%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 20 0 R ] /Count 2 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R /F5 22 0 R >> /XObject << /I1 13 0 R /I2 14 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 15 0 R /GS2 16 0 R /GS3 17 0 R /GS4 18 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text /ImageC ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 3.1.0 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20250915160755+00'00') /ModDate (D:20250915160755+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 2206 >> stream xXˎܸWpmo= /,TD$PR5z>c`Ԝ+8L/)^^{ xlWn>8],yawJXX=5gG-ƖMգ`j`S+8JOr8']8ȞԲ쇇Ni"ԭk~d0sf O=sޫX6 "^b꼂}ebIhj盻_Bv7d< "ҿYf=[f8'3G¡:淑4q:ϓD6JEv]uׄȗ>F6 &;6:.Z&iFE8 3>R9e-')t#ߩH}ڰgɓTHPpz^q$1|!/ -u`o+N ChQ <"W[+k ގ<3A 1-0tu1'q#( A(~3Pm; X2/3,I<wE۰} sM|jA5Hۗ{#\^uq}G%q q~\X=ijT&Bj&f@;~T-R&xM,k3'yHuK)2G+d%{I'6]rQ^8瑏6h\!o9-+.Gʖf-. (σӣ<ql%))b'J$>`5V{f[#Q!I)Be1닼,2*س,Cׂ_2W,3Lw,@V$+ azʊܼ[myijy_2iq;n\AחbvM[]+"PNկNQ lS^V Wz&Id2pp\qMcxF}Au_4-މûh6 endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 13 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 125 /Height 125 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 125 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 80>> stream h1  H/nvnvnvnvnvnvnvn۟(G| endstream endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 125 /Height 125 /SMask 13 0 R /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 3 /Columns 125 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 18171>> stream xk$}'SԳuqg8Cr)Yߖ@ul" `8n`n۰׶dYeK2-Q%_3ܙ;շ_]STU>Tw;ޡX 5uN[d1JM5fk0m3ӴC~p Z [OkD.߿}"z 1? }>Cp`0D,W\+2?޼uU2.=#TSҼL&,e2-dzηE8U-Zd@nk2DzꪒeYr 힮=E=tUy 4P]Y6Lvv} Np*O}rǩwȕ${k_}&UMw]љCOd$fY )O RFD5 Gi<$TRM# RFdr,KSInݨ=4oKg]& +ʣ!+jh_YNC>^$KE)DZT*`{XWTyŜE(2` zPˌH]?n'YDt`zo7_r]~ueϟ8yj& q,d*.zHҔ1*DZ0u^QM{煔2"ӐgYyy J )#:LHc2n,*5^?N¯Wo?i>Ї}ɧZY^@RR}u Þ2@d LA c}sq# HEαIr]fQ$y?o FA?ض)`ZmYzÞo0me;=Χ7O_:{dՕiZ}>RXNO3f2RR׸{-xq0IeM'c+@*G$h8<~z(8ir~藳[Yo6@+lF[5@nlZh7.oQ`k\{~/ȇc&ЌۆDm!SUB +zWp?nt*c(2l8bR74y(~t~+̅Xoy fcg_j_B7 bUˇ֚1Rg| p%Qrw^.b@[jX;ybw8]wz3,mQ)Eq(EO饧|d#bZv~9vnv/:K^xhuϓ:p@6R"v9-^}sR(yR%D%n9(DQzQgJ}QNz2z&,D :I"]|1µVee/UHl[WڽehKT_cݕSSM@ y""D-Qs.t<ͰluxdmKiRLIdZޱwYܦƩuG%3ۆfm=oSHHJl4T.֙y:n膍$V 3y$lS,MZS&o9 PB(DWugN9-R,RE˫R*-H /@H=Z!x@0z9u[oy'+͖'REm U"֬u;y9$B2N @Qs4;uKw0lSj'vlS{dm6r a^`6c"Tes̬D0JLWTPV˳<܅ ͞e2r?~th6[-1V8Suy.aZ&GA4$ "Poyw<< O&@r^Qݮ5ZӲj5k 9C-&6 zjZE<υU6;e hgN6\3Z\[nYJWj>Tdpm6mFuʑd8h5J{O&{{=AdlfO>ч@ R=5Tw7=BWN`~aDuM%m[t[-69aZVC4;1pr@,KQ:^;{Wb5<0t7 Z01ϛ%-SӇV F.5]! @YJ1;YT_!3 iZ6Rfi^jHiZ[a 8{`30)_d õ3Gi_=Iɒt\zTlޕ/s{`p1UpDPQ~#<\CQMS`֜{Tj: !q%MɳRUyI5ЩkNvMN_i0jR8bKOezS>"f(гmg޿yu}k@pg]g$0- (f!t}HD$yz(s6_QW DeU2TXQUB2Hf{m׋H9.d4Pkup?HHhf̏>5蠡?@O6E=h Vq`S5+,G2 ih7*U :YŒ*(5#!!3fQ6չ>Sm("D<f2Q[EM&#[ 7,9eNRb[>ͻK% x7.ٶC N=22⑘1B#j.q ݴjBQ*>*8wjB%ώYE׏r}uRc Y6s'ԠF($Iی6MɳFT-nj֗;uV+5vM!.Bi*˙LoY*:#]&G=ו$5Tjm|Z\nr6kiGV/+RREZ ",R~!3Y|GD${QM;_d ߎDP62Jڼ 5:egyvUkAtsI%5XH $C!uwvIEwT+CaXM`,ĝ.&)5&c3 mT0|}%g=.DSа4ɓc 4=BHFw2Q3)4h"QeMۅpis0u86g6BEp芩RG>#4kЌ(JN{ʮY#TTUڰwL"59Zɬj+&n2w[fY%u)KfP4@E&4Ng"@BEQ0U妔 eXbgm^~s}7 #ܞCl5_ B=RlN8؀ϸL,hdΠ|σ(AǾ`C?8!e nY&eݞE2Mhr(n 鹶EΜ>ٴTjY2|iP%LȒd?'3K;+XѴ?-= D42Fp怡=;Dx59jPdYh8)/TDaEa4gE",iVA@RڞtF~Lf[4LFiB7 zëن5Vo1in]ꅃm~poҁrRBBR<`$/^7(T.$p۶])dYZ)4Y:56yܑw4 Y~$Y2RRtUCWs>yAL'?cۦɘp©HʠE&,ۄhh8 ˯/lKYfSKͩuuRJW:0*9 .8Š؞T^L0 âiwèN1J/vCݬ+L$Q4 mۢꌇLC763r?m'q*5:&S= C_F~ЄG>K*Ox5ӵʴF:>8H&If{ԹS0DI0;ӛ$ o4O&zݴtg=ӝ6aDYlĠYr2i8nc `ջ*eK<.kgy<-&D28%/k}c1 Ǿ'"48kHfUn~-9j_Bogxx35-INse @%zt&2a 22yp4*rͩ /^HnYuìEeu `/[+7vQ8@_:mXZzSbX0Rt}oG~qVk RiL;RcѨ i]rHiJkV]̿7jG&kUm󵥚zWFTO?w7.=pg]0ҕ+#cfj]}}/>ͫosϷ;ͭ޷[3Zw^|Fm[ˎjڌPkFL™r6kyx]dOӧL w=!wB;&k.U9mDӺB-Z=UשcPLt9%gV;6dڛ[W7}B/<{7~G.fZ=.IK~ wi/loo~op̹sgzCkrg.?ZcBشeVlkbjߠ"mY2ll0>N 1Ìwϝ[o5jRe|J6uGí~h 3֖L˄F(궓'URvmu[$77گeqwl)Ac}n}G+uo>?z 7ngY]-Do\5H.d0?SBK5BX_5r[/m?zξ_fEL4u< 2;7Xc$~ɘJȻe`/+KE 'hQ rRhlf9][%D̩:+I-<Ξ|_Knԩnvϭ_,p|}L\2(fVȬO/~왧Q~⇾hx5cks,+v+0械Lso~e_'?*j%Kby.Dq?|*q[ٺ:u]~.̓XS-u4j @ܽ=➋8RGbK!T_X؆QE A??Z4j|,J3̢Ͻ??wF8Q>F۵¨Ԍ-L:=/<+ҤVp5EnL`3r3{=FjDM~W%)I\ nd/2Zu~MVӘ&$*K MqmT,=PVKըjE`L.>x/|/y -@.2 u]#[(UjڶF` DЙkبUEjPKd]̲Y<j%lyƪU)Jy-H6Lc GK/TȨfjv@% ]IR!jv?9,#ɐ%8C=WǘV"͝eՁN|@׎Sj2E+!AMQzTk*!jcI3\qIӗ.n~m`Hh J+U坫>L$ ] k?=FZ;8RfU:Ӱ@C%Lk*_̖W{DwEQMEQ&eNA_1x~T`RmFUĦQ,ÃZsVx/FM㾪3}$DXƾT2:6}̠a t!I. sO_xud[C$żvޥ6Z#3!rU%ֺ.pO)!T= s'{ḭ4@v2= KMJ"Gމ328(yi4&ɘ'{mZ(8-><fBat[ dU=!<ªp1 +0i* cٱb2'I.9)_9wtwZ'Zd&3ԲbנxJ;D*[\R"ɸ QUf;k11Nk.4jE{uS|W9JR7LfɊJ1@\`:gIahS )x8N@ܬ[[ok UɵkZ^| @1 Lbn',rp <5nJ>sew{wZeR.Hw4,:bUɣ-GܩN LÖ 80ȶ0@;JǡZyt l;it{y O6?qae VwVVQo~[E3Cm/xl Ir< 43^ x@e^GYMo\F5-15Դۭ/A2Yhee֨HZ@QT};,{;D$EIDƅ\k7zn?ޏT5(Pk*2RZ4no wi,OZMz=qU2;1>>Oz8xeI=I3c5UJfoW0:aŤƳAj]Flyݶ5ۭ|G]T'D#N+Mu^߭x+nCK 9EhUG";UFg:rөuKF) k@)FPLCUieÃ^o-QϬJiU3^.=A [7C{& @ufqZ0d<d*vZ >DG"<.(_wWOZK˴X/KZӥ,RQVK}~,EPk10 3o讪c"˅ a[3 ,C;oh-7WNo HQ$`&"5\p5ýZGavne}3 FH+Fy*Bdy_w.K7ZzI Kq@ O 6Ǜ^d=3ϯ.LQuj# J떡Sv֟$q\wkVV%ku(T z b:V41$YZ)!Zˁa << bT(j>z"+UlU ILvUϾφ'2,jY Ye `TE" q ja-7A`ǩu_}2.ry@d7Q˛_j0s|3o h}i_Pa/|ܳc/5 K34=ZtyvehLJzvo+!w Ѣ|V}k NxLf&n4DiqA"wc>s^\Z1a[$2<"3O@OL_a5 hV$*k.U8mOe"庪gEhoѵl'>3`F 'ӰKZ7v[z'Ru﨟+gDbfrѫbvKJ gsL(2dLA8M^T괯(bOJzBj 9uj, =Sw%>ݶiF‰Yk6]'=@eKEf%3҅(./|O=jk8Aea1*kL>s&2n4㪛%n+`5uv{&eL[`;N=p@?cWwpV-zE`^5 >5P@Dn"NvWN?byRJY)E'D(bH^7VjB0Kre @Fi8E)>Sz׌yPNy_?[6[wfsgRabgq7>7zCkBUo|W߸ge(e bBE [1_?Z#4xFtzEO^q\;ȳ-K8mʔ=J)kLhK=3˛@U%Ýapw7{I<}[BFTAߩ5F]A Σ~ck{Dž,O6PI)SQPHEps詂9&]񼑗ehtG6sj5 (nj}Mv'0k:S<x=b/E ?qȳԺM/4NAҕMO-q 3p$C &+=˵`7`8òN}z/_X 9+P演wk߭hjpUfJV/aKNL#պM*i>lkfMZ^ֶ=s+,LkR2xèh{:. `fwߣvj-_z髓u_3r$Z!e2;ժ} 4?]SsuhR1(SO[cP/V/Ǖ͊"NJ[:5n?tk } _4=zW7Ov<[K6D VmK,y4Iwթb #x{Qq|YtœkW 1)e_@?JE OU_&/ZATCAٶq$LĸܢDa@ʘ=8UZ lIKeYF{0)\L* @)"-&#\ܜ>q>m /^zٟh\oM}Y-3ċzX*Y @%?x)6kOYd5Da3 VN8~jpmSﭗMʇCb0h#!R_vuk76ν#6q<[dOq+x/GH,5K8-]kF 5NUۏHj‹_o~6P q(qӋK%礲&eDpECͯWyQ廘9T =_om_t J,eՄ\RJ)I. _|թANxϟؼ[o]Oa_KW\%ny(4VWΉm,w86l[=LJko~O0Z@WLpPf fJ{h+/~}^A$K$@7v/qyfP,e>IO?{/-g>C`&< nl8֭-X3u$ݍX|x^:̴LW.yl0x^Si^j^G٭`$IA q{,䴒H;/P QudYLEfĬ ꇧG{D;> )o4 OOS?{L[[NL"Z>};x>vLntW-a\ʴcz“lt#;<^fm¶XOοG&N)l$B2 SX GN.UϊLͥOU`fEzN$LMyk6$ !6gzb >rzuGW._:uwnqwWz{$ŋ(FJ^XyŮAyS<&yc|}C`8N p":JJu(Re^νyi٢6^x@4zӃ_9uT9m=S, cK9B ŵۚ tu˕l' hYv:nS@յ%C@%}2(yqgJFwR¹83!yPxeVR_"5,Z_j-oq@AAh]쒡*f&sG'+١3G*jb)O-}͛Ko] 3Euz`JMc~Ş K+vĢ}v\@j}YtJ84l Q5JSdG4¹"+)w G|WeCUbsuJ41&a fp5tYeYC?C-<~w7jQޮo9?J:b T}W)(p=_$4P͝o{>y٬K.Hֈo JĂP(x{_ EVB R)ռP|X\BY Dr@KOgROXr6ޓAeP.=T S1ʑUnXX]` t@ٓsK4'cǡs/rs2h g"Q@>,cr!k¥!_MrŅr:Κ @tmI#EOU% \cOgNhݷߺrsµ{ln6~\Q \@@Wt%s@c+;(]T,uwibն]{cL(d.)'87#kjsx#$*aziUC.?|<.#gCaH%@UO߿_ |cNZ)uSKo9yl*Un>]_~G'훟\5 <ܞD5YC7]Y5;߀w$1|^X"!(<iiP'RLdr0^yg +D0`p.lQ{v+h옪[޽XX0<:dSUهWWdOo|:kbL!GjzacmtA-y=Y˹"+žXRF\q]^4YmwCDƁxSWT<<Kwv48 o쾈rU1W?'jtv)*3"i9Q:}*k\ HT5&{N̽d`f;:(Cڱݘ'E=}GӘ&^;]Tfǹ]-N'+!-<ִAK^:MԶ;P<(67}zK:9V `lVr~Y43]n19|c拏7:}iyסdŬA_"z]crUB!ة y?e~|@}GRvkGiRr9 };^"GƹJݍ0kͱkNe$JE @yyvaC{4ѿM77ӵ{_US3' fP,pGD!u||H2GIX^躮JYŬ.O5'P % ʧ^wK* KJLzku\G&2e3xz@-H]x! j2- +S' zlR]qو8?1LMׯ˵X5=294J22~([K_dTLDᇏLdcPXADsP_eY_5B'~$nF9vLP/.4j߸X*fΓG #?LnT8zg`aRKAUTB!M5?Fg_n0vbIfCы=q.,̀S~и7QE9O\FҶ; b=uU]WGPJ`<5 ~noE}k7jӧOv gNںmX-}(( !j.k eE]X41"k ˿lZנ'"N (vOCneWUFB&^ q1 NP(26b;bm+D%Rkw:fwkWߐx'ʆ{ fiN^:F@`IAIJ*ٜ ;w &}vb*3ą{h_D^5,F{ƥoLDeASapbgΜިnf ht'\r4ɚvvi^g7XY#nv3t≉q7W6%۫pi^!U$P ^!N@A/mr"F$)3m[RP Tf^?cȒ:TfJԱhsߐG4Q8H!p> endobj 16 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 17 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 19 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 20 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Annots [ 23 0 R 25 0 R 27 0 R 29 0 R 31 0 R 33 0 R 35 0 R 37 0 R 39 0 R ] /Contents 21 0 R >> endobj 21 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 3336 >> stream xZn6)%Rԏ qb{3[v+-Jj:5ku"ۖ=f*U|t"~JGqvyHQ"OTBlQ" RԐYLR RGqHQ3H e2%w;gXjm;tc,eE?=ş8xFlWͺpbmQu ڍ79Qj9n @shpPRرalB ^/8Y %86rvTJ`iPqXCɍta{ N͑JʄUTt8(9CIKLlH%7vnW;ϰt9{v'P qOCY%s᭿%Xe!de%9̣D'iXC;Kz,q{n=m/ݢiXq9r2c $K<Y$$"ۆ>KnܮvasVO$er)!َ>fY#Դ#~o:M@ A- Ai@hj>{c\uC=LWbh6X-VuՏ6J-UZm߈QYg11u8)鐨t&HsD]TC")t$#', + K}BI5Iw ZG2 #G"1R4 9+}"YӮv`dW B`s c0Bf]/Fp0k@_ ʪE2HiCב`7}&2U?.U\mA͔h@NkFT;lx4,x@7/zÀb_%ɉa mfD9 oPL1Ѐ-B-Hr]WIz4,$y4ldne-v[p tp?LNbE:< (FlݧoV*rGV pp8* SLd8)\f%LyܮvasV,x)*>UQs:|O3{ŕ ץL-"YeMcJʰ%Nr зɂ5"#[X"em#=ܸ=Sڞn1[8EmtUF"eP#M#2S\99ңэ[</^œnlsdG#~YpGdT}J>"htnv Kwڝ_mK!/:mӡj{ f 勳N5'Ҩ Zڎ@/wS:+\.I kQQ&QQ1 @ŏ1D?9(̣!=IdCdY#=ݸE[m[$9g6GN{2ee =6` ?ƨMd%=ݸ۹]<ҝvicۡ_C:bvhtkPӟPJ^"ԂeNd1ɜRhP1t"$РbuCJc#=ܸ=Fna[8<)UAP["HHb?4Ow;gXjm;tVŸej!fh02@ϊĈayI(LHA(>fr7TwUާGQ8lvnϯ}inWy乥n{40bx61zU%"lnP㘹!2˹ej>o}!F!2+Ap$˫'D'ij>mBXqs#qiHO/Q=rsCd>|_xܮvasVD*>U5>Ll>g|˓PÕ$3 Orѫ[1~Nyc"o'D5Dz7)Cm?5өU-^NO0u~5 zMoe=ɛfۦ́u5W3 % _.yݐhJW{XmnY0B㴷m\T8D[l3sV?nŸͱz5xYM^NGǁeoDZ ȿq~{(ٿ+#~ލ#zE?M~d_=tn[Mz Ww=d97um{Kyc7$dӡ4W&> endobj 23 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 24 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 65.0000 360.8330 128.3480 373.0430 ] >> endobj 24 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://danieldarling.com) >> endobj 25 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 26 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 65.0000 346.1810 226.3640 358.3910 ] >> endobj 26 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://www.amazon.com/Characters-Christmas-Unlikely-People-Caught/dp/0802419291) >> endobj 27 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 28 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 65.0000 331.5290 518.5040 343.7390 ] >> endobj 28 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://www.sbc.net/aboutus/entities/erlc.asp) >> endobj 29 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 30 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 65.0000 316.8770 160.3520 329.0870 ] >> endobj 30 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://www.greenhillchurch.com/) >> endobj 31 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 32 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 87.6680 301.6034 250.3880 313.8134 ] >> endobj 32 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://westernusa.salvationarmy.org/usw_thq/location_search/) >> endobj 33 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 34 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 164.3600 286.9514 310.4120 299.1614 ] >> endobj 34 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://course.caringmagazine.org) >> endobj 35 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 36 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 575.2520 245.6474 575.2520 257.8574 ] >> endobj 36 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://caringmagazine.org/podcast) >> endobj 37 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 38 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 35.0000 231.6170 185.7320 243.8270 ] >> endobj 38 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://caringmagazine.org/podcast) >> endobj 39 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 40 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 347.1200 230.9954 483.8480 243.2054 ] >> endobj 40 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://danieldarling.com/) >> endobj xref 0 41 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000428 00000 n 0000000465 00000 n 0000000614 00000 n 0000000717 00000 n 0000002996 00000 n 0000003103 00000 n 0000003211 00000 n 0000003321 00000 n 0000003434 00000 n 0000003463 00000 n 0000003787 00000 n 0000022218 00000 n 0000022275 00000 n 0000022332 00000 n 0000022391 00000 n 0000022450 00000 n 0000022479 00000 n 0000022659 00000 n 0000026069 00000 n 0000026185 00000 n 0000026318 00000 n 0000026395 00000 n 0000026528 00000 n 0000026660 00000 n 0000026793 00000 n 0000026890 00000 n 0000027023 00000 n 0000027107 00000 n 0000027240 00000 n 0000027353 00000 n 0000027487 00000 n 0000027572 00000 n 0000027706 00000 n 0000027792 00000 n 0000027925 00000 n 0000028011 00000 n 0000028145 00000 n trailer << /Size 41 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[<6e1eb4e47b489047dfadce811e9d3e39><6e1eb4e47b489047dfadce811e9d3e39>] >> startxref 28223 %%EOF 31: A fresh take on the supporting cast of Christmas with Dan Darling | Caring Magazine

31: A fresh take on the supporting cast of Christmas with Dan Darling

Listen to this article

Of course, you know the story of the baby Jesus born in the manger. But what about the others involved?

According to Dan Darling, author of the new book, The Characters of Christmas, there are a number of misfits, outcasts and ordinary people who play a pivotal role in the birth of Christ.

What can we learn from Mary, Joseph, the Wise Men, and the shepherds?

What important thread in God’s grand plan of redemption does the story’s villain play?

What is significant about the role of the angels? 

Dan is the Vice President for Communications for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention and serves as Pastor of Teaching and Discipleship at Green Hill Church in Tennessee. He’s the author of several books and frequently contributes to publications from Christianity Today to USA Today. 

As Dan says, the Christmas story is one of reordering—of a new kingdom and a new king. And there’s much we can discover from the ordinary people who are swept up in the plan of God. 

Dan is on the show today to share more about these individuals in the Christmas story and the central figure they point to at the center of it all. Jesus—the one, as Dan says, whose birth, life, death and resurrection change everything. 

Show highlights include:

  • “The Characters of Christmas” pushes people to look beyond sentimentality of Christmas and remember why it’s celebrated.
  • What does Dan love about Christmas? Anticipation and story of Christmas about being born to a virgin and growing up to survive.
  • Tension and turmoil: At the time of Christ’s birth, it was a time of peace, or a dark time for others.
  • Why are supporting cast members overlooked? Pregnant out-of-wedlock meant Mary could be publicly shamed or put away for her protection by Joseph to bear some of the shame.
  • Profound parenting: Joseph was always willing to do the right thing. Jesus learned everything he knew about humanity from Joseph.
  • Humble beginnings by being born in an inn, cave or where travelers stopped to rest—we may never know.
  • Wisemen: Royalty, philosophers or whomever seek truth, wherever that leads to give, bow and worship.
  • There’s always someone trying to ruin Christmas! Herod’s the original villain in the Christmas story.
  • Shepherds in Scripture: Accidental or intentional outcome given to least likely people—those with simple hearts and willing to share amazing angelic announcement. 
  • Angels are always around, every step of the way when God created the world, eyewitnesses to the plan of salvation, and love for human beings to watch over us.
  • Dan’s one tip to avoid two extremes at Christmas: Consumerism and crankiness. Take time to pause, rest and reflect in awe and wonder of what Christmas is all about. 

Good words from Dan Darling in this show:

[09:54] “Christmas is not as sentimental as we make it, but it is a re-ordering of things.”

[11:30] “Jesus and his humanity probably learned everything he knew from his father.”

[14:35] “The kingdom of God is made up not of just insiders, but outsiders.”

[19:22] “Angels are eyewitnesses to the divine plan of salvation.”

Additional resources:

Download this episode wherever you get your podcasts. Find show notes for this episode and more at caringmagazine.org/podcast. Connect with Dan Darling via https://danieldarling.com/
 
[button color=”yellow” size=”normal” alignment=”none” rel=”follow” openin=”newwindow” url=”https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-do-gooders-podcast/id1462063355″]SUBSCRIBE AND LEAVE A REVIEW[/button]

You May Also Like