Today at North Side was week number two in our series, “Let There Be Light.” This week, we talked about the Incarnation. We talked about the darkness that we live in. We tried to drive home the fact that our sin has caused this world to be a dark place where the light of Christ is avoided. But when the incarnation happenned (Jesus coming to us in the form of a baby), God was saying, “let there be light!”
This morning, we worshipped to the following songs:
- Christ is Come – Big Daddy Weave
- Joy to the World – Hillsong
- Angels We Have Heard on High – Hillsong
- Sweet Little Jesus Boy – Trisha Yearwood
- Here I Am to Worship – Tim Hughes
There is a temptation to make every Christmas series put all in attendance in the “Christmas spirit.” What we mean when we want to be in the Christmas spirit, is that we want the music, the lights, and the festivities to give us warm fuzzies in the month of December. But in all honesty, the Christmas spirit isn’t about all warm fuzzies. It’s about sacrifice. It’s about thinking of others more than you think of yourself. It’s about we were unable to reach God, so he reached out to us.
So, spending this month focusing on taking the light into a dark world is the best way we can produce the Christmas spirit. It’s the spirit of Jesus – it’s about seeking and saving that which is lost.
I also want to give some shout outs tonight to our volunteers. At North Side, we have the most incredible group of volunteers that have ever been assembled. Adam, John, and Wes were all away from Greenwood today, and we probably tried to do the most complex services today with the lighting, videos, and the whole sh-bang, and our volunteer team knocked it out of the park. I was talking with Nancy, Edgar, and Addison in the media room after the service and told them I think North Side could do away with our staff and be OK, but we couldn’t lose our volunteers!
Thanks to our tech team for making the message stick – without you, no one could hear what they need to hear or see what they need to see! Thanks to our host team – I can’t tell you enough how many people have felt welcomed because of what you do every Sunday – your gift of hospitality is changing the way people feel when they come to church. The parking lot crew – the message begins in the parking lot – you guys are amazing!!! Thanks to our praise band – I can’t think of a better group of humble musicians who are so energized by leading people in worship. You don’t look forward to a performance, but you live for those moments like today, when we got to hear people singing with their hearts: “Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down, here I am to say that you’re my God.” All of you are amazing, and we couldn’t do it without you!
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.