Grace Bible, 2014 Baptisms. To God be the glory!

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I mentioned this book in a sermon a couple of weeks ago. I highly recommend it! A short, easy, VERY powerful read.

Here’s a quote:

“The personal desolation Christ is experiencing on the cross is what you and I should be experiencing–but instead, Jesus is bearing it, and bearing it all alone. Why alone? He’s alone so that we might never be alone.”
― C.J. Mahaney, Living the Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing

http://www.amazon.com/Living-Cross-Centered-Life-Keeping/dp/1590525787/ref=sr_1_1_twi_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1419274478&sr=1-1&keywords=living+the+cross+centered+life+mahaney

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..there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them…And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord…And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”…the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste...

Shepherds — the outcasts of their day. They smelled like the animals they worked with. They were considered ceremonially unclean, meaning they were excluded from temple worship. Shepherds had daily contact with the carcasses of the animals they tended, and under Jewish ceremonial law they could not be in the temple. But it makes sense that “unclean” shepherds would be the first to come to Christ, because it’s on the basis of uncleanliness that we approach Christ. It’s the sick who are in need of The Great Physician.

God could have chosen anyone to notify of the coming of Christ. He could have dispatched angels to the Chief Priests, Pharisees, Scribes, Sadducees or other religious leaders. Or he could’ve chose great political figures or military leaders, people with power!  But instead, the underdog, the lowly, stinky, forgotten shepherds. What sort of God is ths?!?! He is the same God who is still seeking humble people to use for his glory. That hasn’t changed. It’s not about your occupation, social status, past, or popularity. It’s about having heart in need of Christ. Where is your heart this Christmas? Are we, like the lowly shepherds, eager to WORSHIP Jesus? Let’s not, in our pride, miss our opportunity to WORSHIP the King who is WORTHY.

Galatians 4:4-5 tells us that, when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman…so that we might receive adoption as sons.

The son of God became human, so that humans might become sons and daughters of GOD.

Christmas is a reminder that God loves us! He loves us in spite of our sin (Rom 5:8). He doesn’t see any of us as a lost cause. He sees us as worth serving, living, and dying for. God sent his Son on Christmas to live and die for us…To save us from our sins…and save us to Himself.

Like Christmas, Christianity is a gift exchange: we give Jesus our sin, and he gives us eternal life. No matter how many times we repeat that message, it never gets old.

Augustine, speaking on the incarnation of Christ said this:

Man’s maker was made man,
that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother’s breast;
that the Bread might hunger,
the Fountain thirst,
the Light sleep,
the Way be tired on its journey;
that the Truth might be accused of false witness,
the Teacher be beaten with whips,
the Foundation be suspended on wood;
that Strength might grow weak;
that the Healer might be wounded;
that Life might die.

– Augustine of Hippo (Sermons 191.1)

One of my favorite Christmas decorations/billboard/church sign/sayings I have seen the last few years is the phrase “wise men still seek Him”, so clever! But, the reality is, we just THINK we are wise. Jeremiah 9:23-24 says this, “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom…but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me…” Prior to their being led to, and encountering Jesus, the “wise men” didn’t have any true wisdom at all! But in Matthew chapter 2 we see them encounter divine wisdom. Check it out:

6 Things that marked the experience of the wise men visiting The Christ child. 

1. Indescribable Joy Matt 2:10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 

This is a redundant sentence, using repetition for emphasis. The entrance of Hope is unlike any other experience in life. You may have heard people describe a god-shaped hole in their life, when that hole is filled, it changes everything! That’s joy.  

2. They worshiped Matt 2:11 And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. 

The wise men were use to being in the presence of worldly greatness, but nothing came close to what they had found in Jesus. He was worthy of their WORSHIP. They fell on their face in his presence and expressed his worth. Their physical response was reflective of a spiritual reality. In the presence of God we realize how low we are and how high and lifted up he should be!

3. They gave him their best  Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

The gifts they gave were worthy of a king! The early church fathers understood these 3 gifts to symbolic  Gold – for his deity, frankincense – His Purity, myrrh – of his death (since it was a substance used for embalming)

4. The ongoing guidance and protection of God Matt 2:12a And being warned in a dream…

As the prophecy said, the Messiah would be a ruler who would also be a shepherd. One who cared deeply for the sheep, protected, ensured they were well taken care of. Jesus would later say in John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. These wise men were under the guidance of a new shepherd!

5. They have a new enemy Matt 2:12b not to return to Herod…

Herod wanted to do the work of the devil, to “kill, steal, and destroy” God’s work. The wise desired to worship and make Christ known, so Herod was to be avoided. 1 Peter 5:8-10 teaches us to “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith…”

6. A new sense of purpose Matt 2:12c they departed to their own country by another way.

The wise men now have REAL HOPE. They can, for the first time, be rightly referred to as wise. Not because of anything they knew, but because of WHO they knew.

The wise men had seen a lot in their life, perhaps the best that their day and age had to offer. Philosophy, Science, the company of kings, material possessions. a life most ppl of their time couldn’t even imagine…But like our old friend Solomon told us in Ecclesiastes, it all adds up to nothing if you don’t know the God who gave it to you. Wise men sought him then, and wise men still do.

We’re now a week from Christmas Eve. In the coming days I hope your able to enjoy some much needed time off from work, a break from your hectic schedule, and some time with your precious family…I hope you open up just the right gift on Christmas morning….But don’t be deceived, without Christ, at the very center of your life, this Christmas season will come and go, and your heart will be as empty as the boxes your gifts came in.

I have been tcrucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

“The gospel is not just the ABCs of Christianity, it is the A–Z” -Tim Keller

“the truth of the gospel is the principle article of all Christian doctrine, most necessary is it that we know this article well, teach it to others and beat it into their heads continually.” -Martin Luther, in his commentary on Galatians

Recently, after a Cowboys loss to the Redskins, I saw a video of a guy completely destroying his whole house in anger over the outcome of the game. It was nuts! Dude was crazy. Broke his big giant TV, dining room table, and a bunch of other stuff!! Clearly, he felt like his whole world had crashed around him when America’s Team (Yes, I still call them America’s Team) lost. 

Last night I met with our elders, 7pm, on a Monday night.  We typically meet every other Friday at 5:45am to avoid conflicting with evenings and time away from our families. But from time to time we have scheduling conflicts, so Monday night (or whatever time) it is! You might think that our elders might be at least a little bit put out by having to come up to the church office in the middle of an evening for a meeting, but they weren’t. They never are. Not only do I get to lead, feed, and protect God’s flock with these men, we actually ENJOY our time together. In addition to discussing the stewardship of the Lord’s work, I nearly always belly laugh at least once or twice during our meetings. These men love the Lord. They love the church. And while we don’t say it for fear someone might lose their “man card” because of the bond we share in Christ Jesus, we love each other.

So I exhort the elders among you….shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 1Peter5:1-3

Grace Bible, our current serving elders, other than myself, are Theron Whitley, Jeff Crelia, and Brent Wilkens. I thank God for these men. I hope y’all do too!

Parents of teens/those who work with youth, please read! This article: ‘The Most Exhausted Generation’

From 10 years of working with teenagers to now having teenagers of my own, I’ve watched teens get more and more busy with each passing year. I remember when the desire to keep teens active was phrased, “we just need to keep kids off the streets”. The heart behind that notion is GREAT. Teens left with too much idle time, with no responsibility, no organization, and no guidance can lead to all sorts of negative consequences. But over-programming teens, taking away all of their down time, and stressing them out is not good either. I talk to lots of parents who see it. Adults get together and compare notes on how BUSY we are, but nothing seems to change. In fact it seems to get worse. I’m not sure what the whole of the problem is, but I think at least some of it may stem from us as parents feeling pressured to have our kids pursuing LOTS of OPPORTUNITIES or we may be deemed, or at least feel like, a bad parent.

I don’t know what the full solution to teen busyness/stress is, but as a Christian, parent, pastor here’s what I believe…what teens need most is a REAL relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and they need parents to be an example of what it looks like to follow Jesus, and to teach them the Word. (See Deut 6:4-9). They also, in my option, need to know the value of, being committed to and blessed by a community of believers in Christ, a local church. Not just while they’re teens, but for their entire life, until Jesus returns.

Parents teaching kids and making church a priority do take something we are all very short on, TIME…My concern is that as we begin to see our need to cut back on the activity and stress level of our teens that the first thing to be cut out is their spiritual formation. After all, there’s no trophy, scholarship, accolade, or worldly recognition for our grip of the gospel and subsequent pursuit of holiness. So as we recognize our peril of exhausted stressed out “sick” teens, and say “WE’RE TOO BUSY SOMETHING’S GOT TO GO!” We shouldn’t let that “something” be their/our relationship with God. See Matt 11:28-29, as the article pointed out, Jesus is the only TRUE REST.

***I DO think there is something to be said for not over-programming at the church as well. The solution is NOT to carry our busyness to the church building for a sanctified version of our busyness. May be a post for another time****

Grace Bible Lifeline (small group) leaders had a VERY encouraging (1 1/2 hr) meeting yesterday morning (Sunday 12/7/14) before church. The meeting was led by Jarod Martin. Jarod called us back to the material that he had gone over with us back at the beginning of the semester. One high compliment of the small group training material provided last semester was “a person who has never led a small group before could take that, follow it, and lead one”.

Also, group leaders shared how God was working in the lives of people in their group, some of the challenges that they’ve been facing, and what they are looking forward to in the coming semester. Lifeline groups continue to be a place of authentic community and spiritual growth. For me as a pastor I see LL groups as a place where we can fulfill the command given to us in Heb 10:24 “let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” Lifeline groups — meeting in homes, sharing life, learning the Word, having the gospel laid bare on our souls. Good stuff.

BIG SHOUT OUT to all our LL group leaders and Jarod Martin for stepping up lead us in this way.

Lifeline leaders in attendance were Jarod & Lara Martin, Jason & Nikki Waligura, Jana Whitley, Jason Carney, Rick & Nancy Nevil, Justin Ferguson, Devon & Nikki  Mize, Kris Roberts, Brian Ross, Jon & LeiAnn Stovall, Tinna Hood, Brent Wilkens, and myself.

Please pray for the ministry of LL. Pray that our groups continue to be effective and for more folks to step up to lead groups and invest into group life.