Pastors Unite For Christmas Devotional

In one word, Tim Rogers, lead pastor with Grace Point Church of Paradise, can pinpoint the impetus for the new daily devotional titled "All You Want for Christmas." "'Yearning,'" said Rogers. "This whole devotional sprang up around that idea. We want Emmanuel (God with us) to come. We yearn and call for that."

"All You Want for Christmas" features writings from 25 area pastors and church and ministry members, who shared their thoughts on Christmas carols and other holiday songs to help bring deeper meaning to the holiday season. Churches that took part, in addition to Grace Point, were Gateway Church, Calvary Monument Bible Church, Hershey Mennonite Church, IMPACT Church, Keystone Church, Maple Grove Mennonite Church, Ridgeview Mennonite Church, and Pequea Baptist Church. Also involved were The Factory Ministries and ServeNow. The devotional will be available at http://www.youversion.com/the-bible-app starting on Thursday, Dec. 1. Those who prefer a printed version may contact jen@gracepointparadise.com. Brandon Fisher of Keystone Church provided the framework for selecting carols and other songs for the writings.

The devotional has its roots in a booklet called "Trust Me," which the group released in 2021 with the idea of reassuring area residents and beyond with the promises of God found throughout the Bible. "Trust Me" garnered close to 8,000 subscribers. For "All You Want for Christmas," Rogers said that the group wanted to offer spiritual sustenance to the holiday season. "We felt like it could be a good way to bring value to our community and show that there is unity and hope around Christmas time," he said.

Songs that were chosen for devotionals included both the traditional "Angels We Have Heard on High" and the more modern "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." One writer shared the story behind Vince Guaraldi's "Christmas Time Is Here," written for "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

Writers who took on the assignment grappled with lyrics ranging from Fisher's exploration of the third verse of "Joy to the World" to Pequea Baptist's Clint Shondelmyer opting to discuss the seldom-sung verse of "Angels From the Realms of Glory" that discusses judgment. Greg Petersheim of Grace Point wrote on "What Child Is This?" and pointed out the importance of God's attention to the small and seemingly insignificant, and Audrey Kanagy of Ridgeview tackled "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas," with a reference to Luke 1:78-79. Kanagy investigated the arrival of Christmas decorations and the range of feelings they can inspire from delight to disillusionment. "To believe that the hope we have in Jesus is more than the fancy decorations and allow God's tender mercy and grace to break into whatever we are experiencing," said Kanagy.

Adam Nagle, director of The Factory, noted that "Away in a Manger" is really a prayer to stay close to God. "All humans yearn for that," he said. "We don't all feel it or experience it because, (although) God is always present, (we are) not always relationally in tune with that."