Fred Rogers did not invent the concepts of love, forgiveness, acceptance and kindness. On the contrary, these were merely the lessons God had offered him the moment “Jesus moved into the neighborhood of Fred’s heart.”
As we get ready for Christmas here at Prospect, we’ll be celebrating that there’s a “Beautiful God in the Neighborhood.” Christmas is about Jesus leaving heaven and coming to Earth. Jesus, being fully man and yet fully God, moved into our world and allowed us to get a glimpse of Heaven. Just as Jesus impacted the world that He physically moved into, He asks us to do the same thing. The neighborhood changes when the Spirit of God encounters it. We have the opportunity to be a part of that on-going, Jesus moving-into-new-hearts-and-new-neighborhoods event.
Mister Rogers lived out an embodied Gospel, showing friendship and love to anyone He met. Every day, you have the opportunity to love your neighbor and live out Fred’s legacy of faith and friendship. More importantly, you and I as the people of Prospect have the opportunity to live out Jesus’ legacy of faith, forgiveness, and reconciling love. After all, that’s really what Christmas is all about.
I’m grateful, as always, to be with you on the Journey (especially in this magical season)!
<><, Pastor Steve
“The Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory…”
John 1:14 (The Message)
*I’d certainly invite everyone to watch “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” as part of their Thanksgiving weekend. The Pichaske crew hopes to go on Monday or Tuesday. We also hope to make reference to the movie during our Advent/Christmas sermon series.
I
