Dear Trinity Family & Friends,

We live in a world full of barriers, both visible and invisible. Barriers of culture, status, religion, politics, backgrounds, and assumptions. Barriers that divide people into “insiders” and “outsiders.” And sometimes, without realizing it, we guard those walls as if God Himself built them.

This Sunday in our Advent series Heaven Breaks Through, we meet two very different responses to the birth of Jesus. On one side stands King Herod, an insider with power, position, and access. On the other side stand the Magi, foreigners from a distant land, outside the Jewish faith, unfamiliar with Scripture, traditions, or prophecy.

Yet when heaven breaks through, the story doesn’t unfold the way we expect.

God doesn’t send an angel to the Magi. He doesn’t quote a prophet. Instead, God speaks their language – astronomy – and places a star in the sky. These outsiders didn’t know the covenant story, but they knew how to read the heavens. So God met them where they were, in a way they could understand.

And their response?

They looked.

They traveled.

They searched.

And when they found the Christ child, their hearts erupted in love. Matthew says they were “overwhelmed with joy.” They knelt. They worshiped. They offered generous, extravagant gifts. Outsiders stepped across every barrier, and love overflowed.

Meanwhile, Herod, the insider, felt threatened. Instead of worship, he plotted. Instead of joy, he was terrified. Instead of love, he was driven by violence and destruction. His fear built walls higher. His power turned inward. His heart closed tight.

It’s a pattern we see throughout Scripture, like the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears while the Pharisee stood shocked and offended. Sometimes the ones who think they are closest to God struggle the most when God’s love breaks through in unexpected ways.

Because here’s the truth:

Heaven’s love doesn’t play by our rules.

God’s love crosses lines we would never cross.

And often, the biggest barriers are not around us—but within us.

As we prepare for worship, consider:

1. Where might you be drawing lines between “insiders” and “outsiders” in your own life?
2. How has God spoken to you in unexpected ways through unexpected people?
3. What barriers (fear, pride, assumptions, past hurt) might God be inviting you to release?
4. How can you respond like the Magi with joy, humility, worship, and generosity?
5. Where might God be calling you to love beyond comfort, tradition, or expectation?

If you’ve ever felt like an outsider, this Sunday is for you. And if you’ve ever realized that your heart has built barriers, this Sunday is for you too. Because when Jesus enters the world, love crosses every divide. Walls crumble. Fear loses ground. And heaven breaks through with a love big enough for all.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Carrie