Intro to Part 3 of The Story

by Lead Pastor Joel Wight Hoogheem

Christmas in March? Are you kidding me?

Well, no. That’s where the story of the birth of Jesus lands within our journey through The Story. Since last September, Lord of Life has traveled through the entire Old Testament narrative. We’ve heard about familiar characters such as Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Ruth, and David. We’ve heard about less familiar characters such as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The Exodus and the Exile both grabbed our attention. The rise and fall of countless kings was yet another theme.

Through it all, we heard that God was (and is!) faithful. God makes promises and God keeps those promises.

As we hear the story contained in the New Testament for these next few months, we will hear about all the surprising ways God keeps those very promises. While the people rejected God as their king way back in 2 Samuel 8, the story of Jesus is one of “God’s kingdom come,” as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus is a very different kind of king than who the people expected. He’s also a very different sort of Savior than was anticipated, too.

Many of the stories in these coming weeks may be familiar, but I pray we can hear them anew after our encounter with the Old Testament. Like that Christmas in March thing… We don’t actually know when Jesus was born. December 25 was chosen as the date to celebrate Christmas in the year 336. Perhaps hearing the Christmas story in March, apart from our traditional holiday festivities, can give us fresh ears for the amazing and remarkable story of God-with-us and give us renewed hope in our lives of faith.