December 2025
2404 Kirby Rd, Memphis
901.754.6548
Worship: Sundays 8:50 & 11am (Live Stream @ 11am)
Advent: What Child IS This? In those days, Caesar Augustus published a decree ordering a census of the whole Roman world. This first census took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All the people were instructed to go back to the towns of their birth to register. – Luke 2:1-5 In 1865, William Cha erton Dix penned a poem that would become the beloved Christmas- me favorite, “What Child Is This?” During Advent, we will dive into this ques on that is much more complicated than the lil ng lullaby tune, “Greensleeves,” conveys. We will see the story of the me leading up to the birth of Christ in its historical fullness. The story of humanity and its recurring themes of oppression and corrup on run right through history and into our own narra ves. Yet, we can rely on the assurance of the carol to confirm that God is “present with us” in powerful ways that con nue to be the Word of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love even and especially in the midst of hard mes.
The nature of humanity seems to point to the need for a “savior,” especially when we feel things are out of control. People in the me of Jesus’ birth were no different. They hoped for a new reality of communal wellbeing in the midst of corrup on and violence. Peace only existed by defini on of the empire. The collabora on of religious and state authori es for the sake of the rich and the demise of the poor was a hard reality for most. For what do we hope in our me that will be “good news for all people?”
Come to Emmanuel this Advent (beginning Sunday, Nov. 30) and experience For yourself this Word of Hope.