Date: December 10, 2023

Bible Text: Matthew 1:18-25, 2:1-15 |

Series:

This is the second Sunday of Advent, the season of spiritual preparation for the feast of Christmas and the coming of Christ - at Christmas, in our daily lives, and at the end of all things. This year we are exploring themes from the book *Christmas in the Four Gospel Homes* by Cynthia M. Campbell. Since Advent is four weeks, we will look at one gospel each week and how the author presents the appearing of Jesus Christ in the world. This is also the basis of our Wednesday Advent bible study, so you can double dip and dig in deep.

Our second visit is Matthew's house. This is a much richer Christmas than Mark put on. Matthew is concerned with tradition, family, continuity, faithfulness, and making sure there are places set at the table for everyone who shows up. In writing to an audience that had likely been traumatized by political events and wars and were wondering how to be faithful when the things they had always relied on had fallen away, Matthew promises that Jesus Christ is the one they count on. Do you suppose we can count on him, too?

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