Something's happening in our world. Can you feel it?

This past week, there were three stories that really grabbed me.

In different countries, different people, different headlines, but they're all telling the same story.

One of them unfolded on a beach during a sacred religious celebration that suddenly turned into unspeakable terror. Another happened inside of a

beautiful home in California, right as Christmas plans were being made. And then the third

looks sweet and harmless until you hear what it's teaching children. And this is what I want

you to think about. Think about what these three stories tell us about our cultural moment and what it reveals

about the darkness surrounding us and why that makes Advent, Christmas, and

epiphany absolutely essential.

I hope you'll stay with me.

Stick around to the end because we're going to lift our eyes above what's happening in the headlines

and remember why God sent light into a world like ours and why the family of faith should have far more hope than fear.

All right, let's take a look.

Let's take a look.

A deadly act of terror in Australia, authorities say a father and son opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach and Sydney, killing 15 people, tragically, that included children.

Sydney is still mourning after a mass killing.

Authorities say that a father and son planned the attack, motivated by

Islamic State ideology. And the police are investigating a recent trip that these two guys

made to the Philippines to an area that is known for Islamist insurgent groups. One of them

traveled on an Indian passport, other one traveled

on an Australian passport. As I was reading this, what really stopped me wasn't just the geopolitics

and the horror of this tragedy, but also the courage. There were some dash cam footage that

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