Hope for the Hurting This Christmas 
The Innkeeper - a poem
watch this short inspiring video below:
Dear Friends,
Have you ever wondered what became of the innkeeper in Bethlehem who let Mary and Joseph have their baby in his barn?
Did he have little children? When the soldiers came from Herod, did they hunt for the birth place of the dangerous baby and start the slaughter there? What did it cost the innkeeper to house the Messiah in his first hours?
In the poem called The Innkeeper, I tried to imagine what might have happened when the soldiers came. And what Jesus might have said if he showed up 30 years later to talk to the innkeeper about it. It's fiction. But its aim is truth and hope and joy.
Desiring God and Crossway Books have teamed up to make a new video recording of my reading of this poem. We hope it will touch some deep place in your heart, perhaps through a wound. Maybe it will find its way into your Christmas family celebrations, or your small group, or even the gathered church.
If you've ever lost a child, or ever faced a tragedy, just when you thought you were doing good, we hope The Innkeeper will bring you comfort and strength. In my experience poetry has a way of touching us sometimes when simple sentences don't. In one sense, I hope you enjoy it. But there may be deeper emotions too. May the risen Lord Jesus turn your Advent and your Christmas into something really extraordinary this year.
John Piper
The Hope of the Gospel
I pray that those who are hurting will, somehow in the midst of their pain, see the hope of the gospel. I pray that they will see the eternal hope of the resurrection that followed Christ’s sacrifice on a bloody cross.
And I pray that many of us will be messengers of the hope of the gospel. Sometimes a kind word can make a world of difference to someone hurting. Sometimes we need to sacrifice our own comforts to give to others in need. Sometimes we need to sacrifice the convenience of our own holiday festivities to reach out to someone who is hurting.
In the midst of our own pain, we have the hope and promise of the gospel. May we ever be messengers of that gospel to those who are hurting and need to see that hope. This Christmas season, I think & I mean that more than ever.
Merry Christmas.
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