In this Advent message, Pastor Matt reflects on what it really means to be a church family that loves being together—without ever becoming “just a social club.” Starting with a story about Wellspring’s Christmas parade outreach and the quiet, faithful service of people like Ann and James White, he shows how the life of the church is always a team effort shaped by the priesthood of all believers. From there, he turns to Luke’s nativity story and asks a simple but powerful question: Why did God send the angels to shepherds first? What does it say about God’s heart that the good news came, not to kings, celebrities, or religious insiders, but to “stinky shepherds” on the margins? Matt explores three big reasons:
- Shepherds represent the outsiders and broken people Jesus came to rescue
- Shepherds connect us back to David and remind us that Jesus is the promised King in David’s line
- Shepherds raised sacrificial lambs—and now that the Lamb of God has come, their old job is finished
Along the way, Pastor Matt applies this to both our outward mission and our inner lives. Church is not a retreat for the in-crowd; it is a refuge for the broken. Jesus not only invites us to go to the margins with the good news, he also comes to the “stinky” places inside our hearts to heal, cleanse, and restore. Because the Lamb of God has come, our guilt, shame, and self-punishing patterns no longer have the final word. The message ends with a call to let go, receive Christ’s peace, and come to the table of communion as a place of reconciliation—with God, with others, and even with ourselves. If this encourages you, share it with someone on the margins who needs to know: the Lamb of God has come, and everything can change.
