New Years Eve - Wesley Covenant Renewal Service

Pastor's Note - This is a service that is based on a Pamphlet Written by John Wesley (c. 1780, and adaptation by George Lyons. Read it with contemplation and meditation.


Leader: "Now fear the LORD and serve Him with all faithfulness. Thrown away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:14-15)
Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden; cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love You, and worthily magnify Your holy name through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us now pray together the Prayer of our LORD.

THE SCRIPTURE LESSON: Revelation 21:1-6

REFLECTION: “Newness”

The Lord has always been in the “let’s make something new” business. It began with creation, and will continue until the new heaven and earth comes into existence. But the interesting thing about God’s “making” is that the old and the new can never exist together. Note that in verse 1, the old earth and heaven had vanished from the scene, and only then was the New brought into existence. But this is nothing new – Jesus had to die and be buried before his divinity could be fully revealed in his resurrection; we are forgiven only after we confess our sin and seek the Lord’s forgiveness; when God forgives our sin, we are told that he also forgets the sin – because it no longer exists; we receive the Lord’s salvation only after we surrender this present life to him.
It appears that the Almighty never remakes, never fixes, never repairs our lives, or anything else, for that matter! Verse 4 tells us “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. … I am making everything new!” It appears that the old isn’t worth renovating – it is simply replaced with a new version of what had once been.

So what does this new concept of “newness” mean for us tonight? It means that we have to allow the old to pass away from us. It means that yesterday, and all of the yesterdays of 2014, are gone. We can do nothing to repair them, nothing to make them right – we can only let the Lord make something new in and of us for tomorrow, and all of the tomorrows, in 2015.
But forgetting what happened in the past isn’t as easy for us as it is for God. We don’t have the ability to wipe our memory clean. So what do we do about it? How do we move ahead with “what must be” when we seem to still have a fairly firm grip on “what was”?

Sorry. I don’t have a good answer of how to do that! The only suggestion I can offer is that we need to adjust our life’s focus from yesterday to now. Let the past become fuzzy, and then let it become a little more fuzzy with each passing day. The old saying tells us that we must learn from our mistakes, and if we don’t learn from them, we will be condemned to repeat them. Yeah, I know – easier said than done. But when we firmly commit to the new way, and make that commitment again, each and every day, over and over again, pretty soon it will become the established way, and the old way will remain right where it belongs - in the past.

But a word of caution - this commitment will never succeed if it resides solely within our own heart and mind – the commitment must be with the Lord. Our strength is never adequate, but his always is. In 1 Corinthians 1:24-25, we read “… to both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” Jesus is both the power and the wisdom of God, and for those who believe that this is all some sort of foolishness and ignorance, Paul says that even this foolishness and weakness is far better than anything we will ever have, even on our best day!

So no more New Year’s Resolutions for us – what we truly need is a commitment, a covenant, with the Lord and with each other, and when we begin to live in that level of strength and wisdom, victory is already assured.

Tonight, we covenant together, in support and encouragement of each other, to surrender our lives, to release our ways and to let God work in us, every moment of every day throughout 2015.

CONFESSION
People: We acknowledge a deep sense of sin and misery. We see ourselves as sinners in need of a Savior. The Spirit of God has awakened us; a kind of awakening, as it were, in hell. We cry,
"LORD, what am I! What mean these legions round about me? These chains and fetters that are upon me?
"LORD, where am I! Is there no hope of escaping out of this wretched state? I am but dead, if I continue as I am. What may I do to be saved?"

Leader: Being made aware of his sin and his danger, a sinner will look for help and deliverance, but he will look everywhere else before he looks unto Christ. Nothing will bring a sinner to Christ but absolute necessity. He will try to forsake his sins. He will go to prayers, and sermons, and sacraments and search out if there is salvation in them. But all these, though they be useful in their places, are of no help. His duties cannot help him; these may be numbered among his sins. Ordinances cannot help; these are but empty Cisterns. They all tell him, "You knock at a wrong door; salvation is not in us."
Do you now utterly despair of your own goodness, or do you trust in anything but Christ?

PRAYER
People: LORD, be merciful to me. What shall I do? I dare not remain as I am, and I cannot help myself. My praying will not help me. My hearing will not help me. If I give all my goods to the poor, if I should give my body to be burned, all this would not save my soul. Woe is me. What shall I do?
Leader: You must let your sins go. You must let your righteousness go. Christ came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. He came to seek and to save those that are lost.
Friends, will you now risk yourselves for Christ? You have this threefold assurance:
First, God’s initiative. He has taken the first move. God the Father has appointed and sent Christ into the world to save sinners. Jesus Christ is the One whom God the Father has made our Savior. He is redeeming and reconciling the world to himself.
Moment of Silent Reflection

Second, God’s command. This is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Moment of Silent Reflection

Third, God’s promise. "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious; and whoever believes on him shall not be disappointed.
Moment of Silent Reflection

Now, because we have this threefold assurance of God’s initiative, command, and promise, we may now be bold to risk everything for Christ and to make ourselves totally available to Him.

Unison Prayer:
LORD Jesus, here I am, a lost creature, an enemy to God, under His wrath and curse. Will You, LORD, take me as I am, reconcile me to God, and save my soul? Do not refuse me, LORD, for if You refuse me, to whom then shall I go?
If I had come in my own name, You might well have ignored me; but since I come at the command of the Father, do not reject me. LORD, help me. LORD, save me.
The Leader and People will bow and pray together.
I come, LORD. I believe, LORD. I throw myself upon Your grace and mercy. I trust Your saving death alone to save me. Do not refuse me. I have nowhere else to go. Here I will stay. I will trust You, and rest in You, and risk myself for You. On You I lay my hope for pardon, for life, for salvation. If I perish, I perish on Your shoulders. If I sink, I sink in Your ship. If I die, I die at Your door. Do not bid me to go away, for I will not go.

COMMITMENT
Leader: Yield yourselves now to the LORD. As His servants, give up the rule and government of yourselves to Christ. "Do not yield the parts of your bodies as tools of unrighteousness to continue in sin. Instead yield yourselves fully to God, as those who have been made alive from the dead. And yield every part of your whole body as instruments of righteousness to God." "Don’t you know that you make yourself a slave to obey whoever or whatever you yield yourself to? You are God’s servants; obey Him! Yield yourselves so fully and finally to the LORD that you may henceforth be only the LORD’s.
Those who yield themselves to sin and the world say in their hearts, "Sin, I am yours; World, I am yours; Riches, I am yours; Pleasures, I am yours."
Rather, with the Psalmist, let us say to the LORD:

AFFIRMATION
Leader and People: I am Yours, My God; I reverence You. I dedicate myself to Your service.
Leader: In so giving yourselves to the LORD, you affirm that you will be heartily contented that He assign you to your work.
Let Him assign you to your work. Christ has many services to be done; some are more easy and honorable, others more difficult and menial.
Some are suitable to our inclinations and interests; others are contrary to both. In some we may please Christ and please ourselves, as when He requires us to feed and clothe ourselves. Indeed, there are some spiritual duties that are more pleasing than others; as to rejoice in the LORD, to bless and praise God. These are the sweet works of a Christian.
But then there are other works. In these we cannot please Christ except by denying ourselves, as in enduring the sins and shortcomings of others, reproving others for their sins, withdrawing from their company; as in witnessing against their wickedness. Confessing Christ and His name is never easy when it costs us shame and ridicule. It is never easy to sail against the wind, swim against the tide, surrender our rights and privileges because Jesus Christ is our LORD.
See what it is that Christ expects, and then yield yourselves to His whole will. Do not think of making your own terms with Christ; that will never be allowed. Let us now approach Christ in prayer.

Unison Prayer
LORD Jesus, if You will receive me into Your house, if You will but accept me as Your servant, I will not stand upon terms. Impose on me whatever condition pleases You; write down Your own provisions; command me to be or do whatever You will; only let me be Your servant.
Make me what You will, LORD, and set me where You will. Let me be a vessel of silver or gold, or a vessel of wood or stone; so I may be a vessel of honor. I am content. If I am not the head, or the eye, or the ear, one of the nobler and more honorable instruments You will employ, let me be the hand, or the foot, as one of the lowest and least esteemed of all the servants of my LORD.
Leader: LORD, put me on whatever task You will; rank me with whom You will.
People: Put me to doing; put me to suffering.
Leader: Let me be employed for You, or laid aside for You, exalted for You, or trodden under foot for You.
People: Let me be full; let me be empty.
Leader: Let me have all things; let me have nothing.
People: I freely and heartily resign all to Your pleasure and disposal.
Leader: Friends, such a commitment to Christ as you have now made is the essence of Christianity. When you have chosen God to be your portion and happiness; when you have laid all your hopes on Christ, casting yourself wholly upon the merits of His righteousness; when you have thoughtfully and heartily resigned and given up yourselves to Him; then you are Christians indeed, and never till then. Christ will be the Savior of none but of His servants. He is the Author of eternal salvation to those who obey Him. Christ will have no servants but by consent. His people are a willing people, and Christ will accept of no consent but in full to all that He requires. He will be all in all, or He will be nothing.

THE COVENANT
Leader: And now let us confirm our commitment by a solemn covenant.

Leader: Search your hearts whether you either have already, or can now freely, make this commitment to God in Christ.
First, consider what your sins are and examine whether you can resolve to forego them all. Consider what His laws are — how holy, strict, and spiritual, and whether you can, upon deliberation, choose them all as the rule of your whole life.
Moment of Silent Reflection

Second, compose your spirits into the most serious frame possible, suitable to a transaction of so high importance.
Moment of Silent Reflection

Third, lay hold on the covenant of God and rely upon His promise of giving grace and strength, for only through these will you be enabled to perform your promise. Do not trust your own strength, but take hold on His strength.
Moment of Silent Reflection

Fourth, resolve to be faithful. Having engaged your hearts, opened your mouths, and subscribed with your hands to the Lord, resolve in His strength never to go back.
Moment of Silent Reflection

Fifth and last, being thus prepared, in the most solemn manner possible, as if the Lord were visibly present before your eyes, bow and open your hearts to the Lord.
Moment of Silent Reflection

The Leader and People will bow and pray together.
O most holy God, we humbly beg You, accept the poor prodigals prostrating themselves at Your door. All of us were once, or are even now, far from You because of our sins. We are all by nature worthy of death, and we made ourselves a thousand times worse by our wicked practices. But out of Your infinite grace You have promised mercy to us in Christ, if we will only turn to You with all our heart. Therefore, since we have heard the call of the gospel, we now come, throw down our weapons, and submit ourselves to Your mercy.
And because You require, as the condition of our peace with You, that we should put away our idols, we here and now from the bottom of our hearts renounce them all. We firmly covenant with You not to allow ourselves to continue in any known sin. We will, instead, conscientiously use all the means that we know You have prescribed, for the death and utter destruction of everything that corrupts us. We humbly affirm before Your glorious Majesty that it is the firm resolution of our hearts to forsake all that is dear unto us in this world, rather than to turn from You to the ways of sin. We will guard ourselves against all temptations, whether from prosperity or poverty, pleasure or pain, so that they may never draw our hearts away from You.
And since You have, out of Your boundless mercy, offered graciously, to be our God through Christ, we call heaven and earth to record this day, that we do here solemnly acknowledge You as the LORD our God.
And now, speaking not only as one in this sacred assembly, but speaking for myself alone, I do take You, O Eternal God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to be my God. Be my portion. I do give up myself, body and soul, to be Your servant, promising and vowing to serve You in holiness and righteousness all the days of my life.
O blessed Jesus, I come to You hungry, wretched, miserable, blind, and naked, unworthy to wash the feet of the servants of my LORD, much less to be solemnly married to the King of Glory. But since such is Your unparalleled love, I do here with all my power accept You and take You for my Head and Husband, to love, honor, and obey You before all others, and this to death. I renounce my own worthiness and do here acknowledge You as the LORD my righteousness. I renounce my own wisdom and do here take You for my only Guide. I renounce my own will and take Your will for my law.
And since Your word has told me that I must suffer with You if I am to reign with You, I do here covenant with You to accept my lot, as it falls, with You and by Your grace to risk everything for You. It is my purpose that neither life nor death shall part You and me.
Now, Almighty God, Searcher of Hearts, You know that I make this covenant with You this day, without any known deception or reservation. I humbly beg You that if You see any flaw or falsehood in my resolve, reveal it to me and help me to put it right.

All stand and say in unison:
Leader and People: And now, I praise You, O Father God, whom I shall be bold from this day forward to look upon as my God and Father. Glory be to You, LORD Jesus, O God the Son, who loved me and washed me from my sins by Your death and resurrection and who are now my Savior and Redeemer. Glory be to You, O God the Holy Spirit, who by Your almighty power and inescapable presence have turned my heart from sin to God.
O eternal, all mighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are now my Covenant-Friend, and I, through Your infinite grace, am Your Covenant-Servant. And the Covenant which I have made on earth, may it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

Celebration of Holy Communion.

Benediction

“Rejoice, and Rejoice Again!”

Scripture: Isaiah 61:10-62:3

Christmas has always been known as a “time of wonder”, even for those who don’t celebrate Christ’s birth. Children come to the day wide-eyed and expectant, and adults, somehow, see the day through those same childish eyes that they had lost years before. It’s a day filled with family and friends gathered around the dinner table, laughing and sharing and loving each other as they had yet to do that entire year, and they come to the day to give joy and receive blessings, and there is not one other day all year long that can even come close.

But there are some who completely miss the joy of the season – perhaps because of the pain of loss and struggle that grips their hearts, and for others through their lack of focus on what the day is really all about. The Message of Christmas, the true message, was given by the angels in a field, speaking to a group of poor shepherds, 2,000 years ago. “Today … a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) The love that Almighty God has for humanity was “fleshed out” in a stable, and the message of hope hasn’t changed since that glorious day burst upon the earth in such a perfect way.

But nearly 700 years before that first Christmas, Isaiah prophesied to the joy of the day. He would tell of this humble birth (Isaiah 7:13-15), he would tell of God’s great Purpose, (Isaiah 9:2-7), and he would share the joy of the Lord’s coming with all who would ever read his words (Isaiah 40:3-5).

Today, we read more of the joy that will come to all who will believe in Him.

Read Isaiah 61:10-11

“… my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation”. These words are certainly reasons to rejoice, aren’t they?
But when Jesus told the parable of the Wedding Feast, he also spoke of these garments, but in a far more specific way – that they were “wedding clothes”. (Matthew 22:1-14) And these clothes would have a great significance. They would indicate that the individual had come to show honor to the ones being married, and those who came without the clothes, who would not show the honor that was deserved, would be thrown out of the party. The wearing of “salvation clothes” tell others that we are filled with joy because we love the One we come to revere.

In Zechariah 3:1-9, we read of the high priest Joshua, standing before the Judgment seat, dressed in filthy rags. The rags represent his sin, which should be reason enough for his condemnation, but the Angel of the Lord tells the others to remove his rags and replace them with splendid clothes – rich and glorious ones. These new clothes become a sign of Joshua’s cleansing and forgiveness, and we discover that the salvation clothes weren’t his, and they aren’t ours, to put on, but that they come from the Lord. That is what faith is – not ours to own, but simply ours to wear.

This is what Isaiah is trying to describe to us – that our “salvation garments” aren’t something that we own or earn or even borrow – they are given as a sign of, first, our allegiance and love of Christ, and second, as a sign of forgiveness and restoration to God. Some folks don’t care much for this image though, as they want to have control over what they have in this life. But it isn’t our choice or by our doing - it is a gift from God, and just as with any true gift, it has nothing to do with the one who receives – it is about the generous nature of the One who gives.
What greater reason could there be for rejoicing? That we have been given the gift of eternal life by God Himself - not as a gift that was delivered by some unnamed and uncaring messenger, but by God in the Flesh.

And this gift will be incredible. The prophet compares it to the beautifying of a bridegroom and his bride – that it will not be ordinary in any sense of the word, but will be the best and most precious gift that God has to give.

The second analogy that the prophet offers is in a more earthy example involving the germination and growth of seeds. Have you ever seen a seed that would grow while it is clutched tightly in your hand? Or tucked safely away in your pocket? Or never removed from the packet it was purchased in?
Of course not! You have to let go of it, you have to bury it in the ground, and you have to believe that it will produce a good crop! It’s the same with our lives. We acknowledge that we can do nothing to produce any good fruit on our own, so we give it over to the Lord, and we let our life of sin completely die in Jesus’ hands, and we believe with all our “heart and soul and strength” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) that he can and will make us right and fruitful in him.
Isaiah tells us that it is the Lord who will bring righteousness and praise to adorn our lives, and, by implication, that we can do nothing to help in this matter except to give it all over to the Lord and his way.

Read Isaiah 62:1-3

Isaiah now switches from the overwhelming joy that he feels, to the lack of joy that his nation is experiencing. And it isn’t the deep sorrow that we read of though out Isaiah’s prophecy, but rather the dedication that he now has to spreading the word of God to as many people as he can. “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,”, he says. It isn’t to his benefit, it isn’t even for the joy of Yahweh that he will do this, but for the benefit of those who will hear the Lord’s message of hope. And what will he tell them? That they aren’t going to come to the Lord by looking to other gods, or by doing it all on their own – that the only way is through complete and undying faith in their One and Great Jehovah!
And his greatest desire is that they (Jerusalem!) will gain the righteousness of God, and will become that divine beacon; the coming of a new day after a long, dark night; a torch that will light the way for travelers who are lost. In chapter 60:1, Isaiah tells us to “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.” In other words, “wake up and get up, otherwise how will the Lord’s light shine in you”!

The prophet is speaking of this “new light” to the people of today, and not just to the people of Israel in 700 BC! So what are we to do with this new Light? Quite honestly, nothing - nothing except to carry it in an obvious way so that others will see it. We don’t have to make it shine, we don’t have to light the torch, we don’t have to focus it on someone in particular. Just live a life that reflects Christ to all who see you – “blue collar” and “white collar”; the high and mighty as well as the lowly; churchgoers and those who have never set foot inside a church. Live a life that will bring others to say “I don’t know where you got that, but I want some!”

And when we do this for the Lord, Isaiah tells us that he will give us a new name – one that reflects the person we have become – like Simon becoming Peter, and Saul becoming Paul. It will be a name that we might never choose for ourselves, but it will be the perfect one for our life in Christ. And the glory of the Lord will not only shine upon us and around us and through us, but we will be adorned in the splendor that can only come from the hand of Jesus, which brings us back to our first verse for today – we will be “clothed with garments of salvation and arrayed in a robe of righteousness.”

The light, the crown, the glory, the garments of salvation – all of it comes to us because of the joy we receive at Christmas. Not because of the gifts we receive from others, but by the gift of the Babe of Bethlehem – the Christ, the Messiah, Emmanuel, God who is with you and me!
Do you still have the Joy of Christmas, now that the day is behind us? The joy of Christ is the gift that never gives in, never gives up, never slackens, never diminishes, never disappoints. Our rejoicing over the hope that comes in this day must never end! Rejoice in Jesus, again and again, every day and forever more!

Rest your life in the palm of God’s hand, and never again doubt the joy of eternity!

“The Story”

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

As we journeyed through Advent, we looked at a number of events that all led us toward this night that is bathed in the glory of God.
We began at the beginning, or rather before the beginning, when there was only God. It was Father, Son, and Spirit – all together, and nothing else. And in the Wisdom of the Almighty, Creation was put in motion. It would not be a static conception, but a living and active one that was given as a specific beginning that would be consigned to a specific end. And the most important aspect of this “new thing” was that God would be an active part in it. And not only active, but far into the future, he would actually enter his creative order and subject himself to its limitations and its will to ensure that humanity could have a life that existed beyond the end.

And then we began to move through the created order to see how the Lord prepared the people to truly live a life in him. His promise was that anyone could experience his grace – not just the chosen of Israel – but anyone who would truly believe that he is God and would allow him to work in their lives, including in the joys as well as the burdens that they carry. But God’s point in all of this is that we must be prepared for his arrival – we can’t leave our eventual meeting with him up to chance.

As part of this preparation, we would be shown who the Anticipated One truly is. It wouldn’t be easy to recognize him, because God was about to join us, not as a heavenly Spirit, but as a Man. Fully God and fully man. God in every way, who would allow himself to be subject to the trials and emotions and conditions of a human and mortal person. And his task? To destroy the hold that sin has on each and every person on earth. Unfortunately, humanity must also let go of their sin, so that God’s work can be completed in them.

Everything was in place, the Lord’s prophets had been telling the world of his coming for hundreds of years. And then it happened - Almighty God sent his angel Gabriel to earth to enact the Great Plan of Salvation, but in such an incredible way that most would never believe it. An elderly woman would bear the one who would herald the Lord’s arrival, and an unwed teenager would become the mother of the Salvation Child.

What “in the world” was God up to? Messiah was supposed to be a Power unlike anything known in all the earth! He was supposed to be a Destroyer of evil and a Rescuer of his people Israel. Never mind what the prophets said – tradition and human wisdom would decree that might was far better than weakness, and boldness much better than humility. And to entrust the Lord of all the earth with an unmarried couple from a town so small that few had even heard of the place! God’s Plan made absolutely no sense whatsoever!

Except, that the child would be born in Bethlehem, the childhood home of King David. Except, that both Joseph and Mary’s lineage led back to David. Except, that the prophecy of Isaiah (9:2-7) and Micah (5:2) and others was being fulfilled exactly as God said it would be. Except, that the heavens would proclaim the birth with a Star for the majestic, and hundreds and thousands of angels would sing his praises to the lowest.

What kind of story could this possibly be? What has God set in motion for us? Why would he ever choose this way over a way that could be seen and understood and accepted by all? Who would this Savior really be for, and what would this Precious Life mean for the people of earth?

There’s an old saying that “God’s ways are not our ways!”, and that causes no little amount of torment in human life! We want the Lord to make sense to us; we want him to make salvation easy for us; we want him to function in a way that we would work; all of which, in and of itself, doesn’t make any sense, either!
When was the last time our ways ever worked out for the best? Human thought is imperfect, at best, and our judgment is even worse than that! Look at the sin we struggle with, and our feeble and failure riddled attempts to live a worthy life. Look at the finality of our mortal lives, even as the greatest minds of earth continue to try to improve and lengthen our years here on earth. Look at our inability to live a life that might even come close to reflecting the glory of Almighty God.

The truth is that God’s way is always best and ours never is. And so, this family, which wasn’t even a family yet, was chosen to be the means of the Lord’s entry into our lives. They would humbly accept the Divine intervention that brought them to a place that wasn’t even worthy of them, let alone worthy of God. And yet, it was the right place. This Child of Hope would be born in a cave, surrounded by a bunch of smelly animals, and would begin life among us in just about as ignoble a way as anyone could.
But what would heaven think about all of this? The heavenly host, the angelic attendants of God, must have been going wild with anticipation! You see, the angels who remained faithful and trusting of the Master, knew that his ways would be the perfect solution to human sinfulness, and when they were given the opportunity to announce this great event to the shepherds, they couldn’t hold back their joy any longer. The Shekinah glory of God went before them and lit up the dark countryside as the sun never could; their spokesman would offer words of peace to these terrified, filthy, and religiously unclean humans; and they would be the first to know that the long awaited Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God had, indeed, finally come to them as an Infant. And through him, the glory of God would shine brilliantly on all who would come to his favor.

Heaven had first announced the Birth to the most unworthy of earth, but what would they do about it? We need to understand that shepherds weren’t shy and detached individuals - not in the least! They were crude but self-motivated men who had heard with their ears, and even though they fully believed what the messengers had told them, they wanted to see this miracle with their own eyes. Scripture tells us that they “hurried off” to go to the Christ’s side, but we don’t read anything about someone staying behind to watch the sheep! Earthly interests were taking a back seat to the story of heavenly glory that had been presented to them. And after they had seen and rejoiced at this marvelous Birth, they rushed back home to tell their friends and neighbors about the Christ’s birth. And as soon as the message had been shared with others, they returned to the stable to offer their own praises for God’s incredible plan for humanity.

But the story doesn’t end with these ragged, smelly, sinful men. It continues to tell us of 12 who would be called to learn at the feet of the adult Jesus. It would continue to tell of opposition to the message of hope that he brought. It would continue to tell of attempts to oppress and hate and murder the message, and that these attempts wouldn’t just fail, but that they would play into the eternal Plan of Salvation. It would tell of eternal life that would come out of mortal death, and the promise that death can never win. The story would spread throughout the known world, regardless of continuing oppression and hatred and attempts to murder the carriers of this glorious message.

The Lord’s way would never be denied, would never be broken, would never be taken back, would never be changed. And now, the message has been given to us – to rejoice in, to celebrate in, to believe in, and to share with the world around us. God’s Anointed, the Messiah, the Christ of heaven has been brought to us in the most unusual way and for the most wonderful reason, and all that we have to do is to believe it and claim it for our own lives.

“Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace to all who will believe and accept his way to eternal life.” Not such a difficult set of words to remember – after all, even those ignorant shepherds remembered them. Not such a difficult set of words to share with others – after all, even those ignorant, unworthy shepherds told everyone they met that Jesus Christ, the very Son of the Most High God, had been born into this world.

Do you believe? Do you claim his gift of eternal life for your own? Will you share it with the dark and hurting world that surrounds his glory, that they, too, might live in him?

“Today, in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Praise God for his wonders that have been made real in our lives. Go, and tell others.

“The Announcement!”

Scripture: Luke 1:26-38

Imagine – you’re going about your everyday life – mowing the lawn, helping the kids with their homework, driving to the store to do some shopping, working in the office - and then you suddenly realize that your life is about to change – drastically! You’ll continue to be the same person, with the same issues and needs in life, but all of your hopes and dreams and plans for the future will soon fly right out the window and will be replaced with the most incredible and unbelievable promises you could never imagine!
What are you going to do about it? Do you start keeping a journal, with the hope of selling your story to a movie producer or book publisher for an unheard of amount of money? Do you rush out to share your new revelation with everyone you meet, expecting them all to show great honor to you? Do you start making a list of folks you will ask to help you with your new duties? Or do you just sit down, trembling at the realization of what you have just been asked to do, and understanding that not one ounce of fame will come to you in this lifetime?

Read Luke 1:26-30

Mary had probably not heard the news about her cousin Elizabeth and her unexpected pregnancy, as news traveled extremely slowly in those days. Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah had wanted children for many years, but had never been able to conceive. The lack of children, and the absence of male heirs in particular, was a sign that God was displeased with you for some reason, and there was nothing that you could do about it. But now, the shame of being childless had been taken away from them by God, and hope had been restored.
That same angel had come once again, but with a different announcement, for a different woman, in a different situation, with a message that few, at the very least, would ever believe and accept. Mary, a young teenage girl, unmarried, living in a little, dirty, “back water” town, was about to discover just how much God loved her. And that was how the angel began his message to her – “you who are highly favored”!
So what does it mean that you are “highly favored” by God? Is it comparable to getting a promotion at your place of work? Is it the same as being chosen to sing a solo in the church’s Christmas pageant? Is it even close to making the high honor role in school?
Not even close! It means that God has chosen you because he could trust you to do what he is about to ask. It means that out of all the people of earth, you are the right one, in God’s eyes, to accomplish his will here on earth. It means, unfortunately, that you are going to be asked to do something that you would never choose to do on your own!
Decision making in business involves evaluation of many issues, especially those known as “adverse consequences”. These are the things that could possibly go wrong in a project, causing delays, or quality problems, or other issues that might result in project failure. With God, however, his plan will never fail, and there is only one best way to accomplish whatever it is that he needs to have done. His only consideration of “adverse consequences” is to minimize their effect – all of them - to the extent that they will not be able to effect the ultimate outcome. He doesn’t eliminate them – he either refuses to let them impact his will, or else he uses them to accomplish his will.

And then, the angel tells Mary “The Lord is with you.” Amazingly, the announcement that Emmanuel is about to burst upon the world, is made totally personal for this young girl – it isn’t just that “God is with us”, but that “The Lord is with YOU!” This girl had been chosen to be the means of the impossible – the means of God’s Will – the means of the arrival of God’s greatest blessing on the world. Emmanuel – “God is with you”.

Read Luke 1:31-33

Notice that the angel doesn’t frame this message in the form of a question – Mary isn’t given a choice! God doesn’t ask her if she would be willing to do this for him – she is simply told that all that had been prophesized was about to come true. 2 Samuel 7:16 – “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.”, and Gabriel confirms the promise with nearly the same words. 2 Samuel 7:14 – “I will be his father, and he will be my son.”, and Gabriel tells Mary that her child will be “the Son of the Most High”.
The prophesy is sure and is about to be fulfilled. And the one who will carry this Holy Promise is never given a choice in the matter. God’s will isn’t negotiable. His plan won’t be modified. His choice is perfect. And yet, how many times do we foolishly try to back out of being the Lord’s choice? His call on our lives seems to be too difficult, too unusual, too early in life, too late in life, too uncertain, too scary, too “something”. We generally have a list that is longer than the one Moses used to try to convince the Lord that he was not the right man to bring the people out of Egypt! And God listens to our whining just as long and just as patiently as he did for Moses.

The Lord’s plan for salvation was about to begin in the womb of a trusting, unmarried, teenage girl.

Read Luke 1:34-38

And Mary has only one question for Gabriel – “How is God going to do this”? She may have been young, she may have been unmarried, but she knew where babies came from. And that way had yet to occur with her. Zechariah had similar concerns when he was told about his son John. “How can this be?” he would ask. He and Elizabeth were both well advanced in years, and child birth was unheard of at their age.
But Zechariah was a priest and should have been more accepting of God’s announcement, and because he doubted, he would lose his ability to speak for the duration of the pregnancy. Mary also would express a concern about the process, but because of her youth and innocence, Gabriel explains, as well as any angel could, how God was going to make it happen.

The Lord’s ways should always amaze us, even though he has shown us over and over how he works such marvelous ways through birth.
Sarah was 90 years old when she became pregnant with Isaac to ensure that the Lord’s promise to Abraham would be fulfilled. And she doubted, too!
An unnamed Levite woman would give birth to a child who would be called Moses – a child who had been condemned by Pharaoh, but in God’s somewhat humorous way, the boy would be raised under Pharaoh’s own roof and would become a thorn in a future Pharaoh’s side.
Hannah had been barren for many years, and when she pledged her first born to the Lord, she would give birth to a son named Samuel, who himself, would also play an important part in God’s plan for Israel.
How about Ruth, who wasn’t even a Jew but who would become King David’s grandmother.

So why shouldn’t another older woman give birth to a herald for Christ, and a very young, unmarried girl become the mother of the “Son of the Most High”? Why not? And Gabriel’s final words to Mary are probably the most fitting and most telling of the way God works. Simply that “Nothing is impossible with God.”
And Mary replies “OK – count me in.”

There are two phrases that I think we need to consider for our own lives. The first is the one that Mary received – “Nothing is impossible with God”. And in our “impossible” lives, we need to be reminded of this over and over again. The second is nearly as important, and that is “God will not be denied.”
How deep is our faith? We proclaim that our God is omnipotent (all powerful), Omniscient (all knowing), and Omnipresent (present everywhere and throughout time). If these things are true, how could anyone ever doubt that the Lord can, indeed, do anything he desires to do? And second, if these things are true, who do we think we are to say “No” to him? Do we really think that we know better than God, that we can change the Lord of the Universe’s mind?
Throughout scripture and throughout the ages, people have been called to do things in the name of Almighty God that there is no way that they could ever do them on their own. We question the wisdom of the Lord’s plan for our lives, even though we know that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Mary and Elizabeth both would know that God was working a marvelous wonder through their faithful lives. They trusted their Lord, and they gave themselves willingly and joyfully in service to him. Would they both be subject to heartbreak? They most certainly would, but they also trusted that the glory that would come from it would drown out their sorrow.

How about you? Has God been trying to announce some special message to you? Have you been listening, or have you been trying to ignore it? God will win, you know, so why not give him a chance? Allow him to speak his good news into your life today.

“The Source …”

Scripture: Isaiah 11:1-10

Remember when your son or daughter asked you “Mommy (or Daddy!), where did I come from?” It was the question that you had been dreading since the child was born, and even years later, you still didn’t have a good answer! But does this question always demand a explanation of “the birds and the bees”? Should the answer always be given as a birth narrative?
The punch line to the old joke, of course, is that a new friend had just moved into town from Cleveland, and your child is wondering if they had come from a similar place! But that’s not the usual context – and the “where” doesn’t always refer to the womb! While that sometimes is the question, I believe that for most children, the inquiry is more of a “Who am I” type of inquiry.

So this brings us to the question for today – “Who is Jesus?” “Where did he come from?” “And how did he get here?” Is our response “He is the Son of God and the son of Man” adequate? It is certainly part of the answer, but is it enough? Does it give us all that we need to know about Jesus?

Probably not.

Read Isaiah 11:1-3a

The prophet’s response to “Who is Jesus?” seems to tell us that he an exceptional Spirit-filled man. So, it appears that the first thing we need to know about Jesus is that he was human. He had human ancestors, he had a human origin, he was a living, breathing, flesh covered, blood filled being who needed food and water and air if he was to continue to live. He could experience human emotion, including anger, fear, joy, love, anxiety, and disappointment; he would bleed if he was cut; he got tired and hungry; he needed sleep; and he used no extraordinary means to travel from one place to another. If we had a sample of his DNA today, I have no idea what it would look like, but with this passage, we know that there would certainly be a human component to it.
We also read that he would be related to the descendent of a man known as Jesse. Without other passages, we would never know who this son of Jesse is. But in a number of places in scripture, notably in Revelation 5:5, we are told that King David is that person. So now we also know that Jesus isn’t just a human, but that he had royal blood coursing through his veins.

Jesus was a human being in every possible way, and would be in the direct lineage of the greatest king of Israel.

But there was more. Isaiah tells us that he would be filled, in every possible way, with the Spirit of God. He would have infinite knowledge, and would not only know all things, but he would also understand what they all mean. He would not receive all of this in a minimal way, but in a complete and full way. He would understand Creation; he would understand the Divine Plan that was in place for his people; he could comprehend “eternity” and all that that entailed; he understood the ramification of life – both here and beyond. And that is a lot of understanding!
The next verse is about authority. “Counsel” is the ability to govern and lead, and is closely tied to “Knowledge” and Wisdom”. And the Spirit of Counsel implies that he will use his Godly knowledge and wisdom in a perfect way. But associated with his “Counsel”, we discover that he also has “Power”. Power implies more than just authority – it is a reference to a military-type of force. He not only had authority to govern, but he had the strength to enforce his will. And he would never have any need for a human army or even body guards – he was far greater than any military body that the earth could ever assemble, even though he would seldom use that power.
Next, he would have knowledge and reverence of, and for, God. This “understanding” goes far beyond simply knowing about the “things” of God – it tells us that he understood God! He understood the reasoning of the Divine; he understood how the Almighty works; he had a perfect love of God; he had complete trust in the Plan of God. These attributes assure us that Jesus was truly God in every possible way. He was committed and holy and perfect and trustworthy. Whenever he would speak, he spoke with the full authority of Almighty God.

And if all of this wasn’t enough, he would completely love the Lord and all of his ways. Jesus would be so filled with the Spirit that he would perfectly represent the Father, and would speak for him, and would, in every way, be God.

Jesus would be completely God in a completely human body and existence. He would be conceived by the Spirit of God within a human body, he would be born as a human in a human way, and would be filled with every Godly attribute.

Is Jesus human? Absolutely!
Is Jesus God? Absolutely!
Emmanuel! God with us in the flesh! And not just in a coincidental way, but in an intentional, absolute, and perfect way. And they must be inseparable.

Read Isaiah 11:3b-5

These two and a half verses give us an idea of how Jesus will govern in authority, and actually, it gives us several contrasting examples of how God rules versus how a secular authority might govern.
The first example tells us that his Spiritual Counsel will allow him to administer as a human, but not in a human way. How do we make decisions? It’s by the things we read and experience, it’s by the advice we receive and hear, it’s by our visual examination of the facts before us, it’s by the information we have received throughout our life.
But Jesus will govern by a completely different means. It will be by the standards of Godly wisdom. Not the things he has learned, but by the Spiritual gifts he has received, and this will ensure that his “counsel” – his justice - will be perfect. There will no longer be outside influences that can affect the outcome of his judgment. It will be by God’s wisdom, and nothing else. Everyone will get a fair hearing, because Jesus will understand their circumstances perfectly, even before they can offer any explanation (Zechariah 3). Righteousness will rule over all – both the poor and the wealthy, the wise and the uneducated, the able and the unable, the loved and the despised, the guilty and the innocent. No situation will be left to be worked out on its own – Jesus will care for it all.

One more thought regarding the reference to the “rod of his mouth” and the “breath of his lips”. If we go back to the first chapter of Genesis (Genesis 1:3-2:1), we see that each of the six days of creation began with “And God said”. There was no waving of his hand, no magic powder or wand, no assistant who helps to make an allusion work – it all came to be simply through God’s will. That is how his counsel – his judgment – his power will be administered – simply by his will. He will “say” it, and it will be. No armies or navies or marines or air forces, no police, no vigilantes, no help at all. Just the word of Jesus, and it will be done.

Read Isaiah 11:6-9

And the result of this perfect Power, administered in a Perfect way, is that the things of earth will be completely turned upside down. Every conflict, every fear, every opposing ideology, every hatred, everything that is not of God will be taken away. We can’t even imagine this situation – it is such a totally foreign concept to us that it is completely nonsensical.
But in that day, it will all make sense – perfect sense! Why? Because the Spirit of Knowledge will cover the earth, and all who live there will receive that Divine understanding and will “delight” in it.

This is what Jesus will be bringing with him on that glorious day when he returns – perfect peace, a perfect existence, just as there had been in the Garden before the Tempter entered into the human condition.

Read Isaiah 11:10

Jesus will be our Banner.
When was the last time you attended a parade? Remember the fire departments and the veterans groups and the bands? All of them had a color guard that led them. Folks who have served in the military know about “banners’ – the National colors, command colors, ribbons indicating awards for valor and action – all of these are displayed out front, and lead us wherever we go. They represent who we are and what we stand for, and we look upon them with the highest respect and honor
That’s why Jesus has to be our banner and will continue to hold that distinction through eternity. He is our hope, our identity, our purpose, and our goal, and all who love him will come together to give him all the honor and glory he so richly deserves.

In Genesis 2:2-3, we read that when Creation was finished, God rested from his creative efforts, and all who come to him will, one day, know that same glorious rest from all our labors.

Jesus is the Source of all we can possibly receive, both in this life and beyond this life, just as the Holy Spirit was the Source for all that he is. Praise God for bringing the Source of all goodness into the world, and for allowing us to claim his glory for our own lives.

“Prepare the Way …”

Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-8

Preparation is a way of life for us. We prepared to come to worship this morning, we prepare food for each of our meals, we prepare for Birthday parties and Thanksgiving dinner and the arrival of weekend visitors. You would think that preparation to receive God into the world and into our lives would come as second nature, that it would be taken in a far more serious manner! But people seldom do.

Oh, it’s true that we buy presents for family and friends, and we usually go overboard with that particular task. We prepare the house with all kinds of lights, and yard ornaments, and by placing a tree in the most prominent place we can find. Some folks even go on a diet for a week before Christmas so that the scrumptious dinner that they prepare won’t have too great an impact on their bodies!

But how about the attention we pay to preparing our lives for Christmas? How much time and effort do we commit to getting our spirits in shape to welcome Jesus? Many believe that Christmas will come regardless of our efforts, and while that is true, we can’t leave all of the ground work up to God! He has already done his part – he left his glory behind to join us right where we are; he left the praises of heaven behind in exchange for the animosity of earth; he came to bring, and be, the Word of God for the people of earth; and he would teach and explain and provide us with everything we would need to truly receive him into our miserable lives.
And still we think that it demands too much from us.

Life is tough enough, they think, without having to live up to someone else’s standards! We struggle to eke out an existence, to raise and support our family on resources that are barely sufficient, and what does it get us? An early trip to the grave! If God doesn’t want to make our lives easier, then why should we give him anything?

Read Isaiah 40:1-2

The Lord knows that life is hard, and that it would be even if we were able to live it in a perfect way! Over and over in the Psalms, we read the lament “How long, O God, …” (Psalm 13:1-2; Psalm 35:15-17; Psalm 74:10-11; Psalm 89:45-48; etal) And God seldom replies to the plea – at least not immediately. His plan has a time schedule that we never see, and wouldn’t understand if we did, and the answer to our cries for help may be years in the making. But God has a temporary solution for us – he calls us to care for each other.

“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God”. The people of God are to be the comforters for now. But the question before us is this – who are the people we are to comfort? Who are the “my people” that Isaiah tells us to help? Our tendency is to think that we are to consider the needs of those who are in the church – for those who believe like us. But do we really think that the Lord would exclude the rest of the world?
Who did Jesus come to save? The righteous? Believers? Those who would hear and accept the Good News of Jesus Christ? Remember that Israel thought that Messiah was for them alone, and were appalled that the early apostles were extending God’s mercy to the Gentiles! So, just who are “my people” referring to? It may not be comfortable to hear this, but the Lord wants us to offer comfort to all who struggle – believers and nonbelievers alike; to the righteous and the wicked alike; to the saved and unsaved alike; to the hope-filled and the fear-filled; to the saints and the sinners; to all who are burdened. In Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” There were no pre-requirements, no caveats, no exceptions – just the condition that if you were struggling under heavy burdens in this life, the Lord would care for you - if you would let him. But Isaiah tells us that this Godly “rest”, at least for now, must come through us!
And while you are at it, let “them” know that in Christ, all of the mistakes, missteps, errors, pain, burdens, sins of this life will not only be cared for, but that their “sin has been paid for.” No consequences, no punishment; no fear – just the blessing that they will receive a “double” portion of goodness in exchange for the pain that the world has inflicted on them.
A new day and a new way is on the way!

Read Isaiah 40:3-5

The intent and timing of this passage has been a point of discussion for theologians for many years. Does it pertain to Isaiah’s time, and could it be proclaiming the release of the nation from Babylonian slavery? That their way home would be without major incident? That they would be in God’s presence and glory once more?
Is it about the end times, could it literally be about the remaking of the face of the earth and the decisive battles against Satan’s evil years? The raising up of the valleys and the leveling of the mountains and the rugged being transformed into plains will be a rather violent event. Could it be about this!

But what if this is about the impact on our lives – right now - when we walk with Christ and begin to work within his will? What if these corrections are figurative, and are really about the changes that we will undergo when transformed by a life in Christ? You may never read these next thoughts in any commentary or other scholarly papers, but could this be about the way we are being prepared to experience Christ in our lives?

“In the desert, prepare the way for the Lord”. A sinful existence, which we all are immersed in, is sometimes referred to as a wasteland, or a desert. But in our sinfulness, how can we possibly prepare for the Holy and Righteous Lord’s triumph within us? The truth is that we can’t – our only hope is when we surrender these broken and painful lives to God and let him do the preparing! We can’t earn forgiveness for our failures, we can’t bring about a new light that will overcome the darkness that we have welcomed, we can’t produce a wholeness within the cavern that despair and hopelessness created. And we certainly can never make our crooked and misshapen lives straight again. Only God is able to make us right.

“Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low …“, etc. The prophet isn’t calling us to start digging to level out the terrain of our lives, but rather that when we seek the presence of Almighty God, he will begin removing the obstacles that exist between us and him. Notice that the references to the results of this “make over” are simply that valley will be raised up – not filled in. That mountains will be made low – not excavated into oblivion. That rough ground will become level and rugged places a plain – no mention of the process involved in making them so.
It will be the glory of God at work within us, and it will become obvious for all to see. And why should we trust that this will come to be?
“For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” And that is enough.

Read Isaiah 40:6-8

We are told to “cry out”. But who is this unnamed and demanding voice? Is it the Lord? One, or even many of the heavenly host? An archangel? We don’t know exactly, but we do know that is a message from God. And what are we to cry out? The prophet doesn’t seem to know; Israel would never know; even the Church isn’t all that sure at times. Perhaps our cry should be “Mercy!” Perhaps our cry should be “Save me!” Perhaps our cry should be, in recognition of this season, “Come, O come Emmanuel!”
Regardless, without some honest and heartfelt outcry to the Lord, life as we know it will one day end, and there will be nothing to fill the void of death. “The grass withers and the flowers fall …” and we are no better than that. Without Jesus, the valleys will remain deep and impenetrable, and the mountains will be too high and steep to scale, and the rough ground will sap the energy from our lives, and we will never be able to approach the Throne of Grace. But God has given us another way – a way that he has prepared for us, a way that he has perfected, a way that is in his Son, Christ Jesus.
Isaiah 55:11-12 – the “word that goes out from my mouth … will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”

When we give up trying to make our own way to God, and decide to follow the one that has already been prepared for us by Jesus, all of creation will rejoice. And we prepare to receive this gift of life by simply surrendering our ways to him, and allowing him to make it right in our lives.
And that is a promise that can never fail.

“In the Beginning …”

Scripture: John 1:1-14

As we enter this season of Advent, it seemed appropriate that we should start at the Beginning. I mean the “real” beginning – the time when EVERYTHING began. At that Beginning, there was only God. There was no order, no substance, no joy, no pain, no hope, no reason to hope, no one to even have hope. There was only God, and Him alone.

It was God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. Period. At that time, whatever time was then, God had a plan – he would make something new – he would call it “Creation”. But his Plan would be more than just creating and then stepping back – he would put his Plan into motion and it would continue to move and work as long as creation lasted.

Yes, he knew that there would be problems cropping up from time to time, but the Plan would care for that, too.

Read John 1:1-5

The beginning of John’s Gospel can almost be described as a Hymn of Praise. And why not! Throughout scripture, we read of songs being raised up to the Almighty – even in the laments of the Psalms we read of those who sang praises to God. So it is only right that this Book of Good News should begin with a hymn that is lifted up to the One and True Glory!

This hymn is a Christian praise, written, I believe, for the people of Israel. The Jews fully acknowledged that God had been since before the Beginning, but they had never seen God as Trinity – only as a solitary and singular Being. But John says that the One Being – the Father God – was not solitary, but that there was more to Him than was readily known.
Without actually mentioning the name of Jesus, he says that this other Person had been present before creation. Not that he alone was God, but that he was both part of God and, in the fullest sense, was God. He wasn’t an addendum to their God, he wasn’t a supplement to God, he wasn’t an afterthought to God – he was and is God. And in this thought, he says that Jesus was the Word of God.
So what is the significance of this term? “Word” doesn’t just signify that he is a prophet, or a holy and righteous man, or even one who has had a marvelous and interactive experience with God. It tells us that he is so intimate with Father God that his words and his life and his complete being can relate God’s thoughts to us perfectly. He doesn’t just bring the Lord’s message to our lives, Jesus is the message for our lives.

Then the Gospel goes on to explain three unique things about Jesus.
1. Jesus wasn’t just a part of creation, he wasn’t even part of the Creator - he was Creator. It was Father – Son – Spirit who created. The Creative Being was complex, and in Genesis 1:26 we further read “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image …’ (emphasis added) - but not for just any purpose - we received his breath and image so that we can do his work on earth.
Jesus was at creation – not as a created being, but as Creator.
2. Jesus is life. In Genesis 2:7, we read that God breathed life into the man. That life-breath was in God, and therefore also came from Jesus. But I believe that John is carrying this image of life even further. He isn’t referring simply to the life we currently have, but to the Life Eternal. Jesus is the double life giver. He breathes life into us at both our first birth and our second birth. And within this life is a light that also fills us.
3. The light of Christ, that light that fills us, is also the light that dispels the darkness. In the Creation Story, we read that on the first day (Genesis 1:2-4), the Lord brought light into existence, and wherever it was placed, it destroyed the darkness. Light would become a sign of “goodness”, and darkness, a sign of “evil”. Not only does the light of day overcome the darkness that we call “night”, but the light of Christ‘s life overcomes the darkness of Evil’s death.

John wants us to understand that Christ is not only the author of life at creation, but that he is also the author of life eternal.

Read John 1:6-9

John the Baptist was an example of how God’s Light begins to work in our lives. “He came as a witness to testify concerning the Light, so that through him, all might believe.” John had a unique witness for us – that the Light of God had finally come into the world. Others had foretold that Messiah would one day come, but John was the first who showed that he had come, and he would not be the last to tell.
This is the same witness that all who have received the Light of Christ must share with anyone who will listen. We are the ones who must now carry the Word of God to the towns and villages and cities and nations of the world, for without our testimony, the Life and Light and Word of God may be silenced, and if that happens, the darkness will win. But our witness is a little different than John’s was – ours is that the Light of God has come into the world, and was hated, and was killed, but is on his way to come once more, to bring the light of eternal life to all who will believe in him,

Those who claim Christ as their Lord and Savior become carriers of the Word, reflectors of the Light, witnesses to the saving grace of Jesus. Once, it was John who sown the light, then it was Jesus who brought the light, and now it is we who lead others into the blessed light of God, and unless each and every person receives that light for themselves, they will continue to stumble around in the darkness of this world. But this opportunity for the Church must never be seen as an obligation, but rather as a privilege given to all who walk with him.

Read John 1:10-14

The Word of God put on flesh and became fully human for us. If folks had trouble believing in a God who they couldn’t see, then God would become visible to them. But it had to be in a way that they could see and understand. Remember the cautions that the Lord had to take in the Old Testament? Every time he appeared to someone, it had to be in an incomplete way. For Abraham, it was a flaming pot; for Moses, first a bush that could not be burned and later as the back of God; for the people of Israel, two pillars – one of fire and another of cloud.
Visibility only happens when the light is turned on, and when it comes to God, it can never reveal the fullness of his Glory. But in Christ, the light shone brightly, God became fully visible to the world, and yet, they still refuse to believe. The Word became real, it has been proclaimed loudly and clearly for 2,000 years, and still, it has been perverted and modified to suit personal interests, and people still won't accept his truth.

God created a Plan, and no matter how hard the people of earth try, they will never cause it to fail! And try, they do. And that is the constant conflict between the darkness and the light. But within that context, there is a lesson for us. Darkness is always surrounding us, and at times, it nearly overwhelms us. But when the Light is revealed, the darkness is forced back, and everything that it tries to hide is revealed. Truth comes to “light” and evil flees! Life comes in the light and death is no more! Hope appears in the light and despair becomes a thing of the past! The Word brings true relationship and the fear of loneliness vaporizes.

And it all begins with the Light that all followers of Christ are called to reflect into this dark and hurting world. There are many beginnings for our lives – the beginning of creation, the beginning of Christ’s humanity, the beginning of our humanity, the beginning of our faith in Jesus Christ, the beginning of our shining the Light of Christ for others.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, [and] the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” This statement is the beginning of our Advent – our preparation to receive the Light and Word of God for our lives. And it is the beginning of our living a life that testifies to the truth of God and reflects his glorious Light on those who have yet to know all that the Lord would have them know.

This is our joy - this is our blessing. And it will only get better!

"Lesson #3: Avoid the Spirt of Fear"

Scripture: Matthew 25:14-30

On the surface, a life in Christ is seen as a joy-filled and glorious existence. But as we grow in faith, and our faith deepens, and our knowledge of the call that Jesus places on our lives becomes clearer, questions inevitably arise. In God’s view, what does it mean to be “good”, and what happens if we are “wicked”? What is involved in being faithful, and what is “falling short” all about? How does joy fill us, and how does fear force it out? How much is enough?

The questions could go on for quite some time, and it is only after years of personal reflection and study that we can even begin to get some of them answered. But even then, the questions will continue to greatly outnumber the answers! But as we read Jesus’ parables and study his teaching, some of the haze will begin to lift, and his light will begin to shine through.
Over the past several weeks, we considered the question of what it means to be great in the Lord, and then we learned the lesson that preparation for his return is not something to take lightly. Today, we begin to scratch the surface of what the difference between “goodness” and “wickedness” is all about, and what it means for our lives.

As we journey through our text today, our tendency will be to try to define the above terms with human understanding, instead of the Lord’s But remember that it is God’s definition and insight that we seek.

Read Matthew 25:14-18

Jesus’ words speak of money that is assigned to three servants, with the apparent, but unspoken, expectation that they will use the resources to grow the master’s estate while he is out of town. But Jesus isn’t concerned with money, and he isn’t concerned with legal obedience, per se, and actually he isn’t concerned with the magnitude of the return on his investment. What he is concerned about is a “good and faithful” response from each of his servants when they use the gifts that he has entrusted to them.

So the first question today is – why does he divvy up the “money”, if indeed this is about money (!) in such a strange way? Why isn’t the allocation more equitable? Why isn’t each servant given the same responsibility?
Let’s begin by establishing who the characters in the parable represent – and it actually is quite transparent. The master is the Lord God Almighty, and the servants are obviously you and me - those who are in the Church. And the “money”? What does that represent? Those are the God-given gifts that each of us have received. So here is the bottom line – God has bestowed on each of his people certain abilities, and while he is absent from the earth, the people are to use each of them in a way that will bring glory to our divine Master.

Well, that seems to be pretty straight forward, but moving back to the servants, there doesn’t seem to be any instructions for them to follow, so how are they to know what is expected from them? Our secular employment has some fairly strict guidelines regarding what is expected from us – production quotas, assignment completion dates and times, sales goals, and other very specific and measurable expectations that are based on volume and quality of performance.
But our 3 servants get none of that. They receive resources that we are told are based on their abilities, but nothing more. No assignment, no goal, no process, no direction whatsoever! So what are they to do?

One more item, before we consider the question, just to establish perspective – one reference that I read indicated that a talent was worth about 15 years of income. If we earn $40-50,000 a year, that would mean that one talent today would be worth somewhere around $600-750,000! Maybe even more!

So what does this mean for us? In Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, and Ephesians 4:11-16, we read about some of the spiritual gifts that will come to us from God. This list is fairly extensive, but is, by no means, exhaustive. 1 Corinthians 12 would have us understand that no one receives all of the gifts, and that any particular gift isn’t given to everyone. But regardless of the gifts that come and how they are distributed, 1 Peter 4:10-11 tells us what we are to do with them.
We are to use them to serve others in a way that brings glory to God.

Read Matthew 25:19-25

The servant with 5 talents gained 5 more for his master. The servant who had 2 talents gained 2 more for his master. The final result was different for each of them, but the master’s response was identical – (v.21) “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” The results were different, but the master saw them in identical light – they had done exactly what he had expected of them, and he was very pleased.
But what about the third servant who had buried his talent? What had he earned for his master? The only thing he brought was a spirit of fear! There was no glory, no celebration, no reward, and the master was not pleased! But the servant had preserved the gift – he hadn’t lost it, it hadn’t diminished, it was in the same condition as when the master gave it to him. Wasn’t that enough? And the answer is “Apparently not!” It seems the master wanted him to use the gift, regardless of what may come from his actions!

So what does this mean for us? It means that the Lord doesn’t judge our Christian faith - our Christian life - based on how much we do. It doesn’t matter how many souls we gain for the Kingdom, it doesn’t matter how many meals we serve to the poor, it doesn’t matter how many committees we serve on, it doesn’t even matter if we go to worship multiple times each week – what matters is whether we are sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with others - as John Wesley said, “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” And we do this so that praise and glory and honor might come to our Lord.

Different people will do this in different ways, but we all must be doing these things in a way that others will be welcomed into the kingdom and that God will be glorified. But when we hesitate to share the name of Jesus, when we fail to reach out to the needs of others, when we keep our salvation safely tucked away within our own dark recesses, we bring nothing to the Lord except our own oppressive “spirit of fear”. And that is not glory.

Read Matthew 25:26-30

The third servant was afraid to use the trust that his master had given him. It was his fear of the master that guided his actions - not his respect, and definitely not his love. It grained nothing for the master, and it brought less than nothing to the man. He had the trust and respect of his lord, but he couldn’t return his trust and respect to him, simply because fear prevented it.

What does Jesus want from us? Certainly not our fear of failure, not our hesitation to take a step in Christ’s name, not our reluctance to try, not our limitations. The Lord only wants our trust and respect and love, and he wants us to use the very gifts that he has given us to touch the lives of others.

Is walking and serving with Jesus a scary proposition? Sometimes, but every time we reach out in his name, every time we do some little thing that the Lord is calling us to do, great things will come from it. From 1 Peter 4:11 – “... do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised though Jesus Christ.” The gifts that we use are God’s, and the success that comes from our actions are God’s, and the glory that results from our small, risky steps rise up to the heavens, and when they do, the joy and blessing of God come right back down to us.

But remember what came back down to the one who lived a life of fear? He lost everything that he had been given, and the master told him that he was no longer worthy to be his servant.
Our God is not a god of fear, not a god of limitation, not a god who leaves us on our own, but he is the Lord of expectation – the expectation that we will use the gifts he gives us to his glory, and not to our own. When we are faithful in a few small things, he will return blessings upon blessings upon blessings to us. His glory will one day become our glory, and the victory that is in Jesus Christ will, one day, be ours, too.

And isn’t that enough?

"Lesson #2: Be Prepared"

Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13

“Be Prepared” should be the sermon title for Boy Scout Sunday, not today - but here it is just the same. And maybe that’s good – preparation should be part of our everyday lives, and yet few of us ever take it seriously. Oh, some folks are prepared well in advance of any event – they are packed for the trip to visit relatives 3 days before they leave; all the “fixings” for Thanksgiving dinner are ready by Tuesday; and they are always the first ones to get to church, just so they can greet everyone else as they arrive.
These folks are not the norm, and the rest of us like to call them “obsessive-compulsive”. And yet these are the ones who are never late for an appointment, they always have clean clothes for a week in advance, and they have never, ever, in their entire life, let their car run out of gas.
And 90% of the world looks down on them? Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? And this issue of being prepared is the very lesson that we see in our parable for today.

As with all of Jesus’ parables, there will always be questions regarding the realism of the story. I have known folks who focus completely on the facts of the parable, and try to nit-pick the story apart on that basis alone. And in doing so, they completely miss the theological significance of the narrative. And the truth is that everything that Jesus said, or did, or taught, has a lesson for us that is related to our relationship with Almighty God.
Today’s scripture tells of a group of people who are waiting for the wedding party to arrive for the marriage celebration, so what is it about, if it isn’t about a wedding? What was Jesus trying to teach us regarding our life with him?

Read Matthew 25:1-5

“The kingdom of heaven will be like …” Jesus told 7 parables that began with these words, and from this, we can see that the Lord placed a very high priority on our need to understand what was coming to our lives, and how we must be ready to receive it.
The first lesson in this parable is that being prepared is not the same as being alert! The 10 virgins (some translations read “Bridesmaids”) all knew that the guest of honor would be along soon, but they didn’t know the exact time. They all had their lamps lit, and they all waited, and waited, and waited. The difference, though, is that half of them took additional fuel with them, just in case they had to wait longer than expected. The others had their lamp with them, but assumed, incorrectly, that they wouldn’t have to wait long. And in their wait, they all fell asleep.

There are, of course, many references in scripture to the word “sleep”. Sometimes, it simply means inattentive, such as “he’s asleep at the switch”, but in other instances, it is used as a metaphor for death. Either way, the word implies the inability to do anything further in preparation for a coming event or time.

Lesson #1 – this is about the church. All are eager to see the Lord finally arrive, but only a few are truly prepared to receive him when he finally appears. The preparations in faith that we have already put in place are the only ones that will matter when he calls us home.

Read Matthew 25:6-9

The honored guest is on the way, and the hue and cry goes up – “He’s here - he’s finally here! Come and give him honor!” And everyone wakes up at the sound. And again, whether this refers to the restoration of our attentiveness, or to the time of the great resurrection, we aren’t sure – and maybe it’s both! But the point here is that all 10 “trimmed their lamps”, which means that they cleaned the wick and added more oil to give more light. But 5 of the maids didn’t have any additional oil to fill their lamps with, and no matter how clean your wick may be, if there isn’t any fuel in your lamp, it won’t give any light!

Jesus was telling the people, and in particular the Pharisees, that a “clean life” was certainly important. But if your “inside” – your heart - was empty, there was no way the Spirit could shine within your soul. The 5 virgins who were out of “fuel” went to buy some more, but would the stores be open? Would there be enough time? Could they make up for lost time? Would they be back before the host arrived?

There are many, both within and outside the church, who think there is plenty of time to make their lives ready to receive Jesus, and each and every one has put themselves in the same boat with the 5 foolish women. If we knew the day and hour that Christ will return, that attitude might work, but no one does. Not the preachers, not the evangelists, not the worship teams, not the most faithful Christian you have ever met, not even Jesus! He has warned us about this, and if we don’t listen, whose fault do you think it is?

Read Matthew 25:10-13

“Those who were ready went in ... And the door was closed.” Some folks would say that this just isn’t fair! Why should anyone be excluded from the celebration, just because they weren’t ready to show honor to the groom? So what if their lamp went out – they wanted to come to the feast, and therefore they should be allow to join in!

The answer to the question may be as simple as this - that if they couldn’t put a little effort forth in preparing to be respectful before the banquet began, what makes anyone think that they will be respectful during the banquet? After all, they thought that they were entitled to attend simply because they wanted to attend! But Jesus tells us that the expectation for entry to the banquet is so minimal, that refusal to do what is asked in preparation is paramount to an insult! If the 5 couldn’t show honor and respect, then why should they receive honor and respect?
And when they try to enter the hall after the party has begun, what does the bridegroom say? “I don’t know you!” In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus says “Many will say on that day ‘Lord, Lord’, did we not prophesy … and drive out demons … and perform many miracles?” The point is that it isn’t enough to do things in the name of Jesus – it isn’t enough to know about Jesus – it isn’t enough to speak his name. The truth of the matter is that we must know him and be known by him.

So what does this parable have to do with the Kingdom? Everything!
1. Jesus is on his way to consummate the grandest “marriage” of all time. In John 14:1-7, Jesus offers some words that may have been confusing to the disciples. He talks about “going to make a place” for them, and actually, this is an integral part of the traditional Jewish marriage proposal. And when he returns, he will take his “bride” – the Church – to be his own for eternity. And he says that this promise is only for those who know him. It is all about our accepting the intimate relationship that he has offered to us.
2. The time of his arrival is still unknown. It could be any day now, or it could be years before he comes, so the best course of action is to get ready now. To wait for a “better time” may be too late.
3. The time to prepare for the Lord’s return is now. To wait until the day of his arrival to develop a relationship with him just won’t work. The “light” of your life will have run out of fuel, and if we aren’t willing to give him the honor he deserves now, “then” will never be sufficient.
4. And if the relationship is insufficient, we will be an unknown quantity, and the door will remain shut to us.

Jesus is calling us into relationship with him while we are still alive in this life, but the full impact, the full significance of a life in him will be obscured until that glorious day when Jesus reappears on earth. And at that time, all will be revealed, all will be made clear, and we will know.

If you have never accepted Christ’s offer of a life in him, then today is the day. Won’t you pray this prayer with me and accept him as your Lord and Savior?

Lord Jesus, I know that I am unworthy to be your beloved. I have sinned against you and have turned away from you. But I am weary, I am carrying a heavy burden, and I just can’t go on anymore. Lord, I know that you have suffered greatly on my behalf – you have taken the death that I so richly deserve, and have destroyed it. I seek your forgiveness for the life I have lived, and I desire the newness and wholeness of true Life that can only come from you. Lord Jesus, my greatest desire is to claim you as my Lord, and my Redeemer, and my Savior this very day. Amen.

Amen.

"Missionaries"

Scripture: Luke 10:1-12

Today, we had a young family - Chris and Tracy Pousseur, along with their young daughters Ella and Jemma - with us in worship. They are currently in preparation to enter the mission field, and in about a year, they will be moving to Japan to serve through an organization called TEAM. The following are some notes that I took during their presentation.

So why do they feel called to go to Japan? The truth is that Japan has not always been their destination, and TEAM was not always their supporting organization! Before Chris and Tracey were even married, they felt the Lord's call to mission, but they both felt that it would be to Africa. So shortly after their wedding, they went to South Africa with Youth With A Mission. They spent two months in outreach there, and both grew significantly in their life in Christ, but the more they experienced, the more uncertain they became over their presence in South Africa. And while in worship one day, Chris became aware that God's call on them wasn't to Africa, but to Asia.

They journeyed to Singapore to explore their call even further, but very soon, they realized that their call wasn't to 3rd world Asia, but to Japan. Japan, they would discover, is the 2nd largest unreached country in the world - only 2% of the Japanese population is Christian. There is a tremendous need for missionaries there, but few who actually go (see the selected scripture again!!) Materialism has a very great hold on the people, and the fathers in nearly all families are not just the "bread winners", but the "luxury gainers". Women, for the most part, remain in the homes to care for the family, and the fathers, due to their obsession with employment, have limited contact with their children. The family is in peril of a breakdown, and both Chris and Tracy feel that a major part of their mission will be to model the Christian Family to the people they will meet.

And the need is not only great, but it is slowly being recognized b y the younger generation. The Gospel is still not readily accepted in Japan, but the young are beginning to seek a way that must be better, and lives are starting to open up to Christ and his way.

They are gifted in artistic ways, as well as in their relationship with each and with the Lord Jesus Christ, and this will be the basis for their ministry to the people of Japan. Their focus will be based in Matthew 28:16-20, Jesus' Great Commission to his Church.

If you are wiling to support them in prayer, please do so. If you are able to support Chris and Tracy financially, please do so through their section on the TEAM website - just enter Pousseur in the "Select a Missionary or Project" field.

"Lesson #1: The Lower Place is Best"

Scripture: Matthew 23:1-12

For the next 4 weeks, we will be looking at some of Jesus’ teachings on what living in him is all about. He was always introducing “upside down thinking” to the people, and it never failed to amaze some, confuse a few more, and irritate all the rest. The problem was always that age old, 7 word adage that some claim will be the death of the Church – “We’ve never done it that way before!”
If we could only live life the way Jesus did, there would never be as much anxiety and uncertainty in our lives. We would never have to change – we would already be on the right track. But for some reason, God’s ways never seem to mesh with ours. And since there seems to be a disconnect between us and the Lord, we decide, since we are always “right”, that it is God who must have made a mistake and that his ways need to change. Good luck with that!

So until Thanksgiving, we will be considering some of Jesus’ “upside down” lessons that we find in Matthew. Today, we read of Jesus presenting a way of life that stands in stark contrast to the ways that the Jewish leadership – the Scribes and Pharisees – lived and taught.

Read Matthew 23:1-4

The reference to “Moses’ seat” is not about a physical place, but rather a position of authority. They are the acknowledged leaders, both societal and religious, in the life of Israel, and the Lord says that the people must follow their teaching. Now note that Jesus doesn’t say that the law is true to the way of God – he simply emphasizes that the Law of Moses is the law of the land. Perhaps this is comparable to his statement to “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” (Mark 12:13-17, and others) He says that we live under law – the law of society, the law of the church, and the Law of God – and that they aren’t always in agreement with each other, they aren’t always complementary to each other. But give them all honor and obedience just the same.
So his problem isn’t with the law, per se, but rather with the way that the teachers of the law live their lives within the law. “They don’t practice what they preach!” The issue at hand is that teaching the truth is one thing, but the way the teacher acts speaks much louder their voice! They were offering two conflicting messages and the people were never sure which way they should live.
There is some thought that both the Pharisees and the leaders of the fledgling Church were, and would be, placing unreasonable expectations on the people. Leaders and teachers have always had an obligation to live a moral life that is at least one step above that of others. In James 3:1 we read “you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” While that may not seem fair to the teachers and leaders, it all comes back to the fact that their lives, as well as their words, were a means of teaching, and consistency in thought and action is always vitally important. And the leaders may have been pushing this expectation on all of the people, while ignoring it in their own lives.

Think back in your life to a trusted teacher, a respected pastor, a good neighbor who you were confident with and whose example you were willing to follow. And then one day, some deep dark secret was revealed that destroyed every good thought that you ever had for them. For all intents and purposes, their outward life was but a shell – a camouflage – of the real life that was working its way within them. And you could no longer believe anything they said.

That was the situation that was prevalent in Israel. Jesus said that these teachers were placing great expectations on the people – that they were required to follow every nuance of the law while the teachers gave themselves a pass on many of them. And that was wrong.

Read Matthew 23:5-7

Back in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, God gives the commandment to love the Lord and all that he stands for, to be obvious in your obedience by keeping the commandments in your heart and on your hands and forehead, and to teach your children to obey him at every opportunity. Phylacteries were small boxes that contained the commandment, and they were hung on the forehead and on the wrists.
The Pharisees wore the commandments, but living them was a totally different matter. Micah 6:8 calls us to “walk humbly with your God”, but these teachers were anything but humble. Their pride and arrogance was far more obvious than their phylacteries were.
They wanted to be honored for their position by all who came their way; they wanted to be given the best seats in the house at banquets and parties so that everyone would know that they were important; they wanted to be sought after to teach in the synagogues. They lived for personal honor and glory but they never even came close to deserving it.

Read Matthew 23:8-12

I can see it now – as Jesus is speaking of their desire to be shown great respect, the teachers are all nodding their heads in agreement – why certainly they expect this, they deserve it, and no one had better deny them the honors. But then Jesus begins to take them apart.
I think that the key phrase in this section is “and you are all brothers”. These men of authority believed that they were above the masses, that they had certain privileges that others did not, that they deserved their positions and that others had better do what they said. But Jesus tells the people that they are, in truth, no better and no worse than anyone else – that all are equal in the sight of the Lord.

And now we need to consider once more just who the audience consisted of as Jesus continued in his teaching. At the beginning of verse 1 we read “Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples ...” The crowds always consisted of a mix of people - those who were followers of the Christ, those who wanted to learn from his teaching, those who were curious, and, of course, the Pharisees and scribes who were out to find something that they could use against the Lord. The crowds were a broad representation of society, but the reference to “disciples” was very specific.
Remember that the disciples would become the standard bearers for the Church after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven. So Jesus’ words were more than just a condemnation of the authorities – it was a call to the leadership of the new Church to live Christ-like lives. And it is a call that survives to this day. But remember that Christian leaders are not just those who hold some recognized position or office – they are all who believe in the precepts of Jesus Christ and who others look to as a Christian example.

One of the charges that a Bishop gives to newly ordained pastors is to “Take Authority”. The implication is that they are to take the authority that Christ conveys on them as pastors, which means that they are to be Christ to the world. Unfortunately, some take this charge to mean that they have the authority to do whatever they think is necessary! And with that attitude in their hearts, they become worse than the worse Pharisee who ever lived!

The authority of Jesus means that we live as Jesus lived – humble; servant hearted; loving of all; claiming, living and teaching the truth of God as revealed in Christ Jesus; and never putting themselves, nor allowing themselves, to be put on a pedestal for all to stand before in awe and honor.

Don’t allow your positions and titles to set you apart from others.
Don’t become prideful in your authority to teach and lead and shape.
Don’t seek to be seen as someone who is head and shoulders above everyone else in faith.

But trying to remember all the rules is a trying task to say the least! So instead, just try to emulate the life of Jesus. Be the humble servant whose greatest desire is to wash the feet of their friends; be the person who stands on God’s ways and never deviates, no matter what might come your way; be the one who finds extreme joy in serving God and other people, who loves others far beyond what they deserve and far beyond what they return to you.

That’s what Jesus did and was. The world will tell us to take the high road – that it is the only one that leads to great success, but the way of Jesus is never the world’s way. He took the lower, less significant, more unassuming way in this life, and he tells us that this way is the best one for us, too.