I was a silent, un-noticed witness to an all-too-familiar exchange between parent and child downtown. While a mother ordered food, and her elementary-aged child fiddled with a smart-phone, the little girl pierced the silence with the burning lament, “Mommy, I’m bored!”

Many today are losing their sense of wonder. Marvelous things (from technology, to medical discoveries, to the existence of a new human being) can leave us unimpressed – even bored. (I’m still amazed that my phone – if there’s a signal – can immediately show me where I am.)

If the story of Christmas prompts us toward any disposition it’s wonder. If there is a connection in your heart (like a signal in your phone) then the Christmas story can immediately show you where you are. God is real. God has come to solve our greatest problems. And God really, really loves us!

The claims about Jesus are clear: actually born of Mary the virgin, in space and time, and He was God in human form. Jesus came to this earth on a rescue mission. And while that mission would take Him through death and hell, He would eventually and amazingly come out of both. Then returning back to heaven for a time (about 2,000 years so far), He will return here to this earth to put everything wrong back to right.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Now these three remain: faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13). Faith is trust that what God has claimed is really true. Hope is that personal connection that our greatest threats from sin, death and hell really were answered by Jesus’ work. But the greatest is love. Because if God really, really loves us, it can spark in your heart the greatest consequence of all – that you would love the LORD your God with all your heart. 

Things to pray for:

– Wonder. Ask the LORD to give you (maybe for the first time) or renew in you a sense of amazement at Who He is and what He has done in Christmas.

–  Faith. Scripture says that Jesus is the Author (and Perfecter) of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) and that faith is a gift (Ephesians 2:8). Ask the LORD to give you the gift of being able to trust Him with all that He has revealed and promised about saving even you.

–  Hope. Ask Jesus to help you know real hope that your greatest threats from sin, death and hell really were answered by His work.

–  Love. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love…” Galatians 5:22. Ask the Holy Spirit to bear in you the fruit of love, especially love for God who loved you first.


Tim Rice, Lead Pastor & Director of Church Planting