GBC Community Update: What does the Great Commission have to do with Christmas?

​Good evening!  I know this is late, but you know what they say, better late than never!  I hope you’ve been making this a great week and starting to experience some Christmas cheer perhaps.  Below I start to share some thoughts related to the Christmas season. Would you expect anything else (especially from me)?  But they’re different from what you might expect!
 
 
Join us on Sunday
This Sunday Patrick will be kicking off the Christmas season for us. He’ll be starting our special series, Immanuel, God with us.  He’ll be looking at some of the prophetic accounts pointing to Jesus arrival and the Christmas story. Join us and find out why this is so important with everything we’re facing. You can join us here at 11am or by tuning in on our livestream.
Here’s a quick reminder: you don’t need a Facebook account to join us.  You can connect direct by clicking on LIVE or else you can link to it through our website. Here’s a link to join in:
https://www.guelphbiblechapel.ca/sunday.html
 
 
Thought for the day: What Does the Great Commission Have to Do With Christmas?
Wait a minute, what are you talking about, Chris? Does the Great Commission fit with the Christmas story?  It does!  We’ve been talking about this a bit over the fall: our desire as a church to follow the Great Commission Jesus gave us to go and make disciples.  Maybe we can set it aside for awhile as we focus on the birth of Jesus, the wise men, angels, Mary and Joseph. Or maybe not. Could it be that the Great Commission is actually a vital part of the Christmas story?
Jesus’ birth was His greatest missionary act the world has seen. He came to us. God entered our world. He left Heaven to become one of us.  John 1 says: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 
The theological word for this is incarnation. That simply means God became a human. That is what happened at Jesus’ birth – on Christmas.  What does this mean? Well, that incarnation is what Christmas is all about!
The message of the season is a missionary one! Jesus modeled what He would later command His disciples to do, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” His coming to earth was the “Go” part.
One of the best ways we can celebrate Christmas is to do as He did. Following His example, we enter the lives of those who don’t know Him. We eat their food, hang out with them, learn their ways of life, beginning to understand (and even experience) their challenges. We demonstrate His Presence there. God, in us, shows up in their world. We call this being incarnational. It is what Christmas is all about.
 
In His grip,
Pastor Chris