Behold A King

Happy Thanksgiving week, church family. Do you have a special person you're anticipating spending time with or a traditional side dish to prepare? Are you going off the cuff this season and attempting new rhythms, or relishing in tradition?

We hope you'll join us tomorrow for the last of "A Generous Life" series. It will be a family service, with the Nursery-Kindergarten classes open only during the 10:30 service. We'll have coloring pages for the kids who are gathering with us in the Worship Center. You'll also receive the Christmas at SBC calendar of events and Advent reading bookmark! Our first Christmas event is NEXT Sunday, November 27 at 5:30. We'll be making family Advent wreaths and decorating cookies. Please make sure you sign up in the Commons tomorrow or online here as space is limited. 

As our Communication Team gathered well over a month ago now to pray through and discuss where God was leading us with Advent readings, it was evident to us all that He was leading us in looking at His Kingship. I don't know about you but it's not difficult for me to imagine Christ as King, seated at the right hand of the Father. There, He is King. That seems obvious. But what about as the man who threw over tables in the synagogues? What about Jesus as a teenager? Was the same kingship displayed in Him then? As the conversation continued, Comfort, our graphic design/ media extraordinaire, was telling us about watching "The Chosen" with her husband, Bryan. The episode they had just watched gave creative licensing, asking the character of Mary about what it was like to give birth to Jesus. She says this, "I thought it would be different ... I had to clean him off ... He was cold and he was crying and he needed my help" (watch it here).

When you think about a king, does this line up? That's why it's a miracle. The King of the world came as a baby, vulnerable and in need. Who better to understand the depravity of the human condition, than a King who made Himself nothing, "by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness" (Philippians 2:7)? Who better to know the struggle and tension of sin in our lives, than the very one who was tested? And then who better to be called by the Father, dying a painful death on the cross on our behalf to carry the weight of sins forever? The mere life of Jesus was a miracle and this is what we'll be reading together. We'll be working chronologically backward through His life, starting with Him seated in Heaven, walking with and teaching the disciples, learning and studying as a teenager, to then Jesus as a tender baby, born to Mary and Joseph.

Make sure to grab your bookmark or download this one. We'll begin together on Monday, November 27. Our 8@8's on Facebook Live will coincide with the readings so if you'd like to join those app notifications, please SUBSCRIBE to "Advent Readings".

How to?
1. Open the Sierra Bible Church, Sonora app on your device.
2. Click on the 3 horizontal lines in the upper left corner.
3. Select "Settings".
4. Select "Notifications".
5. Subscribe to "Advent Readings".

We highly anticipate all of the ways that God reveals Himself to us as families, individuals, a church and community this Christmas season (and always!).