For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive…

I Corinthians 15: 22

The Blue Christmas service seeks to acknowledge the complexities of loss, providing a space to lament the brokenness we experience in the world. Death is one form of loss. But there are many: loss of relationships, jobs, health, or unmet expectations or unfulfilled dreams. Through our lament and our presence, this service allows us to participate in recognizing that the world is not as it should be.

I have had the blessing to participate in a pastoral internship with you all since last September, 2022. This year has been one of the sweetest years of my life and I know that I will look back on it fondly in the years to come. You, the church, have demonstrated for Gabe and I what it looks like to follow Jesus as a local church and you have provided and cared for our family so well during this time. In this post, I want to thank you, and share some of how this internship has impacted me.

At Grace Harbor Church, we encourage each member to be involved in the life of other members. We often say, “If you do these basic things, you will thrive spiritually and relationally at Grace Harbor: be present Sunday morning and Sunday night, go to community group, and meet with someone one-on-one or two.” But where does meeting with someone fit into following Jesus and what should we do once we meet?

At Christmas, we see in Jesus that God is with us. He is not distant. God wants to be with us. And He wants to comfort you with His presence. Let us seek God together in our pain and imitate Him - “the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort” (2 Cor 1:3) - through our presence with one another.

God provides a pathway for our forgiveness, healing and freedom through confession.

We’ve found we are able to build relationships when we extend our need first, rather than imposing our service.

While pride clearly has an effect on our relationship with others, we need to recognize if, and when, these qualities are present in our relationship with the Heavenly Father.

“Do my actions make my elder’s life difficult? Do I love them well? Do I understand, or even care, when I make their job difficult?”