December 8, 2023
Dear Radiant,
Our mighty God in the manger. That’s the scandal of Christmas.
How do we make sense of this? The author of heaven, writing himself into the story — born into the margins of the page, into straw and poverty, under an oppresive empire, into a small town?
As Benjamin William Hastings sings:
The One who had no start and knows no end
Became confined in time and tense
The Everlasting God
The Great I Am
In the mercy of a mother’s hands
The answer is that we can’t really ever “make sense” of love like this, or come to full understanding of such a grand paradox.
Instead, full of wonder, we worship. We gaze and ponder and let the miracle of Jesus transform us.
Friends, know that our mighty God entering into “time and tense” makes all the difference.
Even now, God desires to enter into our stories, our mangers, our straw and desperation. This advent we celebrate our remind ourselves of this eternal truth: that this light breaks into our darkness — whatever that is for you.
God’s might is not demonstrated in him being aloof but by coming near in weakness and poverty.
As Paul once marveled: “though the Lord Jesus Christ was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9
See you this Sunday at 5 as we contemplate and celebrate this glory again.
And be sure to hang a bit afterwards — we’ll have hot beverages, treats, and a kid craft station following the service!
EVENTS CALENDAR (see below for details)12/8 – Rad Youth Refugee Outreach
12/14 – Rad Youth Christmas Pajama Party 6:30 – 8:30 at ELC
12/10 – 2nd Sunday in Advent – hot drinks, treats, and kids crafts following the service
12/17 – 3rd Sunday in Advent – hot drinks, treats, and kids crafts following the service
12/24 – 4th Sunday in Advent/ Christmas Eve Service – 2PM
12/31 – New Year’s Eve Service – 2PM ADVENT 2023!
Advent begins 12/3 – we have a couple special things going on to mark the Advent season at Radiant:
POST WORSHIP HANG!
We are creating some hospitality space for the Radiant community and visitors after each Advent service. We’ll have hot drinks, treats, and a kids craft station immediately following our advent services. Stick around and get to know some folks.
FREE ADVENT DEVOTIONALS AVAILABLE THIS SUNDAYWe will have free advent devotionals that line up with our Advent sermon series this Sunday. These are provided from Water from Rock ministries and are a great way to open our hearts to Jesus in this season.
ADVENT REFUGEE DONATIONS
As announced this past Sunday, Radiant is partnering with World Relief Modesto to bless newly resettled refugees. Here are some furnishings and supplies that are currently needed:
– Couches
– Coffee Tables
– Towels
– Blankets
– Hygiene items (shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush/toothpaste, diapers, wipes, feminine hygiene items, soap/body wash, ect.)
– Cleaning Supplies
– Walmart/Amazon Gift Cards
We will be collecting these donations on Sunday evenings starting Nov. 26 through Christmas Eve from 4:30-7PM. The drop-off location will be in the foyer of the sanctuary at Emanuel Lutheran Church – 324 College Ave. If you need some help with larger donations or have any general questions — reach out to Zach 209.497.3710.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF CHRISTMAS GIFT…
Our friends from he Mozambique Covenant church passed this Advent Conspiracy gift giving idea along to us. If you would like to consider a different kind of Christmas gift this year that blesses and empowers the global poor — take a look. RAD YOUTH GROUPCOMMUNITY OUTREACH: Tonight! Youth — 7-12th grade — join us for a collaboration with Redeemer Church’s Youth Group. We’ll be at Day’s Inn, 1312 McHenry Ave, sharing hot chocolate, pan dulce, and outdoor activities with refugee families. It’s a meaningful opportunity for our youth to connect and be in community.
CHRISTMAS PARTY: December 14th from 6:15 – 8:30PM. Encourage your youth to bring a $10 White Elephant gift. We will have a gingerbread house building context, with hot cocoa and goodies. Don’t forget the pajamas! It’s festive fun for our youth group. Bring friends!
FRONTIER RANCH
The Covenant Church operates a phenomenal summer camp in the Santa Cruz mountains. There are week long options for 4-6th graders and 7-9the graders. Registration opened on 12/1. Spots will fill quickly. Scholarships available from the website. Register here.
PRAYER WALK
We will be hosting prayer walks on the first and third Thursdays of the month during youth group at 6:30PM. This is a time to pray for the community and surrounding neighborhoods and local businesses and schools. Please attend if you are able. We will meet at the Radiant Parking lot and walk the Virginia Corridor. RSVP on the Band App.HOME CHURCHES ARE NOW IN SESSION
Radiant Home Churches are communities of discipleship in the way of Jesus and are foundational to our life as a church. If you are not currently in a home church, or would like to try a new Home Church, please fill out this interest form, and we’ll follow up with you as the groups take shape. You can also directly reach out to the leaders listed below and they will get you connected.
BAND APP
One way to connect at Radiant is to join our BAND APP group. Think of this as a sort of Radiant message board — our own little social media space. People can extend invites, share about needs and opportunities.
GIVING
You all are awesome. Thank you for your generosity and partnership in Radiant’s ministry over 2023. Our budgeted internal giving goal for 2023 was $159,000. Currently, with a few weeks left in 2023 our giving is at $151,225 — we are at 95% of our budget.
Here’s the online link for giving, tithes, and offerings.
Grace and Peace,
Zach
