Jesus makes it clear that he is the Vine and we are the branches and God is the vine grower. To be all we are called to be, we need to be attached to the vine. It is quite a temptation to attach ourselves to other distractions but it will not help us to bear the fruit God desires.

The Sanctuary is open for those who might want to just sit and take in the beauty before the Blue Christmas Service. You do not even have to stay for the service. The lights are on and music is playing.

This week we are looking at the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Many modern preachers refer to her as the seductress and Matthew would have none of that. She is unnamed, reflecting her powerless against a man who abused his power and murdered her husband to cover it up. No matter how apologists for David try to clean up this story, the Hebrew Bible makes it clear. David would not be abandoned by God but he would suffer the consequences of his actions on earth.

Rahab is the second woman listed in Jesus' family tree as found in the first chapter of Matthew. Rahab was the prostitute in the family tree and yet her courage and her affirmation of who God is and what God is doing showed more faith that the Israelites.

Her name was Tamar. She was the daughter-in-law of Judah, son of Jacob was sold his brother, Joseph, as a slave to merchants on their way to Egypt. He then lied to his father that Joseph had been killed by lions. Tamar had but one protection in life and because her father-in-law refused to protect her, she took a courageous risk. Her action not only insured her future but was a part of salvation history. Listen to her story.

If you were going to write the story of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, would you not begin with a family tree that proves his worthiness and superior lineage. That is what we usually do but it isn't what Matthew did. Matthew included the stories we leave out of our backgrounds and he does it intentionally. Being honest about who we are makes the miracle of God's grace even more powerful.

In the last of our series on the Prophet and the Evangelist, Isaiah reminds us there is work to be done. Not work to return to a day of former glory but work to be done with the vision of what God has for the future.

The exile is over and the faithful have returned home. Nothing was as was expected. For twenty years they focused on rebuilding their own families, their own crops, and their own homes. Haggai called them to account for their lack of attention to God's Temple. Was he just trying to get a building built? Doubtful. When we turn our attention to God, we begin to think collectively rather than just individually.

We often think about God's unmerited favor in terms of grace but Paul challenges us to think about it in terms of trust.

The Day of Yahweh was good news until it wasn't. When God's people were oppressed, they looked forward to the day God would make things right but when they became the oppressor, that day became a day of darkness and judgment. Joel is reminding us that good news is always good news even when we believe it is inconvenient. God is the one that makes the news good.