Christmas is more than just a holiday. Christmas acknowledges a God who is present here and now. It is a time to celebrate and commemorate Jesus as the hope of the world.

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES
Fri, Dec 23: 6p
Sat, Dec 24: 4, 6 & 11p

Join the fun and help out in Port Mariners Children’s Ministries during one of the Christmas Eve services. We are offering a children’s program for 0-5 year olds. For more info contact Susan, shulse@marinerschurch.org

VOLUNTEER FOR CHRISTMAS EVE
Fri, Dec 23: 6p
Sat, Dec 24: 4, 6p

When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
-LUKE 2:17-18

I looked at Amanda and said, “Are you going to be able to keep this a secret until Christmas?”

She nodded a silent “yes.” I doubted her resolve. I knew this would be a challenge.

As we have spent the last few weeks listening for the subtle — and not-so-subtle — hints about the things for which our loved ones have been hoping for on Christmas morning, we’ve searched far and wide (i.e.: typed a variety of things into the search bar on Amazon.com) to get it right. Because Christmas is the story of a good father giving good gifts to the ones he loves, we give good gifts to the ones we love too. Sometimes, the gift we give is dead-on, perfect. Before the wrapping paper is in a pile in a living room, before the Duraflame composite log with crackling fire-effect is set ablaze, and before Ralphie punches out Scut Farkas in a torrent of bully-comeuppance, we know that we’ll be witness to a reaction of overflowing enthusiasm about that one thing we got that one person — a gift to supplant all others.

I know Amanda wants to tell our kids what we’ve gotten them. She knows we nailed it. To say that they’re going to be excited, is a gross underestimation of their near nuclear reaction. While not the most extravagant of gifts, to our kids, the presents are brilliant — we know it. Amanda is absolutely certain of it. And… I can tell, she wants to reveal that to them. Her joy is their joy. She has seen something good. She is awaiting the time when someone else for whom that good thing is intended, can share in it, too. She can barely contain it.

The first Christmas is announced to the shepherds as “good news that will bring great joy to all the people.” And, after having seen the subject of that news: a baby in a manger with a name that means “God-rescues,” they can’t contain what they’ve seen and now know. They “spread the word… and all who heard it were amazed.” As we wrap up the Advent series this week with the celebration of the Lord’s Supper and look at the fast-approaching Christmas eve services, consider who it is, during this season, who would be “amazed” by an genuine encounter with Jesus and his church at Christmas. People are never more willing to attend church than at Christmas. Generally, they just need someone who understands that the good news of Christmas truly is good news… for ALL the people.

See you Sunday,

Jeff

HSM is throwing a SnowBall. This is our Christmas Party for high school students and there are a few things you need to know. The theme is Thrift Store Prom… but there is an added catch: you can only wear white.

Formal dress is encouraged. Dinner will be served and there will be plenty of Christmas and Winter Themed activities all night. No Ball is complete without photos, music, dancing, and…snow. Find out more and register.

HSM SNOWBALL
Sat, Dec 17, 6-10p
location given upon registration

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
– JOHN 1:4-5

I remember being at a summer camp, in one of the long “lodges” that housed all the boys. The lodge was divided into smaller “cabin groups” headed by an eagerly enthusiastic leader with a nickname like “otter” or “rover” or something nonsensical like “sk’doop.” In any event, Rover and his counterparts would tell us that one of the unbreakable and infallible rules of camp dictated that no one would be permitted to pull pranks on people within the cabin or in other cabins. We always nodded and then immediately determined how far we could push the no-pranks rule. What we found was that there was only one acceptable prank — something that wouldn’t get us into trouble, but that would ultimately achieve at least a small measure of prank-success.

What we all knew was that one of the unavoidable requirements for a successful prank is the vulnerability of the person being subjected to it. Never was a person, or a group of people,  more vulnerable than when they were in the bathroom. So without fail, someone, upon arriving at the knowledge that a few people were in the bathroom, would determine to shut off all the lights, leaving the people in the bathroom in total darkness. Depending on the age of the victims, people would either scream in fear or issue threats of retribution that were exceedingly  disproportionate to the crime itself.

Out of the darkness came chaos. The two went hand in hand. Where there was dark there was a longing for the light — a determined effort to get out of the upheaval of the shadows and into the peace, the calm. So the victims would find their way to the light switch, occasionally tripping and saying words that also challenged the infallible camp rules. But, we all knew what no one denied — we needed the light.

At Christmas, we celebrate the arrival of a light into our all-to-frequent darkness. This Sunday, we’ll take a look at the peace that comes with that light in week 3 of our Advent series. It will be a great weekend to invite a friend.

See you Sunday,

Jeff

As we aim to celebrate differently as a church, we have a beautiful example that God has given us: His son Jesus. He gave His son as a gift because He saw it fit to be an advocate to us when no one else would. And so for that reason, we as the church are committed to stand in the gap for the poor, the marginalized and those who have no advocate.

Click here to find out how you can CELEBRATE DIFFERENTLY with us this year.

Spend the morning at our Christmas store for families in need. Join us to set up, be a store volunteer, wrap gifts, serve food or help make crafts with the kids while their parents shop for gifts. Be a blessing for families in need this season. More info and register here.

CHRISTMAS STORE/PARTY
Sat, Dec 10, 8a-1p
Kids Worship Center, Port Mariners

Junior High Ministry is embarking on a high-energy weekend filled with fun games, challenging speakers, and a chance for students to reconnect with God. For more info or to register, click here or search “Winter Camp” on our website.

JHM WINTER CAMP
Fri, Feb 3, – Sun. Feb 5, Thousand Pines Camp, $295

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
– Luke 1:26-33

Christmas is an invitation to embrace things neither easily explained nor well understood. It is about wonder, at least at some level. I found a prayer I wrote a few years ago, one I have found to necessitate my own revisiting. Perhaps, if you too are looking to recapture the wonder of Christmas, this prayer might likewise start you on that path.

Father God, Christmas; although marketed, packaged, sanitized, and tamed; is still unmistakably full of wild and bizarre mystery. I’m sure I don’t understand all of what is in the Christmas story: visitations from angels, a star in the heavens, visions, and unexpected pregnancies (one of which is shrouded in a fog of controversy). Help me to embrace what has begun in Jesus at the first Christmas, not in spite of the things I don’t fully understand, but in them, even through them. Lord, bring about wonder from curiosity and hope from mystery. Help me to marvel at all the inexplicable things at Christmas. Might I have the heart of Luke who “carefully investigated everything” – especially the unlikely and beautiful mystery of Christmas. Amen.

See you Sunday,

Jeff

Join us to kick off the Christmas season with fun, food and merry making at our 8th Annual Mariners Mission Viejo Tree Lighting. Come for our 5p church service and stay for chili, cookie decorating and sledding on the patio followed by a festive Christmas program for the whole family.  For more info click here or search “Tree Lighting” on our website.

TREE LIGHTING
Sun, Dec 4, 6-8p
Service starts at 5p