A Christmas Carol | Week 2 - Miranda Burton

We invite you to begin this holiday season with some child-like
wonder through the magic of Christmas stories. We will not
only look at the birth accounts of the Savior, but at the whole of
our story; from even before Genesis through to Revelation. And
we will do so spring boarding off the famous story written in 1843
by Charles Dickens called, A Christmas Carol. A Christmas Carol
begins with a death and forces the main character, Ebenezer
Scrooge, to evaluate his life. As a part of this journey,
Scrooge is given an odd gift; he’s able to explore his past,
present, and future. He’s able to remember what happened to
him as a child and how it shaped him. Then he gets to see his
present with a view of who he has become; a crotchety old man who
cares about little else than making a profit. Along the way,
however, it seems that this crotchety old man wants to be something
more, do something more, but what? How? Finally, Scrooge gets the
opportunity to see what his future will be should he continue down
his current life path. When he wakes up from this dream, he is
convinced; he must change. He chooses to be
different. You might even say, he repents and becomes a new
creation, one who celebrates the joy of Christmas by taking care of
others. In a similar fashion, we will look at the thread of the
Christ story, and our story, by looking all the way back to
Christmas Past, before the foundations of the world. Then, we
will look to Christmas Present, exploring where the choices of His
creation led the God of creation. Then, should we choose to
believe in this magical and wonder-filled story of Christmas, we
can then peak into our Christmas future, a future secured by what
God has done for us. There, we will see what this God of love
and grace has in store for us all.   May the telling and
reimagining of this story, the Christmas story, bring much needed
light into every corner of our world today. I look forward to the
journey, and to spending Christmas…together!