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In the European gallery at the art museum, I found myself alone in a silent maze of carpet and dimly-lit pictures. I was surrounded by depictions of Christ on every side, each one different. As I stood there in the stillness, I heard the words Jesus spoke to his disciples in Matthew 16:14, "Who do you say that I am?"

It was Christmas Eve in Decatur, Georgia, and my brothers and I had been tucked into bed. In the darkness of my room I opened the curtains on the window next to my bed and peered out into the dark night, my eyes scanning the skies expectantly. But I wasn’t looking for a sleigh and eight tiny reindeer. I was hoping to see the star of Bethlehem appear.

The birth of Christ takes up much space in story books, movies, Christmas pageants, songs, and poems. Certainly these advent readings cover many events in the Gospels surrounding the coming of Christ, such as the birth of John the Baptist, the visits of Gabriel to Mary and then to Joseph, the announcement to the shepherds, the visit of foreign wise men, and the blessing of Simeon. There are also all of the amazing prophecies fulfilled in the circumstances surrounding the advent of Jesus. Yet Luke here records the birth of Christ in a single, simple sentence. Mary gave birth, wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger.

Last Sunday, Phil publicly announced the elders’ final decision to appoint Daniel Baker to the role of Senior Pastor. Here is the explanation of that decision. As we have emphasized over the last few months, we are grateful to have a plurality of elders, and it bears repeating that Phil isn’t going anywhere. He will still be one of your pastors. He will still have his office at SGC. He will continue to preach, though perhaps not quite as often. We invite you to pray for Daniel and all of the elders during this transition, and we invite you to continue working with us for the building up of the church to the glory of God.

Redemption Has Come! At long last! Nine months had passed for Elizabeth. Nine months of solitude and anticipation in watchful care. She was waiting for redemption from the stigma of social pity and personal shame.

The first time I heard the song "Mary, Did You Know," written by Mark Lowry (1984), Kenny Rogers was performing, and it made me cry and ponder what it must have been like for Mary. It's been one of my favorite Christmas songs ever since. Recently I heard/saw a CeeLo Green rendition put to video in 2012 (using clips from a mini-series on the History Channel). This time it didn't make me cry but, rather, provoked me to passionately love Jesus more, to want everyone to know Him, and to praise God for all He's done.

We are called to focus on and believe in the impossible when we believe in Christ and the events surrounding His first coming. The story here in Luke covers the facts, but between the lines we read the glorious news of God’s redemption, and the power of His love for us. It is His love that raises a humble girl, Mary, and an elderly woman, Elizabeth, into pivotal roles through which come both the Messiah and one in the spirit and power of Elijah. It is His love for us that sent Gabriel on this holy mission to tell a virgin that the Messiah is coming, and through her.

“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast,” said the mad Queen of Hearts, from Lewis Carroll’s book, Alice in Wonderland. I would not like to emulate this character in other ways; after all, “Off with his head!” is really not a good coping mechanism for stress. But I do believe that we are called to focus on and believe in the impossible, when we believe in Christ and the events surrounding His first coming. And starting before breakfast certainly sets a trend for a faith-filled day!

The depth of God's Word is amazing—that one small passage of Scripture could convey so much about ourselves and about the Savior whose birth we prepare to celebrate in just seven days!

If you walk down a typical neighborhood street tonight, you’ll see artificial lights everywhere: streetlights, porch lights, headlights, solar lights, floodlights...and, of course, Christmas lights rambling up trees and railings like jungle vines. Thanks to Thomas Edison, making and possessing artificial light is easy and cheap. We can be careless with it, play with it....But have you ever been in complete darkness?