The Gift – The Coming, or Advent, of the Most Precious Gift

God has always offered his people his very best. Jesus, his own Son, was His very best. So in sending his own son to become a human, as a baby, Jesus enters the world as the single greatest gift that God could offer his people…himself.

As Christmas approaches the Church has celebrated his coming, or the advent, for hundreds of years. We continue that tradition, but as Brian said this morning at Cornerstone, we don’t always do things traditionally. We will await with expectation, in our own way, the coming of the Christ child, now less than one month away.

We have titled our Christmas series, The Gift. As God gave his own Son, so we carry his name and the hope He brings  throughout this season. In the midst of so much receiving in opening presents and what not, we thought, “What if the focus this Christmas wasn’t getting…but giving.” Not a new idea, I know, but what if during this season we, as a church decided to share the gift of Jesus’ coming with others? What if we shared it with people in need, both physically and those who are poor in Spirit?

In an effort to simply love our community, we are mobilizing our entire church family over the next 5 weeks to collect around $30 of food and return them in 13x13x13″ cardboard boxes. This food, according the East Alabama Food Bank, will be enough to feed a family of 4 for 2-3 days. Not that much? you’re right.$30 isn’t that much. But 2-3 days worth of food for some families is a big deal. That’s half a paycheck.

2-3 days of not worrying. 2-3 days of hope.

Food Drop 2012

So on January 7, after the bustle of the holidays has quieted down, Cornerstone will amass in our parking lot for Food Drop 2012 (FD-12). As a group we will load delivery trucks and head to neighborhoods the Food Bank points us to and simply pass out the boxes to families in need. You can check out the FD-12 page for more information and the packing list.

If you’re in Auburn, I hope you’ll consider being apart of our first annual Food Drop. Our goal is 1,000 boxes. Truly, our goal is to love 1,000 families. I can’t wait to see what God does with just $30.