Christ

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I hope the following sheds some light on a 2,000 year old mystery…

How far and to what lengths would you go for…

–    A one in five chance to win the lottery?
–    A shot at saving the life of a loved one?
–    The opportunity to bring peace to a strained relationship?
–    Assurance of your eternal destiny?
–    A Klondike bar?

Surely you’d at least…

–    Pay ten dollars (the price of an average movie ticket)
–    Tell someone about a possible cure for an ailment they are suffering from.
–    Work a few hours
–    Show up for one meeting
–    Bring it up in conversation

Probably a whole lot more, but my guess is that most of us would at least do something! Except for the Klondike bar.

That’s why one of the greatest mysteries in all the Bible to me is, why all the religious scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, zealots, priests, and religious leaders of every stripe and feather chose to do NOTHING about the single most important piece of news in all of history—the arrival of their long awaited Messiah. The time was right, all the prophecies had converged, and most of all, the location was a mere 6 MILES AWAY from where they were all huddled with their scrolls and religious relics.

But history tells us none of them budged. They never even started the journey to Bethlehem. There’s no indication they even thought about going—which amounts to this…

We can spend our entire lives…

–    hoping for something
–    preparing for it
–    studying it
–    expecting it
–    teaching it

And yet completely miss IT!

In fact, this Christmas millions all around the world will do just that. Ask most people what their most anticipated holiday of the year is, their favorite time of the entire twelve month calendar, and nearly all will tell you it’s Christmas. Nevertheless, most of those people will never encounter the God for whom the holiday is named after—CHRISTmas.

Don’t let that be you.

And don’t let that be the story of any of those you care about.

Invite them to Christmas Eve Eve (if you or they are planning on leaving town for Christmas) or Christmas Eve, where they will not only hear about the Son of promise—but likely encounter Him as well!

* Hey Impactors, don’t forget that we are combining services THIS Sunday (Dec. 22nd) AND next Sunday (Dec. 29th) for just an 11:00 AM service — Spread the word! We will return to the 2 service format on Sunday, January 5th 2014!

• I’ll probably get into hot water for saying this (When has that ever stopped me?) but I am absolutely stunned year after year by how many churches (lead by dispassionate, unengaged, uninvested leaders) take this time of year to do no more than, light the candles, sing Christmas carols, display a manger scene, and call it a night. Seriously?! This was the night, 2,000 years ago where almighty God stepped into time and wrapped around Himself human flesh so that he could experience life as one of us, only to experience death for all of us!

Am I missing something? Did I not get the iRobot memo? Did I misplace my invitation to the Stepford Community Town Hall meeting? How could any church or gathering of “believers” allow this time of year to come and go without doing all they can to reach the lost for which the Savior came in the first place??!!

This bothers me every year, and every year it remains unanswered. So here’s what I am doing about it THIS Christmas…

Friends, I want to encourage all of you who claim the name of Jesus to find a church that not only takes the gospel seriously, but where there is a track record of substantial harvest. By that I mean, if you lived in Southern California near Harvest Church and Mariner’s Church and weren’t sure which to choose Christmas Eve. Choose Harvest. They are both great churches, but Greg Laurie is not only a great teacher but also an anointed evangelist. That means, when he preaches, people get saved!

Need a church in the Charlotte area where the gospel will be preached and God ALWAYS moves HUGE? Join us at Impact Church for our Christmas services and bring the lost. Chances are very good they’ll be found by Jesus!

• Again, another slammin 11:00 am service at Impact yesterday and near record attendance! The 9:00 was a little sheepish though, not gonna lie—Could it be that a certain forgetful pastor neglected to remind everyone we were back to our regular schedule?

I’m saying nothing more about that ☺.

But to keep communication clear, let me share how the rest of the month is going to go so you can plan to have a great Christmas at Impact! First, our Christmas services will begin Monday the 23rd with a very special “Christmas Eve Eve” service for all those going out of town for Christmas as well as those who normally stay home on Christmas Eve with family and so forth. The Christmas Eve Eve service will be at Cuthbertson High School at 7:00 pm (so everyone has time to get off work, get home, and get ready!)! Our Christmas Eve service will be the following night (24th- duh) at 5:00 pm. Both services are identical and promise to be something no one has ever experienced before at “Church” on Christmas. Oh, we’ve all wanted too—it’s just that no one has ever pulled it off…till now!

In addition, Sunday, December 22nd and Sunday December 29th we will only be having the 11:00 am service and no 9:00 am service (Just like Thanksgiving.) Christmas falls right smack in the middle of the week and it’s some of the best family time of the year—so we’re keeping the family together—all week! After the New Year, on the following Sunday, January 5th we will return to our normal 2 service format (9:00 AND 11:00 am). Please make note of it to avoid any future mix ups.

• We are loosely following Advent at Impact Church—I say “loosely,” because we are still in our Rx/Luke series, but tracing the advent themes of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love right along with it. We also have an Advent prayer calendar that can help you draw closer to Jesus in the season—you can access it HERE.

• This past week we talked about, “The Mission” for which every believer is signed up but to which very few actually show up. It’s true, if you are a true Christ follower, then you are called to be an ambassador for Jesus to a lost and hurting world in dire need of rescue from their sins and hopelessness. It’s not just a job for the Billy Graham’s and Greg Laurie’s of the world. It’s not even meant solely for pastors and evangelists. It’s for ALL of us. And Christmas Eve is one of the 2 greatest harvest times of the entire year…

What are you doing for the harvest this year?

Six Miles from Eternity!

A Very Special Pre Christmas Mind Dump!