Friday night our son Matt took us to LIGHT, the extraordinary display put on by Cherry Hills Community Church in Highlands Ranch, CO (in the Denver metro area), to help celebrate my birthday, which happens to be today.

We’ve never seen anything like it. These are a few of the (low quality) pictures I took through Matt’s windshield as we drove through the many “scenes” they put together. Each scene was accompanied by a soundtrack you listened to through an app on your smartphone. Technologically, it was a marvel, and that it was put on FREE by a local church as a gift to the community, truly sparks joy. The large Christmas tree was a drive-through!

The show reminded us that Christmas is not just about lights and presents, but about Jesus’ gift of himself. Rather than try to cram the whole gospel story into a Christmas light show, the simple takeaway was, “We’re Cherry Hills Community Church. Come back for our Christmas Eve service to learn more.”

I also experienced joy in watching a very complex event managed flawlessly. I estimate at least 300 cars/hour driving through the display. Our time on site was a little more than an hour but even the wait time for our turn was artfully orchestrated with singing Christmas candles and Christmas trees.

If you’re in the Denver area, I strongly recommend. There are three time periods per night (6:00 – 7:30, 7:30 – 8:30, and 8:30 – 9:30), and the following shows are still to come: December 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, and 23. Go here for more information. It is a joy-inspiring event pointing to the REAL joy-inspiring EVENT:

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2.10 – 12, ESV)