Dear Family at Christ Community,

On Christmas Eve we will have the joy of hearing from Ruth 4:13-22 and witnessing the baptisms of Eli Wilson and Hannah Yandle! Both Eli and Hannah will receive baptism by way of profession of faith. As a means of grace, baptism will signify and seal upon them Christ’s work as their Redeemer and Restorer of life.

The genealogy at the end of Ruth parades God’s providence through the generations to stir up our joy and strengthen our hope in His faithfulness. In The Life We’re Looking For, Andy Crouch reflects upon the way genealogies function as a summary of the “chain of persons” God works through in each of our lives:

Our biological genealogies are complicated things, fraught with as many stories of betrayal and disappointment as of love and care…. But there is another story—another chain in our lives—that matters more…. It is the chain of genuine love.

The book of Ruth has helped us see the chain of genuine love and God’s covenant faithfulness at work in the generations leading up to Christ. Each name we will read in the genealogy represents a person—as real and ordinary as you and I. As God was faithful to them, so will He be faithful to us in Christ.

Take time this week to ponder the chain of genuine love and God’s covenant faithfulness at work in your life. As you gather for the holidays, share stories of God’s faithfulness with those He has used in your life and with those you long to see become members of His family. May your baptism fill you with comfort and joy in Christ and may Eli and Hannah’s baptisms remind you that our God is on the move, faithfully building up His family from one generation to the next!

Yours in Union with Christ,
Matt