Tag: candle

Hey friends! Well, this is the week! We are gearing up for the day we have been talking about this whole month. CHRISTMAS!! As a reminder, we will be having our Christmas Eve service at 6pm. If you have never been, please come. It is really beautiful, quiet and just a way to reflect on the reason for the season. I know we are all super busy but if you can, please come. And bring someone with you!

Today is the last day of our Advent series. On Christmas Eve, we will light the Christ candle. Let’s talk about it.

So as you have been following along in our series, all of the outside candles have been lit. As a recap, we have lit the hope, peace, joy and love candle. The last candle not lit is the center candle. This candle is referred to as the Christ candle. The Christ candle is in the center because the Christ candle reminds us that Jesus is the center of Christmas. The four outer candles are all important, but they only make sense with Jesus at the center. Yes, Christmas is a time of hope, peace, joy and love, but once again, this is only because of Jesus.

Without Christ, there is no hope. When we looked at hope in the advent season, we talked about the hope in Christ gets you through the waiting. And we saw that hope in Christ does not disappoint. (Romans 5:5) All real hope in the world is centered on Christ. You see, Christmas is all about hope because it’s all about Christ. God sent his Son into the world so you and I have hope. We have hope today because Christ is with us. We have hope tomorrow because Christ will never leave us. And we have hope for eternity, because Christ is coming back to take us to be with him forever.

Without Christ, there is no peace. Jesus came to save us from our sins so that we could be restored with our relationship with God. When you trust Christ, you enjoy a wonderful peace in your heart, a personal peace that is unlike anything you can find in the world. I know what you are thinking here. Jennifer, I have peace in my heart but what about the world? Our world is severely lacking Jesus. You can’t look at religious or political leaders for peace. You have to seek the Prince of Peace.

Without Christ, there is no joy. Jesus brings the joy of salvation. Joy is sharing good news. Joy leads to praise. This is evident by the shepherds sharing the good news of Jesus’s birth. Joy is so much deeper than happiness. In fact, Christmas time can be an unhappy time for people. But Jesus brings joy to help sustain us when we are feeling every emotion. By having joy, that doesn’t mean you won’t ever be sad or mad. It means in your saddest or maddest hour, God is with you. And because He is with you, you experience true joy.

Without Christ, there is no real love. God showed us an immense amount of love by sending us His only son to sacrifice. The story of Christmas is all about love, because Christmas is all about Jesus. The Bible says: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10). God is love, and all love comes from him. There is no real love without Christ.

A lot of people celebrate Christmas and they are not christian. What they love about it is the lights, the decorations, the gift giving and receiving, and just the overall feeling they have during this time. But you want all those things with the Christ part. Kinda like wanting hope, peace, joy and love. I think most people genuinely do want those things. But Christ is the center, and we only enjoy the good things of Christmas because of him.

I want to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas.

Love you all,

Jennifer

Motivational Monday- Advent Series

By Jennifer Robbins

On December 15, 2025

In Motivational Monday, News and Announcements

Hey friends! Today I wanted to continue our series on Advent. This past Sunday we lit the Joy candle and next will be Love. In our Motivational Monday’s, we talk about joy and love frequently but how does this play a part in the Christmas season? Well, let’s talk about it.

The third candle to be lit is the joy candle or also known as the “Shepherd’s Candle”. I’ve always been drawn to the shepherds in the Bible (probably because I’m just a regular person). If we look at this from the sheep’s perspective, what do they have that can defend them from predators? These fluffy, white poofs don’t have sharp teeth. They are really sweet and surprisingly intelligent. That’s why they flock together…for survival. But, if something comes after the flock that wants a snack, one of them is not going to win. They honestly depend solely on something or someone to protect them. The shepherd.

The shepherds were just ordinary people like me and you. The night of Jesus’s birth, they were guarding the sheep from predators.

“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

‘Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” Luke 2:8-20

God chose these ordinary people to share the news of His son’s birth first. Not kings. While the difference is noticeable, it fits well with everything else we’ve seen about Jesus’ birth. Mary and Joseph didn’t stand out from the crowd. Again, they were plain ole people. Bethlehem was a small, unremarkable town. Jesus’ first cradle was a feeding trough. The list goes on.

His birth brought…joy. Of course, it’s a baby! All babies bring joy. This is true but His birth is different. He was bringing us salvation.

And does joy bring? Love.

The fourth (but not last) candle is the Love candle or the “Angel’s Candle”. An angel is a created being and not humans who passed away and became angels (Hebrews 1:14). They are messengers (Messengers: The word “angel” means messenger. They bring God’s words, instructions, and warnings, often appearing as men (Genesis 18, Acts 10), servants (Psalm 148, Isaiah 6, Revelation 4-5), protectors:, as seen with Elisha (2 Kings 6) and Paul (Acts 27), agents of judgment (2 Samuel 24, Acts 12), involved in Jesus’ life, fighters (Daniel 10, Revelation 12), and play eschatological role (Matthew 24, Revelation 16).

With all that scripture (and that’s just a smidgen), I think it’s safe to say, they are pretty important.

God sent His angels four different times to prepare people for Jesus’ arrival. In Luke 1:5-25, the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah the priest to tell him that he would have a son (John the Baptist) whom God would use to prepare people for Jesus’ coming. Later, Gabriel came to Mary in Luke 1:26-38 to prepare her to become Jesus’ mother. Shortly thereafter, Joseph received a visit from an angel who told him about Mary’s miraculous pregnancy (Matthew 1:18-25). On the night Jesus was born, a whole company of angels announced His birth to a stunned group of shepherds (Luke 2:8-20).

So the angels brought the message of love…Jesus. The Bible affirms that and that his sending Jesus into the world was an act of perfect love (1 John 4:8-12). Jesus loved people, and yet he didn’t try to always be nice to people. Sometimes, he pushed people to consider what they really believed if they really wanted to follow him (Mark 10:17-27). Sometimes, he got them to admit their mistakes to see how much they needed God (John 4:1-42). Throughout his ministry, he maintained that the key to finding God was not to “follow your heart” but to follow him and obey his teachings.

This week, I want to challenge you to see the story of Jesus’ arrival in a fresh way. Pray that He will show you aspects you haven’t seen before and help you to see the familiar in a fresh light.

By His grace may our joy and love grow as the day we celebrate Jesus’ birth draws near.

Love you all,

Jennifer

Motivational Monday- Advent Series

By Jennifer Robbins

On December 7, 2025

In Motivational Monday, News and Announcements

Hey friends! Wasn’t the Cantata fantastic? Weren’t able to make it? No big deal! Hop on over to facebook and it was all recorded. Amy, the choir and all of those playing instrument’s…*chef’s kiss*.

Today, I wanted to continue our series on Advent. We have already lit the candle representing hope and peace. We talk about hope and peace a lot in our Motivational Mondays. But today, my focus is hope and peace at Christmas. So, let’s talk about it.

The candle of “Hope” or also referred to as the “Prophet’s Candle”. This candle symbolizes the anticipation of the coming Messiah and the hope that He brings to the world. The Scripture readings and prayers the Hartwigs read focus on the prophecies in the Old Testament about the promised Savior and the expectation of His arrival. Like the prophets in the Old Testament, we hope for a Messiah to save us from the sin in the world (Isaiah 9:6-7). We anticipate our Savior’s arrival. As the “prophecy candle,” this candle assures us we can have hope that God will fulfill the prophecies declared in the Old Testament about Jesus. Hope doesn’t disappoint us (Romans 5:5).

I feel like in this day in age, there are times we all feel the evil around us. I know this is supposed to be motivating and that sounds pretty pessimistic. But, I think what this candle also represents is knowing He is coming back. And when He comes back, we will be in heaven. We won’t endure what this world has coming. We will be chillin’ with the homies.

And what does hope bring? Peace.

Luke 2:14 says, “Peace on earth”. Jesus brought about peace, in the most unexpected ways, when he arrived. The Jews wanted a rebellion. They wanted their Savior to overturn the oppressive rule of the Romans and bring about peace in a violent way. But Jesus had something else in mind. Jesus brings us peace in a number of ways.

He gives us inner peace. Because of his work on the cross, we have a chance to receive salvation and be indwelled by the Holy Spirit. This grants us an inner peace (John 14:27).
We have peace with others. We put aside our differences (Galatians 3:28), especially with other believers, because we belong to the same family. We have the same purpose: to let others know about the peace of Christ.

Peace from God, biblical peace, allows us to trust in God’s promises (Proverbs 3:5), through restful, tranquil faith, despite the dark, scary world around us.

This week, I want to challenge you to reflect on the hope and peace we have been given because of the birth of Jesus. I think it is so important that we stop and reflect on the reason for the season. I know we hear that statement frequently but I think it’s easy to get caught up in decorations, food and gifts. Christmas really is a beautiful time of the year. While you are in the store shopping for a loved one or just buying groceries, use this time to talk to the cashier about their plans for Christmas. Listen to them and try to weave the true meaning of Christmas into the conversation. You never know if you are the reason they get to know Jesus.

Love you all and see you next week,

Jennifer