Vineyard Church | Weekly Update December 24th, 2025

Hello Vineyard Fam!

Tonight, we light the final candle! Throughout Advent, we’ve been tracing the movement of God toward us. Hope taught us how to wait in the dark. Peace reminded us that we can rest because Jesus has already done the work. Joy surprised us when grace became personal, and Love came close... so close that God took on flesh and made His home among us.

Advent is about incarnation. The Word became flesh. God moved into the neighborhood. Heaven came near. That’s what Christmas announces, not that life suddenly gets easier, but that we are no longer alone. Hope has a face, and peace has a heartbeat. Joy has a voice, and Love is a presence that doesn't leave.

All of this comes together tonight as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. As we move from Advent into Christmas, I want to leave you with one invitation that has quietly shaped this whole season:

Stay Churchy My Friends.

Not shallow or performative; not polite smiles or surface-level faith. The kind of churchy Jesus embodied.

Churchy that shows up. Churchy that stays in the room. Churchy that breaks bread with strangers and sits with the grieving. Churchy that listens longer than is comfortable. Churchy that prays when others panic. Churchy that loves without needing to fix.

This Advent reminded us that following Jesus isn’t just about what we believe, it’s about how close we’re willing to get. God didn’t love us from a distance, He came near. Now, as His body, we are sent to do the same. Incarnation to us so that incarnation can be real through us.

A Simple Christmas Practice

Tonight, or tomorrow, take a moment and pray a prayer like this:

“Jesus, thank You for coming close. Help me stay close to You and help me come close to others the way You came close to me.”

Then ask one gentle question:

Who might God be inviting me to move toward this week?

It may be small. A conversation. A visit. A text. A moment of listening. Small nearness for a potentially big kingdom impact.

Scripture to Read This Week

• Luke 2:1–20: The story we never outgrow
• John 1:1–14: The Word made flesh
• 1 John 4:9–11: Love made visible

Read slowly and let the words settle! 

Vineyard fam, thank you for walking through Advent together. Thank you for choosing to wait, to rest, to rejoice, and to love. Thank you for being a people who are willing to stay close.

Stay Churchy my friends, and Merry Christmas!

Grace and peace,
Adam Greenwell
Lead Pastor
Vineyard Church
www.billingsvineyard.org