We have talked about how we experience the themes of Christmas, HOPE, PEACE, JOY, and LOVE through Jesus’ first advent, but how each of these themes are sadly muted from our reality today. We experience them in some way, but they are sometimes overshadowed by sin and our broken world. We experience them in part, but a day is coming when we will experience them fully…
Since the gift isn’t a thing, but a person, the gift is given as an invitation into relationship. God invites us not to just enjoy a disembodied blessing, but to enjoy relational closeness with Himself. He wants us to come and experience Him, to enjoy His closeness, to enjoy life as He created it to be …
The story of the first advent is a story of the reversal of fortunes which results in JOY for the humble…
God notices the lowly, raises up the humble, forgives the sinner, and rewards the righteous. While the proud, powerful, and prosperous may experience circumstantial happiness, they will miss out on the deep satisfaction of joy that comes from positioning ourselves under the care and control of the God of heaven…
When the story ends, and Jesus returns to establish His eternal Kingdom, peace, joy and love will be given freely to those who humble themselves before God…
As Christians today, we live in the middle between the manger and the Kingdom come. We have received the promise of the presence of Christ in us, the hope of glory. We know the promise that He is coming back again to establish His rule and reign in a new Kingdom on earth.
We know that what we hope for will be delivered because He who promised it is trustworthy and true. But until that day, like Christians of old, we wait with anticipation, with preparation, learning His way and living it well.
The crowds that followed Jesus did so at their own choice, in fact they did so at the deference of the religious establishment. No one guilted them to be there. They were drawn to Jesus for a variety of reasons, but it wasn’t power or control or shame or fear that kept them there…
As Jesus manifested Himself in the Church and people were drawn to the beauty of His being, people gave themselves in devotion to not only Jesus, but to His Church… Devotion to Jesus manifested itself in corporate worship and teaching, fellowship, hospitality, prayer, generosity and repentance…. There is always a horizontal element to the vertical…
Our posture towards people who sin needs to change because we are all sinners. So our posture towards others both inside and outside of the church needs to be that of compassion and grace. Openness about our own struggle, understanding of our common spiritual position and need for Jesus. Instead, we openly confess our sins to one another and graciously support one another in our quest for healing. Sin is a universal disease and can only be cured when it is referred to Jesus for healing…
Our purpose as a church is to know Jesus and make Him known, by making disciples who bring the light of Jesus to the world. We are the light of the world, the workers in His harvest field.