Fourth Sunday in Advent ~ Change Comes

image First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:5-10)

The end of Advent brings the beginning of everything else…everything changes because of the single moment in history when Jesus sets aside his crown and comes to walk among us. A single moment…a holy birth…a changed world. God set aside the futility of the old sacrificial system, a set of laws that man could not satisfy in his own power and provided the perfect lamb.

One single moment changed everything…God elected to place the perfect lamb in our midst…He elected to become the perfect sacrifice for those who would believe and obey…the single Christmas moment changes everything.

Has it changed you?

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Advent Benediction – Little Town of Bethlehem

For the final Sunday of this year’s Advent season, my benediction looks toward the tiny town of Bethlehem for the momentous event that changed everything for history and for you and me…

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Bethlehem Benediction [Micah 5:2-5]

Out of tiny Bethlehem came the Brightest Morning Star,

the Glory of God,

The Son, our Savior.

Out of tiny Bethlehem came the Shepherd of our flock,

He stands in the strength of the Lord,

He stands in the majesty of the name of God.

He is our salvation and security.

Be blessed in the majestic name of Jesus,

Son of God,

Holy Shepherd,

Holy One of Israel,

Your Salvation and Strength.

Be a blessing to others though you may feel as tiny as Bethlehem.

Show the Love of Jesus.

Live as the Son lived.

Help others find the Shepherd, The Holy One, Their Salvation and Strength.

May the blessing be birthed in you.

Amen

O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie;

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, The silent stars go by.

Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting light;

The hopes and fears of all the years, Are in thee tonight.

Phillips Brooks/Lewis Redner

Bonus Christmas Giveaway!

imageWaterBrook Press has graciously provided an additional, never-before-read, untouched by human eyes, paper fresh copy of the book 40 Loaves : Breaking Bread with Our Father Each Day and I want you to have it! This would make a great Christmas gift or something you tuck away for yourself. I’ve never had a giveaway here before so here’s how we’re going to do this:

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Anyone who reads one the Advent posts (see the Advent Resources up there on the menu?) and leaves a comment there will be entered in the drawing on Monday, December 21. If you’re not into Advent then just leave a comment here with some link that let’s me get in touch with you.

Merry Christmas

Fear of the Church Calendar

imageWhile many liturgical churches retain the celebration of the various seasons of the historical church calendar, it seems to have lost favor among much of the modern Church. Christmas and Easter are certainly recognized but the preceding weeks of Advent and Lent have fallen from the consciousness of churchgoers and worship leaders. When was the last time your church celebrated Pentecost? The loss of the calendar for our worship serves to ultimately weaken our worship and worse, it allows the events of the world to dictate our schedules.

The idea behind the calendar of church life comes from God in creation. In six days he marked each new aspect of creation and then rested on the seventh showing us the pattern for different times of life having their own purposes. In the Old Testament the Jewish year revolved around three feasts (Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles).

“Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.- Exodus 23:14

Christians soon added Easter and the Christmas celebration to the calendar along with the seasons of piety (Lent and Advent) that preceded them. More milestones were added during the passing of year creating what are known as ‘seasons’ within the liturgy. These seasons served a specific purpose that is needed more than ever in our modern worship and that was/is to remind Christians over and over of the major events of God’s story. Be recognizing the period of the calendar in which we live and share life together we gain a greater sense of our place alongside all of the saints who have preceded us in history and those things we all share in common.

Birth of the Savior ~ Christmas

Rebirth and Second Coming of the Savior ~ Advent

Death of the Savior ~ Lent & Holy Week

Resurrection of the Savior ~ Easter

Coming of the Holy Spirit ~ Pentecost

Christians that recognize their own calendar separate themselves from the time keeping of the world. The calendar reminds us that God remains in charge of time and that everything occurs according to His schedule. When we recognize the seasons of worship that we pass through we begin to see and recognize the false idols of the world that attempt to infiltrate our lives for their own selfish purpose. No longer will we be susceptible to the Christmas decorations that begin to appear at the mall before All Saints Day in an attempt to purge our wallets of treasure. We will trust in God to bring the season as He deems appropriate.

Since the Reformation, there have been repeated movements to rid the Protestant church of anything that appears to Roman in its structure and the liturgy and calendar have been victims of these purges. Worship leaders and pastors especially should consider carefully what has risen to replace them in leading of God’s people. We have no reason to fear the calendar and every reason to restore it to its proper place within God’s Church. Pray on it…

[Originally published at Worship Craft]

40 Loaves: Breaking Bread with Our Father

clip_image001The devotional section of most Christian bookstores is filled with volume after volume of promises for a better tomorrow, the sweetest words of the Lord, and readings that plant nothing but positive seeds of faith in the reader. Many Christians find these an enjoyable way to begin or end the day but for some, they fall short. Some Christians are plagued with questions that seem out of place when arranged against the flowery words or sun-shiny phrases they read; why am I so angry, why do I only pray in emergencies, why don’t I feel safe at church? The overwhelmingly positive daily entries of many volumes seem out of place against the reality of disappointment that we see in our lives and they cause the seeds of doubt that we harbor to germinate. As they grow, the doubts do more than nag at us, they form a core of weakness in our lives that we fear addressing because everyone around us gives the appearance of having it so together. For those of us who struggle, C.D. Baker’s new book, 40 Loaves, arranges all the things we wonder about into daily readings and invitations to meditation and prayer.

When you first begin turning the pages you come upon a truth that is key to absorbing the encouragement contained on these pages. “Wisdom is found when troubled hearts ask honest questions.” Despite a church culture that encourages the formation of a false front, Baker steps up and addresses the questions that we are afraid to ask, the questions that make our faith appear weak and doubtful. Initially, we don’t want to admit that we hold these doubts or suffer from these wayward thoughts because we fear the impression they leave with others, especially in the modern Church where everyone works to appear without issue. Baker knows however, that there are more struggling wanderers than we would like to admit within our midst. Perhaps you and I are among them.

The vignettes that lead each entry draw your eyes and you can’t help but find your reflection in at least one of them. When you notice your picture you also notice the question that has bounced around your heart for days or months or years in bold, black letters. Why is my life such a mess? Why am I bored with church, the Bible, and Jesus? Why am I so angry? The great favor that Baker has done for us is not to give pat answers and then just throw in a couple of proof texts. He has allowed that we can have moments like this in our life and then nudges us to return back to the foundational truths that we know, but have trouble accepting. Like any good guide, He leads us to the spot where we see the sunrise but then lets us notice it for ourselves. God works when we are most honest and put down the facade. Doubts are not magically erased but truth begins the process of reducing their hold on our hearts. When the rays of truth begin to strike us and brighten our countenance, our guide doesn’t turn and leave us. Each entry closes with more questions to ponder and a prayer. Our doubts may not be erased but we will certainly not frame them in the same way. These are pages you can return to again and again and find something new to bring to the Father in your time with Him.

40 Loaves is not for every reader. There are no treacly-sweet pat answers to doubt in this small volume nor does it conclude with an assurance that you will be changed by the simple act of turning the pages. Bread will have to be broken with Him repeatedly. You will see yourself on at least one page and if you have the courage to be honest with self and God, your doubts will be eased and pushed aside by a newly growing robustness in your faith.

 

For more information about this book, have a look here at the Random House web site.

 

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Day Fourteen in the School of Prayer : Forgive…

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“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”  Mark 11:25

Is this an afterthought of the Lord? Coming immediately after that promise of answered prayer in the preceding verse, it appears that Jesus has suddenly made prayer conditional upon the state of your heart. If we extend our reading further we actually discover yet another rehearsal of the Shema of Jesus; Love God with all your heart, mind and soul and love your neighbor likewise. In verse 22, Jesus emphasizes the faith requirements of prayer and a right relationship with God and here He imparts a reminder that this love is to also extend to our fellow man.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus brought up a similar theme. In Matthew verses 23-24, the Lord spoke to the impropriety of worship while holding a grudge toward another. Love for your neighbors is a measure of the love and obedience that you have for God. Has His grace so permeated your soul that it is regularly visited upon your neighbors? If not a return to the altar of the gospel is in order.

Prayer holds the same requirements. God knows your heart and prayer that attempts to cloud the issues that swirl there is useless. Until we are able to know grace that transforms our attitudes toward others, God will continue to work out that aspect of our lives instead of moving us to a more mature relationship. Today is the day to seek out your brother.

Third Sunday in Advent : Rejoice!

image Our Advent watch comes closer and closer to the glorious day on which the Lord came to redeem His beloved by His sacrifice. Isaiah’s prophecy is often read during this celebration and the praise songs of chapter 12 give us the perfect words to exclaim our worship. The pair of psalms is a wonderful call and response to our hearts. First we rehearse the great gift of salvation we are given by our God alone,

Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.

The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. (v2)

With this promise and truth embedded in our hearts our attitudes turn to joy. We are freed from having to enable our own salvation. We do not have to work for it – we cannot work for it. God alone is the source of our salvation and Jesus alone is our Savior. This truth becomes a well from which we can draw living water into our lives on a moment by moment basis. Whenever we feel dry, the well is available. We can draw up the bucket of God’s strength and our joy will be revived.

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

In that day you will say:

“Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name;

make known among the nations what he has done, and prolcaim that his name is exalted.

Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;

let this be known to all the world.

Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you. (vv 3-6)

Say it. Shout it. Tell the world, the Lord has Come!

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Advent Benediction of Rejoicing

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As Mary knew, may you also be blessed to know,

the joy of anticipation, the joy the change to come.

 

The prophets shouted God’s promise,

‘Be glad and rejoice with all your heart;

The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy.’

 

You are blessed in knowing that the Bright Morning Star,

would come,

did come,

and will come.

 

Be blessed, community of faith,

rejoice and share the news and the light of the Star!

God’s greatest blessings on you.

Amen

 

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Day Thirteen in the School of Prayer: Fast!

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Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”  (Matthew 17:19-21)

“Why couldn’t we…”; we must all share this thought of the disciples from time to time. Why do our prayers seem to bounce against the ceiling or seem impotent? Why do we claim faith in the light but question our beliefs in the night? Jesus proclaimed the answer to the disciples, then and now: we have so little faith. Our faith is not muscular but bony and frail, though we might try to portray it otherwise. Appearances have become paramount at the experience of a true sacrificial faith.

Strong faith requires prayer. Strong prayer requires forsaking other things that threaten to derail or weaken that faith. We must be people who fast in order to retrain our sights on that which forms our core. To abstain from food nourishment is to point our souls to the deep well of being nourished in prayer. We can so easily feed our sorrows, fears, and failures and then when satisfied, forget about them. Throwing that crutch aside we must rely on the only thing that will satisfy our deepest hungers for meaning and purpose. As Murray reminds us “Prayer is the one hand with which we grasp the invisible; fasting, the other, with which we let loose and cast away the visible.”