In our last series, we talked about loving our neighbours, and stepped through six shifts.  From stranger to neighbour to acquaintance to partner to friend to becoming “like family”.

It’s possible to become like family with a focused group of people, where you practice loving your neighbours within that small group, and see that spill over to others outside.

This series looks specifically at this stage of being “like family” with other followers of Jesus.  It’s called the church, believe it or not.  Important that explore what church means as we prepare to launch a new church in Ajax in 2014.

You probably have all sorts of preconceived notions of what that word means.  Attached you’ll find a video of some people on the street who were asked about what they think of when they hear “church”.

You can find the video here:

Question: When you hear the word “church” what do you immediately see, or think?  Make a list, there may be several.  What experiences have informed you?

Ryan Sim - December 12, 2013

Thursday - Act On It - The Night That Changed the Powerful

Jesus is power, personified. The question is how will we respond to Jesus? Will we cling to power like Herod, or do everything we can to find and worship him, like the Magi? We all have some degree of power in our lives – over our own choices, over our dependents, over loved ones and others in our lives, or perhaps over employees and corporations. Given power, Jesus and Herod use it very differently, and Herod and the Magi respond to Jesus’ power very differently. How will you? The Magi responded in worship and service, and go down in history as first non-Jewish worshippers, first missionaries to the larger world. So today, with the same history presented to us, we are invited to decide how we will go down in history...as clinging to power, as knowing much but doing nothing, or as worshipping the true King of love and peace. Challenge: Give some of your power and influence to help others. One great way is to come to the Original Christmas Party and make a generous gift of toys to families who won’t have much at Christmas, but you can find other ways, too! Reminder: We have a great Christmas event coming December 14th, 2013: The Original Christmas Party. Hope you're coming!

Related Topics: Christmas, Herod, Magi, Power, Wise Men | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio

From Series: "The Night that Changed Everything"

In preparation for Christmas, our Daily Challenges are going to explore the lifechanging significance of Jesus' birth so long ago. It's more than a sentimental story, or a time for generosity, Christmas celebrates The Night that Changed Everything. We'll explore the original Christmas story from the Bible, and its impact on five kinds of people.

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