Merry CHRISTmas!

Merry CHRISTmas!

I've been a little (OK a LOT) lax in posting entries. I plan on remedying this. Until my next post...

Jesus’ Birth in Bethlehem

1 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5 in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. 6 While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. 17 When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

- Luke 2:1-20

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

"...the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord'"

- Luke 2:10-11

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family!

What a year this has been and what an awesome time to sit and reflect on the Lord and His blessings. The love that our Father has seems so inconceivable (no, I don't keep using that word). to quote a recent email that I received...

This Christmas…

May your hearts be filled with His Peace
And may your cup runneth over with His Joy
May your life be flooded with His Presence
And may you experience the true essence
of Happiness in Him


This New Year…

May you reach deeper than ever to find Him
May you spend more time getting to know Him
May you reach out to others to share Him
And may you go beyond yourself to please Him

May the joy of the event of our Saviour's birth be yours this Christmas and all through the year.

It All Happened In The Country

Diana recently wrote about a Christmas play that our family had the priviledge of being a part of this past Sunday called It All Happened In The Country. She has some great pictures and even a video up on her blog from the night. Meg, Matt and Jules, along with Diana and I were in the play, while G3 ran the spotlight from the balcony. I don't know what I could add to it, so I will just say that I feel so blessed to be a part of an awesome, caring church. I absolutely love children's plays, the forgotten lines, cute costumes, etc. The innocence of the children singing and talking about God is an incredible sight to witness.

I like to think that our Heavenly Father looks down on these little ones singing and telling the Gospel story and smiles. It's been said, and I believe, that Christmas and Easter are two of the times that people who never or seldom come to church - do come to church. What an awesome way to share the story of God's love through Jesus' birth to all of these people.

Because Truth matters,
George

Graced Again

Here is a wonderful quote to help us turn our mind towards Jesus this Christmas season. I know that a lot of time, we as people, myself included, say that we want to concentrate... focus more on Jesus. We want to put Christ in Christmas.

It's early in December, so I challenge everyone that reads this to turn your attention towards Jesus this month. Let this season be a season of renewal of our faith and may the Lord grant us that we can grasp an inkling of the love our Father has for us.

"(Consider) Mary’s response to the angel. The angel has come to Mary and says: Mary, you are going to give birth to the long-promised Messiah. This was a unique promise, and unrepeatable. There is something totally unique here: the birth of the eternal second Person of the Trinity into this world. What was her response…She could have rejected the idea and said, ‘I do not want it: I want to withdraw; I want to run’…she could have said, ‘I now have the promises, so I will exert my force, my character, and my energy, to bring forth the promised thing’. But (what she did say) is beautiful, it is wonderful. She says: ‘Behold, the bondmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy Word.’ There is an active passivity here. She took her own body, by choice, and put it into the hands of God to do the thing that he said he would do and Jesus was born. She gave herself to God…This is a beautiful, exciting, personal expression of a relationship between a finite person and the God she loves."

-Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality

Because Truth matters,
George

Give me your...um, I mean my opinion

I recently visited, Tony Morgan's blog. He's one of the pastors at Grainger Community Church in Granger, IN. People were commenting on Granger's recent U2 series as well as their recent "My Lame Sex Life" series. For those who aren't aware, they recently had a Christmas program that used the songs from U2 to look at generosity. Previously, they had a series that looked at sex and rented billboard space with provocative images on it.

I had commented about using worldy methods to evangelize and had my post deleted.

I also commented on a second topic that asked,

"What do you think? Should Christ-followers use music to "speak a bit of life" into those that are unchurched? And, is it acceptable to use that type of music in church services? In case you're wondering...I do."

Well, he asked, "What do you think?" I commented on that one, just to have that one deleted as well.

I tried to go back to the blog this morning and post a clarification that nothing malicious was meant by my posts. When I submitted it, I received a message that said, "You are not allowed to post comments."

It appears that Pastor Morgan is OK with opinions as long as they agree with his. I wrote him an email trying to clarify that I was speaking in brotherly love. So far, I haven't received a reply.

Reflections of Christmas

I hope that everyone had a great and blessed Christmas! I know that we did. I just love spending time with my family and the holidays give us such an incredible opportunity to take advantage of that.

I wanted to mention some books that I received, not for the sake of their importance, but for the sake of edification and education. In addition to the books, I received some really cool clothes and radio from my wife. My kids made awesome personalized ceramic tiles in school that were meant to be used to coasters, but I can't bring myself to set anything on them :)

I haven't read these books yet (since I just received them), but have heard a lot about them and have read innumerable reviews to know that they are a valuable resource, not just to someone aspiring to a become a preacher, but to any Christian who is serious in his or her walk with the Lord.

Anyway, these books are The 21st Century Pastor, Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God and The Reformed Pastor. The following are reviews for them from Amazon.com's website.

The 21st-Century by David C. Fisher
In the 21st Century Pastor, David Fisher explores the apostle Paul's concept of ministry to offer a paradigm that is both biblical and relevant. Paul's view is fleshed out with examples from Fisher's own twenty-five years of pastoral experience, presenting a roadmap for today's pastor that is scholarly, practical, dynamic, and inspiring. The 21st Century Pastor first addressees crucial issues of pastoral identity, the significance of geography, time, and ecclesiology. It then explores Paul's metaphors for ministry (jars of clay, farmers and builders, servants and stewards, and others) to reveal an accurate portrait of an effective, biblical pastor--the kind who will speak to the heart of modern culture rather than languish on its fringes. Filling the rare role of a pastor to pastors, Fisher's sage insights help pastors answer their own identity questions, empowering them to minister to a deeply needy society. Says Fisher, "Pastors who know what time it is will, in the name and power of God, create communities of faith where the values of the Gospel are embraced, taught, and lived out."

Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God by J. I. Packer
In Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God, J.I. Packer reveals that a faulty understanding of the Bible leads to the assessment that these doctrines are foes rather than friends. By debunking the erroneous view that "robust faith in the absolute sovereignty of God is bound to undermine any adequate sense of human responsibility" toward evangelism, the author adeptly moves through the obstacle course of tricky theology with ease and grace, allowing the reader a more complete understanding of the mystery of salvation. Packer manages to tackle an overwhelming piece of doctrinal truth and contain it within the subject of evangelism by concisely determining what evangelism is and what it is not. "It is our widespread and persistent habit of defining evangelism in terms, not of a message delivered, but of an effect produced in our hearers." This error is corrected when one is renewed in his or her knowledge of the sovereignty of God. Of course, fault is found on the other side as well, with those who so heavily rely on God's sovereignty to save the lost that they are lazy in obeying God's command to share the Gospel. Packer insists that love for God, at the very least, should draw one out of this stagnation and that the coupling of these seemingly diabolical doctrines will make one bold in speech, patient in God's timing, and prayerful for the salvation of others.


The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter

Baxter's time was not too unlike our own. Despite there being a large theological agreement that there must be discipline within the Church, very few leaders in the church are willing to carry it out. Baxter reminds us, and convincingly so, that we must do so for not only the good of the soul of the individual, but for the rest of the Church, and even ourselves. Most of the book rotates around the subject of discipline in the pastoral ministry. It also contains many other details concerning the ministry that would be good for any aspiring, or current pastor to read.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Glory to God in the highest for His wonderful gift of our Saviour! I pray that everyone stops for a moment to reflect on this beautiful gift of life that our loving God had provided.


Jesus' Birth in Bethlehem (from Luke, Chapter 2)

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.

Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.

While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

"This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us." So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.

When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.
But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.

The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

Christmas Eve Service

This morning, we had an incredible Christmas service. It involved traditional carols as well as a complete presentation of the birth of Jesus tied into the Gospel message.

Sometimes during the holiday season, I think that some pastors or churches present the "Chirstmas message", but are guilty of not presenting the message of hope or the reason for Christ's birth that accompanies it.

Statistics tell us that Christmas and Easter are the two greatest times when unbelievers visit a church. This could be due to a child or grandchild in a play or simply due to tradition. I remember that my parents, who were non practicing Roman Catholics would make sure that we went to Easter and Christmas service at the church. It seemed that God was OK with us not attending the rest of the year if we could just make it on the big two.

Anyway, I digress. Our pastor's message was rich with the hope and joy of the message of Christ's birth, but was as equally balanced with the reason for the need of a Saviour.

Well done, Brother Pat!

P.E.A.C.E. on Earth?

I recently read an article in Christianity Today that included an interview with Rick Warren . I was interested in it because it referrenced the upcoming Saddleback Christmas special, "The Purpose of Christmas with Rick Warren." In sifting through the content, I came across the question...

What's the text you're going to be preaching on during
Christmas services?

Rick Warren's answer was...

This year, I'm going to preach on the purpose of Christmas. The three purposes of Christmas are in the three statements that the angel made at the very first Christmas.

First, he said, "Fear not for I bring you good news of great joy." Then he said, "For unto you is born this day a Savior who is Christ the Lord." Then he said, "And peace on earth, goodwill toward men."

Now that's the three purposes of Christmas. The first purpose is celebration, the second purpose is salvation, and the third purpose is reconciliation. At the end, I'm actually going to talk about the PEACE plan and how to keep Christmas going all year—just do the 5 things Jesus did.

There's peace of God and there's peace with God and then there's peace with Man, once you have the first two.

Hmm... it'll be interesting to see how this plays out, but the all-inclusive P.E.A.C.E plan sends up a red flag for me.

Twelve Reasons for Christmas

In church last Wednesday, one of our pastors passed out a 1/2 page flyer on the 12 Reasons for Christmas. I think that it's helps people (myself included) to look beyond the "child in the manger" to comprehend the fullness and totality of what that night really meant.

It's from John Piper's Desiring God website and is pretty cool, so I wanted to post it here.

Twelve Reasons for Christmas
By John Piper December 25, 2002

1. "For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth." (John 18:37)

2. "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." (1 John 3:8; cf. Hebrews 2:14-15)

3. "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:17)

4. "The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10)

5. "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)

6. "God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." (Galatians 4:5)

7. "For God so loved the world that whoever believes on him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:16).

8. "God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him." (1 John 4:9; cf. John 10:10).

9. "The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." (1 Timothy 1:15).

10. "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against . . . that the thoughts of many may be revealed" (Luke 2:34f).

11. "He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed." (Luke 4:18)

12. "Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy." (Romans 15:7-8; cf. John 12:27f).

© Desiring God

Il est ne, le divin Enfant!

"What's that?," you say. It's a traditional French Christmas Carol that I learned in High School. Yes, I took French and yes we were "allowed" to sing songs about Jesus.

For some reason, this song pops into my head at Christmas time. It's very catchy (OK, you'll have to trust me:) )

The chorus goes:

Il est ne, le divin Enfant,
Jouez, hautbois, resonnez, musettes;
Il est ne, le divin Enfant;
Chantons tous son avenement!

Translated, it means:

He is born, the divine Christ Child.
Greet Him with gaily resounding pipe and drum.
He is born, the divine Christ Child.
Join in song, for the Lord has come.

What a glorious thing it is to think upon the graciousness of our Holy God and of His love and mercy for us that He would condescend to be born in a lowly manger and give His life as a ransom for our sins.

Happy Birthday, Jesus and thank you for your love!