What an amazing Sunday to be in the house of the Lord! Yesterday we gathered together for A Christmas Dream where we were blessed with our incredible multi-media production and a powerful message from Pastor Eric all about Immanuel. We loved celebrating the birth of Jesus with you! 

In Immanuel, God with Us, we’re reminded that we are never alone because God is with us and He is for us! We see this truth proclaimed time and time throughout the New Testament in the books of Romans, Matthew, and John. We also saw the first Christmas dream unfold and reveal the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We have so many reasons to celebrate Him this season! The Christmas Story–-the arrival of Jesus and the story of His birth in the Bible–begins with a dream. We see this dream play in the first chapter of the New Testament:

Matthew 1:18-25 (NLT) 18This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still...

As we prepare for Christmas, Pastor Annie Spangler is blessing us with a beautiful message about the family of Jesus. In The Royal Family, we learn that Jesus’ second cousin John the Baptist prepared the way, His mother Mary prepared a song, and His brother James prepared to believe. We’re diving into Pastor Annie’s message to discover how each of these three members of Jesus’ family can teach us more about the call on our lives as followers of Christ. 

John the Baptist – Prepare the Way

John is the son of Elizabeth and Zechariah and he is the second cousin of Jesus. We’re first introduced to John right in the midst of the Christmas story, but we see lots of family drama surrounding his story right from the beginning. The start of John’s story is found throughout Luke chapter 1, but to summarize, Zechariah doubts God’s promise that he and Elizabeth will have a child in their old age and because of his doubt, God causes Zechariah to spend the entirety of Elizabeth’s pregnancy in silen...

be·hold

/bəˈhōld/

verb

1. see or observe (a thing or person, especially a remarkable or impressive one).

When was the last time you said, “Behold!”? It’s not a word we use much any more. Today, we use expressions like, “Hey, look at that!” or “Wow!” Each of these phrases express the emotion surrounding a spectacular event. 

The word “behold” perfectly describes the reaction we have in recognizing Jesus Christ, especially during the season of His birth. We see and observe a person, Jesus, who is especially remarkable and impressive. He is the most remarkable and impressive man to ever walk the face of the earth! Christmas is meant to be a “Wow Season” for all of us as we behold the Newborn King. 

In VFC’s Christmas message, Pastor Jeff reminisces on Wow Seasons throughout his life including childhood memories from Christmas morning, a trip to New Zealand, and the wedding days of his daughters, to name a few. Like Pastor Jeff, we can all reflect on times in our lives where we exp...