Acts 2 UMC: Recent Episodes
Acts 2 UMC
James 1 challenges us to stop merely hearing the word and start doing it. Real faith is shaped by endurance, fueled by grace, and shown through action. From how we speak to how we serve, James calls us to live out what we say we believe.
Pentecost is not about personal spiritual gain but about becoming a people of faithfulness, cross-cultural compassion, and collective mission. We are invited to slow down, wait on God’s promises, and give ourselves to the Spirit’s work of unity and service.
The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead empowers us today to live in wholeness and holiness. As we wait and wonder, we find our witness in community, showing up faithfully even when power is not in our hands.
The Holy Spirit forms us not just as individuals, but as a community rooted in love, maturity, and mutual care. In a culture obsessed with individualism, the Spirit draws us into a shared life where transformation and freedom are found together. At the Communion table, we remember that we are one body—many members, made one by the Spirit’s gift.
The Holy Spirit doesn’t just comfort us—it empowers us. The same Spirit that raised Jesus now leads us into freedom, maturity, and new life as beloved children of God, inviting us to surrender our old ways and step into who we’re truly meant to be.
This Mother’s Day, we reflect on the truth that every person is made in the image of God. Through Mary’s story, we’re invited to reexamine the images we hold of God and consider how we might say yes to bearing Christ into the world.
Following Jesus means growing up in love, truth, and maturity—not just spirituality. The Holy Spirit empowers us not for self-importance, but for self-giving, forming us into people whose lives reflect Christ through patience, kindness, and compassion.
Easter isn’t the end of the story—it’s the beginning. Jesus breathes new life into us through the Holy Spirit, sending us into the world with a mission shaped by resurrection hope. As we follow Christ, we are empowered to live out God’s plan with courage, peace, and purpose.
When Jesus was crucified, there were no Christians, no churches, and no Bible—just fear, grief, and silence. But Easter morning brought an empty tomb and a shocking truth: death doesn't get the last word. In this message, Pastor Mark explores how Jesus’ resurrection isn’t just something we believe—it’s something we count on. Because what God did for Jesus, he will do for us.
On Palm Sunday, Jesus enters Jerusalem not with force or fanfare, but with quiet courage—riding a donkey in a bold, upside-down claim to kingship. In contrast to the vengeful rulers of the world, Jesus reveals a kingdom built on compassion, sacrifice, and the relentless love of God.
Most of us can be kind to the people closest to us—at least most of the time. But in the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus challenges us to an even greater level of kindness—Kingdom kindness—which demands that we are kind even to our enemies.
We all learned as children that it’s important to be nice, but sometimes we mistake niceness for kindness, and we even justify unkindness in the name of niceness. Jesus shows us what true kindness looks like, and he invites us to be kind, even when it doesn’t feel nice.
The U.S. Presidential election is 50 days away, and the atmosphere is anything but kind. Yet even small acts of kindness can make a significant difference in our communities. This election season, let’s campaign for kindness!
While our world today is plagued by division, suffering, and just plain meanness, God is inviting us to help create something new--a collage of people from all kinds of backgrounds and cultures, a community of belonging and delight.
If we want to have strong and healthy families and relationships, we have to become healthier ourselves by seeking God’s healing in our own lives. As our families become healthier together, our households can become places of joy, kindness, and hope for a weary world.
Broken relationships are painful, but repair is possible. Repair is a process that takes significant effort, but when we’re both willing to make that effort, with God’s help, we can experience the joy of reconciliation.
There are no perfect people. We are all broken in some way, but healing and forgiveness are possible. With God’s help, we can experience healing and even thriving in our relationships.
Every relationship is built on commitment, but not commitment in general. There are four specific commitments every relationship needs, and you can learn to make those commitments and have better relationships.
Character matters in all of our relationships, from our family rooms to our bedrooms to our boardrooms. Your character matters and so does the character of the people you choose to trust.
Family matters, and no family works without trust. Trust is the fuel that drives every relationship. When trust is broken, repairing it is difficult. When we can learn to build, strengthen, and repair trust in our relationships, we can experience lasting joy.
In a society that is growing lonelier by the day, we desperately need community. Jesus invites us to a community where everyone is welcome and where God is healing us toward wholeness.
Solitude was once our default state when other people weren’t around. Now it’s nearly extinct. With distraction always easily at hand, we are losing the ability to endure uncomfortable emotions. Jesus models for us a healthy rhythm of engaging with people and withdrawing for solitude. When we regularly engage the practice of solitude, we become spiritually healthier and better able to love and serve our neighbors.
Our lives are growing more and more complex, and we are growing more and more disconnected from the things that make us human. To simplify our lives, we have to reconnect with what it means to be part of God’s good creation.
We all face wilderness moments in our lives, but when we open ourselves to God in those moments, we can be transformed. In the wilderness, we learn to let go of the inessential so we can focus on the essential.
Sometimes, as we try to live a new life of freedom, it’s harder than we thought. Our new life of liberation can feel like a barren wilderness. Even in the wilderness, though, we can trust that God is working for our good.
Jesus invites us into a new life with God not to make us into harsh rule-followers, but into people of love.
As we come to know God and experience eternal life, God awakens us to God’s presence at work in everyday moments and invites us to get rid of everything that is holding us back.
We have two types of problems in our lives: inside and outside. We tend to focus on the outside problems, like job loss, relationship struggle, or political crisis, but we would be wise to pay at least equal attention to our inside problems, like anger, greed, and self-indulgence. When we invite God’s healing into these parts of our lives, we can experience salvation and wholeness right now.
Jesus doesn’t just save us from sin and death. He saves us for something—for new life with a greater purpose, and to share that new life with others.
Many people think “being saved” is about getting into heaven when you die. The problem with that is Jesus never talked about it that way. Pastor Mark reminds us of how the New Testament defines salvation and why that is important today.
In our desire to create the best possible life for ourselves and our families, we often struggle to make every moment a peak moment. Yet if we want more memorable moments in our lives, the most important thing we can do is simply to be present in the everyday moments of our lives.
The suffering of innocent people can be profoundly troubling, and it can be a significant source of doubt. Often, well-meaning people offer explanations for suffering that aren’t actually helpful and are sometimes even harmful. But God does not want anyone to suffer. While we will face suffering in this world, we can trust that God will always be with us in the midst of it.
We have heard the God answers prayer, but most of us have also felt the pain of praying for something that didn’t happen, and it can lead us to question God’s goodness. In this message, Pastor Robert explores how we can wrestle with unanswered prayer.
The question of what happens to us when we die is an essential one, especially when we lose someone. We explore what the Bible teaches about what comes next—God making all things new, the world the way it was meant to be.
One of the most troubling ideas Christians wrestle with is what happens to non-Christians after death. The idea that God would send all non-Christians to hell is difficult to reconcile with the words and actions of Jesus. In this sermon, Pastor Mark explores what the Bible says and how we can trust in God’s goodness and mercy.
Everyone has doubts, but doubt isn’t something we have to be afraid or ashamed of. Doubt and questioning are not the enemies of faith, but can be a path to a deeper and more authentic faith.
On the day Jesus rose from the dead, everything changed. God has launched a new world, and because of Easter, the transformation that makes all things new has already begun!
Following Jesus has a cost. But choosing not to follow him has an even greater cost. If we choose to take up our cross alongside Jesus, he promises a life of beauty and possibility.
A transformed life is possible, but it doesn’t just happen. To become like Jesus and do the kinds of things he did, we can’t just try hard and leave it to chance. We need a plan.
The idea of doing as Jesus did can seem daunting, but that is exactly what Jesus’ apprentices are trained to do—the kinds of things that Jesus did. Find out how.
Becoming like Jesus isn’t something just for exceptionally religious people; it’s for everyone! But it doesn’t just happen. It takes a dependable, intentional process to be formed into a person who is more and more like Jesus.
The people we spend the most time with have an immense influence on who we are becoming. If we want to look more like Jesus, we have to spend time with him. When we spend time with the one who loves us more than we can imagine, we are formed by God’s love into people of love.
Whether we realize it or not, we are all being formed by something. For people who identify as Christians, the goal is to be formed by Jesus. But this isn’t something that happens automatically. It takes practice as we follow Jesus’ way and become his apprentices.
Technology enables us to do amazing things. Yet despite these advances, our well-being is diminishing by many measures. Too often, heavy device use leaves us feeling less human when we’re done. Jesus, however, came to give us abundant life, and he shows us how we can begin to reclaim our humanity: putting relationships before technology.
In our culture love is most often defined as a feeling. But that’s not love according to the Bible. Love is something else completely—a willing choice to put the good of the other before our own. When we make that choice, we can form and strengthen relationships that can endure even the greatest challenges.
While disagreement is unavoidable, division is a choice. The most important thing to Jesus is his followers’ unity, and in the midst of disagreement, we can create a community where everyone is welcome, and even enemies can work together joyfully.
When someone does something wrong, we want them to get what they deserve. But when we’re the ones who do wrong, we want mercy! Thankfully, Jesus shows us a God who does not give us what we deserve but offers us grace, no matter how little we seem to deserve it.
When you’re going through a difficult time, someone might try to reassure you by saying, “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” But if we’re honest, we all have things we can’t handle alone. The good news is that God never expected us to handle everything on our own, and God helps us when we have more than we can handle.
Everyone wants to be happy, but our attempts to chase happiness often have the opposite effect—they make us miserable. While God delights in our happiness, God also has higher callings for us that are better and more life-giving than happiness alone.
We’ve all heard them—simple sayings that sound nice, but are simply untrue. You may have heard that “Doubting is dangerous.” But doubt is something we all experience, and in fact, doubt can actually help us to grow.
God’s love and forgiveness are for everyone, but young people will only know that if we commit ourselves to loving, supporting, and encouraging them on their life’s journey.
We like to think that the things we pursue are freely chosen, but we rarely realize how much our desires are shaped by the people and media we pay attention to. In the final chapter of Philippians, Paul shares the secret to being content in all circumstances and living a life worth wanting.
We live in a society obsessed with status—having the most wealth, power, or respect. Yet even when we get these things, we find that we’re not any happier. Instead, Paul teaches us to seek after what really matters most.
The Christian life isn't something we do in private—it's a public act of living as a citizen of heaven, and it has serious social and community consequences. Being good citizens of the gospel kingdom of Christ demands higher standards for our behavior, and when we live this way, we can enjoy a common life of joy and humility.
We all need a supportive community around us, but a healthy, strong community can be hard to find. The early church in Philippi demonstrates what it looks like when we come together as people partnering together who are generous, content, and loving. By following their example, we can create that same kind of community today.
When we face challenges in the world, what we want is a pain-free solution, ease of life, certainty, and security. What we need, though, is meaningful work, community, and faith that God will take care of us in the ambiguity. When we trust God, love our enemies, and set aside selfish desires, we can be part of the world-changing work that Jesus is dong in the world.
We like to hope that in the crucial moments of our lives, we'll rise to the occasion. Unfortunately, what actually happens is that we fall to the level of our training and preparation. If we want to become more resilient, we have to train. An ancient Christian practice helps us as we train to become more resilient and more like Jesus.
It’s tempting to think of resilience as an individual matter, but we cannot become resilient without relationships. The greater the challenges we face, the more accountability and life-giving relationships we need.
In the midst of chaos, resistance, and loss, we often want certainty about the path forward. Unfortunately, most of the challenges we face can't be solved with easy answers. Instead of seeking certainty, we can grow stronger by practicing self-reflection, learning to become more adaptable, and growing in self-awareness so that we can be transformed as we grow in resilience and character.
If we base our identity on our success or others’ approval, we’re going to be in for a rough time when we fail or when others are upset with us. Instead, we can ground our identity in who God says we are: God’s beloved children. When we do, we can keep going even in the midst of stress, chaos, and loss.
We live in a world of anxiety and despair. How do we become resilient and holy (set apart) in a throw-away world of mass production? In a performance-driven world of grades and evaluations, it is possible to leave the chaos and burnout of a performance-based life and embrace the peace and freedom of a grace-based life.
We know that forgiveness is important, but it’s also really hard. There are many reasons we don’t want to forgive others, but forgiving others doesn’t just help them; it helps us, too. The words “I forgive you” can set us free.
We’re taught to say “thanks” as children, but the word is much more than good manners. A heart felt thanks paves the way toward a resilient mindset of gratitude and an expectancy to see God move on your behalf.
Our words have the power to create worlds. The word “sorry” can mend broken relationships, strengthen connections through radically vulnerability, and begin the process of forgiveness.
Words have power, and even a single word can change everything for both the speaker and the hearer. The word “please” opens doors that were previously closed. It can change a demand into an invitation to relationship and reciprocity.
The grave is empty. Love has won. Christ is risen! Jesus’ resurrection changes everything, and it can change everything for you.
In the last week of his life, Jesus faced betrayal, abandonment, arrest, torture, and death. He willingly endured it all because of his passionate love for all people.
What Jesus says and does in the final week of his life tell us what he values most. And his words and actions toward those he encounters consistently show us that when everyone around you says, “You’re out,” God says, “You’re in!”
After healing and teaching in Galilee, Jesus began his journey toward Jerusalem and the cross, but his journey wasn't just about the destination. It was about compassion for the people he met along the way.
A good story can change the way we see the world, and the parables of Jesus do just that. His teachings turn the world upside down so we can experience a life of freedom and possibility.
We all deeply desire to be seen, but we're often afraid that if people knew who we really are, they wouldn't accept us. Jesus sees us as we truly are, accepts us, and helps us to see ourselves as he sees us.
Jesus came to help and save the outsiders, outcasts, and outlaws. During the season of Lent, we’ll be reading the Gospel of Luke together, and we’ll see that whether you’ve been poor, rich, rejected, dejected, sick or humiliated, God wants to use you to lift up the lowly.
Each of us has to deal with difficult people, but they don't have to wreak havoc in our lives. And when we follow Jesus' teaching and example for dealing with difficult people, it can transform the world.
God Created us for intimacy, and some of us find intimacy in marriage. In marriage and other relationships, we often get it wrong, but God is a God of second chances. In marriage and in any other relationship, God offers the chance to start over.
Good relationships keep us healthier and happier. One of the best investments we can make is growing in our relationships, and this is certainly true for parents. Parenting is a lifetime job that doesn’t end when children are grown, and the best gift we can give to our children is our presence.
Humility is not natural to anyone, but it is the lifestyle Jesus models for us. And when we learn to be humble, not only does it open us up to the possibility of wisdom, it also makes others feel encouraged, accepted, and valued in our presence.
Kindness is not a weakness. In fact, it can actually lower blood pressure, improve sleep, and strengthen immune systems. We are made for loving kindness, and when we choose to be kind, we bless others and create a kinder world.
On Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, the prophet Micah reminds us what God requires of us: to do justice. The long fight for economic justice, racial justice, and any other kind of justice takes intentional planning. Justice doesn’t “just happen.” According to Micah, it is something we do.
Who do you want to be in 2023? God invites us into a new way of being—not just doing the right things, but being transformed to be more like Jesus. And a transformed "you" can lead to a transformed family, community, and world.
When we are baptized, Jesus invites us into a new life. As a new year begins, we invite you to experience newness of life by remembering your baptism or saying yes to Jesus and being baptized for the first time.
Jesus came to bring light into darkness. Today, we celebrate that the light has come into the world, and the darkness cannot overcome it! Merry Christmas!
It is difficult to find joy when we’re experiencing pain. Yet God offers us joy even in the most difficult circumstances. Through her example, Mary shows us how we can claim joy in tough times.
Hope can seem to be in short supply some days, and that can especially be true at the holidays. Yet hope is more than a feeling or a wish. Hope is an expectation, trust, and desire for a good outcome. And, as we learn from Mary’s story, hope is knowing God will show us what to do when we need to do it.
The evidence of the world’s brokenness is everywhere we look, and sometimes, it seems inescapable. In the midst of brokenness, God comes to us and invites us to come home.
When we see the other side as the enemy, everyone loses. When we learn instead to recognize that everyone has something to give, we can begin to grow toward a more perfect union, with liberty and justice for all.
The early church was compelling not because of what they believed, but how they behaved. In a chaotic culture of division, the first Christians were a peaceful presence who welcomed all, loved authentically, and let their light shine. Let’s do that again.
While disagreement is inevitable, division is a choice. When we choose to carry one another’s burdens instead of demonizing one another, what divides us fades, and we realize that we can disagree politically while loving unconditionally.
The church’s greatest enemy is not a political party. It’s division. Instead of choosing one side over the other, we stand with Jesus in the messy middle because we can form a more perfect union by working together.
What happens to us when we die? Pastor Mark explores that question as we conclude this series with last line of the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.”
As humans, we all mess up—in our families, at work, and in our relationship with God. When we do, we need forgiveness. Forgiving isn't easy, but without it, we can't have real or meaningful relationships. Thankfully, Jesus shows us the way.
The church is not a building or an institution, but the called out people of God and an unending family of love and support. In this week’s sermon, Pastor Mark shares what it means to say we believe in “the holy catholic church” and “the communion of saints.”
What does it mean to believe in the Holy Spirit? In this sermon Dr. Robert Gorrell shares the real and practical ways we can be led by the Holy Spirit.
The Apostles’ Creed declares that Jesus was “conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried.” But what does that actually mean? In part 3 of the We Believe sermon series, we explore how these truths make a difference in our lives today.
When Christians call Jesus Christ our Lord, it's not just an empty title. It's a radical statement that means Jesus is our supreme ruler and that no one and no thing can challenge or rival his authority in our lives. In week 2 of We Believe, Pastor Mark shares how this statement can change our lives.
What does it mean to believe? In week one of our sermon series, “We Believe: What Christians Believe and Why” we look at some of the earliest Christian statements of belief and how they came to be. We start with “I believe in God the Father Almighty.”
Jesus came to set us free, and in Galatians 6, we find an outline of specific ways we can live into our new freedom that Jesus brought and now shares with us by the power of the Holy Spirit.
When anxiety is high, it’s hard to know what to do next. Galatians 5 teaches how to live in anxious and divisive times in a way that is unified, guided by the Holy Spirit, and full of love, joy, and peace.
When it comes to get faith, what really matters? It’s easy to get caught up in rules and requirements, but when it comes to your salvation, it’s Jesus Plus Nothing.
What is the story you tell about yourself? Our stories define our identities, and when we find ourselves in Jesus’ story, we realize there is much more to the world than we previously believed.
We have access to more information than our ancestors could have ever dreamed of, but when it comes to making important decisions, we don’t need more information. We need wisdom. In Galatians 2, Paul shows us how to discern wisely.
When the ground seems to be falling away beneath us, we need solid ground to stand upon. We’re tempted to cling to fixed rules and structures to give us a sense of security, but these are a poor substitute for what really matters. In the book of Galatians, we find ancient wisdom that can help us thrive in anxious times so that we can experience the freedom Jesus gives.
So often it can seem that the problems of the world are too big for us, but small things done with great love can change the world. When the Holy Spirit leads us, we can make waves of love and kindness in the world.
Most of us do our best to avoid thinking about death, and if we’re honest, we’re often in denial. Yet facing the hard truth that we are going to die can enable us to live fully in the time we have—and to allow Jesus to transform our life before and beyond death.
We want to be in control of our futures—our family situation, finances, relationships, achievements, and more. Ultimately, though, we are not in control, and the sooner we can learn that hard lesson, the better our lives will be.
As children, we naturally feel like life is all about us. If we’re honest, many of us also feel that way as adults. But Jesus teaches us that our lives are not about us, but something much greater. In today’s message, Pastor Mark shares why this is good news, and he interviews Acts 2 member Jenny Herzberger about what she has learned since her cancer diagnosis nearly ten years ago.
We want our lives to matter, and we desperately try to prove to others that they do matter. We want to be seen as important, but seeking importance actually takes us further away from true greatness. This week, we explore the liberating truth that we are not that important, and why that’s actually good news.
It’s not a stretch to say that we are currently living at the most comfortable time in history, but at what cost? This instant society has a shadow side. How do we ever achieve greatness or even know what greatness looks like if everything is easy?
We are afraid of not having enough — enough for today, for tomorrow, for retirement, for our children. Yet the surprising truth is that we actually have more when we’re generous. Generosity brings joy not just the recipient, but to the giver as well.
Suffering is inevitable, but the way we respond can determine whether we increase suffering or lessen it—both for ourselves and others. When we choose compassion, we can transform suffering and experience joy in the midst of it.
Did you know that gratitude can improve not only your happiness, but also your resilience, relationships, and health? We were made for gratitude, and we thrive when we practice it.
Our country, our community, our families, and especially our children have a loneliness problem. There is only one way to escape the loneliness trap, and that is forgiveness. When forgiveness stops, community stops, but when forgiveness thrives, community thrives.
Acceptance is not defeat or resignation. Rather, acceptance is seeing the sober truth of your situation, offering it to God, and working together with God and others for the transformation of your world and the world as a whole.
A sense of humor can help us all get through troubled times, and this especially true in motherhood. Celebrate Mother’s Day and hear how a supportive community can help us laugh and even thrive through adversity.
If we want to find joy, thinking too much about our own happiness can actually be counterproductive. Instead, we need to think of ourselves less—to practice humility.
One of the hallmarks of Jesus’ life is joy, and by following his teachings and example, we can experience more joy in our lives. In this series, we’ll learn how to find, keep, and share joy in troubled times, and it all starts with perspective.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, and we remember that Easter means the worst thing is never the last thing.
In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus teaches us not just how to pray, but how to live a full and faithful life. This week we conclude the series with, "For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Why did Jesus teach his disciples to pray, "Lead us not into temptation?" Does God lead us into temptation? In week five of The Lord's Prayer series, we look at temptation and how we can keep it from wrecking our lives.
It’s hard to forgive someone who has hurt us, but holding onto past hurts can actually hurt us more: unforgiveness is linked to heart disease, high blood pressure, stress, and poor mental health. Learning to forgive can set both parties free, and Jesus shows us how.
"Our daily bread" is about much more than just our need for food, and it's about much more than our individual needs. When we pray this prayer, we are asking God to provide for us and use us to meet the world's deepest needs.
Sometimes we think life would be better if we got everything we wanted, but often, our desires are not all they’re cracked up to be. As we learn to pray, “Thy will be done,” we find that God’s will and desires for the world are better than we could have imagined.
If you want a deeper spiritual connection, there’s no better place to start than the prayer Jesus taught his disciples. It is familiar and simple, but it still has the power to change your life today.
Staying in love is not something that just happens if you find the right person. It takes consistent effort and investment over time, and there are specific daily and weekly practices that can help you stay in love forever.
Relationships are hard, but they’re also vital. Our annual relationship series is back to help you strengthen and prepare for your most important relationships!
Where do you find the courage to love after you have been hurt—or after you’ve hurt those you love? It takes courage both to love and to be loved, and Jesus tells a story about how a love bigger than the past can change everything.
Courage is not a one-time need; it's something we need for the long haul. How do you sustain things like a marriage, career, and parenthood that require courage over a lifetime? In part five of the Courage sermon series, we explore how Jesus equips us with courage that endures.
In the face of all the pain and suffering in our world, we want to act courageously to make a difference. Without hope, though, the problems we face seem insurmountable. This week, we explore how Jesus gives us the hope to live a brave life.
It’s not easy to tell someone something they won’t want to hear—either we deliver the message too forcefully, or we avoid the conversation altogether. Yet these courageous conversations can help people grow and transform our relationships, and Jesus shows us how to have them well.
When we know the right thing to do but are afraid of what could happen if we do it, conviction makes all the difference. Jesus shows us through his example what can happen when our conviction drives us to be courageous.
We face situations every day that require courage, but sometimes, fear gets in the way. What would your 2022 look like if you were fully engaged in a courageous community that helped you grow past your fears and into the brave faith Jesus has for you?
As a new year begins, we dream of all the things we’d like to do and accomplish. If we really want to have a better 2022, though, we can’t just focus on accomplishments. We have to become better ourselves.
On the day after Christmas, it’s easy to feel like things have gone back to normal. But on the day after the first Christmas, everything was different—and Jesus still makes everything different today.
Jesus came to bring light into darkness. At Christmas, we celebrate that the light has come into the world, and the darkness cannot overcome it!
There is no shortage of pain and darkness in the world. While the causes are complex, sharing love and light this Christmas is very simple: we simply have to follow Jesus’ command to love one another.
No one likes to be judged, but it’s easy to fall into being judgmental around the holidays—towards others as well as ourselves. Yet judgment and joy can’t coexist, and when we let go of judgment, we can fully embrace the joy of Christmas.