Not only is darkness a metaphor for the lies that we create apart from the truth in Christ (light), but it also represents the obscurity that God plants his feet in to bring all of us into the light. Can you see God at work in the hiddenness of your life?

Each of the first three encounters with an angel in the gospel of Luke starts with "Do not be afraid." Why? What were they afraid of? Some context into the Old Testament law will show us that God, in Christ, has come to make all things right. Perfect love drives out fear.

We are so used to a mythological God, in the Father, who is more like a divine bully and murderer than the God revealed in Jesus. The Incarnation is how we reform how we see the Father and everything else.

What have you stopped praying and dreaming for? The forerunner of Jesus comes from impossibility.

If one tree is burning, it is easy to put out. If an entire forest is on fire, it is nearly impossible to put out. If we're going to see transformation in and through the Church, it is going to have to be the whole church playing an active role.

We have made a habit of responding casually to a gospel that is extremely generous toward us. Then, we wonder why we aren't moving from "glory to glory." The call is to lay down our lives in order to find life. We must live generously, not meagerly.

How did the church fathers see the incarnation and how does that differ from our current views of the Word becoming flesh? If we are going to see the gospel in all of its goodness, we must remember where we started. This is a new reformation.

It is critical to remember your baptism and what it really represents...and it isn't just "going public."

It's not just that we pursue an encounter with God, it is that we pursue a childlike encounter with God. "Unless you become like a child..."