Posts from December 2025
The Gift of Christmas: Jesus
Charlie Brown cried in desperation, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about!?!” The Grinch, after stealing all of the Who’s presents from Whoville, thought to himself, “Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas… perhaps…means a little bit more.” Our church has been in a sermon series this month of December called “The _____ that stole Christmas.” The series pointed to four prime culprits in the theft of Christmas: stress, grief, schedule, and commercialism. Each in their own way How COVID has affected us
Going All Out at Christmas
It’s that time of year! The stores are packed, the trees are tied down on top of the cars, Jamie has his lights illuminating half of Kalkaska, and Santa is coming to town. At church, we pull out the stops with music and decorations and kids’ programs. Personally, I turn into a different person. I want to shop and buy gifts. I start to get giddy with excitement as though I were in elementary school again. The question, of course, is why don’t we How COVID has affected us
Good Grief
Winter finally settled in over Kalkaska this week—the kind that slows life down whether we like it or not. And honestly, maybe that’s a gift. Last Sunday we talked about how Christmas can pile on the stress, and I think that stress has a way of pulling back the curtain on the deeper stuff we’re carrying: the weariness, the memories, the grief that sneaks up when the world gets quiet. Winter has a way of exposing what we’ve tried to How COVID has affected us
Obedience When It Doesn’t Make Sense
This week in our kids’ ministry, we’re walking through one of the most sobering moments in the book of Exodus—the death of the firstborn and God’s command for the Israelites to put the blood of a lamb over their doorposts. When we read it now, it’s easy to think, “Of course they obeyed! That was obviously important.” But imagine being there in real time. You’re standing outside your home, brush in hand, painting your doorposts with lamb’s blood… probably thinking, “My How COVID has affected us