Advent Conspiracy

This year as a community of believers we are setting out to restore the scandal of Christmas by replacing consumption with compassion. We discussed this last Sunday how the 'song of compassion has been drowned out by the chaos of consumption.' Sad, but true. Christmas is now all about Presents, instead of The Presence. So again, we have set out this year to steal back the meaning and the scandal of Christmas.

Here is the challenge: Buy one less gift this year, set that money aside, and give it to our special offering we are taking on Christmas Eve. Every penny of that offering is going to partner with Living Water International to dig a clean, water well in the country of India. Tens of thousands of men, women and children die every year simply because they have no clean drinking water. We are going to do our part to change that this year by building this well. It is estimated that it would take nearly 10 Billion dollars to provide clean, safe drinking water for every person living on the face of planet Earth, and yet every year in America alone we spend some 450 Billion dollars on Christmas presents that we will be bored with by summer. It is time to re-prioritize our resources don't you think?

I dream of the day when thousands of miles away, in a remote village in the country of India, there will be a group of people gathered around the village. In the midst of conversation someone will ask, 'Who dug this well? Who gave us this water?' Maybe, just maybe someone will say, 'Jesus dug this well. Jesus gave us this water'...and it will be because one small church, in one remote town in Florida decided they could survive with a few less PRESENTS, so they could share the PRESENCE OF GOD.

Will you be a part of the conspiracy?