Rev. Ashley Sherard When Elizabeth was six months pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary. When the angel came to her, he said, “Rejoice, favored one! The Lord is with you!” She was confused by these words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you. Look! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and he will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. He will rule over Jacob’s house forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom.” Luke 1: 26-33 CEB I am a mom and a minister, I give news of all kinds all the time. I deliver Good News, good news and not-so-good news. I can identify with Gabriel, the messenger. I wonder if he ever felt the need to wear a sign that read, “don’t shoot”, I often times feel the need to wear one. Some of us dread the coming of Christmas, which seems to be happening sooner and sooner with each passing year. When we see the department stores putting up Christmas trees before Halloween we cringe. The thought of mile long Christmas lists and begging children makes our nerves raw. We’ve heard the Christmas story so many times it doesn’t even register the message anymore, or does it? If we take a moment to step back from all of the cringe worthy “messages” the coming of Christmas stirs up in us and listen to the message of God, “the child to be born will be called Holy- Son of God.” we get to experience a message of hope, love, peace and joy. Don’t shoot the messenger when Christmas starts to make an appearance, focus on the true message of God’s amazing love to be born. - - - God who speaks to us in many ways, I give you thanks for the opportunity to open my eyes, once again, to the amazing message of Christmas. Open my ears and heart to the words of the story of the Christ child’s birth so that I may celebrate the greatest gift of all. Amen. Ashley is the Minister and Church Planter of Jerusalem Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Lafayette, LA. She is a mommy to three beautiful girls, the wife of Rev. Frank Sherard, also a minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a musician, and a lover of yoga. Ashley is also a proud Navy wife, Frank has been a Religious Programs Specialist for over 25 years. You can find Rev. Ashley on facebook, at jerusalemlafayette.wordpress.com and www.discipleslafayette.com. I would love to hear from you. There are several ways to communicate and connect:
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