Does anybody really need Christmas? Do we need the decorating, entertaining, gift-giving, spending … the gathering, singing, worshiping? Why do we expend so much energy on these things? Maybe it’s because at the first Christmas everybody needed what Jesus came to bring, no matter who they were: the rich and powerful, the outcasts, the lonely, the forgotten … everybody. And maybe, we all still do!

Christmas is a celebration of a gift that is powerful, life-changing and eternal … a gift everybody needs and anyone can receive!

Often we assess God’s goodness and power based on our present circumstances. And sometimes our present circumstances don’t demonstrate a good and powerful God. But what if there was a better way? What if we could better understand and trust God even when our circumstances are challenging? In the story of Christmas, Mary teaches us to replace worry with worship, because she trusts based on her past experiences.