Andy rings in the New Year by mentioning his plans and goals for the church. He casts a vision for the future of the church: supporting youth ministry, providing events to bring in the community, and staying with the times.

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Now that we're past Christmas, Brant and Ann remind us that it's our duty and 'privilege' as Christians to spread the good news of Jesus' birth while also celebrating Brant's son's baptism. Brant also provides a breakdown of Isaiah's writing; who heard it and what was happening in their lives' when Isaiah preached to them.

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Andy looks back on the year, from baptisms to putting ash on the forehead of people in passing cars, and reflects on who God really is - that he is not, in fact, a drive-by God. That he is here, and he is here eternally.

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While shopping for bikes, Andy finds himself discussing what it means to be a pastor with all that's going on in the world with the bike salesman. Andy talks about how Christmas is a very simple story. At its roots, the story is simply that the baby Jesus came to bring us peace.

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This week, Ann contemplates where she can go to find peace in today's world.

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The question has been asked before, but there’s still a lot to unpack - what is it that’s necessary to believe in order to not be a heretic? And what do we need to keep about the Christmas story?

The group gets into common misperceptions and the way our misinterpretation of the Christmas story doesn’t mean we’re getting the point of it wrong.

Here’s the article Kaitlyn mentions. (Link: https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/2018/december/putting-christ-back-in-christmas-not-enough-nativity-americ.html)

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In this week's short homily, Ann discusses "reversals" and an impromptu soccer match that happened on the front lines one Christmas Day during World War I.

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After referencing John Wesley last week, a new listener asks about the importance of Wesley, and whether the group could give him a starting point on Wesley's ministry and sermons. Unsurprisingly, Kaitlyn and Brandi are INCREDIBLY excited about this prospect.

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Here's links to the sermons referenced in this podcast:

The Scripture Way of Salvation (link: https://www.umcmission.org/Find-Resources/John-Wesley-Sermons/Sermon-43-The-Scripture-Way-of-Salvation)

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The amount of stories that are all the same is vexing Andy, and he complains about how every movie he goes to seems the same. But then he shows us how the story of Christmas is the Hero's Journey - the simple story, the same story told over and over again, of hope lost and found again.

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As he looks at the Christmas season, Brant considers what he calls "One-Dimensional Gifts" - simple gifts that don't last very long. He warns us that when we begin to look at Jesus' birth one-dimensionally, we miss a lot of what makes this season so special.

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