The challenge for us as Christians is to feel the presence of God that we felt on Christmas Eve not only in the Christmas season, but throughout the year. How do we bring that miracle of communion with God with us even through our struggles in July and August? What does it mean to feel the Christmas Presence all the year round?

Jesus's birth story reminds us of our opportunity, every day, to be better than we could be, better than we ought to be, more welcoming, more loving, less afraid. Can we take up the challenge?

Ahaz seeks comfort from his prophet Isaiah. Isaiah provides the reassuring messages that Ahaz's enemies will be destroyed, but as we look back on further events, we see that there is no peace in violent destruction. Can we look forward to a life built on God's love, rather than on the hope of violence?

Where do we find our comfort and value? Do we look to the palaces of the mighty, or to the rough imperfections of the prophets? Where do we find our truth today? In the approval of those with higher status, or in the rough reality of our lives?

John the Baptist’s life in the margins, among a marginal people, and their vision for the future calls us to wonder where the unheard voices in our own lives might be. What drives people to the wilderness, and how can we bring them back in?

What does Isaiah's exhortation mean for us here in Ankeny? How do we spread the light of the Lord among us?

In this time of individualism, Genesis reminds us that we were never created to be alone.