I love the scene in The Grinch where he reviews his schedule: "4:00, wallow in self-pity. 4:30, stare into the abyss. 5:00, solve world hunger, tell no one. 5:30, Jazzercize; 6:30, dinner with me. I can't cancel that again. 7:00, wrestle with my self-loathing. I'm booked. Of course, if I bump the loathing to 9. I could still be done in time to lay in bed, stare at the ceiling and slip slowly into madness." As funny as that scene is, I'm reminded that our own schedules are often so busy and so packed that we leave little time for the Lord and even for our loved ones. This Sunday, we will focus on the importance of not allowing our agendas to steal precious time from the things that truly matter. We look forward to seeing you Sunday at MC3.

It's been said that Christmas is a time of joy and happiness—a time to celebrate with family and friends. Yet, for some it is the most depressing time of the year. It is a time of loneliness and grief. Even in the midst of the Biblical Christmas story, we find pain and grief. But we also discover this is why Jesus came as a little baby, to take our pain and turn it into joy. As the Psalmist writes in Psalm 30:11, "You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy." This Sunday, we will unpack how we can find joy, even in the midst of tears.

During this time of peace on Earth and goodwill toward men, there sure can be a lot of conflict. There can be conflict with certain family members ... you know who I’m talking about! The ones you don’t like to talk to, the ones you can’t stand talking to, and the ones you don't talk to. There can be conflict as to where and when our Christmas gatherings are going to be. This shouldn't surprise us. When we begin to track through the Christmas story in scripture, do you know what we find? We find conflict ... almost immediately. This Sunday, we will unpack how we can navigate the conflict and learn to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.