
But the point of Advent islonging for a place that's being
(08:15):
prepared right now for us.
And the point of Advent is thesame way that Christ is
preparing a place for us, we'repreparing our place for him.
Does this make sense?
So we're saying, Christ, whatwe're presently experiencing,
what you have is so much better.
What is in my future, my futurewith you, is better than my past
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that I've known.
It's I don't have to look atTikTok in despair, but I'm
looking ahead in hope.
And that was Mary's prayer.
She was it was her Adventseason, her pregnancy season,
her advent season preparing thatwhat God's promised will surely
come to pass.
And in Advent, we are to remindourselves that the things that
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God's promised us, we haven'tmissed it.
Like you haven't missed it.
Like quit buying into that lie.
You're not too old, you're nottoo young, you're not too far
gone, you're not too whateveryou're to is that you're filling
in the blank.
This this year wasn't a missedopportunity.
You haven't gone too far.
(09:21):
Like, that's not it.
Advent is about God, everythingyou promised, I'm gonna see it
come to pass.
And so I'm preparing my heartfor what you've already
prepared.
I'm preparing my heart.
I'm I'm working with the spirit,and starting December 25th, I
celebrate for 12 days becauseyou're worthy to be celebrated,
(09:42):
not just one day, but 12 days.
And so I don't, I'm not quick tomove past December 25th.
Okay, that's over.
New Year's goals, New Year'sresolutions.
No, I'm lingering, I'm lettingmy heart then celebrate.
This is when, Lord, I cancelebrate in faith for all that
you've done.
(10:02):
So um, Luke chapter two, Lukechapter two.
Um, I read this on Sunday, um,but I believe that it's worth
reading again.
And so, verse chapter versefour, Joseph uh also went up
from Galilee out of the city ofNazareth into Judea, to the city
of David, which is calledBethlehem, because he um was of
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the house and the lineage ofDavid, to be registered with
Mary, his betrothed wife, whowas with child.
So it was that while they werethere the days were completed
for her to be delivered, and shebrought forth her firstborn son,
and wrapped him in swaddlingcloths, and laid him in a
manger, because there was noroom for him in the inn.
(10:46):
And there was in the samecountry shepherds living out in
their fields, uh fields, keepingwatch over their flock by night,
and behold, an angel of the Lordstood before them, and the glory
of the Lord shone around them,and they were greatly afraid.
And the angel said to him, Donot be afraid, for behold I
bring you good tidings of greatjoy, which shall be for all
people.
For there is born to you thisday in the city of David a
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Saviour who is Christ the Lord,and this will be a sign to you.
You will find a babe wrapped inswaddling cloths, lying in a
manger, and suddenly there waswith an angel a multitude of
heavenly hosts, praising God,and saying, Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace,good will toward men.
So it was when the angels hadgone away from them into heaven,
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that the shepherds said to oneanother, Let us now go to
Bethlehem and see this thingwhich has come to pass, which
the Lord has made known to us.
And they came with haste andfound Mary and Joseph and the
babe lying in a manger, and whenthey had seen him, they made
widely known the saying whichwas told to them concerning this
child, and all those who heardit marveled at the things which
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were told to him by theshepherds.
But Mary kept all these thingsand pondered them in her heart,
and the shepherds returned,glorifying and play praising God
for the things which they hadheard and seen it told to them.
You know, um we love made-upstories.
Um I I like to make up storiessometimes.
Um I it's one of my gifts.
(12:11):
I sometimes reality isn't asfun, so I just like I live um in
a fictitious reality.
Um, and my counselor tells methat that's a trauma response
and how I dealt with abuse.
But you know, here we are.
Um so yeah, I'll just let youprocess that.
Um, but I like I sometimes likewill pretend like if work's
(12:32):
really overwhelming, um, I'lljust pretend that I am a like
trad wife and I'm stay at homeand I have no like major
decisions and my biggest choiceis like what to make dinner that
night.
And so then I will just likeleave.
I leave the office and I go andpretend that I don't have a job
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and that um there's no payrollwaiting to be processed or
answers to our lawyer, and I'llgo walk the aisles of a store
for a little while, and then Icome to my senses and realize,
which is also called Ashleycalling me, and um then I come
back to the office and I resumenormal life.
But for those few moments, itallows me to like live in this
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fictitious reality.
Um, so uh sometimes I make upstories.
Do y'all make up stories abouthow things started?
Like you walk in places andyou're like, let's tell a story.
Or do you ever go on a datenight and you see like another
couple or another like personand you make up this whole like
story about them?
You're like, so they met onlineand uh they never had met each
(13:37):
other before.
They were online and they'rehanging out, and this is their
first time.
He flew in from Seattle and shedidn't know.
And she came to the coffee shop,and like this whole story, which
you know it's like way betterthan reality, right?
Like, but it's not real.
So I had this with Bucky's.
Um, I had this whole fake storywith Bucky's.
My grandpa was a truck driver,and um he drove a night shift
(14:01):
because he wanted to be homeduring the day.
And so I made up this wholestory about Bucky's, that it was
a retired uh truck driver, andhe got a great settlement when
he was done a driving truck, andthey like wanted to bless him
because he was such a greatemployee.
And he decided, you know what?
Years of driving across thecountry, I want a good place to
(14:23):
like buy great snacks.
Like snacks at all these truckstops suck so bad, and I'm sick
of like dirty bathrooms, and soI'm gonna start this thing
called Bucky's where people cancome from all over the world and
like take pictures with thisbeaver, and it'll make them so
happy.
Well, the way to enforce a lieis to tell it again and again
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and again, and so I would tellpeople the story.
I would like be like, Yeah, Ilike to think it's like a truck
driver, and da-da-da and I wouldgo.
So I was telling the story forlike probably the 20th time, and
C Fig was there, and her eyeslike welled up, and she was
like, That is the sweeteststory.
Like, how have I lived?
(15:06):
And I did not know that thissweet old man like started
Buckies, and I go, It's not eventrue.
I just made it up, and she'slike, No trucks are a lot of
Bucky's, he's hating his ownkind, and she was like, I've
(15:26):
never researched this.
I was like, Yeah, me neither.
Like, it's a fake story, it'snot even real, and um, so,
anyways, so she was like, Yeah,it is an it is an Aggie that
started it, but there's nosentimental, like he's trying to
restore for all mankindanything.
Like, he's just trying to makemoney, and you know what?
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Praise God for that.
It's my favorite gas station.
And so, and all of us can justrejoice in the fact that HEB and
Bucky's will be next to eachother in Royce City, Texas.
And by this, we know that theLord loves us, and so I'm so
grateful I'll be able to get gasat my favorite gas station and
then go get groceries.
So sometimes, yeah, y'all gotWalmart and sulfur 100%.
(16:10):
So sometimes like the storyisn't as good as real life,
right?
And so I will say that in thisstory there is a lie that we've
believed, and the lie is theword in.
It's actually transliterated.
I have beef with um the Bibletranslators here, because the
word for in that's later used inLuke in the parable of the Good
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Samaritan in Luke 10, uh 25through 27, the Greek word is
cataluma, cataluma.
So whenever it's an in, uh Lukespecifies cataluma, which would
have been the word for hotel,motel, holiday in, okay?
And so he doesn't use that wordhere in um verse 7.
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The word is pandochilion,pandochilion.
And so that word in the Greekliterally means guest room,
guest room at a house.
So it's a completely differentGreek word, and so just that
shift of the word changes theentire story.
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And so you will hear everyChristmas season about the
innkeeper who doesn't exist,it's not a real thing, the hotel
that doesn't exist, and even thewhole picture you have of them
being in this stable that's likefar out in the middle of a
field, and the stars sittingover the stable were just Mary
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and Joseph and a few littleanimals, depending upon your
nativity scene, like aresitting.
That's that's not true.
Now remember, there was a censusin the land, and Jews everywhere
were returning from uh to theirvillages of family of origin.
So, therefore, it's possiblethat Bethlehem was swelling with
extra people, and guest roomsand homes were limited.
Jewish people were obligated toreceive strangers into their
(18:00):
homes under the law.
And so the couple, whenever theycome, they were asking to stay
in the guest room.
And so they're asking for thisplace, but it was already
occupied.
And so Luke then tells us thatafter the birth, Mary places the
baby into the animal trough, uh,the manger.
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And so the implication here isthat Jesus, the King of Kings,
Lord of Lords, the maker ofheaven and earth, was born in
the animal room.
Okay, there was like separatesections in a Jewish person's
home.
So keeping in mind, as I saidbefore, um, they did not have
central heat in the air.
So you brought your animals inand you would want to bring in
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big animals because they emittedthe most heat.
Um, if you ever you don't needan electric blanket if you have
a weenie dog because they'relike a furnace, they're so hot.
And so Charlie is our electricblanket in the winter, and she
wants to be right up against youthe entire night.
And so, but that's what theywanted.
So they would bring theseanimals in, and on the left side
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of the picture, you can see thatthere was like that's where the
animals would be.
There would literally be a holein the wall where they could
poke their head in where themanger was.
So even the picture that youhave where Jesus is like
surrounded by the animals,possibly not, unless he was in
the animal room.
And so they would put theirheads through the hole in the
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wall that would have the mangerin the center.
Now, all the family lived inthis middle portion together.
And so, under Jewish law, youcould not turn down strangers.
You had to welcome them in.
And so when he's saying there'sno room for them in the guest
room, he's like, guys,everybody's rolling through to
pay their taxes.
My house is completely full,meaning my religious
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requirements have beenfulfilled, but I'll let you in
anyways.
That to me is like way more mindblowing.
But as culture and society hasprogressed, we have this visual
of.
Jesus being like separated fromthe house, Mary and Joseph being
separated from the house, andthe innkeeper almost like our
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faith, I want you to see it likeour faith is so removed from the
heart of what's happening in ourlives.
Because even thinking about ananimal coming into your living
room, I don't know, Tara, thatyou're gonna have anybody for
the video for one church to say,like Courtney's like, yeah, I'm
good.
Bring in the oxen, bring in thesheep, let them be in the living
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room, and we will reenact likemodern day.
Nobody's doing that.
I think it's actually theoriginal story is better than
the one that we've met up.
Like in our culture society, wethink when we embellish a story,
it's better than what reallyhappened.
But I think in the Bible, it'sactually better that we see it
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in this way.
And so, and so Jesus wasliterally born in the midst, in
the middle of a familyhappening.
Now, in the Bible, um, there's astory in Judges chapter 11, and
uh, I'm gonna be shredding inJanuary.
Any shredders in January?
Yeah, what's up?
Let's go.
Um, uh, it's a great way tostart your year, just going for
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it.
So um in Judges chapter 11, it'sone of those stories that I hate
it every time I get to it.
And the story goes like thisThis man, he's coming home, and
he uh tells the Lord, whoever,um, whatever comes out of my
house first, um, I'm gonna giveit to as a sacrifice to you.
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And he had uh just defeated theAmmonites and he was excited,
he's coming home.
He says, Lord, whatever comesout of my house first.
Now keep in mind that theanimals were pent up in the
house all night long.
So the minute the doors wouldopen, the first thing to run out
was the animals.
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They they are bursting out ofthe house.
So understanding this changesthe way you see Judges 11.
The man 100% expected the firstthing to run out of his house to
be an ox, a sheep, a ram.
Well, the story doesn't go thatway.
It was his daughter that runsout.
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And it's awful.
I hate Judges 11 every time.
And yeah, it's just it's a badstory.
It's in the Bible, it's there.
But what I want you to see ishow this makes sense to how even
Jesus was born.
And it solidifies to us abouthim being inside a home, him
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being with the animals.
The cultural that it changesyour understanding of even the
man making that vow, he wasnever expecting one of his
children to run out.
He was 100% expecting an animalto run out.
And again, because we are in adifferent culture, because we're
a different society, we see thisverse different.
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But when you understand thecultural context, how they lived
inside their home, it changeshow you approach the text.
So Judges 11 still isdesperately sad.
Um, but uh, however, it doesbring more light to the
situation.
So then even with Mary, shewould have been deemed unclean
in the culture.
So the village of Bethlehemwould have been uh small, uh
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numbering only a few hundredpeople in population.
And because they were just a fewminutes from Jerusalem, the
villagers uh would observe thereligious laws.
And so here you have a woman whois not married, she's betrothed
to be married, but she is notmarried and she's pregnant.
Just her coming into your homeis harboring an unclean person.
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But yet the innkeeper who didn'texist, the house owner, he's
willing to do it anyways.
And I just think this is sobeautiful because again, like a
lot of times the walls that webuild, like I just want you to
think about how many culturalthings this like undoes for us
of like, it's too messy.
I've I've already done what, Ialready fulfilled my roster
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requests, I already did thetithe, I already, does this make
sense?
Um, that person, they're justtoo messed up, they're too far
gone.
No, like this man let in all ofthese things.
He had space for all of it.
And so um here we see a radicalwelcome will often come at a
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price.
Jesus welcomed sinners and hewas criticized, criticized for
it.
He healed on the Sabbath outsideof the religious law, and he was
threatened by the very religiousleaders that he came to save.
He ate in the homes of sinnersand was slandered.
Jesus sat with the adulterouswoman at a well in Samaria and
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was um criticized by hisdisciples.
They were like, What are youdoing?
Why are you doing this?
And think about the radicalwelcome often comes with a
price.
Even the disciples on the walkto Emmaus have their eyes
opened, not when they were onthe road, but when they let
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Christ into their home.
And it's when we welcome him in,not allow him to be in a barn at
the back of our property so ourlife can stay clean and
sanitized.
Not welcoming, or let me justsay this to Paul, I can't know
Jesus without knowing you.
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I don't, I don't know Jesuswithout Zach.
That's that's Paul's theology.
The way I love Zach is the way Ilove Christ.
So all of us would say, ofcourse we'd let Jesus into our
home.
Like, of course we would.
But would you let the personthat you have a vendetta
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against?
Would you welcome the personthat you've deemed unclean
because they're more sinful thanyou?
Are we okay?
And if my picture of the storyis welcoming them in means
they're in a barn at the back ofthe land, then the answer is
yes.
But I think God's like imploringus through this story to say,
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Will I let him in the heart ofeverything?
Will I let him in the midst ofexactly where I am?
Welcome him into my home.
Radical welcome is costly.
This is even true today, butit's the way of the kingdom.
The greatest evangelisticstrategy of the church of the
early church was not thecommunity's ability to transmit
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theological convictions,truthful as they were.
Rather, it was the community'swillingness to embody
compassion.
Hospitality changes the world.
Radical welcome, not violence,eventually brought the Roman
world to its knees before KingJesus.
This is how the kingdom works.
Even in the New Testament,decades after Jesus'
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resurrection, the writer ofHebrews encourages us to not
forget to allow to showhospitality to strangers, for by
doing so, some have shownhospitality to angels without
knowing.
That's in Hebrews 13, verse 2.
The practice of welcomingstrangers changes the world.
The early church rescueddiscarded babies who were
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usually girls from trash heaps.
They were the ones who startedorphanages.
The early church was the oneswho cared for elderly before
there was social security.
The early church was the oneswho fed and clothed prisoners
before tax-funded statepenitentiaries.
The early church was the one whopaid for the burial of all the
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congregants.
The early church was the one whomaintained the streets.
And it was the radical welcomethat opened people's eyes of
there's something differentabout these people.
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And I believe that as ourchurch, as our society has grown
increasingly more secularized,the problem is not us being
better apologists, although Ithink it's good to be well
versed in apologetics.
I think actually it's justloving people well, like taking
on the approach of the earlychurch that you may not know
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every scripture, you may notknow every theological term, but
I can love the person in frontof me.
I can display radical gener uhradical hospitality.
And the expansion of the churchis not going to be through
well-argumented uh theologicalum debates.
It's gonna be shown inintentional invitations to meal
sharing with grace, orphan care,uh, looking for the homeless,
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the ones that are destitute.
I believe the blessings of Godon our church is the way that we
love the ones no one else wouldlove, that we see the unseen.
May we never stop doing that.
Because by doing so, we'veunknowingly entertained angels.
And so our convictions andpositions is not what we need to
be better at, but we need tohave more compassion in our
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posture towards others.
Truly, how we hold our positionsis as important as the position
that we hold.
So you can be right, but beingcombative and argumentative,
you've now become wrong.
And the innkeeper that doesn'texist shows us how radical
hospitality changes not just hishome, but changes the world.
(29:39):
When I think about thisChristmas season, um, I think
it's so beautiful when you knowthe real story and that Jesus
was born into a home surroundedby the humanity he came to save.
It makes it a lot morebeautiful.
(29:59):
The book of Genesis is a book offamily.
God is so passionate aboutfamily.
Hear me, my church staff.
God's so passionate about yourfamily.
The most holy thing you do inthis next week is not the
services we'll conduct.
(30:21):
It's the table you set for yourfamily.
It's how we show up, and may wenot be more present for the
people here in this room thatwill come in and go out, that we
forget to welcome Jesus into ourhomes.
Let him be there in the midst ofthe mess, in the midst of our
disappointments, in the midst ofour nostalgia that we are trying
(30:46):
to pull back into.
And may our hearts recalibrateand look to him, because that's
what Christ came to do.
He didn't come to be separatedfrom the humanity, he came to
save.
He wanted to be born rightinside of our homes.
He wants to be present aroundevery tree, around every table.
(31:06):
And in doing so, may we find himto be wonderful.
Can I pray for you right whereyou're at?
Uh Jesus, we just make room foryou.
Lord, we make room for you.
Lord, we declutter our life ofthese religious expectations.
Lord, nostalgia that's trying topull us backward.
May Advent make us look aheadwith hope.
(31:29):
That God, we welcome you intoour homes.
We welcome you into every tablethat we set.
We welcome you in and we say,God, do what only you can do.
May our hearts be flooded againwith hope.
Lord, where there's despair orsadness.
God, we welcome you into thoseplaces.
We don't ignore that they arethere.
But Lord, we're so grateful thatwe have a God who's willing to
(31:52):
sit with us in the midst of oursadness, in the midst of our
disappointment.
And God, I thank you that oureyes be open to our children.
May our eyes be open to thefamily members that you send to
us, to the strangers that wemight entertain.
That God, I just thank you thatmay our home be a place where
there's room for you.
In Jesus' name.
(32:12):
Amen.
I love you guys.
Have a great uh Christmas.
Thanks so much for hanging outhere on my podcast.
Do me a favor and hit thesubscribe button if you haven't
done so already, so you nevermiss out on anything here on my
podcast.
Also, one of the best ways forus to begin to reach other
people is by you sharing.
(32:33):
So if you can do me a favor andshare this podcast with a
friend, family member, or maybeon your social media, help us
get the word out so we can helpothers.
Welcome to another episode of the podcast.
Today I'm going to be sharing ateaching that I recently did at
our staff chapel.
My hope is that this encouragesyou and that your love for God's
word deepens.
Okay, today we are continuingour Advent little series that
(00:32):
we've been in, if you will.
I don't know if you can call itthat.
It's a staff chapel series.
Um, only I would do that.
Um silly, but I guess it's aseries within a series because
we're still seriesingPhilippians.
That's coming back.
We gotta finish.
We're like right there.
(00:52):
So we're gonna be in Lukechapter two.
Luke chapter two.
And um, I kind of touched onthis a little bit on Sunday, but
um, it's just like in me.
I could talk so many thingsabout Advent and this Christmas
season.
I feel like I'm like full andoverflowing.
(01:13):
Um, have you has uh talkingabout last week, candle miss and
all of those things?
Are you seeing things differentin the world around you?
I pray that you are.
Um, keeping in mind that for us,whenever we're thinking about
Advent and the purpose of Adventis the this entire Advent
(01:34):
season, what it's about ispreparing our hearts.
It's about waiting for Christ.
It's that's what the wholepurpose is.
And I'm not saying this any kindof way, so just hear my heart.
But even when you look atculture, we're so immediate with
everything, you know.
And I talked about several staffchapels back about how even as
(01:58):
culture accelerates, theformation of our souls will not
accelerate.
So there's no fast track to likegetting to the spot where you
want to be.
Now, I can put myself intorooms, I can open myself to the
work of the spirit, but thespirit only does what the spirit
wills.
And so even when you think aboutAdvent, again, like I said, love
(02:22):
me, I hear my heart.
We are so expressed in oursociety that like even when
stores roll out Christmas keepsgetting earlier and earlier and
earlier.
And used to, it would be likeyou never saw anything till
after Thanksgiving.
And now it's like the minuteOctober 31st is over, it's
(02:44):
deemed like Christmas time,November 1st.
And everybody immediately isthrust into celebration, like
thrust into like we're inChristmas mode, it's go time.
And I'm not saying that's bad,but I want you to understand
what the whole purpose of Adventwas originally was that we were
preparing our hearts to for God,that we're preparing our hearts
(03:09):
to celebrate.
The Advent season, we thinkwe're celebrating Christmas up
till December 25th.
The early church didn't see itthat way.
This time of Advent waspreparing so that we can
celebrate.
The 12 days of Christmas is notthe 12 days before Christmas.
And I know that your Instagraminfluencer is doing their 12
(03:31):
days of giveaway leading up toChristmas, and they're
correlating that with the 12days of Christmas.
That's not what it is.
Um, actually, we don't startcelebrating till December 25th,
and then 12 days after.
And that is so counterculturalto what we see happening.
And when we see Mary, um, Maryprays this prayer and she says,
(03:56):
Lord, like not basically be untome what you will.
I want what you want.
And Mary for us is what she'sthere for and and as a reminder
of, is she was looking forwardin hope, in hope of what God
said is surely going to come topass.
(04:17):
And that's what Advent is about.
And even um, I posted this on myInstagram stories, but I think
it's good to belabor it becausewe never learn something by
hearing it once or like umconsuming it quickly on a
15-second story that we viewed.
Um, but even like Christmastime, think about how much
(04:38):
nostalgia is tied up intoChristmas.
We're so nostalgic at Christmastime, and that's that's good.
It's not bad.
Um, we want to play songs thatinvoke an emotion in us.
We're trying to relive childhoodmemories.
We're playing movies that wewatched as children that we want
(04:59):
to remember.
And even like we tell storiesand we relive moments from our
past.
And all those things are good.
I'm not demonizing any of them,but the point of Advent is not
nostalgia.
The point of Advent is longingfor a place that we've never
been.
(05:20):
That's the point of Advent.
And nostalgia often leads todespair because there's not hope
in our past.
Hope only exists in our future.
And culture is literallycentered around reverse living
at Christmas time.
It wants us to look over ourshoulder.
(05:42):
All the marketing that's done toyou around Christmas season is
to invoke an emotion to make youlong for the past as though it's
better than the present.
There's a song, I don't know whoit's by.
Bear, bear and brand probablywill know because they're good
at knowing songs, but it's likeum it goes, uh, talk about the
good old days, about how it usedto be.
(06:06):
Clint Black.
I was gonna say Clay Walker ClayWalker.
Um he says, we've worn out thesame old lines, and and it's
true, like we relive when gasprices were lower, when that
family member was here, whengrandma used to make her fill in
the blank, when we had this,when Christmas looked like this,
(06:30):
and all those things, what it'sdoing is it's pulling us back
and it's affirming an internalbelief that the hope that we
have, we've already passed it.
The exit ramp already happenedand we missed it.
It's gone.
Like our children, it's gone.
Like they used to be little, itwas so good back then.
Now I have them here.
(06:50):
Like it's it's this exit rampthat we feel like we've missed,
and it's this longing.
That's why people are depressedat Christmas time.
Why?
Because we're wanting to goback.
But Mary's prayer was forwardfocus.
It was, God, I believe that whatyou have ahead is better than
what I'm presently experiencing.
(07:12):
And the point of Advent is notpreparing that our houses are
Instagram worthy or that we makethe best, fill in the blank, the
cookies, or whatever.
Like Matt said, it's not acompetition.
Um, it's it's not a competition,Matt.
It's not.
Um anyways, uh, but it's not,it's not all those things.
(07:32):
The point of Advent is that Ilook forward and hope that God,
what you I'm I'm longing.
There's this TikTok trend, andit's like I long, I'm longing
for a room I can never go backto.
And it's talking about I pull upto the house and I'm at
grandma's house, and this is Ican hear her voice from the
other room.
(07:52):
And that trend is really strongright now in my TikTok feed.
And what is it doing?
It's telling you that thelonging in your heart is for a
place you can never go back to.
It's gone, it's done.
That season, it's over.
And there's what does that makeyou feel?
Total despair.
Like that sucks.
But the point of Advent islonging for a place that's being
(08:15):
prepared right now for us.
And the point of Advent is thesame way that Christ is
preparing a place for us, we'repreparing our place for him.
Does this make sense?
So we're saying, Christ, whatwe're presently experiencing,
what you have is so much better.
What is in my future, my futurewith you, is better than my past
(08:39):
that I've known.
It's I don't have to look atTikTok in despair, but I'm
looking ahead in hope.
And that was Mary's prayer.
She was it was her Adventseason, her pregnancy season,
her advent season preparing thatwhat God's promised will surely
come to pass.
And in Advent, we are to remindourselves that the things that
(09:00):
God's promised us, we haven'tmissed it.
Like you haven't missed it.
Like quit buying into that lie.
You're not too old, you're nottoo young, you're not too far
gone, you're not too whateveryou're to is that you're filling
in the blank.
This this year wasn't a missedopportunity.
You haven't gone too far.
(09:21):
Like, that's not it.
Advent is about God, everythingyou promised, I'm gonna see it
come to pass.
And so I'm preparing my heartfor what you've already
prepared.
I'm preparing my heart.
I'm I'm working with the spirit,and starting December 25th, I
celebrate for 12 days becauseyou're worthy to be celebrated,
(09:42):
not just one day, but 12 days.
And so I don't, I'm not quick tomove past December 25th.
Okay, that's over.
New Year's goals, New Year'sresolutions.
No, I'm lingering, I'm lettingmy heart then celebrate.
This is when, Lord, I cancelebrate in faith for all that
you've done.
(10:02):
So um, Luke chapter two, Lukechapter two.
Um, I read this on Sunday, um,but I believe that it's worth
reading again.
And so, verse chapter versefour, Joseph uh also went up
from Galilee out of the city ofNazareth into Judea, to the city
of David, which is calledBethlehem, because he um was of
(10:25):
the house and the lineage ofDavid, to be registered with
Mary, his betrothed wife, whowas with child.
So it was that while they werethere the days were completed
for her to be delivered, and shebrought forth her firstborn son,
and wrapped him in swaddlingcloths, and laid him in a
manger, because there was noroom for him in the inn.
(10:46):
And there was in the samecountry shepherds living out in
their fields, uh fields, keepingwatch over their flock by night,
and behold, an angel of the Lordstood before them, and the glory
of the Lord shone around them,and they were greatly afraid.
And the angel said to him, Donot be afraid, for behold I
bring you good tidings of greatjoy, which shall be for all
people.
For there is born to you thisday in the city of David a
(11:08):
Saviour who is Christ the Lord,and this will be a sign to you.
You will find a babe wrapped inswaddling cloths, lying in a
manger, and suddenly there waswith an angel a multitude of
heavenly hosts, praising God,and saying, Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace,good will toward men.
So it was when the angels hadgone away from them into heaven,
(11:28):
that the shepherds said to oneanother, Let us now go to
Bethlehem and see this thingwhich has come to pass, which
the Lord has made known to us.
And they came with haste andfound Mary and Joseph and the
babe lying in a manger, and whenthey had seen him, they made
widely known the saying whichwas told to them concerning this
child, and all those who heardit marveled at the things which
(11:49):
were told to him by theshepherds.
But Mary kept all these thingsand pondered them in her heart,
and the shepherds returned,glorifying and play praising God
for the things which they hadheard and seen it told to them.
You know, um we love made-upstories.
Um I I like to make up storiessometimes.
Um I it's one of my gifts.
(12:11):
I sometimes reality isn't asfun, so I just like I live um in
a fictitious reality.
Um, and my counselor tells methat that's a trauma response
and how I dealt with abuse.
But you know, here we are.
Um so yeah, I'll just let youprocess that.
Um, but I like I sometimes likewill pretend like if work's
(12:32):
really overwhelming, um, I'lljust pretend that I am a like
trad wife and I'm stay at homeand I have no like major
decisions and my biggest choiceis like what to make dinner that
night.
And so then I will just likeleave.
I leave the office and I go andpretend that I don't have a job
(12:55):
and that um there's no payrollwaiting to be processed or
answers to our lawyer, and I'llgo walk the aisles of a store
for a little while, and then Icome to my senses and realize,
which is also called Ashleycalling me, and um then I come
back to the office and I resumenormal life.
But for those few moments, itallows me to like live in this
(13:15):
fictitious reality.
Um, so uh sometimes I make upstories.
Do y'all make up stories abouthow things started?
Like you walk in places andyou're like, let's tell a story.
Or do you ever go on a datenight and you see like another
couple or another like personand you make up this whole like
story about them?
You're like, so they met onlineand uh they never had met each
(13:37):
other before.
They were online and they'rehanging out, and this is their
first time.
He flew in from Seattle and shedidn't know.
And she came to the coffee shop,and like this whole story, which
you know it's like way betterthan reality, right?
Like, but it's not real.
So I had this with Bucky's.
Um, I had this whole fake storywith Bucky's.
My grandpa was a truck driver,and um he drove a night shift
(14:01):
because he wanted to be homeduring the day.
And so I made up this wholestory about Bucky's, that it was
a retired uh truck driver, andhe got a great settlement when
he was done a driving truck, andthey like wanted to bless him
because he was such a greatemployee.
And he decided, you know what?
Years of driving across thecountry, I want a good place to
(14:23):
like buy great snacks.
Like snacks at all these truckstops suck so bad, and I'm sick
of like dirty bathrooms, and soI'm gonna start this thing
called Bucky's where people cancome from all over the world and
like take pictures with thisbeaver, and it'll make them so
happy.
Well, the way to enforce a lieis to tell it again and again
(14:46):
and again, and so I would tellpeople the story.
I would like be like, Yeah, Ilike to think it's like a truck
driver, and da-da-da and I wouldgo.
So I was telling the story forlike probably the 20th time, and
C Fig was there, and her eyeslike welled up, and she was
like, That is the sweeteststory.
Like, how have I lived?
(15:06):
And I did not know that thissweet old man like started
Buckies, and I go, It's not eventrue.
I just made it up, and she'slike, No trucks are a lot of
Bucky's, he's hating his ownkind, and she was like, I've
(15:26):
never researched this.
I was like, Yeah, me neither.
Like, it's a fake story, it'snot even real, and um, so,
anyways, so she was like, Yeah,it is an it is an Aggie that
started it, but there's nosentimental, like he's trying to
restore for all mankindanything.
Like, he's just trying to makemoney, and you know what?
(15:48):
Praise God for that.
It's my favorite gas station.
And so, and all of us can justrejoice in the fact that HEB and
Bucky's will be next to eachother in Royce City, Texas.
And by this, we know that theLord loves us, and so I'm so
grateful I'll be able to get gasat my favorite gas station and
then go get groceries.
So sometimes, yeah, y'all gotWalmart and sulfur 100%.
(16:10):
So sometimes like the storyisn't as good as real life,
right?
And so I will say that in thisstory there is a lie that we've
believed, and the lie is theword in.
It's actually transliterated.
I have beef with um the Bibletranslators here, because the
word for in that's later used inLuke in the parable of the Good
(16:32):
Samaritan in Luke 10, uh 25through 27, the Greek word is
cataluma, cataluma.
So whenever it's an in, uh Lukespecifies cataluma, which would
have been the word for hotel,motel, holiday in, okay?
And so he doesn't use that wordhere in um verse 7.
(16:54):
The word is pandochilion,pandochilion.
And so that word in the Greekliterally means guest room,
guest room at a house.
So it's a completely differentGreek word, and so just that
shift of the word changes theentire story.
(17:14):
And so you will hear everyChristmas season about the
innkeeper who doesn't exist,it's not a real thing, the hotel
that doesn't exist, and even thewhole picture you have of them
being in this stable that's likefar out in the middle of a
field, and the stars sittingover the stable were just Mary
(17:37):
and Joseph and a few littleanimals, depending upon your
nativity scene, like aresitting.
That's that's not true.
Now remember, there was a censusin the land, and Jews everywhere
were returning from uh to theirvillages of family of origin.
So, therefore, it's possiblethat Bethlehem was swelling with
extra people, and guest roomsand homes were limited.
Jewish people were obligated toreceive strangers into their
(18:00):
homes under the law.
And so the couple, whenever theycome, they were asking to stay
in the guest room.
And so they're asking for thisplace, but it was already
occupied.
And so Luke then tells us thatafter the birth, Mary places the
baby into the animal trough, uh,the manger.
(18:21):
And so the implication here isthat Jesus, the King of Kings,
Lord of Lords, the maker ofheaven and earth, was born in
the animal room.
Okay, there was like separatesections in a Jewish person's
home.
So keeping in mind, as I saidbefore, um, they did not have
central heat in the air.
So you brought your animals inand you would want to bring in
(18:42):
big animals because they emittedthe most heat.
Um, if you ever you don't needan electric blanket if you have
a weenie dog because they'relike a furnace, they're so hot.
And so Charlie is our electricblanket in the winter, and she
wants to be right up against youthe entire night.
And so, but that's what theywanted.
So they would bring theseanimals in, and on the left side
(19:03):
of the picture, you can see thatthere was like that's where the
animals would be.
There would literally be a holein the wall where they could
poke their head in where themanger was.
So even the picture that youhave where Jesus is like
surrounded by the animals,possibly not, unless he was in
the animal room.
And so they would put theirheads through the hole in the
(19:23):
wall that would have the mangerin the center.
Now, all the family lived inthis middle portion together.
And so, under Jewish law, youcould not turn down strangers.
You had to welcome them in.
And so when he's saying there'sno room for them in the guest
room, he's like, guys,everybody's rolling through to
pay their taxes.
My house is completely full,meaning my religious
(19:47):
requirements have beenfulfilled, but I'll let you in
anyways.
That to me is like way more mindblowing.
But as culture and society hasprogressed, we have this visual
of.
Jesus being like separated fromthe house, Mary and Joseph being
separated from the house, andthe innkeeper almost like our
(20:07):
faith, I want you to see it likeour faith is so removed from the
heart of what's happening in ourlives.
Because even thinking about ananimal coming into your living
room, I don't know, Tara, thatyou're gonna have anybody for
the video for one church to say,like Courtney's like, yeah, I'm
good.
Bring in the oxen, bring in thesheep, let them be in the living
(20:30):
room, and we will reenact likemodern day.
Nobody's doing that.
I think it's actually theoriginal story is better than
the one that we've met up.
Like in our culture society, wethink when we embellish a story,
it's better than what reallyhappened.
But I think in the Bible, it'sactually better that we see it
(20:51):
in this way.
And so, and so Jesus wasliterally born in the midst, in
the middle of a familyhappening.
Now, in the Bible, um, there's astory in Judges chapter 11, and
uh, I'm gonna be shredding inJanuary.
Any shredders in January?
Yeah, what's up?
Let's go.
Um, uh, it's a great way tostart your year, just going for
(21:14):
it.
So um in Judges chapter 11, it'sone of those stories that I hate
it every time I get to it.
And the story goes like thisThis man, he's coming home, and
he uh tells the Lord, whoever,um, whatever comes out of my
house first, um, I'm gonna giveit to as a sacrifice to you.
(21:38):
And he had uh just defeated theAmmonites and he was excited,
he's coming home.
He says, Lord, whatever comesout of my house first.
Now keep in mind that theanimals were pent up in the
house all night long.
So the minute the doors wouldopen, the first thing to run out
was the animals.
(21:58):
They they are bursting out ofthe house.
So understanding this changesthe way you see Judges 11.
The man 100% expected the firstthing to run out of his house to
be an ox, a sheep, a ram.
Well, the story doesn't go thatway.
It was his daughter that runsout.
(22:21):
And it's awful.
I hate Judges 11 every time.
And yeah, it's just it's a badstory.
It's in the Bible, it's there.
But what I want you to see ishow this makes sense to how even
Jesus was born.
And it solidifies to us abouthim being inside a home, him
(22:42):
being with the animals.
The cultural that it changesyour understanding of even the
man making that vow, he wasnever expecting one of his
children to run out.
He was 100% expecting an animalto run out.
And again, because we are in adifferent culture, because we're
a different society, we see thisverse different.
(23:02):
But when you understand thecultural context, how they lived
inside their home, it changeshow you approach the text.
So Judges 11 still isdesperately sad.
Um, but uh, however, it doesbring more light to the
situation.
So then even with Mary, shewould have been deemed unclean
in the culture.
So the village of Bethlehemwould have been uh small, uh
(23:26):
numbering only a few hundredpeople in population.
And because they were just a fewminutes from Jerusalem, the
villagers uh would observe thereligious laws.
And so here you have a woman whois not married, she's betrothed
to be married, but she is notmarried and she's pregnant.
Just her coming into your homeis harboring an unclean person.
(23:48):
But yet the innkeeper who didn'texist, the house owner, he's
willing to do it anyways.
And I just think this is sobeautiful because again, like a
lot of times the walls that webuild, like I just want you to
think about how many culturalthings this like undoes for us
of like, it's too messy.
I've I've already done what, Ialready fulfilled my roster
(24:11):
requests, I already did thetithe, I already, does this make
sense?
Um, that person, they're justtoo messed up, they're too far
gone.
No, like this man let in all ofthese things.
He had space for all of it.
And so um here we see a radicalwelcome will often come at a
(24:31):
price.
Jesus welcomed sinners and hewas criticized, criticized for
it.
He healed on the Sabbath outsideof the religious law, and he was
threatened by the very religiousleaders that he came to save.
He ate in the homes of sinnersand was slandered.
Jesus sat with the adulterouswoman at a well in Samaria and
(24:55):
was um criticized by hisdisciples.
They were like, What are youdoing?
Why are you doing this?
And think about the radicalwelcome often comes with a
price.
Even the disciples on the walkto Emmaus have their eyes
opened, not when they were onthe road, but when they let
(25:15):
Christ into their home.
And it's when we welcome him in,not allow him to be in a barn at
the back of our property so ourlife can stay clean and
sanitized.
Not welcoming, or let me justsay this to Paul, I can't know
Jesus without knowing you.
(25:37):
I don't, I don't know Jesuswithout Zach.
That's that's Paul's theology.
The way I love Zach is the way Ilove Christ.
So all of us would say, ofcourse we'd let Jesus into our
home.
Like, of course we would.
But would you let the personthat you have a vendetta
(25:58):
against?
Would you welcome the personthat you've deemed unclean
because they're more sinful thanyou?
Are we okay?
And if my picture of the storyis welcoming them in means
they're in a barn at the back ofthe land, then the answer is
yes.
But I think God's like imploringus through this story to say,
(26:19):
Will I let him in the heart ofeverything?
Will I let him in the midst ofexactly where I am?
Welcome him into my home.
Radical welcome is costly.
This is even true today, butit's the way of the kingdom.
The greatest evangelisticstrategy of the church of the
early church was not thecommunity's ability to transmit
(26:42):
theological convictions,truthful as they were.
Rather, it was the community'swillingness to embody
compassion.
Hospitality changes the world.
Radical welcome, not violence,eventually brought the Roman
world to its knees before KingJesus.
This is how the kingdom works.
Even in the New Testament,decades after Jesus'
(27:04):
resurrection, the writer ofHebrews encourages us to not
forget to allow to showhospitality to strangers, for by
doing so, some have shownhospitality to angels without
knowing.
That's in Hebrews 13, verse 2.
The practice of welcomingstrangers changes the world.
The early church rescueddiscarded babies who were
(27:25):
usually girls from trash heaps.
They were the ones who startedorphanages.
The early church was the oneswho cared for elderly before
there was social security.
The early church was the oneswho fed and clothed prisoners
before tax-funded statepenitentiaries.
The early church was the one whopaid for the burial of all the
(27:47):
congregants.
The early church was the one whomaintained the streets.
And it was the radical welcomethat opened people's eyes of
there's something differentabout these people.
(28:09):
And I believe that as ourchurch, as our society has grown
increasingly more secularized,the problem is not us being
better apologists, although Ithink it's good to be well
versed in apologetics.
I think actually it's justloving people well, like taking
on the approach of the earlychurch that you may not know
(28:30):
every scripture, you may notknow every theological term, but
I can love the person in frontof me.
I can display radical gener uhradical hospitality.
And the expansion of the churchis not going to be through
well-argumented uh theologicalum debates.
It's gonna be shown inintentional invitations to meal
sharing with grace, orphan care,uh, looking for the homeless,
(28:53):
the ones that are destitute.
I believe the blessings of Godon our church is the way that we
love the ones no one else wouldlove, that we see the unseen.
May we never stop doing that.
Because by doing so, we'veunknowingly entertained angels.
And so our convictions andpositions is not what we need to
be better at, but we need tohave more compassion in our
(29:15):
posture towards others.
Truly, how we hold our positionsis as important as the position
that we hold.
So you can be right, but beingcombative and argumentative,
you've now become wrong.
And the innkeeper that doesn'texist shows us how radical
hospitality changes not just hishome, but changes the world.
(29:39):
When I think about thisChristmas season, um, I think
it's so beautiful when you knowthe real story and that Jesus
was born into a home surroundedby the humanity he came to save.
It makes it a lot morebeautiful.
(29:59):
The book of Genesis is a book offamily.
God is so passionate aboutfamily.
Hear me, my church staff.
God's so passionate about yourfamily.
The most holy thing you do inthis next week is not the
services we'll conduct.
(30:21):
It's the table you set for yourfamily.
It's how we show up, and may wenot be more present for the
people here in this room thatwill come in and go out, that we
forget to welcome Jesus into ourhomes.
Let him be there in the midst ofthe mess, in the midst of our
disappointments, in the midst ofour nostalgia that we are trying
(30:46):
to pull back into.
And may our hearts recalibrateand look to him, because that's
what Christ came to do.
He didn't come to be separatedfrom the humanity, he came to
save.
He wanted to be born rightinside of our homes.
He wants to be present aroundevery tree, around every table.
(31:06):
And in doing so, may we find himto be wonderful.
Can I pray for you right whereyou're at?
Uh Jesus, we just make room foryou.
Lord, we make room for you.
Lord, we declutter our life ofthese religious expectations.
Lord, nostalgia that's trying topull us backward.
May Advent make us look aheadwith hope.
(31:29):
That God, we welcome you intoour homes.
We welcome you into every tablethat we set.
We welcome you in and we say,God, do what only you can do.
May our hearts be flooded againwith hope.
Lord, where there's despair orsadness.
God, we welcome you into thoseplaces.
We don't ignore that they arethere.
But Lord, we're so grateful thatwe have a God who's willing to
(31:52):
sit with us in the midst of oursadness, in the midst of our
disappointment.
And God, I thank you that oureyes be open to our children.
May our eyes be open to thefamily members that you send to
us, to the strangers that wemight entertain.
That God, I just thank you thatmay our home be a place where
there's room for you.
In Jesus' name.
(32:12):
Amen.
I love you guys.
Have a great uh Christmas.
Thanks so much for hanging outhere on my podcast.
Do me a favor and hit thesubscribe button if you haven't
done so already, so you nevermiss out on anything here on my
podcast.
Also, one of the best ways forus to begin to reach other
people is by you sharing.
(32:33):
So if you can do me a favor andshare this podcast with a
friend, family member, or maybeon your social media, help us
get the word out so we can helpothers.
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