Shippensburg First Church Of God Blog Site: SFCOG Update for Christmas Eve! (12/24)

Sunday is Coming, and it’s going to be Christmas Eve!

“Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays…”

“I’ll be home for Christmas…”

Can you hear those tunes in your head? Lovely songs! It’s been a joy to reflect on our little town of Shippensburg this month! But before you get too cozy and comfortable, let me ask you... have you ever had to spend Christmas away from home? Or can you remember what was like to celebrate Christmas in a new house or home?

Being in ministry, we have moved a few times, and our family Christmas traditions have often been a bit unpredictable.

I remember the year we were in the middle of moving out of our house in Confluence, PA before relocating back to Shippensburg. Instead of unpacking Christmas Decorations, we were packing moving boxes…

All month we’ve been talking about Bethlehem. But now that we have finally arrived at Christmas Eve and the Main Event in Bethlehem--Jesus’ Birth--we actually won’t be settling in there… It’s time to Move!

With this in mind, consider the events from Matthew’s Gospel, and reflect on how from the beginning of his earthly life, Jesus was a person who knew what it meant to be without a home.

1:9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

I have often reflected on how far the Magi must have traveled to deliver these gifts to Jesus. But this year, it occurred to me that Mary and Joseph themselves had to travel quite a bit as well. And so did the Son of God.

First and foremost, when Jesus was born, he found himself further from home than anyone could ever imagine.

The Divine Son left his home in heaven. This is the most drastic move ever made!

Furthermore, from a human standpoint, Jesus life was filled with upheaval. He was born in a humble stable—a very impermeant living arrangement. Shortly after his birth in Bethlehem, his family found themselves in need of safe asylum and had to flee as refugees to Egypt. Right away in Jesus’ earthly life, he knew what it was to be displaced, to be without a permanent home. He lived in at least 3 different towns in the first few years of his life. Some traditions estimate that all total, the Holy Family may have traveled well over 1000 miles over the course of these different events recorded in the Gospels.

Have you ever wondered what Mary and Joseph did with those valuable, kingly gifts brought by the Magi?

Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh were full of important symbolism, but some scholars speculate that these gifts may have also served an unintended purpose. Travel in those days was expensive, time consuming, and dangerous. The gifts of the Magi may have been what paid the way for Mary and Joseph to make the journey to Egypt and live there for a season.

We can see that being without a permanent home was an essential part of Jesus’ human experience.

Jesus himself would later say in Luke 9:58 “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

Jesus made it clear to his disciples also, that following him meant giving up a sense of earthly permanence or belonging. Like so many other concepts, Jesus redefined the meaning of “Home.”

We are remined that this world is not our home, just like it was not Jesus’ home. By leaving his Home in heaven, Jesus made a way for us to call Heaven our home with Him!

This weekend, as we reflect on the little town of Bethlehem, and the little town of Shippensburg, and whatever town you might call home… Let us rethink what “Home” really means…

In John 14:1-4, Jesus says-- “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

This Christmas, let us celebrate the Full Extent of the Good News -- Jesus has made a way to take us all home to the Father With Him!

This also carries with it some expectations for how we are to treat those in need around us, to bring others home as well. Jesus makes it clear that to worship him properly, we must also care for the needs of the world. We do this when we choose to share our finances, or our time, or knowledge, or talents. When we do any of these things, when we welcome strangers and when we feed the hungry when we teach the little ones, according to Jesus, in Matthew 15:40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

The Magi brought Kingly gifts to Jesus. We can present gifts to our King Jesus when we serve those in our world who have needs. This is how we Worship Jesus, and how we direct others to him as well!

As Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” –John 14:6-7

From that little town in Bethlehem, to the ends of the earth, now all people may know the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

As John also records, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” –John 1:4

This Sunday, we will have three different, unique worship opportunities to choose from. Feel free to attend them all! Each service will also be available online as well. Service times and descriptions are as follow:

At 10:00 am, we will have a family-friendly combined service with blended musical styles. Children and Families will be attending together, and there will be a special children’s activity during the service.

At 6:00 pm we will have another family-oriented service, featuring music from our contemporary worship team and a special way that Children will be invited in to the Bible lesson. Candle Lighting will be included.

At 11:00 pm, our choir will present the cantata, “A Celebration of Carols.” This service will end with Candle Lighting to bring in Christmas Day at midnight.

A special offering will be collected at both evening services which will go directly to support the “Circle of Love” outreach ministry which helps to share things like food and clothing locally here in Shippensburg.

Upcoming Events

Join us tonight for the Last Community Night of 2023! AWANA Kids—dress up for “Crazy Christmas” and remember it’s Store Night! There will be no Community Night on December 27^th or January 3^rd, but we will resume on January 10^th. Community Night is from 6:30-8:00 and features activities for all ages.

This Saturday, December 23rd at 7:00 We will be hosting a concert of Gospel Music and Christmas Carols, featuring the Baldoni Family Quartet and their friends, including accompaniment by our own Contemporary Worship Leader, Jonanthan Scott. All are welcome.

Beginning on January 19th, we will be offering a Financial Peace University class. This could be a great way to work towards your financial goals in 2024. The class will meet on Friday evenings at 6:30 until the end of March. You can learn more and register online at this link: https://www.fpu.com/3442B7

A Scripture Reading for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.”

-John 3:16-17

Let us live lives of love and joy, sharing God’s love and joy with the world, as we look forward to our Heavenly Home with our Father!

Pastor Rodney Bistline

Shippensburg First Church of God

seniorpastorbistline@shipfcog.org