When the shepherd comes looking

Have you ever had one of those days where everything should feel peaceful and holy… but instead it feels like a circus?
Well, welcome to Week 2 of A Nativity Story. Check it out (video starts 12:25).

This week’s video gave us quite the scene: Mary and Joseph quietly admiring baby Jesus… when suddenly—chaos.
Eli the sheep has wandered off again, the mischievous elf is up to no good, and poor baby Jesus gets jolted awake.

And honestly?
It feels a little too real.

Life rarely looks like a serene nativity set.
Most of us are more like Eli—wandering, noisy, a bit unpredictable, and occasionally causing a commotion right when things were supposed to be calm.

But here’s the part that gets me every time: the shepherd comes back holding Eli on his shoulders and says,
“You know I’d go to the ends of the earth for you, little guy.”

And Joseph pauses, looks out at us, and says,
“This month… we get to remind everyone that Jesus has come to gather His flock… even the loud ones… and carry them close to His heart.”

That’s the whole gospel right there.
Jesus doesn’t wait for us to get our act together, quiet down, or wander back on our own.
He comes looking.
He lifts us up.
He brings us into one flock.
And then?
He holds us close. Really close.

I love that.

Most of us have been “the loud sheep” more than once.
We’ve taken the scenic route through life.
We’ve lost our footing, felt overwhelmed, or wandered farther than we ever meant to go.

But our Shepherd never shrugs and says, “Oh well.”
Instead, He searches until He finds us.
He scoops us up—not with frustration, but with affection.
And He carries us right next to His heart, where we can finally hear His steady, loving rhythm again.

Maybe this Christmas you feel a little lost.
Or tired.
Or like you should be doing better spiritually than you are.

Let me gently say this:
You are not meant to walk alone.
You can be carried.
You are loved—right through the wandering.

Christmas is the story of a Shepherd who became a sheep… so that every sheep could come home.

So this week, take a deep breath.
Picture yourself—like little Eli—resting on His shoulders.
Let yourself be gathered, lifted, united, and held close.

And may His heartbeat become the rhythm of your Christmas season.

Blessings and grace, friends.
You are dearly loved by the Shepherd who knows your name.

Are we missing the manger?

Advent is here, and our church is kicking off a new series called A Nativity Story. And yes—we’re bringing along a few fun characters each week until Christmas Eve (which, by the way, is on Wednesday, December 24th at 7 p.m. One service. Whole family. It’s going to be beautiful. Don’t miss it!).

But this week, something unexpected happened in our little Nativity video:
Gabriel the angel was… discouraged.

And honestly? I get it.

Gabriel remembers the glory days—skies splitting open, shepherds falling on their faces, wisemen chasing a star across continents. Back then, people noticed God.

But now?
Everyone in the house is scrolling, shopping, rushing, planning, wrapping, posting, and checking their phones like it’s an Olympic sport. (The average person checks 144 times a day, if you're counting… Gabriel sure is.)

In frustration he sighs, “They couldn’t hear an announcement from God even if I destroyed their Wi-Fi router.”
Relatable?

But then Mary steps in—calm, wise, steady Mary—and she says something that stops everything:

“Jesus doesn’t need a spotlight.
He only needs a manger.”

That line has been echoing in my heart all week.

Because God does sometimes thunder—like angels filling the night sky for shepherds who smelled like… well… shepherds.

But God also whispers—like He did to Elijah, speaking not in the wind, earthquake, or fire, but in a gentle, barely-there whisper that required leaning in to hear it.

And—this one is hard for us—
God waits.
God is not slow, God is patient. God doesn’t give up on distracted people or rushed hearts. God waits for us to look up.

And finally, God dwells.
The Word became flesh and moved into the neighbourhood—not into a palace or cathedral but into the simplest, most ordinary place possible: a manger.

The manger is the great equalizer—no VIP section, no prerequisites, no perfect life required.
If God is comfortable entering the world through a barn, God is comfortable entering your Monday morning, your messy kitchen, your imperfect faith.

Here’s the question Advent presses gently into our hurried hearts:

Are we missing the manger because we’re waiting for the spotlight?

Maybe God will thunder for you this season.
Maybe God will whisper.
Maybe He’ll invite you to wait.
Maybe He’ll meet you in the most ordinary moment of your day.

But God will meet you.

Because God is Emmanuel—God with us.
With us in the noise.
With us in the quiet.
With us in the joy.
With us in the ache.
With us in every breath between now and Christmas morning.

So this Advent, slow down just long enough to look toward the manger.
He doesn’t need a stage—just a little space in your heart.

God with us. Always.

As we wait

The Christmas season seems to begin earlier and earlier every year, doesn’t it? It’s not unusual now to see Halloween costumes and Christmas trees side by side in the same store! But of course, that’s the retail world.

In the Christian calendar, November 30 marks the first Sunday of Advent in 2025. Advent is a season of preparation—a very different kind of preparation than what the stores offer. The word advent comes from the Latin adventus, meaning “coming” or “arrival.” It is a time set apart for us to focus on the coming of Jesus, our Messiah and King.

It’s so easy to get swept up in the busyness of the season, especially with the pressure of Black Friday deals. I feel it too! Even though the sales seem to run for weeks, I still feel that tug of not wanting to miss out. And in all of that, I sometimes wonder if we ever get a chance to slow down long enough to prepare our hearts—to truly make room for our Saviour. That, after all, is the whole purpose of Advent.

I know how hard it can be to carve out quiet space in this season… and even when we do, we’re not always sure where to begin. So if you can find just a little time, let me offer a resource to help you along the way.

This Sunday, as we begin our new Advent sermon series, A Nativity Story, we will also be providing a Family Devotional for you to pick up at the church. It includes reflections on the sermons, discussion questions, and simple activities for both the young and the young at heart. My prayer is that these reflections will help you pause, pray, and draw closer to Christ in fresh and meaningful ways this Advent.

Please join us this Sunday as we begin A Nativity Story, a journey that will carry us right through to Christmas Eve.
Our Christmas Eve Service will be held on December 24th at 7 p.m. We would love for you to be there.

May Christ become even more precious to you during this beautiful season.