Tag Archives: incarnation

Ten Questions to Ask at a Christmas Gathering

December 17, 2009 By in Church Year Tags: , , , Leave a comment

Don Whitney of The Center for Biblical Christianity has served well the church of Jesus Christ in recent years through a ministry of ten question downloads for various occasions and events. We will have the version for going into the New Year as a bulletin insert on Dec. 27.

Here is another helpful list for making meaningful conversation at a Christmas gathering:

Many of us struggle to make conversation at Christmas gatherings, whether church events, work-related parties, neighborhood drop-ins, or annual family occasions. Sometimes our difficulty lies in having to chat with people we rarely see or have never met. At other times we simply don’t know what to say to those with whom we feel little in common. Moreover, as Christians we want to take advantage of the special opportunities provided by the Christmas season to share our faith, but are often unsure how to begin. Here’s a list of questions designed not only to kindle a conversation in almost any Christmas situation, but also to take the dialogue gradually to a deeper level. Use them in a private conversation or as a group exercise, with believers or unbelievers, with strangers or with family.

  1. What’s the best thing that’s happened to you since last Christmas?
  2. What was your best Christmas ever? Why?
  3. What’s the most meaningful Christmas gift you’ve ever received?
  4. What was the most appreciated Christmas gift you’ve ever given?
  5. What was your favorite Christmas tradition as a child?
  6. What is your favorite Christmas tradition now?
  7. What do you do to try to keep Christ in Christmas?
  8. Why do you think people started celebrating the birth of Jesus?
  9. Do you think the birth of Jesus deserves such a nearly worldwide celebration?
  10. Why do you think Jesus came to earth?

 Of course, remember to pray before your Christmas gatherings. Ask the Lord to grant you “divine appointments,” to guide your conversations, and to open doors for the gospel. May He use you to bring glory to Christ this Christmas.

Where Did This Jesus of Christmas Come From & Where Did He Go?

December 13, 2009 By in Exposition Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

In this morning’s message I made much of the fact that the same words of Jesus get repeated verbatim in a very short span of verses in the text of John 7:34-36. 

34 You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?” 

You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come. 

That’s one of the few places in the gospels where this phenomenon happens and for good reason. He uses such a literary device for emphasis given the importance of his purpose. Not to get this, not to understand the answer to the questions where did He come from – the Father in heaven who sent him, and where did He go – back to the Father in heaven – not to get that, not to embrace it, believe it, that He came to die for you and take the punishment of your sins on His head is to consign you to death and everlasting punishment in hell for those sins. Do not be overly hasty in the conclusions you draw in answer to these all-important questions, was the gist of my exhortation. 

I also drew attention to the way the people speculated about the answer to the second question they raised in v. 35. Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? That’s more of John’s irony. The dispersion was the term for the Jews who didn’t settle in Palestine, but went throughout the empire among the Greeks, the Gentiles, the non-Jews. In one sense that, as we saw, is not what He meant, but in another way it points to the future. They unwittingly prophesied here that Jesus was, to use the words of Luke 2:32 – a light of revelation to the Gentiles. 

Upon His resurrection and commission to His disciples and His ascension to the Father’s right hand He would send His Holy Spirit upon the apostles and they would go into Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and even the uttermost parts of the earth with the answers to the questions where did he come from and where did He go? He came from God and went back to God. Repent, believe these things, and live.

Can We Trust This Jesus of Christmas?

December 10, 2009 By in Sunday Morning Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

So far in our Advent messages we have studied John 7:1-24. Here are some thoughts in review.

In John 7:1-13, the apostle seeks to answer an important question. Who is this Jesus of Christmas?

In vv. 14-24, with Jesus engaging the pilgrim crowd in Jerusalem at the Feast of Booths, John seeks to answer a related but different question. Can we trust this Jesus of Christmas?

We can, indeed, when we consider statements He made like these in vv. 16-18:

16 “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.

You will never ask more important questions than these. Who is this Jesus of Christmas? Can I trust this Jesus of Christmas? John’s answers are unequivocal. He is the Messiah, God’s Son and yes, you can trust Him as wholly true. His teaching is not His own, but the Father’s who sent Him. He seeks not His own glory but that of His Father. He is the fulfillment of circumcision, the Sabbath, and every other Old Testament type and shadow God gave to Israel. So believe. Don’t give way to intellectual snobbery born of moral depravity or legalistic hypocrisy born of superficial spirituality. Judge with right judgment with respect to this Jesus of Christmas.

More on Making the Most of Advent

December 5, 2009 By in Church Year Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Here are some final thoughts on navigating the Christmas holiday to the glory of God:

First, determine to bring Advent worship into the fabric of your home. Heads of households – let us function as believer priests on behalf of our families and lead in Advent devotions that serve to focus our spouses and our children upon things that truly matter this Christmas. Let us watch less in the way of endless Christmas specials devoted to the inane and trivial and read more of the Word that extols the Christ of God and listen more to the music that declares His praises and fellowship more with the people that embrace His Lordship and witness more to the lost who languish without His hope.

Second, say No more and Yes less so that the obligations of the season do not run away with you. Stay in control of your calendar. Prioritize ruthlessly as best you understand given God’s priorities for you. If you struggle to do that on your own, ask someone else to hold you accountable and give you counsel about what you should and should not commit to during this last month of the year.

Third, arm yourself with Paul’s promise in Phil. 4:13 that in Christ you can do all things – including making the most of Advent. This may prove especially true for you if you have experienced some significant loss this year or if you are battling some form of depression for whatever reason. Navigating the demands of the holiday season cannot be accomplished in one’s own strength. It takes the power and all-sufficient grace of Christ (2 Cor. 12:9). 

May He grant us ever-increasing amounts of grace to sing these words of the hymn writer and mean it: 

Let all mortal flesh keep silence, and with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded, for with blessing in his hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth, our full homage to demand.

More on Making the Most of Advent

December 2, 2009 By in Church Year Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Here is another thought on making the most of this Christmas season in light of a biblical worldview.

Beware temptations to covetousness and greed which surround the cultural trappings of Christmas. Jesus warns in Luke 12:15 Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. Madison Avenue bombards us daily with just the opposite message. Ask God to help you not let the world squeeze you into such a treacherous mold (Rom. 12:2).

How will you guard your heart from the temptation to excess during this holiday season? God will give you grace to exercise self-control in all things as you rely on His Holy Spirit.

Making the Most of Advent 2009

December 1, 2009 By in Church Year Tags: , , , Leave a comment

adventLast Sunday, November 29, marked the beginning of Advent, traditionally the beginning of the church calendar year. The word advent comes from the Latin adventus meaning coming. Advent focuses our worship for the four weeks which precede Christmas on the significance of Christ’s incarnation. Christians began to organize worship around various seasons of the year as early as the second century. In more liturgical churches the entire calendar often revolves around these seasons of the year.

At OGC we celebrate a tradition in Advent worship involving the lighting of an Advent wreath. Each Sunday before Advent, as well as on Christmas Eve, different individuals/families lead us in the lighting ceremony with appropriate readings from Scripture. An Advent wreath communicates many powerful things. Its circular form stands for the eternity of God. The burning candles represent Christ, the light of the world (John 8:12). The evergreens in the wreath speak to eternal life. The use of colored candles originated in Eastern Germany prior to the Reformation. Traditionally, the three purple candles symbolize the penitence due from sinners at the prospect of Christ’s coming. The single pink or rose candle calls for joy at the idea of the Son of God incarnate. And the white candle in the center, of course, points to Jesus Christ in all His purity and power.

May I encourage you this year, as in previous years, to form an intentional strategy for making the most of this coming Advent season? Without a plan we can easily fall prey to a worldly tis-the-season-to-be-frantic kind of December that leaves us at best exhausted and at worst resentful.

For the next several days I will post some thoughts for how to make the most of the Advent season now upon us. The first of those is this:

Refuse to abandon time for reflection, worship, and contemplative disciplines. Mary, the mother of our Lord, excelled as one who kept all these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19). Determine to hold a tenacious line against the tyranny of the urgent and give yourself to the priority of seeing the unseen and eternal (2 Cor. 4:18).

May the Lord help us to treasure in our hearts the deep things of God that accompany this joyous season where we celebrate Immanuel, God with us.

Advent Preparation with Handel's "Messiah"

November 28, 2009 By in Sunday Morning Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

handel7Tomorrow marks the first Sunday of Advent, 2009. The Advent season in the church year covers the four Sundays before Christmas, as well as Christmas Eve. Throughout the season we prepare our hearts for the worship of Christ for the gift of His incarnation.

We begin this journey of faith tomorrow morning at 9:30 with what I am calling a partial journey through Handel’s Messiah. Our families are invited to gather in the SDA sanctuary at 9:30 AM (please be prompt; we will begin on time) for a worship event including the telling of the story of the writing of Handel’s masterpiece, music from selected portions of the score, media, prayer, and congregational sharing.

There will be two opportunities to share in groups. First, we will talk about ways we have seen Jesus this year be our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, and Prince of Peace. This will follow a time of singing along with For Unto Us a Child Is Born.

Then we will have an opportunity to hear from some about how they came to know Christ as their Savior. This will follow a media presentation of the piece Glory to God.

Don’t worry, we won’t leave the beloved Hallelujah Chorus  out of the mix. Some of your other favorites might be missing, but I trust that this different initiation to the Advent season might prove to prepare all our hearts in such a way that our worship of Christ this Christmas will be in spirit and in truth.

See you tomorrow at 9:30!