Scripture for the week of December 18, 2022
By JoBeth Kested

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John 4:9-10 (NLT)

Haven’t we all been captivated by stories of courage and bravery when we hear about someone giving their life to save a child, a friend or even a stranger? No matter how hard we try, we are never able to work hard enough, to be good enough or to love God enough to deserve the sacrifice Jesus made for us. This time of year we remember that God sent Jesus, His only son, into the world as an extravagant demonstration of His great love for us. He came as the baby in a manger, destined for the cross, to die in our place and to save us from our sins. He not only forgives us of our sins, but also gives us His comfort, peace, love and joys in this life as well as the hope for all eternity with Him. In this Christmas season of shopping, parties and family gatherings for sharing gifts, let us not forget the reason for the season and the greatest gift of God’s love for us in Jesus; born to be our savior. Glory to God in the highest!