Knox Now…
A New Podcast Series with Richard
Anchored in Advent:
Hope, Peace, Joy, Love
In this four-part Advent podcast series, Richard journeys through the heart of the season, exploring the profound themes of hope, peace, joy, and love. Through personal stories, honest reflections, and timeless truths, Richard uncovers what it means to find hope in uncertainty, peace in chaos, joy in pain, and love through sacrifice. Each episode invites listeners to pause, reflect, and embrace the deeper gifts of Advent that ground us, transform us, and inspire us to share light in a world longing for it.
What Can You Offer from Your Heart?
Anchored in LOVE:
Love Beyond Diamonds ~
The Gift of Sacrifice
This episode explores the true essence of love—not in material tokens like diamonds, but in the sacrifices we make for those we care about. Reflecting on marriage, Christmas gifts, and God’s ultimate act of love in sending Jesus, we discover that real love requires giving of ourselves in meaningful ways. Join Richard for a heartfelt reflection on how sacrificial love transforms relationships and brings the Advent season to life.
To comment on the vodcasts, suggest upcoming topics, and check out the latest VODCASTS Click Here
Christmas Trivia Game
And Check out our downloadable Christmas Trivia Game consisting of rounds of Short Answers, Music Clips plus a True & False section.
Click on the link below to test your Christmas Knowledge with your friends and family this Christmas season. Have Fun!
Christmas Grace
Come Together to Celebrate
Christians believe Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. A great time to reflect on the true meaning of the holiday is during Christmas dinner. Saying a prayer or grace is a way to reflect on your blessings before digging into a delicious meal. It may make your family feel closer and help remind you what really matters on December 25 (or Christmas Eve).
Blue Christmas
Elvis Presley may have been on to something when he sang the song, Blue Christmas. Turns out, for one in five people actually have one.
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Except if you’re grieving a death. Or divorce. Or experiencing a job loss, health challenge, hunger, homelessness or separation from a loved one. There’s all sorts of sadness. You are not alone.
Studies indicate that this time of year brings the most stress, loneliness, and depression. In a season of celebration, all the messiness of our past and present doesn’t seem to have a place; yet the holiday season can amplify feelings of sorrow, pain and tragedy.
At Knox it is our privilege to offer both a digital and physical space where the reality of life with all its pain and grief does not have to be left at the virtual church door but can sit alongside the HOPE and LIGHT which is the real heart of Christmas. Please know, that there is LIGHT in the midst of darkness.
Click on this link and Let’s Talk
Next Worship
December 22, 2024
at 10 am
The Gift of Love
Reading: Micah 5:2-5a
Luke 1:39-55
with
Rev. Dr. Richard Chung
“Journey to the Heart:
Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love”
ADVENT 2024 December 1 – 29
This Advent season, “Journey to the Heart” invites us to explore the profound gifts that prepare us for the coming of Christ. Each week, we journey deeper into the heart of what Advent means, embracing Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love, and discover how these gifts transform our lives, strengthen our spirits, and guide us toward Christmas Eve, when we celebrate the arrival of Jesus, the Light of the World. The season concludes with a reflective look back on the year and forward with renewed purpose on December 29.
Advent literally means “coming.” Beginning four Sundays before Christmas, the season of Advent moves us toward Bethlehem as we anticipate the coming of Jesus. We remember the prophets who pointed the way. We journey along with Mary and Joseph, shepherds and sheep, angels and wise ones hoping to find the baby, who is the sign of God with us.
During Advent we have the practice of lighting the Advent wreath. We light the candles to remember that Jesus’ light is born into the world and is all around us. Each Sunday, we light a candle.
December 22 ~ Advent 4: LOVE
We lit We lit the candles of hope, peace and joy in the last three Sundays. On December 22 we light the fourth candle of Advent, the candle of Love. This candle signifies the depth of God’s love revealed in Jesus. As we light this candle, may it remind us of the love that calls us to serve, sacrifice, and share without limit.
God of love, may Your love dwell within us and inspire us to live in ways that reflect Your heart. Amen.
Some Christmas tree ornaments do more than glitter and glow,
they represent a gift of love given a long time ago.
Why is Christmas Celebrated
on December 25th?
The Internet will tell you that Christians borrowed the date from the Romans, who had a sun festival at that time. Romans did party at that time of year, but Christians had already chosen December as Christ’s birthday decades before. But why the 25th?
The key to the puzzle is figuring out when Christians thought Jesus was conceived. Most early Christians believed that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary during the Jewish festival of Passover. This is also the time of year when Jesus was crucified, some 30 years later. Ancient Christians liked symmetry. It made sense to them that Jesus was conceived on the same date that he was killed. (This same logic was also applied to Moses’ birth and death dates).
December 25th was also appealing because it is around the time when the days begin to get longer than the nights. To Christians this made perfect sense—Jesus is the light of the world, so of course He would be born just as light was overcoming the long nights.
To this day, scholars say there is no way to prove which exact day or month Jesus was born. But the poetic logic of December 25th does have the advantage of giving us a way of lighting up the night on the darkest days of the year, a blessing in itself.
—adapted from Rev. Stephen Milton Blog -The United Church of Canada
Santa Claus is anyone who loves another and seeks to make them happy; who gives himself by thought or word or deed
in every gift that he gives.
Daily Meditation
By Rev Dr Richard Chung
Read by Members of the Knox Congregation
The upcoming Daily Meditations for ADVENT 2024 can be found HERE
December 20 Friday
December 21 Saturday
PRINT Daily Meditations for the Week of December 15 – 21
If you would like to catch up on the Daily Meditations or share them with family and friends you can always find them in video, text or printable format HERE.
The message of Christmas is: We are never alone. Not when the night is darkest, the wind coldest, the world seemingly most indifferent.
Your Donations of Food, Gift Cards and Cash
for Sch’eyk Housing Society are Needed and Appreciated
This Christmas, Knox is extremely pleased to be working in partnership with Choices Market at W. 57th Ave. to collect and provide donations for Sch’eyk Housing Society (pronounced shy-ack) Housing Society, formerly First United Church Social Housing Society in Downtown Eastside Vancouver.
Donations can be food donations, gift cards or cash donations.
Think about basics food needs, especially proteins, and special foods or treats for Christmas; or McDonald’s and Tim Horton’s gift cards in $5 or $10 amounts for example.
Check out More Information HERE
Food & Gift Cards can be Dropped off at:
Knox United Church
5590 Balaclava St, Vancouver
And
Choices Market
1888 W.57th Ave.,Vancouver
Cash Donations can be made by downloading and submitting your contribution via the
Sch’eyk Donation Form