Views from The Ridge 12.20.23
Sunset Ridge is a church that desires to follow Jesus, reach people, and radiate God’s love and hope to all.
This Week
Sunday, December 24 Fourth week of Advent
11am Blended family-friendly Christmas Eve worship service in the Sanctuary. No classes or nursery will meet that morning.
Reminder: If you ordered a poinsettia and did not pick it up, please take it after the morning service.
Upcoming…
December 25-January 1 Church campus closed (no evening gatherings)
December 31, 10:30am Worship in the chapel
Wednesday, December 27 No newsletter (will resume January 3)
Sunday, January 7 Sunday evening groups resume
Light in the Darkness
-Riley Stirman
Tomorrow, December 21st, is the winter solstice. It's the shortest day of the year - quick research is telling me that San Antonio will have only ten hours and fifteen minutes between sunrise and sunset. Which means tomorrow will be the longest night of the year.
There's something incredibly significant about celebrating the coming of Christ at this time of year. There's something amazing about saying, in the midst of the darkest and longest nights of the year, that the light of the world has come down to be with us. To give us love and hope.
Bram Stoker, in the novel Dracula, wrote, "No man knows till he has suffered the night how sweet and dear to his heart and eye the morning can be."
I know many of us have felt surrounded by the darkness, whatever that may look like. I know there is dread and doubt and frustration and anger and sorrow in our lives.
And yet.
God became flesh, born to a young, unmarried woman in a stable because there just wasn't any room at the inn. The one Israel's prophets spoke of, the Savior that so many were waiting for, the hope of all humanity had - against all odds - finally arrived.
Out of the darkness came light. Out of the silence came a voice that whispered, "I love you. You're never alone."
This Christmas season, cling to the promise of hope that comes from the birth of our Savior. Savor the light that he shone into the darkness. And embrace the love that he spoke over you.
And then be the light, be the love, be the hope for all those around you. To the glory of God.
Around the Community
Thank you to all who attended our special prayer service on Monday for our dear friend and minister, Jess Lowry. It was a beautiful testament to the lives she has touched in her tenure here. We appreciate all of your continued prayers for her health and well-being.
Our teens had a great Christmas party last week, complete with build-your-own-pizza, cookie decorating, and games! We can’t want to continue building this community in the new year.
From Our Leaders
The 2024 church budget will be posted in the Fellowship Hall on Sunday, December 24th. Copies of the budget will also be available in the church office. If you have any questions, please contact Dick Ihfe or Gregg Alba. The general meeting for a vote on the budget is set for Sunday, January 7, 2024, at 10:30 AM.
Praises & Prayers
Please continue your prayers for Jim Derickson, Kelly Alba’s father, who is home on hospice, as well as the family that surrounds him.
A Christmas Prayer
Excerpt from “A Liturgy for Christmas Day” from The Lives We Actually Have by Kate Bowler
What is this mystery?
Our God, who set the world spinning,
should come down for this one reason:
to love us into newness.
Not for gain, nor our capitalist fantasies,
but for the hope so freely, lavishly given
that we might learn to see, feel,
and live Christ’s love.
Thank you,
Christ the Giver and the Gift.
Amen.
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