I am thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to bring God's Word to you this weekend. I always found preaching during Advent to be a bit of a challenge as a local church pastor. The vast majority of the people know the story and have heard it dozens of times. The desire is to make it fresh and new, while also drawing people back to the core story. I find that it helps if we can imagine ourselves in the shoes of those in the story, who were living it in the moment. This Sunday, we will look at the birth announcement of Jesus to the shepherds. I want us to imagine we are in the shepherds' position, hearing this good news from, literally, out of the blue. By doing so, I hope we gain a new perspective - four surprises that will help us better understand the larger story and purpose of God in the world. I look forward to being with all of you! -Rev. Dr. Dana Allin