Marlon’s Musings #11

Cloverdale Christmas! This last Sabbath at Cloverdale, we held our annual Cloverdale Christmas program, where, instead of a regular church service, we had a play and music. This special program involves a variety of people in various ways, from writing the play (entirely written by our members Kristine, Lexi, and Francine) to the decorations, to the music, to the audiovisual team running sound, projections, lights, and livestream, to our backstage crew, to all the musicians, kids, and families involved in the play and rehearsals. I feel like we have been living at church for the last few weeks, but it has been a great community-building experience. Want to see how it all turned out? Watch our live stream. Want to join us in person next time? Our Cloverdae Christmas program takes place every year on the second Sabbath of December.

For the Cloverdale Christmas program, we told the story of Jesus' birth from the shepherds' perspective.

Quote

“His name shall be called Immanuel, ... God with us.” “The light of the knowledge of the glory of God” is seen “in the face of Jesus Christ.” From the days of eternity the Lord Jesus Christ was one with the Father; He was “the image of God,” the image of His greatness and majesty, “the outshining of His glory.” It was to manifest this glory that He came to our world. To this sin-darkened earth He came to reveal the light of God’s love,—to be “God with us.” Therefore it was prophesied of Him, “His name shall be called Immanuel.”
- The Desire of Ages p19

Blog

My post “someOne is coming” explores the meaning of Immanuel—God with us and why truly knowing God begins with knowing Jesus. It traces how Christ reveals the character of the Father, why love cannot be forced, and how reconciliation with God transforms the way we live in this broken world. Through Scripture, practical reflection, and a personal story, this blog post wrestles with the tension of being in the world without being of it—and why regular time with God is essential for spiritual clarity, peace, and contentment. If you want to understand who God really is, how Jesus reshapes obedience, and what it looks like to live a generous, Christ-centered life today, this post invites you to go deeper.

Video

One of my favorite “contemporary” Christmas songs is “How Many Kings.” I first heard it sung by Tim, who was the head elder of the Mercedes English SDA Church in Texas, at the beginning of my full-time pastoral ministry. Here’s a guitar-only version of How Many Kings.

That’s it for issue #11

For the previous newsletters you may have missed, you can click here.

Until next time, may God bless you!

Marlon