Merry Christmas

“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

Luke 2:10 NIV

Of all the memorable lines from Luke’s version of the Christmas story, this is the one I’m camping on this week. The familiar story is filled with activity. There’s ‘...glorifying and praising...’ and ‘...leaping for joy...’ There’s hectic travel, crowded houses, presents, angelic choruses, and the ranting and raving of a madman. And in the middle of it all is a teenage mom who’s been visited by an angel and told all kinds of remarkable things. And she just accepts it. She absorbs it all. She reflects thoughtfully, and delights in the blessings of God. Mary worships.

I hope and pray that these next couple of days are enjoyable for you and those you love. I hope you’re able to celebrate the birth of Christ (safely and reasonably!). If I could encourage you in any way, please find time to slow yourself down enough to consider God’s provision, blessing, and promises. Treasure and ponder the grace and goodness of God.

Christmas Eve Services

If you’d like to participate in the Christmas gatherings at Sherwood Park Alliance, our in-person Christmas Eve services are tonight (Dec. 23) at 7 pm and tomorrow (Dec. 24) at 3 pm, 5 pm, and 7 pm. Reserving your space is recommended, as we are operating at reduced auditorium capacity and adhering to public health measures.Those without reservations may not be able to be seated, as we will have only limited non-reserved seating options.

Check availability on our service reservation page. Note, as of this writing, your best options are likely tonight and tomorrow’s 7 pm service.

Christmas Weekend Online

One final reminder, Saturday, December 25th and Sunday, December 26th services will take place ONLINE ONLY. There will be no in-person gatherings on the weekend. Live hosted weekend services will stream on our website and YouTube at our usual times, 7 pm (Saturday) and 9 am & 11 am (Sunday).

Merry Christmas everyone!

Greg Hochhalter
Lead Pastor

As we begin looking forward to 2022, the New Year is a time to reset and give priority to what’s most important. Our church has a tradition of collectively doing this reset by starting the year with a week of prayer called Solemn Assembly. It doesn’t matter if prayer is new to you or a regular part of your life we invite everyone to register for the five day prayer challenge. 

Each morning from January 10th to 14th, you’ll receive an email that’ll guide you through a short time of prayer. How cool to know that hundreds of us are united in prayer on a common theme! 

Two in-person gatherings are planned—Monday, January 10th and Friday, January 14th at 7 pm at Sherwood Park Alliance Church. We will also host an online gathering on Wednesday, January 12th at 7 pm where we’ll have the privilege of hearing from author and pastor, Ken Shigematsu. 

For details and to register for any or all of these go to spac.ca/solemnassembly.