Stop! Take 60 seconds and let these words seep in before you move on to your next task–the task you need to do so you can take off from work for vacation, host the Christmas party tonight, bake for the neighbors, fill the stockings… Just stop, and prayerfully read this exert from today’s Advent passage:

“though he [Jesus] was in the form of God,
did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 
but emptied himself,
by taking the form of a servant, 
being born in the likeness of men. 
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death, 
even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:6-8

Did you catch that? On Sunday, we celebrate not just the birth of a cute little baby swaddled in a manger. We celebrate a King who chose to step down from his throne, lay aside His crown and put on a diaper knowing his birth would lead to suffering and death.

We get to celebrate the One who showed an unfathomable amount of sacrificial generosity, extravagant devotion and reckless abandonment. 

So may we be like the woman from Mark 14:1-11 who saw Jesus as priceless and responded in worship. May the Lord make us a people who willingly, joyfully, and presently embody and embrace the next verses of Philippians 2:9-11:

“Therefore God has highly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 
in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.” Amen. 

(If you’re in town Sunday and are able, we have a beautiful opportunity to worship Him together from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. at our West Seattle expression. As always, please consider inviting friends, family and co-workers to join you! There will be childcare for children 2 months-2 years old.)