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Christmas at the Movies: Week 4, Day 7

by David Joynt on December 30, 2017


Matthew 2:1-12

 

Gifts given change the giver. George Bailey in “It's a Wonderful
Life” blesses others and when his life is collapsing, discovers he is
rich in friends and supporters. He is changed in the process. The
wise men are scholars on a celestial trip to honor a prince. They
become agents of God who defy Herod, preserve God's son, and
have to sneak home in secret. They become part of sacred
history, giving gifts of treasure, and deceiving Herod, deceive the murderous ruler. In so doing, they are changed,
from travelers to heroes.

 

 

How have you been changed through gifts given?

 

 

What risks have you taken under God's direction?

 

Tags: gifts, risks

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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