“White Christmas” is more than a movie title or every child’s Christmas wish; it’s THE most amazing transformation that can happen to hearts darkened by the stain of sin.  That a baby born in a little backward, far-away village called Bethlehem over two-thousand years ago could change damaged, stained, wounded and darkened hearts into breathtaking vistas of grace is a “White Christmas” only our God could have envisioned. 

At the beginning of what is arguably one of the world’s greatest prophetic books, Isaiah (1:18), God invites us into his heavenly council chamber when he says, ““Come now, let us settle the matter…Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” 

Only our God could have settled such a matter.  Only our God, who makes every snowflake in this world absolutely unique, could make every unique human heart absolutely “white as snow.”    Only our God!

Christmas is a time to stand in awe…or bow in wonder…at the amazing glory of God in human flesh.  When “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us,” when people of old had “seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth,” (John 1:14) that was a white Christmas like none other. 

But God is not finished showing his glory in human beings.  Every time our hearts are cleansed by the blood of Christ, the “Word become flesh”, a little bit more of the glory of God escapes into this world.  Every time you and I lay down a little of our life for lost sinners, the world beholds a little more of the glory of “the one and only Son…full of grace and truth.” 

Let me invite you to experience a white Christmas that goes far beyond temporary snow.  Let’s step out into our world—our neighbor’s lives, our neighbors downtown, our families at home—and let the glory of God be known through simple words and acts of kindness, invitations to behold God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ this season. 

This Saturday you can do that with three-hundred of our downtown neighbors.  Women, you can gather at 9:00 a.m. at The Vineyard Café (in The Healing Rooms) to put together the gift packages. Trust me, they are very cool this year. 

Then all of us—singles, families, kids and parents, old and young—we gather at 12:00 noon at the office (608 W. 2^nd, Suite 203) to fan out into our neighborhood and meet people face to face at 7 or 8 different buildings downtown, handing them a gift…and hoping that it leads to The Gift of Life.

As we move into Christmas week, be sure to be looking for the glory of God.  You might find it in surprising places—a snowflake on your coat, the face of a new friend, your heart made white as snow.  Come celebrate the Gift of God this Sunday as we take an interesting and awe-inspiring look at “Our Family Tree of Grace” from Matthew 1. 

And don’t forget to schedule in a very special time of worship this Christmas Eve at 4:00 p.m. as we eavesdrop on some “Stable Talk” that happened that amazing night so long ago.  Special music, readings, drama, carols, fellowship—it’s all designed to lead us all into enjoying a white Christmas in a simple stable. You won’t want to miss it. 

Dreaming of a white Christmas,

John