Christmas is supposed to feel real — filled with warmth, wonder, and worship. Yet for many, it doesn’t. The decorations go up, the playlists return, and the obligations multiply, but something inside feels missing. Many of us go through the motions, trying to manufacture the Christmas spirit, and it all feels… artificial.
Over the past few years, the word “artificial” has taken on a greater meaning. Artificial intelligence has entered nearly every corner of our lives — the way we communicate, create, and even believe. It writes our words, shapes our opinions, curates our news, and sometimes replaces our work. For some, it’s a marvel. For others, a menace. But for all of us, it raises deep spiritual questions:
That’s what we’ll explore in our new Advent series, Artificial Christmas. In this series, we explore how humanity’s attempts to manufacture meaning, presence, and perfection through technology (especially AI) reveal our deep spiritual hunger for incarnation — for God with us.
Our series consists of six episodes over five weeks, beginning November 30. Together, we’ll follow the story of the incarnation through the lens of a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, technology, and pretense. And we’ll discover that the message of Christmas has never been more relevant: God doesn’t avoid what’s artificial — God enters it, redeems it, and makes it real again.
Where our artificial creations offer simulation, God offers salvation. God redeems the artificial.
Why cover an artificial topic during the Season of Advent and Christmas? First, this series is for the curious. But this series is also for anyone who’s ever felt disconnected, disenchanted, or displaced by the pace of modern life. For those who scroll endlessly, hoping to feel something real again. For those who wonder if faith can still mean something in a digital age.
We’ll look deeper into how the Christmas story — the story of God becoming human — speaks into this moment. What happens to humanity in an age of machines? Can something artificial ever point us toward what’s real?
Advent is a season of anticipation — and this year, each week will draw us closer to the surprising ways God shows up where we least expect it. We start where creation and technology meet. Just as God breathed life into dust, humanity now breathes data into algorithms. But where is God in all this? We’ll uncover how even in artificial beginnings, divine intention still moves.
Artificial light brightens our homes, but cannot warm the soul. We’ll explore how the real Light still breaks through imitation — exposing truth in a world obsessed with image and illusion.
When everything feels manufactured — joy, peace, connection — how do we find authentic hope? In this series, we face our disillusionment and find that God’s hope doesn’t depend on perfect circumstances or unbroken faith.
At the heart of Advent is incarnation — the divine entering human form. But what happens when humanity builds new forms? We’ll ask how the Word made flesh still dwells among us, even in the circuitry of our modern lives.
On Christmas Eve is the night it all comes together — the mystery of God entering our world, born not into perfection but into the real and the artificial alike. God comes to redeem even the imitation, turning digital echoes into living voices of grace. We hope you’ll join us for a candlelight service starting at 6 pm.
For God so loved the world that God chose to live among us to save us all.
From John 3:16-17
When Christmas ends, the lights come down — and we ask, Now what? What does it mean to live as people who believe that God rescues what’s artificial — not just once a year, but every day in an artificial world?
Because the story of Christmas isn’t about escaping the artificial, it’s about a God who enters it. A God who brings light, love, and life to everything that has lost its way.
Join us in person or online for Artificial Christmas: God Rescues the Artificial — and rediscover the miracle of incarnation in a world that desperately needs something real.
Here is the outline of our series:
| Episode | Sundays | Theme & Title |
|---|---|---|
| One | November 30 | Hope – Artificial beginnings |
| Two | December 7 | Peace – Imitation light |
| Three | December 14 | Joy – Synthetic hope |
| Four | December 21 | Love – Incarnation in the machine |
| Five | December 24 | With us – God redeems the artificial |
| Six | December 28 | Renewal – After the upload |
Please join us each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. We share our weekly episodes on Facebook and our YouTube channel, and go live at 10:30 a.m. You can find these links and more information about us, or join our live broadcast on our website, FlintAsburyChurch.org.
Pastor Tommy
Dr. Mark Coeckelbergh, AI Ethics. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2020. (ISBN 9780262538190).