This was sent to me by Karen Fox to share with the church. I wish I could have shared this on Sunday, but just received it yesterday.
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I was meditating on Isaiah 9:6-7. In the Message Bible, I wanted to read to the congregation the following verses:
For a child has been born – for us!
The gift of a son – for us!
He'll take over the running of the world.
His names will be: Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness.
His ruling authority will grow, and there'll be no limits to the wholeness he brings.
He'll rule from the historic David throne over that promised kingdom.
He'll put that kingdom on a firm footing and keep it going with fair dealing and right living, beginning now and lasting always.
(the bold section is verses 6 and 7, and where I concentrated my meditation)
This passage brought some perspective to how I would like to experience Christmas this year. I want my focus to be on Jesus and the purpose for his coming, just like Pastor Paul mentioned a couple Sundays ago. And I want my heart to be right with God.
What I appreciate the most in this passage is that I can rely on one God, the true God, to be the ruler of my heart and my life. I like that I have only one ruling authority in my life, ultimately one to be accountable to (although, we as the Body of Christ are accountable to one another as well, which is an act of obedience to our God). I was thinking how having one God to worship and obey really does simplify things.
The Scriptures say that there are no limits to the wholeness Christ brings to our lives. At this time of year, many people can feel rather fragmented and harried with the additional tasks that the Christmas season brings. I just wanted to encourage everyone with this passage of hope. If you start to feel frazzled or disillusioned by the hussle and bussle of Christmas, think on the ruling authority in your lives, remind yourselves of the reason for Jesus Christ's birth and His purpose to restore us back to wholeness and purity, and allow yourselves to rest in the limitless peace He wants you to experience at this time of year and into the next.
Our hope is secure because we know that His authority will grow in this world, that all people will eventually end up bowing to Him, and that the power of sin has been conquered by Christ's death so that we as believers can be restored to wholeness.
The passage really encouraged me to reclaim a sense of peace this Christmas, a peace without limits, and allow God to sustain it, knowing that His rule and His will is occurring right now on earth and will last forever. Our peace never needs to end when we trust in God's rule and take on Christ's righteousness.
Be blessed this holiday season.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Best Moment of 2008
Hey, no one can deny it, some Sundays are better than others. I've given up trying to predict it. Several theories like attendance, my own preparation and the weather have all been considered, then rejected. For some divine reason, God shows up and people's hearts are in the right place on certain Sundays more than others.
Since it's the year-end and the media has just begun it's annual 'best-of-the-year' analysis of movies, music, internet sites, etc, I thought I'd give you my 'best of' for Sundays this year. It's such an easy answer for me. It was such a great moment for our church, it left me thinking and talking about it over my holidays which commenced the moment I left the church building that Sunday. And it may surprise you that I didn't even preach on the Sunday in question.
I'm speaking of Thanksgiving Sunday. In the spirit of 1 Timothy 4:4 "For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving", I had asked the church over the several Sundays prior, to come prepared to give thanks. I had no one tell me that they were going to share, but Tim suggested having an 'open mic' time where people could get up. The response was nothing other than the Spirit working in our church. It was both what people said (the heart-honesty was beautiful), and who said it (not just the usual people who you would expect to share). There was real, meaningful thanksgiving for prayers that were answered over the year (some after many years of prayer). It wasn't just generic expressions of thanks, but specific things like getting jobs, new babies, someone gave thanks to God for their 'beautiful wife' and I wanted to stand up and cheer because we are really seeing God as good to us. Even children drew what they were thankful for and shared it with the whole church.
It is the best moment for our church because I see it fulfilling what our seven-month series in Acts teaching. It was about God's people listening to the Spirit and not being afraid to say so.
There were other Sundays that deserve mention, like the weeks we had baptisms, the outdoor service in June, or the week we were outnumbered by a massive family reunion that visited our church. But Thanksgiving Sunday in my mind was tops.
Since it's the year-end and the media has just begun it's annual 'best-of-the-year' analysis of movies, music, internet sites, etc, I thought I'd give you my 'best of' for Sundays this year. It's such an easy answer for me. It was such a great moment for our church, it left me thinking and talking about it over my holidays which commenced the moment I left the church building that Sunday. And it may surprise you that I didn't even preach on the Sunday in question.
I'm speaking of Thanksgiving Sunday. In the spirit of 1 Timothy 4:4 "For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving", I had asked the church over the several Sundays prior, to come prepared to give thanks. I had no one tell me that they were going to share, but Tim suggested having an 'open mic' time where people could get up. The response was nothing other than the Spirit working in our church. It was both what people said (the heart-honesty was beautiful), and who said it (not just the usual people who you would expect to share). There was real, meaningful thanksgiving for prayers that were answered over the year (some after many years of prayer). It wasn't just generic expressions of thanks, but specific things like getting jobs, new babies, someone gave thanks to God for their 'beautiful wife' and I wanted to stand up and cheer because we are really seeing God as good to us. Even children drew what they were thankful for and shared it with the whole church.
It is the best moment for our church because I see it fulfilling what our seven-month series in Acts teaching. It was about God's people listening to the Spirit and not being afraid to say so.
There were other Sundays that deserve mention, like the weeks we had baptisms, the outdoor service in June, or the week we were outnumbered by a massive family reunion that visited our church. But Thanksgiving Sunday in my mind was tops.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Egg Bread Recipe
I've made this egg bread recipe at our church before and had good comments about it. I recently made some to freeze for our celebration of the coming ruler and thought I would share it. I think it's tops, and have been working with it for a while now. All credit goes to my father who taught me how to make it (who in turn would thank someone who taught him of course). Having been working on bread a lot in recent months I am realizing how bread recipes are something that need perfecting and personalizing to get right. I'm not there with any of mine yet, but a fresh load of bread that isn't quite right is always better than anything you'd buy at the store.
Egg Bread
Prepare the following:
#1 - Pot on low heat (melt butter, dissolve sugar/salt, add milk and warm)
½ Cup Butter
4 Tbsp Sugar
2 tsp Salt
½ Cup Milk
#2 - Large Warm Bowl (dissolve sugar, add yeast and let sit 10 minutes)
1 Cup Warm Water
2 tsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Yeast
#3 - Small Bowl
4 Eggs whisked
#4 - Medium Bowl
6 Cups of Flour
Add #1 to #2, then add #3, then mix in the flour in two stages
Knead to perfection
Put in greased, covered bowl to rise until doubled (1 hour)
Punch down, divide into six equal parts and let rest 10 minutes
Roll each part until it is a little longer than the bread pan
Braid three together and place in buttered load pans
Place buttered paper towel over to avoid drying out
Let rise 30 minutes
Brush with beaten egg
Bake 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees
Egg Bread
Prepare the following:
#1 - Pot on low heat (melt butter, dissolve sugar/salt, add milk and warm)
½ Cup Butter
4 Tbsp Sugar
2 tsp Salt
½ Cup Milk
#2 - Large Warm Bowl (dissolve sugar, add yeast and let sit 10 minutes)
1 Cup Warm Water
2 tsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Yeast
#3 - Small Bowl
4 Eggs whisked
#4 - Medium Bowl
6 Cups of Flour
Add #1 to #2, then add #3, then mix in the flour in two stages
Knead to perfection
Put in greased, covered bowl to rise until doubled (1 hour)
Punch down, divide into six equal parts and let rest 10 minutes
Roll each part until it is a little longer than the bread pan
Braid three together and place in buttered load pans
Place buttered paper towel over to avoid drying out
Let rise 30 minutes
Brush with beaten egg
Bake 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees
Do we celebrate suffering?
Christmas is the daddy of all celebrations. Only at a wedding can I think of a greater celebration. Gift-giving, feasting, family travel, etc are only common this time of year. If your celebration is closely tied to Christmas as a faith holiday, then why all this celebrating? Do we feast because of the nativity story? The meaning of the story is God coming into our sin-filled earth to suffer a life and death he did not deserve. Is this something to bake special cookies for? I actually don't think so.
Matthew 17:12
But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.
Acts 17:3
explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.
While it is certainly good for us, and shows the kindness of God, the suffering messiah doesn't cause me to plan a party. The suffering messiah is the only way our salvation has been earned for us. It is also a important story that we must tell each other. But it doesn't cause me celebrate. What does cause me to feast is the broader message of Advent, which should focus more on Jesus' coming as ruler.
Luke 1:31-33
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Jesus is coming - he is coming to topple the rulers of the earth and set up his own authority so God can live with us in a life without sin. No more crying, no more sickness, no more sadness, no more pain, no more death. This is something to celebrate. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel.
Matthew 17:12
But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.
Acts 17:3
explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.
While it is certainly good for us, and shows the kindness of God, the suffering messiah doesn't cause me to plan a party. The suffering messiah is the only way our salvation has been earned for us. It is also a important story that we must tell each other. But it doesn't cause me celebrate. What does cause me to feast is the broader message of Advent, which should focus more on Jesus' coming as ruler.
Luke 1:31-33
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Jesus is coming - he is coming to topple the rulers of the earth and set up his own authority so God can live with us in a life without sin. No more crying, no more sickness, no more sadness, no more pain, no more death. This is something to celebrate. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Birthdays
We don't all celebrate birthdays with the same fervor. Whether you expect cake, presents and surprises, or, if you are all too familiar with the concept of belated birthday cards, it is helpful to know that not all cultures are as excited about celebrating the anniversary of birth. We celebrate Jesus' birthday at Christmas, but in the New Testament there is no hint of such commemoration. (For this reason we are not sure of the actual date of Jesus' birth). Instead of celebrating birthdays, the people of Jesus' culture commemorated someone's 'death day'. In the case of Jesus, they celebrated neither, but made it their practice to celebrate the day of his resurrection. And they did this not annually, but weekly by commemorating Sundays.
Before you throw out your manger scene though, it is helpful to remember that it is not the holiday surrounding his birth that is important in scripture, but the meaning of his birth. It is like his death day which is understood as the culminating act of God earning our salvation for us. His birth also has great meaning as it is the beginning of the acts of God that earned our salvation for us. Colossians 1:15-23 speaks of Jesus' existence as God before he came to earth. Philippians 2:1-11 speaks of Jesus' humility coming to earth. And John's gospel speaks many times of eternal quality and humble birth of Jesus though he suffers greatly for us (see 1:1-18, 6:14, 7:25-31, 8:12-20, 8:58, 12:46, 16:28, 18:37).
There is no command from God to commemorate Jesus' birthday, but to know the meaning of his birth. This is the purpose of our advent focus this year. We take time to hear each other read scripture and consider what this means to us. God coming into the world is our only hope of salvation, a future with him, dominion over sin in our lives, the life of the Spirit, and belonging in his church.
Before you throw out your manger scene though, it is helpful to remember that it is not the holiday surrounding his birth that is important in scripture, but the meaning of his birth. It is like his death day which is understood as the culminating act of God earning our salvation for us. His birth also has great meaning as it is the beginning of the acts of God that earned our salvation for us. Colossians 1:15-23 speaks of Jesus' existence as God before he came to earth. Philippians 2:1-11 speaks of Jesus' humility coming to earth. And John's gospel speaks many times of eternal quality and humble birth of Jesus though he suffers greatly for us (see 1:1-18, 6:14, 7:25-31, 8:12-20, 8:58, 12:46, 16:28, 18:37).
There is no command from God to commemorate Jesus' birthday, but to know the meaning of his birth. This is the purpose of our advent focus this year. We take time to hear each other read scripture and consider what this means to us. God coming into the world is our only hope of salvation, a future with him, dominion over sin in our lives, the life of the Spirit, and belonging in his church.
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