Ross Parsley - Do You See What I See?: Exploring the Christmas of Every Day

What people are saying about

Do You See What I See?

Thanks to Ross Parsley for bringing his insight and worship-filled sensitivity to the inexhaustible theme of the wonder of Christmas.

Dr. Jack W. Hayford , chancellor of The Kings College and Seminary and founding pastor of The Church On The Way

The story of the first advent can become so commonplace, so predictable and ho-hum. But Ross Parsley captures the magnificence of the season and places ordinary people in extraordinary situations. After walking with Ross during his December 2006 journey, I know for a fact that he encountered and embraced an exceptional Presence.

Rev. H. B. London Jr. , Pastor to Pastor, Focus on the Family, and coauthor of the best-selling The Heart of a Great Pastor

An encouraging view of the Christmas story that brings the mystery down to earth and reminds us that God uses ordinary people to accomplish great things.

Paul Baloche , Dove awardwinning songwriter and worship artist

DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?
Published by David C. Cook
4050 Lee Vance View
Colorado Springs, CO 80918 U.S.A.

David C. Cook Distribution Canada
55 Woodslee Avenue, Paris, Ontario, Canada N3L 3E5

David C. Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications
Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NT, England

David C. Cook and the graphic circle C logo
are registered trademarks of Cook Communications Ministries.

All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form without written permission from the publisher.

All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-4347-9939-5
eISBN 978-1-4347-6516-1

2008 Ross Parsley

The Team: John Blase, Steve Parolini, Amy Kiechlin, Jack Campbell, and Susan Vannaman

Cover Design: Rule29
Cover Photo: iStockPhoto
Interior Design: Boswell Idea Group

First Edition 2008

A cknowledgments

I want to thank the family of New Life Church for your strength, encouragement, humility, and perseverance! This Christmas story belongs to everyone, but it has special meaning for our church family now. I love you and appreciate your example as an amazing group of genuine Christ-followers.

For Aimee you are the love of my life. Without you I would not have made it through the dark moments. You are the brightest light in my life, and your optimism and strength have been Gods grace to me! Thank you. You have all my love.

To my kids: Zachary, Taylor, Grace, Ethan, OwenI am so proud to be your dad. You are what makes Christmas so special at our house. Decorating the tree and listening to Mannheim Steamrollers Stille Nacht will always be my favorite memory of Christmas with you! I love you.

D ear Friend,

The book you hold in your hands is a story within a story. One is well traveled and the other is a new path. It is an account of the ancient Advent of Christ as seen through the eyes of a challenge unlike any other Ive faced in my life.

I shared these stories as messages to New Life Church in December 2006, when we were in the throes of disappointment and discouragement after our beloved pastor of twenty-two years was removed as a result of a moral failure.

We were trying to put on a brave face. After all, Christmas was coming. As we prepared for a Christmas production at our church called Wonderland, we felt as though we were wandering in the wilderness without many answers.

We didnt necessarily feel like celebrating, nor were we in a position to be giving out gifts. We were reeling from our own world suddenly being turned upside down. We seemed to be conquerors one moment and then unexpectedly shamed by our own disgrace and arrogance the next. It was not fair. It did not seem right. As a church of some national prominence, we were now joke fodder for late-night talk-show hosts and the second story on every cable news program.

We didnt really understand what was happening to us.

But then the story came alive. Joseph and Marys story and our story intersected. The shepherds were revealed as real people who represented something truly humble. The star over Bethlehem shined brighter than ever before and we followed.

God began revealing Himself to us during that December through the weak and lowly story of a virgin birth in a dirty stable. The incarnation was never more authentic. Christ became Emmanuel again! He was with us in our pain, our shame, our struggle, and our crisis of faith. We could identify with this story like never before!

We were filled with wonder againthe wonder of a God who comes to us. We witnessed the miracle of ordinary people experiencing an extraordinary presence of God that sustained and strengthened us during our most trying time.

God had come!

I pray that you will let Him come to you as you read. Let this tiny little book you now hold in your hands be an instrument of God to share this timeless story in a brand-new way this Christmas. Let the truth of Gods words come alive in you again, to heal the past, to bind up your wounds, to renew your faith, and to reveal Himself to you.

He is Emmanuel and we are all part of His extraordinary story!

Merry Christmas,

R oss P arsley

A nd there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Lets go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:820

I ntroduction

Big Sky

Have you ever been outside at night under a sky thats so full of stars that its almost as if you can reach out and touch them?

I love camping, because out in the wilderness, away from glare of the city lights, its easier to find those star-filled skies. As you turn off the camping lamps and the fire dies down to a red glow (and if youre fortunate enough to have cloud-free skies), the pitch-black canvas overhead begins to reveal the vastness of space.

Its in moments like thesewhen the impossible-to-comprehend scope of the universe floats above us, inviting our reverence and awethat we are compelled to acknowledge the bigness of God.

These are amazing moments. Transcendent moments. Peaceful moments.

That is, of course, if youre not distracted by the snickering, punching, hollering, and other unique bodily sounds coming from the group of preadolescent boys in the sleeping bags around you. As a father of five children, I am helping to create these kinds of memories all the time. You know, those really meaningful moments that always seem to be intermingled with the distracting and messy world we all live in.