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Today is New Year’s Day! It’s also the 8th Day of Christmas, so we’re celebrating new life and change! After all, don’t we all hope that the New Year brings change? And that’s part and parcel of our Christmas celebration, too!

Think of your favorite Christmas movies – the Grinch, A Christmas Carol, Elf… they all revolve around someone changing. Even the much-maligned Hallmark movies are about someone changing, discovering the TRUE MEANING of Christmas, which is peace, joy, love and hope. 

But what about the ones who DON’T change? Like ole Hans Gruber in Die Hard? Or Jacob Marley – Scrooge’s old partner who’s long dead? Or the ex-boyfriend in the Hallmark movies who can’t believe she wants to leave her city life for this boring small town?

We all know that the Grinch’s heart doesn’t always grow three sizes. Sometimes the bad guy doesn’t change. Sometimes Scrooges stay selfish.

What do we do, then? When the powerful cling to their power? When evil men persist in their evil ways? In this season of hope and possibility, how do we respond? 

Today, we’re going to look at the story of the original grinch of Christmas, King Herod. We’re going to face that part of the story we so often want to skip over. 

Because the painful truth is that we might be more like him than we want to admit. So we’re going to begin this new year by taking an honest look at ourselves. 

We can do that because we serve a God who loves us unconditionally.

God loves every Grinch, Scrooge and yes, even Herod. So that means God loves us too.

Join us Sunday as we celebrate how God’s love creates the possibility of change!

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