Together Apart? Not in the Kingdom. - Christmas Eve

Together Apart? Not in the Kingdom.Christmas Eve Service"God with us" means we will NEVER be apart again.  "God with us" was often spoken in the face of the crowd's rejection.  "God with us" was often the only comfort the church could find in intense moments of persecution.  "God with us" even if our own family forsakes us.The nearness of God IS how we sustain living in a day and age when we are being told to fear nearness of others.  The nearness of God IS NOT something we visit... Nearness IS the point of living!The reminder of this Advent season is NOT that we worked our way to be near God, in fact, we are more frequently reminded that WE WORKED OUR WAY AWAY from God... SO HE CAME NEAR.  "Together Apart" will not be the final say over our lives.  God is not physically distancing Himself from His people because of our sickness... in fact, He came into the world to take on our sickness and to take our sickness away!  How does our sickness end, NOT through distance, but nearness.  The nearness of God in Christ.Ephesians 2:12c–13 (NLT) - You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.