FROM THE PULPIT: THE CHRISTIAN FAITH IS A FAITH OF INVITATION AND INCLUSION

As you read the pages of the Bible, God is constantly drawing people to enter into a relationship. In many cases, God had a role for people to play in drawing other people into this relationship. In the situations when the person God sought tried to excuse himself, God helped the person overcome the obstacles and barriers. See how God empowered Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Jonah. God's desire is that no one be lost.

When Jesus established his ministry on earth, he came along ordinary people and invited them to follow him into a deeper relationship. Jesus told parables about the ways, and the extent, that God is seeking to relate to the human race. Do you recall those three wonderful parables from Luke's fifteenth chapter about the lost coin, the lost sheep and the lost child?

Perhaps no greater example of God's desire to reach into our world comes at Christmas time. Jesus' birth is God reaching down to us ... no it's more than merely reaching down. God went even further. God put our humanity upon his Spirit, that we might come to know God, and to know that Jesus was God.

Even the Christmas story goes to show how God draws people into this relationship. Joseph and Mary were drawn to God through a miraculous conception and angelic visitations that were accentuated by a cumbersome and ill-time bureaucratic requirement of registration for tax purposes. The humble manger draws the greatest of sinners from the vilest gutters of life to know the depth of God's redemptive love.

Humble shepherds were drawn by a heavenly revelation of the angelic messengers. The magi were directed by scholarship and inquiry, and their ability to discern and interpret the movements of stars and planets.

We all take different roads to find and follow Jesus. Some people are directed down roads of deep personal tragedy, and others find Jesus through serving the needs of other people. Many people are drawn to the bright lights and good will shown by others this time of year? Could God be using you?

At the First Presbyterian Church, we will offer two services on Christmas Eve to help people connect again with God and celebrate God's love for us. The first one at 7 p.m. is adapted more for children and families. The second service is held at 11 p.m. and we will serve and practice an "open" Communion.

We've even been experimenting with a web-site, hoping to use the technology of our time to share a timeless message. We hope to reach other people for Jesus Christ beyond the constraints of four walls and the limits of a Sunday morning worship service. We're still under construction at www.1stpres@homestead.com and we welcome your feedback. If your church is interested, we'd love to help.

Above all, remember this time of year is special reminder and celebration of God's plan and purpose. Invite a friend and attend one of the many celebrations in our community.