Thank you for joining us for today's Grace for All podcast.

On Saturdays, we pause for a few moments to look back on our week and to review the scriptures that we have used in our podcast.

We encourage you, after listening to this episode, to go back and listen to the episodes you missed, or to review the ones that were particularly meaningful for you.

We trust that the thoughts that we have shared with you this week have provided a full portion of the joy, peace, and love of Jesus Christ.

Now, listen to this week's scriptures.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. It is the time of year when we start to enjoy the many holiday traditions we've grown up with.

For me, one of those traditions is the movie "It's A Wonderful Life." I've lost count of how many times I have watched the movie, but I keep watching it. It is a Christmas tradition because it endures, and it endures because the story is excellent and its lessons are true.

Do you remember that moment in the movie when George Bailey stands on a bridge in the snow and thinks that his life has no value? He wishes that he had never existed. And then Clarence, the angel, shows him what Bedford Falls would be like if he had never been alive -- how his existence, his choices, and his sacrifices affected Bedford Falls in ways he never realized. He was the catalyst that made Bedford Falls exactly what it needed to be at the moment it needed to be.

"It's a Wonderful Life" tells a profound truth about timing and purpose. The Apostle Paul also wrote about the same subject in today's scripture. Paul states that God has perfect timing. He states that when the fullness of time came, not a moment too early, nor a moment too late, God sent his son.

What did Paul mean when he used the phrase "fullness of time?" The Roman Empire built roads connecting the known world, allowing people to travel in ways they never could before. Greek had become the universal language, and therefore, information and ideas traveled across the world at speeds previously unknown. The Jewish people had been awaiting their messiah for centuries and longed for redemption. And into this perfectly ripe moment, God sent Jesus—not as a conquering king, but as a newborn infant to an unmarried teenager living in an occupied land.

God did not send a theological treatise or a military leader. He sent his Son, born of a woman, totally human, and he experienced every aspect of being human. Born under the law that we cannot perfectly follow. And Why? So that he can redeem us—to purchase us back, to set us free.

Paul doesn't stop there. This is where Advent love becomes extremely personal. Not only are we redeemed, but we are adopted. We receive the rights of a child. In the Roman world, adopted children received the same rights as biological children -- they were full heirs, full members of the family. God did not simply deliver us from a bad situation; he brought us into his family.

When we respond to God's love, we are not only forgiven - we’re also changed. We become the children of God, siblings of Christ, and heirs of the Kingdom.

In Advent, we are preparing our hearts for Christmas through the themes of hope, peace, joy, and love. And that love - that adopting, redeeming, perfect-timing love - that is the essence of Christmas. God looked upon humanity, lost and broken, and said, "I will send my Son. I will enter into their world. I will make them my children."

As you decorate your house with lights and present your gifts this season, remember: the greatest gift was not placed under a tree. It was placed in a manger. And that gift was not just about forgiveness - it was about family. God loved us enough that he did not just desire to save us; he desired to adopt us.

You are a child of God. You are an heir. You are a member of the family. That is the love of Advent.

Father, thank you for your perfect timing and your perfect love. Thank you for sending Jesus to redeem us and adopt us into your family. Help us live as your beloved children this Advent season. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Cliff

One of the most beautiful, modern portrayals I have seen of the nativity, and one I feel depicts this verse in an equally beautiful way, comes in the form of the 2023 movie-musical “Journey to Bethlehem.” After Mary is seen going into labor and preparing to give birth, the movie cuts between her and Joseph in the stable and the three wisemen making their way to the manger and stopping in a field with an adult male shepherd and his young daughter, who are seen keeping watch over their flock.

Then, a bright star is seen shining in the sky, and the young shepherd girl begins to sing a verse of “Silent Night”, ending with the line “Jesus, Lord at thy birth”, with her father seen harmonizing with her on the second repeating of this line. Before both the shepherds and the wisemen, the angel Gabriel then appears in the sky, announcing Jesus’ birth, before the music swells to a crescendo and a chorus appears behind him singing a verse of “O Holy Night”. The shepherds and wisemen drop to their knees, some with hands folded in prayer, upon seeing this spectacle. The movie then shows reaction shots of other citizens of Bethlehem reacting to a blinding light encasing them, some initially appearing shocked, but then realizing what this means: that Jesus Christ has been born this night.

During this season of Advent, the beauty of this portrayal of the Nativity resonates with me a bit deeper and is a vision that would not leave my mind while thinking of a topic for this devotion. While we may not know for certain the precise details of the night of the Nativity as none of us were firsthand witnesses, I would encourage you to give this scene in “Journey to Bethlehem” a watch, as it is a beautiful and moving portrayal of this verse and leads you to feel as if you are feeling the same emotions the wisemen and shepherds are feeling in the moment, because even several watches later, I can say that I felt that way.

Let us pray:

Dear God, during this season of Advent, help the brightness of the light the shepherds saw not be lost upon us as we rejoice in the birth of your Son. May we experience the secondhand joy the shepherds and wisemen experienced as we worship him and celebrate his arrival in the manger that fateful night. In your name, amen.

This devotion was written and recorded by Grace Jonas.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.