TEACHING
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2022
10:30 AM (kids! + communion)
ADVENT 3: Joy!
Santa Claus or St. Nicholas with Shel Boese
Hebrews 12:1-2 ; Isaiah 35:1-10; Luke 10:21
This time of year images of Santa Claus appear and those in more culturally Christian areas speak of the "war over Christmas". But the war over Christmas really began in the Reformation, 500 some years ago when the church fought through many issues, deciding Christmas needed to go. In our desire for justice, we can go overboard—making the cure worse than the disease, killing things that can be redeemed, and forgetting continual negative posture brings no one joy. Justice and joy can hold hands! 
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Online Notes:
Santa...Saint Nicholas: A Short Biography

Joy: An Experience of the Holy Spirit

Joy: A Result of Exposing Powers and Seeing them as they are; Less than Jesus

Joy as a Result of Liberation and Reconciliation (Isaiah 35:1-10 Luke 15)

Biblical Hope and Joy - Meditation on the Word

Joy of Salvation

Santa or Satan? Jesus restores that which has been distorted; embracing role models of joy. 

​Arrival and Landing

For Discussion and Reflection

  1. How was Christmas celebrated (or not) in your family of origin? 
  2. Was Santa Claus a part of what you did?
  3. Read the key Bible passages. Spend some time talking about what jumps out to you and why. Any challenges to your way of thinking/living?
  4. Joy is supposed to be a marker of the believer. It’s listed as a “Fruit of the [Holy] Spirit” in a believer’s life. Why do so many so-called Christians not reflect this in their relationships?
  5. Where and when have you experienced joy?
  6. Some explain happiness as more at the surface and joy as something deeper, yet the act of “Rejoicing,” expressing delight, seems to bring them together. One can rejoice with words, expression, etc. without necessarily feeling the same way internally. Talk about joy, happiness, rejoicing...
As most Home Churches pause until the New Year (calendar), stay in touch, maybe have a Christmas-New Year’s gathering. What do you hope to experience in 2023?​

Location

6075 Inverness Street
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
​V5W-3P8
Phone: 604-301-1006
[email protected]
Gathered Worship at 10:30am Sunday
Pilgrim Church is located at the corner of East 45th and Inverness Street in south Vancouver, two blocks southwest of East 41st and Knight Street.
Our building is fully accessible from the parking lot. We have an elevator entrance from the parking/ground level that services the Upper and Lower floors and a fully accessible washroom on the upper/main level.
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In the spirit of reconciliation, Pilgrim Church acknowledges that we live, work and play in the unceded and traditional territories of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
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