The Incarnation

Pastor Bill Bush · Dec 25, 2024

The Christmas story is not primarily about our happiness or circumstances — it is about the good news that God Himself became a human, lived the perfect life we could not live, and died as the sacrificial Lamb to pay for sin we could never pay for ourselves. Just as the shepherds returned to the same cold, dark field yet overflowed with joy after meeting Jesus, real and lasting joy is available to every person — not because life gets easier, but because Jesus walks through every valley with us.

Pastor Bill Bush · Dec 25, 2022

The Christmas story is not an invitation to pursue God so He will improve our immediate circumstances. It is the announcement that God became incarnate — taking on human flesh as the baby Jesus — to solve the only problem that truly matters: our sin and its eternal consequences. Just as Joseph had to choose God's complicated plan over a comfortable, immediate fix, we are called to stop trying to make ourselves acceptable to God through our own effort and instead confess our need, trust what Jesus accomplished on the cross, and receive the eternal life He freely offers.

Pastor Pat McCalla · Feb 14, 2021

From the Garden of Eden to the tabernacle in the wilderness, from the incarnation of Jesus to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and all the way to the new creation described in Revelation, the entire Bible tells one story: an ineffable God who needs nothing and no one has always desired to dwell with — and ultimately within — His people. The Hebrew word mishkan (tabernacle) is the thread that ties this whole story together, revealing that God's deepest longing is not just to be near us but to be in us.