Shepherd's Heart 11/27/24
I vividly remember the feeling. It was early December 2009 and I was teaching 5th grade at River Woods Elementary School in Naperville. One day as I settled down after school to work on lesson plans, it dawned on me that due to the nature of the calendar year, we were going to have kids in class up through December 23. On top of that, my family calendar was bursting at the seams with commitments and events. I don’t know if you’re like me, but I’m someone who desperately needs time to settle in and prepare my heart for the Christmas season. I need to rise above the hustle and bustle of my calendar and to-do list in order to really calm my heart and spirit.
Later that day as I was at church preparing for an evening rehearsal, God gave me one of the most vivid visions I had ever seen. I saw a collection of people gathered in the middle of the Worship Center singing Christmas Carols with nothing but an acoustic guitar and a few other instruments. It was such a real vision I could’ve sworn it was something that had already happened. I immediately ran to Pastor Glen’s office and just unloaded everything that God had just shown me. I must’ve sounded a bit crazy, but as soon as I finished, Glen took a breath and said, ‘Well, who are we to not follow God’s lead, let’s do it.’
Literally 12 days later, we were holding our very first ‘Encounter Christmas’ worship night. 130 people were curious enough to gather that year. The sound of all those voices uniting in song, singing the classic Christmas Carols that we all know and love, brought so much faith and joy to my Christmas season. When the evening was concluding, Pastor Glen came back up and said, ‘Well, looks like we’ll have to do this again next year,’ and everyone in attendance lifted a huge applause of affirmation.
The vision that God showed me was exactly what I needed, and it was what so many others needed as well. The heart and essence of Encounter Christmas is simply to offer an opportunity for us all to unplug from the cultural and consumer craziness of the season and to focus on the greatest gift we’ve ever received, our Source of Peace, Jesus Christ.
As we discern what God desires to be the theme each year, my team and I spend time in prayer and reflection. God spoke loud and clear this year through my dear friend, Carly Howell. She talked about how the world feels so out of joint, there seems to be so much unrest and uncertainty in lots of different environments. In many ways, this is similar to the context in which Jesus was born. And He came to bring the Shalom, the wholeness, the completeness, that our very weary world desperately needed. That peace is still available now for those who seek Him. Centuries before Jesus’ birth, the prophet Micah wrote:
‘Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son…
And he will be our source of peace…’
-Micah 5:3,5
And many know the prophecy found in the book of Isaiah:
‘For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’
-Isaiah 9:6
So 15 years after its inception, our theme is just that…Encounter Christmas XV: Prince of Peace.
I hope you and your friends and family take the opportunity to join us on either Thursday, December 12 at 7:00PM or Friday, December 13 at 5:45PM or 7:45PM. It is sure to be another powerful year of experiencing the deep peace found in the Christmas Story through fixing our eyes on the birth of Christ.
~Ryan Hammer
Later that day as I was at church preparing for an evening rehearsal, God gave me one of the most vivid visions I had ever seen. I saw a collection of people gathered in the middle of the Worship Center singing Christmas Carols with nothing but an acoustic guitar and a few other instruments. It was such a real vision I could’ve sworn it was something that had already happened. I immediately ran to Pastor Glen’s office and just unloaded everything that God had just shown me. I must’ve sounded a bit crazy, but as soon as I finished, Glen took a breath and said, ‘Well, who are we to not follow God’s lead, let’s do it.’
Literally 12 days later, we were holding our very first ‘Encounter Christmas’ worship night. 130 people were curious enough to gather that year. The sound of all those voices uniting in song, singing the classic Christmas Carols that we all know and love, brought so much faith and joy to my Christmas season. When the evening was concluding, Pastor Glen came back up and said, ‘Well, looks like we’ll have to do this again next year,’ and everyone in attendance lifted a huge applause of affirmation.
The vision that God showed me was exactly what I needed, and it was what so many others needed as well. The heart and essence of Encounter Christmas is simply to offer an opportunity for us all to unplug from the cultural and consumer craziness of the season and to focus on the greatest gift we’ve ever received, our Source of Peace, Jesus Christ.
As we discern what God desires to be the theme each year, my team and I spend time in prayer and reflection. God spoke loud and clear this year through my dear friend, Carly Howell. She talked about how the world feels so out of joint, there seems to be so much unrest and uncertainty in lots of different environments. In many ways, this is similar to the context in which Jesus was born. And He came to bring the Shalom, the wholeness, the completeness, that our very weary world desperately needed. That peace is still available now for those who seek Him. Centuries before Jesus’ birth, the prophet Micah wrote:
‘Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son…
And he will be our source of peace…’
-Micah 5:3,5
And many know the prophecy found in the book of Isaiah:
‘For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’
-Isaiah 9:6
So 15 years after its inception, our theme is just that…Encounter Christmas XV: Prince of Peace.
I hope you and your friends and family take the opportunity to join us on either Thursday, December 12 at 7:00PM or Friday, December 13 at 5:45PM or 7:45PM. It is sure to be another powerful year of experiencing the deep peace found in the Christmas Story through fixing our eyes on the birth of Christ.
~Ryan Hammer
Posted in Shepherds Heart