Dear St. Andrews Family,

I have a job for you. I want you to find someone to tell you the 3-minute version of the Christmas story. Get them to throw in all the details they know. What was the king's name, what did they wrap the baby in, how many animals in the stable? If you have children in the home, ask them together and let them work on the story together. If you can’t find anyone to ask, then try the experiment yourself. Then read the actual story in Luke 2. Maybe read some from Matthew 1 and 2. Notice how far off the story you have in your mind is from the story in the Bible.

Now ignore your mistakes and realize that your story is really good, too. The question is, why is this story told? What is our takeaway? What should we do? I think the answer might surprise you.

Dear St Andrews Family,

You know that moment when everything seems hopeless? Of course you do.

• The medicine isn’t doing its job.

• Your marriage has no meaning.

• Your job is in jeopardy.

• Your children are suffering.

Maybe you are feeling this now.

Israel felt this. Their world had been crushed. The temple didn’t have the power it once did. God felt more than a little distant.

And then . . .

Suddenly!

Let’s talk about “suddenly” this week from Malachi 3:1. Suddenly, he whom you desire, will come. It’s a story we all remember—when HE came. And it’s a story that empowers us through all the hopelessness of our circumstances and points us to his perhaps “sudden” coming to rescue us again.

Pastor Jace

We are excited to have Rev. David Deming with us a guest preacher sharing a Thanksgiving message. What does it look like to have gratitude in ALL times?

Dear St Andrews Family,

“I swear on the grave of my father Domingo Montoya thatyou will make the top alive.”

We swear, we promise, we vow…because people areuntrustworthy, because dishonesty is rampant.

· Sixty-five percent of students say that theywould be willing to cheat on an important exam.

· One noted physician says that Lying is animportant part of social life, and children who are unable to do it are children who may have developmental problems.

· Fletcher Reed says, “You won’t survive in anadult world without lying.”

Jesus calls us to do away with all oaths. That seemspretty crazy in the world in which we live. What about in the courtroom, on the wedding day, or pinky swears in the clubhouse? What then?

Let’s talk about this from Matthew 5:33-37. Andlet me paint a picture of a new world that Jesus is inaugurating. A new, more robust, more beautiful, more abundant world than you could have imagined.

Pastor Jace

Dear St. Andrews Family,

Marriages are dying. Covenants mean little and commitments are things of the past. Divorce is rampant and we treat as casual that which God calls sacred. We look for ways tojustify our affairs and our divorces and we suffer because of it. Our children suffer. Our world suffers. We are kind of a mess.

This week in Matthew 5:31-32, Jesus gives us a way out of our marriage. Kind of. But it also seems he says we shouldn’t get remarried. That is kind of concerning to me since I have been dating a divorced woman for many months. In fact, it lookslike he says that if I do marry her then she becomes an adulteress. That’s pretty heavy. But what does he mean and what does this mean for us today? Let’s visit this text together.

Pastor Jace

Dear St Andrews Family,

My guess is that everyone who is reading this is brokensexually. Some of you have cheated on your spouse and others have only dreamed of doing so. Some of you have an active lusty imagination and some of you act it out. Jesus actually has some things to say about this and they aren’t pleasant—He says, “cut it off or you go to hell!”

I don’t want to write about or even think about what “cutit off” means, but we probably should. Because I think in the background of this text is something we sometimes miss: an invitation to something beautiful. Even as Jesus steers us away from seduction, lust, and fracture, he calls us tofulfil our longings and find our wholeness in him. This is kinda cool. Take a look at Matthew 5:27-30 when you get a chance and let’s worship and think about this more.

Pastor Jace

Dear St. Andrews Family,

How many people have you killed this year? When was the last time you killed someone? Are you killing someone right now?

Jesus is going to say something crazy. He is basically going to equate anger with killing. That really is what it looks like. So, who makes you angry? And what needs to be done? Take a look at Matthew 5:21-26 and join us to think about it more. Truly can’t wait to be with you.

Pastor Jace

Dear St Andrews Family,

What does the world think of thechurch?

Judgmental?

Hateful?

Hypocritical?

It’s sad, but sometimes we are.Sometimes we don’t present the world of Jesus as one of beauty and love and acceptance. What does it mean for us to be salt and light? Can we focus our attention on these ideas this week? Perhaps you can start thinking about how wemight be transformed even now, before the sermon. I think God wants us to be attractive and I think his Spirit can help us to do just that if we ask him to.Pastor Jace