Merry Christmas From Our Pastor and Family

Dear Congregation,

Dr. Luke records, in his gospel, the well-known words found in 2:8-16, 

8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;

11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

12 "This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."

15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."

16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.

Luke could not have imagined how famous these words would become. A staple of any good Christmas pageant or church plays around the world. Every time I hear, or read, these wonderful words I see our mission at Arcadia Community Church unfolding. The Shepherds had an incredible encounter with angels and from this experience they journeyed to Bethlehem in search of confirming the things the angels had said. When the shepherds arrived, they found everything confirmed and they couldn’t stop telling others about this Christmas story. 

God places people on a journey in many different ways, some through angels, others through divine dynamic events, but however it goes, they begin a journey to see if the gospel story is true. For those on the journey, we are the manger. We are where the baby Jesus lays. It is our community of faith, our spiritual gifts, our love for each other, and for them, that will confirm what they have been told. 

Kimberley and I are so grateful to serve a church that has a heart to welcome those, like the shepherds, on a spiritual journey and who have a desire to disciple them to be fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. We are glorifying and praising God for all of you, and we wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Pastor John and Kimberley