Bulletin 1.4.26
"but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the LORD." Jeremiah 9:24
Reflection Before The Service
Reflection Before The Service
Open wide your door to the one who comes. Open your soul, throw open the
depths of your heart to see the riches of simplicity, the treasures of peace, the
sweetness of grace. Open your heart and run to meet the Sun of eternal light that illuminates all men.
– Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (339 -397AD)
Only a God with whom all things are possible (Matt. 19:26) can become incarnate in the form of an infant. The old hymn is therefore right to say, “Jesus, Lord, at thy birth!” For God’s “power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). When we peer into the manger and glimpse the Christ child, we need double vision. We are seeing weakness, yes, but also the matchless might that made the universe. [...]
In short, Christmas reveals God to be wholly unlike the gods of the nations, beyond myths and legends and idols of every kind. Only the God besides whom there is no other (Isa. 45:5) can become one of us without ceasing to be himself— without leaving heaven vacant. The Lord who sits on the throne also sleeps in Bethlehem. This is the mystery of the Incarnation.
– Brad East, “In Bethlehem, God Chose What is Weak to Shame
the Strong” (Christianity Today; December 16, 2025)
The Call To Worship
The Call To Worship
The Prophet Jeremiah 9.23-24; The Letter to the Galatians 6.14-16
Thus says the LORD, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the LORD.
But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
(Prayer)
Reflection Before The Service
Open wide your door to the one who comes. Open your soul, throw open the
depths of your heart to see the riches of simplicity, the treasures of peace, the
sweetness of grace. Open your heart and run to meet the Sun of eternal light that illuminates all men.
– Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (339 -397AD)
Only a God with whom all things are possible (Matt. 19:26) can become incarnate in the form of an infant. The old hymn is therefore right to say, “Jesus, Lord, at thy birth!” For God’s “power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). When we peer into the manger and glimpse the Christ child, we need double vision. We are seeing weakness, yes, but also the matchless might that made the universe. [...]
In short, Christmas reveals God to be wholly unlike the gods of the nations, beyond myths and legends and idols of every kind. Only the God besides whom there is no other (Isa. 45:5) can become one of us without ceasing to be himself— without leaving heaven vacant. The Lord who sits on the throne also sleeps in Bethlehem. This is the mystery of the Incarnation.
– Brad East, “In Bethlehem, God Chose What is Weak to Shame
the Strong” (Christianity Today; December 16, 2025)
The Call To Worship
The Prophet Jeremiah 9.23-24; The Letter to the Galatians 6.14-16
Thus says the LORD, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the LORD.
But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
(Prayer)
04/01/26