Advent Reflections Podcast

For four weeks, we have travelled in and out of the Christmas story, waiting to see not only the birth of Jesus, but also watching for what God wanted to give birth to in our lives. And now, Christmas is here! What has happened? What has God been saying to you? How has Jesus entered into your life, and what difference does it make?  The story that we rehearse at Christmas isn't just a tale that we dust off once a year. It's a story that reshapes us. It's a story that is meant to be lived. We experience the wonder of Christ coming TO us, and then we're sent out with Christ living IN us and working THROUGH us, so that everyone we meet can experience the miracle of Christmas, of God coming to dwell with them.  Listen to “All Glory Be to Christ” by King's Kaleidoscope to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. All songs mentioned in the Advent Reflections Podcast can be found on Mountain's YouTube Channel at MountainCC.org/YouTube or on Spotify by searching for the playlist “MCC Advent.”  Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

At the time of Jesus' purification at the Temple, there was a woman there who “continually lived in the presence of God,” worshipping night and day. Isn't it interesting that she knows something about this small child that others may have missed? It seems as if God reveals his secret purposes to those who live in his presence, and this woman knew that the redemption of God's people would be found in this child, Jesus, whose very name means “The Lord Saves”. At this moment, she becomes hopeful that God is active and is going to redeem his people. And because of what she knows of Jesus, she can't help but spread the word. Listen to “What Child is This?” by Andrea Bocelli and Mary J. Blige to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. All songs mentioned in the Advent Reflections Podcast can be found on Mountain's YouTube Channel at MountainCC.org/YouTube or on Spotify by searching for the playlist “MCC Advent.”  Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

Jesus' story is not something that will remain in the dark. Sure, he was born in an out-of-the-way town in a back-alley barn, but his arrival has implications for all the earth. The news is starting to spread--both wide, to the farthest regions, and high to the upper echelons of society. Upon hearing it, there are two basic responses: One: to be hopeful and moved to worship, or Two: to be disturbed and bent on destroying him. Now, everyone—the Magi, King Herod, the leaders in Jerusalem—rightly recognizes what is going on here. A new ruler has arisen. He will be the shepherd—the leader—directing the people in the way they should go. He will hold sway and do whatever God has set out for him to do. To some, that is better news than to others. Consider today, how do you receive this news?  Listen to “O Little Town of Bethlehem” by Sarah McLachlan to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. All songs mentioned in the Advent Reflections Podcast can be found on Mountain's YouTube Channel at MountainCC.org/YouTube or on Spotify by searching for the playlist “MCC Advent.”  Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

It was another morning drop off and, as was the routine, young Daniel gathered his bookbag and his lunch and set to venture into another day of school. As he stood within the car door opening performing his check for all things elementary, he looked back inside the car toward his faith-filled mom to get the most important things he would bring to school that day: “I love you, Daniel. Have a great day. Don't forget who you are and whose you are.”   Who are you? And whose are you? The answer to those two questions influences everything. Listen to The One Who Saves / O Holy Night from the Colors of Christmas Mountain Worship album to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. All songs mentioned in the Advent Reflections Podcast can be found on Mountain's YouTube Channel at MountainCC.org/YouTube or on Spotify by searching for the playlist “MCC Advent.”  Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

The season of Advent triggers a deep sense of longing and eager anticipation. This time of year at its essence is about the birth of our only source of hope, Jesus Christ, who would go on to free us from sin and death once and for all with His sacrifice on the cross, and will return again to permanently defeat sin and establish His Kingdom here on earth. However, it's important to remember that during this season of longing and waiting, the Lord has sent you on a mission with all the tools you'll need to succeed.  Listen to “Build Your Kingdom Here” by Rend Collective to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. All songs mentioned in the Advent Reflections Podcast can be found on Mountain's YouTube Channel at MountainCC.org/YouTube or on Spotify by searching for the playlist “MCC Advent.”  Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

In this Psalm 72, David expresses his longing for a King that will bring God's ultimate, of a world set right. He's anxious for a King who will lead God's people in all of the Lord's ways. He longs for a ruler that will bring the gospel—or good news—proclamation and also foster moral transformation of all societies. No earthly ruler like this fully exists, of course. But at Christmas we celebrate the one and only King who checks every box on this list. Jesus is the only one who can live up to the hope that Psalm 72 holds out for us.  Listen to “He Has Come For Us (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen)” by Meredith Andrews to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. All songs mentioned in the Advent Reflections Podcast can be found on Mountain's YouTube Channel at MountainCC.org/YouTube or on Spotify by searching for the playlist “MCC Advent.” Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

The winter solstice will arrive next week with the longest period of darkness of any day of the year. And sometimes life can mirror this darkness as we reflect on painful parts of the year or when we're lonely and have trouble capturing the cheeriness of the season. But Christmas brings light to people in darkness. Isaiah announces that even though we may be living in a land of deep darkness, a new light has dawned. And we light candles and we hang lights at Christmas to proclaim that this new light is Jesus Christ! Listen to Sufjan Stevens, What Child is This, Anyway? to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. All songs mentioned in the Advent Reflections Podcast can be found on Mountain's YouTube Channel at MountainCC.org/YouTube or on Spotify by searching for the playlist “MCC Advent.”  Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

In sending Jesus, God announced that he was putting the world back together. He would redeem and restore and heal what sin has so thoroughly damaged. He would bring us back home into a relationship with him. The coming of Jesus is indeed meant to signal “Joy to the World!”, for God is faithful and “even those who go out weeping...will return with songs of joy.” Listen to “Joy to the World” by Pentatonix to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. All songs mentioned in the Advent Reflections Podcast can be found on Mountain's YouTube Channel at MountainCC.org/YouTube or on Spotify by searching for the playlist “MCC Advent.”  Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

The book of John views the Christmas Story from a different perspective. John uses figurative language to describe Jesus' birth, saying “the eternal Word of God came in the flesh and lived among us.” What an incredible mystery! May you find joy today in knowing that the light of Christ has come to you. Receive it. Recognize it. And walk in the light. And may you be reminded that God sent his son so he could invite you into his family and call you his child. Accept him. Believe in him. And embrace your identity as a child of God. Listen to “Born is the King” by Hillsong to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. All songs mentioned in the Advent Reflections Podcast can be found on Mountain's YouTube Channel at MountainCC.org/YouTube or on Spotify by searching for the playlist “MCC Advent.”  Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

Luke makes it clear that everyone is invited to the party, Jesus' birthday party that is – even the shepherds. And the good news of great joy for all people is that the Messiah is finally here! This great joy is available for ALL people – even those stuck in sin patterns, addiction, broken relationships, and emotional pain- for you and me. Author Frederick [BEEK-NER] writes in his memoir Sacred Journey, “There can be no real joy for anybody until there is joy finally for us all.” That joy for all of us is found in Jesus, the Messiah! Listen to “The First Noel” by Boyz II Men & Kenny Rogers to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. All songs mentioned in the Advent Reflections Podcast can be found on Mountain's YouTube Channel at MountainCC.org/YouTube or on Spotify by searching for the playlist “MCC Advent.”  Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

There are a few precious times in life where we are just bursting with joy. These are the happy exclamation marks and happy face emojis in the midst of life. When you want to dance around with a friend or sing a song. We hear that same joy in Mary through the lyrics to her song Luke 1: 46-55. God is going to fulfill his promises! God is bringing a revolution to the way things are in this world! God has not forgotten us and is stepping in with his strong power to put things right!  Listen to Johann Sebastian Bach's musical interpretation to Mary's song to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. All songs mentioned in the Advent Reflections Podcast can be found on Mountain's YouTube Channel at MountainCC.org/YouTube or on Spotify by searching for the playlist “MCC Advent.”  Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

It is joy that is possible because the coming of Jesus brings wayward people back to the Father. Jesus' coming means broken families will be restored, rebellious people will find wisdom, and people will be open to receiving their Lord. We all know what it is like to wait for restoration, now let's celebrate with joy, making ourselves ready to receive Jesus. In spite of where we've wandered, let us open our hearts to receive Jesus in a new way with a posture of true joy.  Listen to the song  “Light of the World” by Lauren Daigle to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. All songs mentioned in the Advent Reflections Podcast can be found on Mountain's YouTube Channel at MountainCC.org/YouTube or on Spotify by searching for the playlist “MCC Advent.”  Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

God grants his peace to those who seek Him. For those who consider every circumstance an opportunity to rejoice, God's peace dwells in them and protects them. For the one who faithfully comes to Him in prayer amidst a trial, God sustains them with peace that is too incredible for words. What a wonderful promise!  Listen to the song “Adore” by Chris Tomlin to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. All songs mentioned in the Advent Reflections Podcast can be found on Mountain's YouTube Channel at MountainCC.org/YouTube or on Spotify by searching for the playlist “MCC Advent.”  Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

How has Jesus brought you peace? Can you think of ways that you have witnessed God keeping his promises to you? Maybe He rescued you from certain circumstances. Maybe He gave you strength that you didn't have, or He calmed you inexplicably in a moment of stress. Reflect and thank God for the ways He's brought you peace today. Listen to the song “Peace Has Come” by Hillsong Worship to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. All songs mentioned in the Advent Reflections Podcast can be found on Mountain's YouTube Channel at MountainCC.org/YouTube or on Spotify by searching for the playlist “MCC Advent.”  Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

Who wants a God who can be easily explained?! Why do we insist on having a God we can tie down, box up, explain with science or our own understanding? If God can't make a virgin conceive, how in the world is God going to save your marriage, change your heart, overcome your addiction, or heal a deep hurt? How could he rescue us? How could he create the universe if he can't put a baby in a young woman's belly? Into our questions and troubled spirit God sends a message, just as he did to Mary: “Do not be afraid!”  Listen to the song  “Mary Did You Know?” by Pentatonix to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. All songs mentioned in the Advent Reflections Podcast can be found on Mountain's YouTube Channel at MountainCC.org/YouTube or on Spotify by searching for the playlist “MCC Advent.”  Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

Perhaps one way that God's peace can come to us this Christmas is through the reminder that His Word can be trusted. May it bring you peace to know that Jesus' birth story isn't just a Hallmark nicety but a real, world-shaping, life-altering event rooted in the soils of history. God showed up. It happened. And just as sure as he came 2000 years ago, He comes afresh whenever we're ready to welcome Him in. His story can change our story, and then we too become witnesses. Listen to the song “Emmanuel (His Name is Jesus)” from the Colors of Christmas Mountain Worship album to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. All songs mentioned in the Advent Reflections Podcast can be found on Mountain's YouTube Channel at MountainCC.org/YouTube or on Spotify by searching for the playlist “MCC Advent.”   Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

When we are threatened or stressed or anxious and desperately longing for peace--or when it seems like all we've got left is just a stump--the promise “Just you wait” may still not put us at ease right away.  Faith requires waiting. At Christmas, we're reminded that the waiting is worth it. In Jesus, God does bring peace—deep shalom, wholeness—even if it is yet unrealized in all the ways we're hoping for. Let this ancient promise from Isaiah and its fulfillment in Jesus strengthen your faith that God can still bring about true and lasting peace. Listen to the song “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” from the Colors of Christmas Mountain Worship album to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. All songs mentioned in the Advent Reflections Podcast can be found on Mountain's YouTube Channel at MountainCC.org/YouTube or on Spotify by searching for the playlist “MCC Advent.” 

With the advent (or arrival) of Jesus, God announces that he is fulfilling his promise. This Prince of Peace has been born to us. Right into a warring, tumultuous world—in the hotbed of the Middle East, no less. He does not come with an armed battalion, nor is he born into a seat of power. He comes quietly, granting peace to anyone who would turn to him for it. In this humble child, God is boldly proclaiming that, even in a world bent on fighting against him, nothing can stop his plans for peace …of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.  Listen to the song “Silent Night (We Pray for Peace)” from the Colors of Christmas Mountain Worship album to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. All songs mentioned in the Advent Reflections Podcast can be found on Spotify by clicking here or by searching for the playlist “MCC Advent.”  Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

True love is not some spiritual secret that God has tucked away for only a select few to experience in some enlightened state of consciousness. No, true love has been revealed to us. God's love shows up in real ways…earthy ways…gritty ways. God loves like that—not with words or speech but with actions and in truth. And God calls us to love like that. How can you show that kind of love this Christmas?  Listen to the song “Born in Bethlehem” by Third Day to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. All songs mentioned in the Advent Reflections Podcast can be found on Mountain's YouTube Channel at MountainCC.org/YouTube or on Spotify by searching for the playlist “MCC Advent.” Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

To watch Jesus is to witness a descent, a literal fall from glory—down, down, down to the straw bed of an animal feeding trough where he was placed at birth, down further to a cross and then a grave where he was laid at death. Such is the depth of his love for us. Jesus chose not to leverage his esteemed status for his own advantage, but rather for our advantage. Jesus loves you incredibly, and there is comfort and encouragement in that. Now, go love others in the same way, with the same humility, with the same self-forgetfulness. Listen to the song “Away in a Manger” by Moira Dela Torre to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

God's love has not run out. And, unlike every gift we will give or receive this Christmas, his love never will run out or fade or fall apart. It will always endure. Furthermore, unlike every gift we will give or receive this Christmas, it can never be taken away or lost. God is for you. God has not forgotten about you. Listen to the song “He Has Come For Us (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen)” by Meredith Andrews to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

Let's be honest, Christmas does not always feel like “the most wonderful time of the year.” The season boasts of peace and hope and joy, but many of us feel deprived of these things because maybe life has not gone as expected. It can feel especially hard at Christmastime when we're grieving or hurting or lonely. God's faithfulness gives us an unusual confidence that wasn't there before and His compassions never fails. Invite God to be present in you no matter your circumstances this Christmas. Listen to the song “The One Who Saves/O Holy Night” from the Colors of Christmas Mountain Worship album to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. You can access the full Advent Worship Playlist on Mountain's YouTube Channel at MountainCC.org/YouTube. Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

The first page of the New Testament reminds us that the God of the Bible is anything but ordinary. He came in the most surprising way, not to chase us down and get us for our sin, but to save us from our sin. He is a God of love, and he authored “The Christmas Story” to show us what love was all about. May you be especially mindful of God's love for you this Christmas. Listen to the song “This is Our Father's Love” from the Colors of Christmas Mountain Worship album to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. You can access the full Advent Worship Playlist on Mountain's YouTube Channel at MountainCC.org/YouTube. Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

John 3:16, one of the most well-known verses in The Bible, reminds us that at the heart of Christmas is a Gift and a Giver. God gave his Son to us, and He did it out of love. These are the fundamentals of Christmas.  As you venture into the commercial fray with your gift list and see images of Santa with a sack of gifts over his shoulder, remember the Gift that gave rise to all our celebrating. Remember the Giver and the love that He has for you.  Listen to the song “Jesus, Born to Save Us” from the Colors of Christmas Mountain Worship album to continue your reflection time with a moment of worship. Mountain is one church with multiple locations. Come and be part of a community of people on the journey to discover more about Jesus. Everyone's welcome. Find out more about in-person and online service times and locations at MountainCC.org.

What if instead of the hurry and blur of the Christmas season, we paused in the busyness and reflect? Get ready for a daily podcast that will help us slow down and be thoughtful about what Christmas means, and the gifts Jesus brings!