While there are so many things we don’t know about the Magi, or Wisemen, like their names, how many of them there were (we don’t know that were 3, only that there were 3 gifts), where they came from, where they ended up, and what time they showed up to give their gifts to Jesus, there are some important things that we do know about them. The first thing we know is that they had a larger than life vision that changed their lives. The Magi had a vision, literally they saw a new star in the sky and that star inspired them to act. The Magi believed that this new star meant that a new king had been born, so they set a goal of finding that new king. They had a larger than life vision that helped them set a big goal.
In his book Courageous Leadership, Bill Hybles says their church, Willowcreek Community Church, tries to set goals that are big enough to require God’s supernatural activity and goals that will keep the church on her knees. My hope is that in this New Year we will set goals that will require us to have faith that God is moving among us and I hope we will set goals that will drive us to pray each day seeking God’s strength. If the goals we set can be accomplished on our own, then we are thinking and dreaming too small. I want to invite us to think big. What’s the larger than life vision that will guides our lives? What’s the vision that God has put in our hearts that will require us to set some big goals?
Faith Church has a pretty big vision in front of us. Our mission statement says we are setting out to radically transform the world through passionate disciples of Jesus Christ. In other words, we want God to use our lives of faith to transform the world around us. That’s a larger than life mission and so we need to identify some goals that can help us accomplish this mission. What about a goal of 100% participation in small groups? After all if we are going to be the passionate disciples of Jesus Christ who have any hope of transforming the world then we need to be part of groups that will help us develop and strength our faith. So one goal might be to get everyone involved in a small group so we can become the kind of passionate disciples who can radically transform the world.
Whether we establish big goals in the church or in our own lives, the Magi give us some valuable tips on how to reach those goals. The first thing we need to do is draw from what we already know and from our own experiences. Notice that when the star appears in the sky the Magi draw from what they already know, they knew that a new star in the sky means a new king has been born, and because of the placement of the star in the sky they believe this new king is a king in Israel. They draw from what they know. Sometimes I wonder if in life and in faith we really need to learn more or if we just need to apply what we already know. There was a great book out a number of years ago called everything I need to know, I learned in kindergarten, and the author Robert Fulghum said These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life . Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work some every day. Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Now if we would just apply these things, maybe life for everyone would be better.
The same is true with our faith. We really may not need to learn a lot more, we may just need to apply what we already know. Think about what we already know. We know God wants us to forgive one another, not once or twice but as Jesus said, 70x70 times – or always. We know we are to love our neighbors not just with words but with actions. We know we are care for the needy, we know we need to worship and pray and give on a regular basis. Those are all things we know already, there is nothing new here, but will we draw from these things to help us achieve the goals that we set in life.
The Magi drew from their own learning and experience, but when they faced a problem, they were also willing to ask for help. When the Magi set off on their journey to find the new king they assume the king would be born in the capital of Israel which was Jerusalem, but when they arrive in Jerusalem they realize they are in the wrong place, so they ask the scholars and religious leaders of Israel where their king was to be born. They asked for help. If we are going to set goals that are larger than life and bigger than we are – then we are going to need to ask for help, help from God and help from one another, but this is often the area where we have the most trouble.
Too often what holds us back in life and in ministry is pride. Maybe we think we have all the answers, or maybe we just don’t want to look weak or foolish. Either way, if we don’t get good help and good advice, we will never reach our full potential and we will never see our goals realized. That really is one of the great lessons of our Christmas Dinner. There is no way we could serve 697 people if we as a church did not seek help from the community. We need the resources that others have to give. We need the creative ideas, the gift of time and money and food that others have to offer and we need to be willing to humbly and gratefully accept help when it is offered. It’s not always easy for a church to say, we can’t do it by ourselves, but if we are willing to open up and receive the help others, we will accomplish more than if we work alone.
Another lesson we learn from the Magi is that we will never achieve our goals if we are not willing to take some risks. It was a risk for the Magi to leave their homes in the East. Travel in those days was dangerous. They didn’t know where their journey would take them. They didn’t know how long it would take and they didn’t know how much it would cost. There were many things they didn’t know when they left home, but they took big risks because they wanted to find this new born king.
One of the reasons we may never see our goals and dreams realized is that we may be too afraid to take the risk. One of the major regrets of my life is that in High School I was too afraid to try out for a part in our school’s production of Godspell. I wanted to sing in that musical and I wanted one particular part because I wanted to sing one particular song, but I was too afraid to audition, so I settled for playing in the pit band. Anytime we step out and try something new, anytime we head out on a new path or start out on a new journey, it’s risky, because we may fail and the journey might be a disaster, but to do nothing means that we gain nothing. Not stepping out and moving forward means that in the larger picture, we are moving backwards. If the Magi had not left their homes, they may have been safe, but they never would have met Jesus. If the disciples had stayed home and remained fishermen they would have never seen the blind regain their sight, or the lame walk, or the deaf hear, or the dead rise. We can’t be afraid to take a risk; even if we fail, we may learn a valuable lesson in the process which will help us become a better person, or a stronger and healthier church.
So the Magi teach us that if we want to reach those big goals, then we need to draw from what we already know, we need to ask for help and seek the wisdom and guidance of others and then we have to be willing to take a risk and step out in new ways. The last thing the Magi teach is that worship is central to it all because our worship of God will give us the guidance and direction we need.
When the Magi find Jesus they worship him. They didn’t just bow down to him – they gave themselves to him, they gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, and it is after they have worshipped Jesus and after they have given themselves to him that they are warned not to go back to Herod but to go home by another route. We assume this is the message of God because this new direction given to the Magi not only kept them safe, it kept Jesus safe as well. Herod wanted to kill this new born king, so the Magi returning home a different way gave Mary and Joseph the time they needed to escape with Jesus.
When we worship God on a regular basis and when we give ourselves to God in consistent ways, we are putting ourselves in a place where God can speak to us and give us the guidance and direction we need to accomplish all God has for us. I believe that God still wants to speak to us, but not only do we have to be quiet enough to listen, we have to have the right heart and attitude to be able to hear. The right heart is a heart that worships God and the right attitude is one of complete selflessness and humility. When we are in that place of worship, when we are willing to surrender and give ourselves to God’s dreams and visions and plans – God will guide us so that we accomplish them.
I know there will be several goals that we as a church will embrace this year as we seek to radically transform the world. It might be 100% participation in small groups, it may be to increase worship attendance, it might be reaching out to children in new ways. It might be figuring out how to serve 1,000 people Christmas Dinner next year, or figuring out how to serve an Easter Dinner to 100. Whatever the new year brings us, I hope that we will have the faith to dream big dreams and set goals that will require us to not only pray, but pray earnestly for the supernatural activity of God to move among us. As we work to achieve our own life’s goals or the goals we set in the church, let us commit ourselves to living out what we already know, let us draw from the wisdom and faith of others and let us not be afraid to take some risks and try some new things. I know the light of Christ still shines forth brightly, may we follow that light into God’s great purpose and plan for our lives and for the life of the church.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Christmas Heroes - Simeon and Anna
For us, Christmas is a celebration of faith, family and friends. It’s a time to remember what God has done for us and it’s a time to express our love and appreciation for one another, but when the holiday is over - the trees come down, lights get put away and life gets back to normal. For Mary and Joseph, Christmas wasn’t a holiday, it was the birth of their son and the one they believed was God’s son, so for them nothing would ever be normal again. Their lives changed forever that night in Bethlehem and they were faced with the challenges and details that faced all new parents. For example, for all Jewish parents, the birth of their first son meant that at least 3 ceremonies needed to take place. After 8 days a boy needed to be circumcised. This happened in Luke 2:21. Then after another month, there were 2 sacrifices that needed to be made, the first was the ritual of purification, and this was for the mother. For 40 days after giving birth to a boy a Jewish mother was considered unclean and so was not allowed to enter the Temple. After the allotted time, the parents would go to the Temple and offer a lamb as a burnt offering and a pigeon or dove as a sin offering. If the couple were poor, which Mary and Joseph were, they would offer a dove or a pigeon in place of the lamb. So Mary and Joseph have gone to the Temple for this ritual of purification, but they have also come for the redemption of the first born.
The first born sons in all of Israel were to be offered to God and then bought back. This ritual acknowledged that the child belonged to God. By coming to the temple to make their sacrifices and present Jesus to God, Mary and Joseph are doing their very best to faithfully fulfill God’s command. What is interesting to think about is that Mary and Joseph had been told by the angels that Jesus was the son of God. That message was confirmed by the shepherds who came to worship Jesus the night he was born. So Mary and Joseph knew that Jesus was special and that they had been favored by God to be the heroes who would bring Jesus into the world, and yet they didn’t seek any special favor from God. They didn’t assume any special privilege and they didn’t use Jesus as an excuse to not follow through on their commitments. In humility and faithfulness they strive to fulfill their promises to God. Maybe this is why God chose them in the first place, because they had faith and integrity.
This coming week we are going to be thinking about making our own promises, New Year’s resolutions. Whether we sit down and write them out or not doesn’t really matter, in many ways the new year causes us to evaluate where we are and where we want to be and what we need to do to get there. And it’s a time to think about how we are fulfilling the promises we have already made. For those who are married, are you doing all you can to fulfill the promises you made in your wedding vows? Are you supporting your spouse and loving them in sickness and in health, for better and for worse? Does your love reflect the love of Christ who was willing to lay down his life for the church? If this is an area where you need to focus some attention in the new year, let me recommend the book the Love Dare. This is from the movie Fireproof and it gives you 40 ways to show your love to your spouse. The dares listed here won’t just improve a marriage, they can also help improve our attitude and actions toward everyone. Well worth considering.
Another commitment we need to reflect on in the new year is the one we make with our children? And this isn’t just for parents, it’s for all of us to consider. When we baptize children we are making the promise to order our lives in such a way that each child will be surrounded by steadfast love so that they can be confirmed and strengthened in the faith. Are we ordering our lives that way? Are we giving all we have and all we can to our children so they can grow up to know that the Jesus who was born in Bethlehem came to be their Savior and Lord? What more can we do to love our children and care for them and nurture them in the faith?
As followers of Jesus, we have also made the commitment to love the community and world around us. While this week we will get some much needed rest and some time to reflect on the amazing ministry of the Christmas dinner, we also need to be looking ahead and asking ourselves, what more can we do to love our community?
How is God calling us to reach out to the strangers and those in need and those who are living in spiritual darkness? What specifically can we do to invite people into a relationship with Jesus? When was the last time we invited someone to join us in worship? When was the last time we invited someone to join us in Sunday School? 53% of our community doesn’t attend worship and a full 2/3, 66% of young people, do not attend worship– how are we ordering our lives so that we can reach them and share with them that the reason we feed the hungry and care for those in need is because Jesus came to live with us and die for us. How can we share with them that it is because of Jesus that we experience a life that is filled each moment with the presence and power of God?
As Mary and Joseph enter into a new phase of their life, they follow thru on their commitment to God. They don’t look for an excuse not to be faithful, they give all they can to fulfill the promises and commitments of their faith. As we enter into a new year, will we follow thru on the promises we have made in our lives and the commitments we have made to God and to the church? As a church, there are 2 more people we need to consider as we look to the new year, you see Mary and Joseph aren’t the only 2 heroes we see in this story. As a church we need to learn from Simeon and Anna, because in many ways they represent the church today and their response to Jesus needs to be our response as we look into the future. As Mary and Joseph enter into the Temple they meet Simeon and Anna, both of whom have been faithful and committed to God all their lives. Look at how Simeon is described, righteous and devout – looking forward to the consolation (or the salvation) of Israel. It says the Holy Spirit rested on him and he was guided by the Spirit (25, 27). It says that Anna never left the Temple, but worshipped there day and night. She fasted and prayed and she also was guided by the Holy Spirit.
What we see here is a picture of what the faithful church should look like. If there is one verse in all of scripture that needs to describe the church today and if there is one verse that maybe we at Faith Church can use to guide is through the new year it is v. 25. Simeon was looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. Are we looking forward and does the Holy Spirit not just rest on us but does the spirit of God fill us and guide us and lead us in life and in ministry.
What does it mean for us to look forward? For Simeon it meant looking forward to the day the Messiah would come. Simeon had been told he would see that day, so everyday he went to the temple and literally looked for God. But what would God look like? How would God come? Because Simeon wasn’t exactly sure, he constantly was looking to see what God was doing and how God was moving. Simeon worshipped and listened and studied and prayed so that he would be ready and open to seeing God when God showed up. That needs to be our attitude and our vision. As a church we need to remain committed to worship, prayer, and study and then together we need to listen to the ways that God wants to move among us and through because what God might want to do may seem unusual or unexpected.
Go back to Simeon, I’m not sure he would have ever thought God would arrive on the arms of a poor couple visiting from out of town. Mary and Joseph are in Jerusalem, but they are from Nazareth so they wouldn’t have known any one in the temple. They were alone in Bethlehem (remember? No one took them in) so they didn’t have anyone to go with them, and they were poor because they aren’t there with a lamb but with 2 pigeons, that’s what the poor offered to God. This might not have been what Simeon expected the Son of God to look like, but because he had been worshipping, praying, listening and looking– he didn’t miss it.
Are we as a church willing to see God when he enters in new and unexpected ways? Are we willing to embrace new ideas in worship, new ideas in mission and ministry, new ways to order our life and new ways to look to the future to see what God is doing and what God wants to do? God did something new and unexpected in Jesus and I don’t think it was a one time deal, I believe God is always wanting to move in new and unexpected ways and the reason is that the world around us is always changing and so those who are blessed to be part of God’s life and God’s work are those who are willing to look forward? Let’s not miss what God is doing but let’s commit ourselves to looking forward with faith and trust in the new year? I want to invite every small group, every Sunday School class, every ministry team and every committee to consider what it means for us as Faith Church to look forward. What is it that God is doing among us and what does God want to do through us in the coming year.
Like the prophet Isaiah, Simeon and Anna were heroes because they were looking forward, but like Mary and Joseph they were also heroes because they allowed themselves to be led and guided by the Holy Spirit. Will we not just look forward, but will also allow the Holy Spirit to fill us and guide us in the coming year? Here’s how we can we know if the Holy Spirit is among us – are we filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control? In Galatians these are called the fruit of the spirit. These attitudes are the evidence that the Holy Spirit is part of our lives, not just our personal life but the life of the church as well. While I think we do a pretty good job at producing some of this fruit – I also know we can do better and we can do more. We can love more and we can have more joy as part of our lives. Through our thoughts, words and actions we can be more patient and kinder with one another, and when it comes to sharing Jesus with our community – we can be more faithful and more creative.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit is a daily process. Simeon and Anna went to the temple every day. Anna worshipped, fasted and prayed night and day. When we live a life of constant worship and prayer – the Holy Spirit will guide us to be where God wants us to be and the Holy Spirit will give us the strength and courage and the ability to do what God wants us to do. Looking forward to what God is doing and where God is leading won’t work if we are not first seeking God to be within us moment by moment and day by day.
Part of seeking God’s spirit to lead and guide us is confessing our sin and acknowledging all the ways that we keep God’s spirit from being part of our lives. So as we look forward to a new year and all God wants to do in us and through us, I’d like us join together in a prayer of confession asking God to first forgive us so that we can be free for a life of faith that looks for God to come to us, and to abide with us and to guide us in the new year.
Almighty God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, but what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart and we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your son, our savior Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways all through this New Year, for we ask these things in Jesus name. AMEN
The first born sons in all of Israel were to be offered to God and then bought back. This ritual acknowledged that the child belonged to God. By coming to the temple to make their sacrifices and present Jesus to God, Mary and Joseph are doing their very best to faithfully fulfill God’s command. What is interesting to think about is that Mary and Joseph had been told by the angels that Jesus was the son of God. That message was confirmed by the shepherds who came to worship Jesus the night he was born. So Mary and Joseph knew that Jesus was special and that they had been favored by God to be the heroes who would bring Jesus into the world, and yet they didn’t seek any special favor from God. They didn’t assume any special privilege and they didn’t use Jesus as an excuse to not follow through on their commitments. In humility and faithfulness they strive to fulfill their promises to God. Maybe this is why God chose them in the first place, because they had faith and integrity.
This coming week we are going to be thinking about making our own promises, New Year’s resolutions. Whether we sit down and write them out or not doesn’t really matter, in many ways the new year causes us to evaluate where we are and where we want to be and what we need to do to get there. And it’s a time to think about how we are fulfilling the promises we have already made. For those who are married, are you doing all you can to fulfill the promises you made in your wedding vows? Are you supporting your spouse and loving them in sickness and in health, for better and for worse? Does your love reflect the love of Christ who was willing to lay down his life for the church? If this is an area where you need to focus some attention in the new year, let me recommend the book the Love Dare. This is from the movie Fireproof and it gives you 40 ways to show your love to your spouse. The dares listed here won’t just improve a marriage, they can also help improve our attitude and actions toward everyone. Well worth considering.
Another commitment we need to reflect on in the new year is the one we make with our children? And this isn’t just for parents, it’s for all of us to consider. When we baptize children we are making the promise to order our lives in such a way that each child will be surrounded by steadfast love so that they can be confirmed and strengthened in the faith. Are we ordering our lives that way? Are we giving all we have and all we can to our children so they can grow up to know that the Jesus who was born in Bethlehem came to be their Savior and Lord? What more can we do to love our children and care for them and nurture them in the faith?
As followers of Jesus, we have also made the commitment to love the community and world around us. While this week we will get some much needed rest and some time to reflect on the amazing ministry of the Christmas dinner, we also need to be looking ahead and asking ourselves, what more can we do to love our community?
How is God calling us to reach out to the strangers and those in need and those who are living in spiritual darkness? What specifically can we do to invite people into a relationship with Jesus? When was the last time we invited someone to join us in worship? When was the last time we invited someone to join us in Sunday School? 53% of our community doesn’t attend worship and a full 2/3, 66% of young people, do not attend worship– how are we ordering our lives so that we can reach them and share with them that the reason we feed the hungry and care for those in need is because Jesus came to live with us and die for us. How can we share with them that it is because of Jesus that we experience a life that is filled each moment with the presence and power of God?
As Mary and Joseph enter into a new phase of their life, they follow thru on their commitment to God. They don’t look for an excuse not to be faithful, they give all they can to fulfill the promises and commitments of their faith. As we enter into a new year, will we follow thru on the promises we have made in our lives and the commitments we have made to God and to the church? As a church, there are 2 more people we need to consider as we look to the new year, you see Mary and Joseph aren’t the only 2 heroes we see in this story. As a church we need to learn from Simeon and Anna, because in many ways they represent the church today and their response to Jesus needs to be our response as we look into the future. As Mary and Joseph enter into the Temple they meet Simeon and Anna, both of whom have been faithful and committed to God all their lives. Look at how Simeon is described, righteous and devout – looking forward to the consolation (or the salvation) of Israel. It says the Holy Spirit rested on him and he was guided by the Spirit (25, 27). It says that Anna never left the Temple, but worshipped there day and night. She fasted and prayed and she also was guided by the Holy Spirit.
What we see here is a picture of what the faithful church should look like. If there is one verse in all of scripture that needs to describe the church today and if there is one verse that maybe we at Faith Church can use to guide is through the new year it is v. 25. Simeon was looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. Are we looking forward and does the Holy Spirit not just rest on us but does the spirit of God fill us and guide us and lead us in life and in ministry.
What does it mean for us to look forward? For Simeon it meant looking forward to the day the Messiah would come. Simeon had been told he would see that day, so everyday he went to the temple and literally looked for God. But what would God look like? How would God come? Because Simeon wasn’t exactly sure, he constantly was looking to see what God was doing and how God was moving. Simeon worshipped and listened and studied and prayed so that he would be ready and open to seeing God when God showed up. That needs to be our attitude and our vision. As a church we need to remain committed to worship, prayer, and study and then together we need to listen to the ways that God wants to move among us and through because what God might want to do may seem unusual or unexpected.
Go back to Simeon, I’m not sure he would have ever thought God would arrive on the arms of a poor couple visiting from out of town. Mary and Joseph are in Jerusalem, but they are from Nazareth so they wouldn’t have known any one in the temple. They were alone in Bethlehem (remember? No one took them in) so they didn’t have anyone to go with them, and they were poor because they aren’t there with a lamb but with 2 pigeons, that’s what the poor offered to God. This might not have been what Simeon expected the Son of God to look like, but because he had been worshipping, praying, listening and looking– he didn’t miss it.
Are we as a church willing to see God when he enters in new and unexpected ways? Are we willing to embrace new ideas in worship, new ideas in mission and ministry, new ways to order our life and new ways to look to the future to see what God is doing and what God wants to do? God did something new and unexpected in Jesus and I don’t think it was a one time deal, I believe God is always wanting to move in new and unexpected ways and the reason is that the world around us is always changing and so those who are blessed to be part of God’s life and God’s work are those who are willing to look forward? Let’s not miss what God is doing but let’s commit ourselves to looking forward with faith and trust in the new year? I want to invite every small group, every Sunday School class, every ministry team and every committee to consider what it means for us as Faith Church to look forward. What is it that God is doing among us and what does God want to do through us in the coming year.
Like the prophet Isaiah, Simeon and Anna were heroes because they were looking forward, but like Mary and Joseph they were also heroes because they allowed themselves to be led and guided by the Holy Spirit. Will we not just look forward, but will also allow the Holy Spirit to fill us and guide us in the coming year? Here’s how we can we know if the Holy Spirit is among us – are we filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control? In Galatians these are called the fruit of the spirit. These attitudes are the evidence that the Holy Spirit is part of our lives, not just our personal life but the life of the church as well. While I think we do a pretty good job at producing some of this fruit – I also know we can do better and we can do more. We can love more and we can have more joy as part of our lives. Through our thoughts, words and actions we can be more patient and kinder with one another, and when it comes to sharing Jesus with our community – we can be more faithful and more creative.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit is a daily process. Simeon and Anna went to the temple every day. Anna worshipped, fasted and prayed night and day. When we live a life of constant worship and prayer – the Holy Spirit will guide us to be where God wants us to be and the Holy Spirit will give us the strength and courage and the ability to do what God wants us to do. Looking forward to what God is doing and where God is leading won’t work if we are not first seeking God to be within us moment by moment and day by day.
Part of seeking God’s spirit to lead and guide us is confessing our sin and acknowledging all the ways that we keep God’s spirit from being part of our lives. So as we look forward to a new year and all God wants to do in us and through us, I’d like us join together in a prayer of confession asking God to first forgive us so that we can be free for a life of faith that looks for God to come to us, and to abide with us and to guide us in the new year.
Almighty God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, but what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart and we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your son, our savior Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways all through this New Year, for we ask these things in Jesus name. AMEN
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Christmas Heroes - Jesus / Christmas Eve Worship
This is my favorite moment of the entire Christmas celebration, because in this moment there is nothing for us to do but to be still. I’m not sure what your day was like today, maybe you worked all day and rushed to get here, maybe you have been madly getting the house ready for company or cooking all day for family. Maybe you have been finishing up your Christmas shopping or wrapping all those Christmas gifts. Maybe you’ve been stressed out because you bought too much or think you bought too little. I know many of you have spent the last 2 days here at the church getting ready to serve and deliver hundreds of meals tomorrow at the Christmas dinner. It doesn’t matter what we have been doing or how busy we have been, and it doesn’t matter how much we still have to do tonight or tomorrow, in this moment there is nothing to do but to be still. So take a deep breath and enjoy this moment because it may not last. For many people tomorrow will bring a whirlwind of activity and the days to come will bring travel, family and friends, so enjoy this moment, this silent night, because in the stillness of this holy night – we can experience the grace and the love of God.
That’s what happened on the night that Jesus was born, the message of Christ’s birth was not announced in the overcrowded city of Bethlehem, it was proclaimed on the quiet hillsides of Judea. I’ve often wondered how a heavenly host of angels wasn’t noticed by more than just a few shepherds and I’ve come to the conclusion that everyone else was just too busy, no one else was quiet enough to hear the message and the song of the angels. I wonder sometimes if the heavenly hosts of angels are still proclaiming that Christ has come and we don’t hear that message or notice the glory of the heavenly host because we are too busy and we aren’t willing to be still and quiet.
We can’t let this night go buy without hearing what the angels said and taking it to heart, because their message can change our lives. Listen again, be still and hear the message of the angels, Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. What the angels are saying is that there is a hero who has come to save us and that hero is God himself who enters into our world as a tiny infant child, and God comes to save us, to forgive us and to bring us into an eternal relationship with Him. While some heroes may serve and save those around them out of a sense of duty or an obligation to do the right thing, God is motivated out of love.
In John 3:16 it says, for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. In Romans 5:8 it says God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. But before that, God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ was born for us. You see God didn’t wait for the world to get its act together before he came, God didn’t wait for people to start living holy and righteous lives before he entered into the world, God came in the midst of the darkness and God still comes to us in the midst of our darkness. Whether it is the darkness of our doubt or fear or sin – God comes to us tonight. Maybe it’s just the darkness of having lived a long time away from God and from God’s will and God’s presence and God’s purpose for our lives. If that’s where we are, it doesn’t matter, God still comes to us. There’s a hero who has came to save us Can we hear that message of the angels, unto us is born this night, a Savior. God isn’t waiting for us to get it all together or to clean up our act, God is right here right now to love us and in his love he save us.
God comes to us in the person of Jesus to be our Savior. Jesus is the hero who comes to save us from our sin, and he didn’t do that by being laid onto the wooden slats of a manger the night he was born, Jesus saves us from sin when he is willing to stretch out his arms onto the wooden beams of a cross. We can never forget that the child who was born that night in Bethlehem grew up and was willing to take our sin onto his cross. We can’t look at the simple beauty of the manger without also seeing the simple beauty of the cross because it was on the cross that Jesus saved us by paying the penalty for our sin and it was three days later at an empty tomb when Jesus rose from the grave that offered us forgiveness and a new life, not just an eternal life in heaven, but a new life that can be lived right here and now. God wants us to live a life in this world that is filled with his presence and love and power and we do this when we reach out and allow God’s love and grace into our hearts and lives. We experience the fullness and abundance of God’s presence and love when we live in a relationship with God and it’s that relationship that Jesus came to establish and we know this is what God wants because when God entered into the world on that silent night in Bethlehem it was as a child.
Look at the last part of the angel’s message, and this will be a sign unto you, you shall find a babe wrapped in strips of clothes and lying in a manger. Of all the ways that God could have enter into this world as a savior, God chose to come as a baby. Think about that, the very first time God reached out and physically touched the world he created - God was reaching out of a manger with a tiny little hand. Have you ever had an infant hold on to your finger? Most of you probably have, either a child or grandchild, maybe a niece or nephew. You place your finger in the infants hand and what does it do, it slowly closes its fingers around yours. It’s a strong grip and in that moment we know that the child is totally dependent upon us. It needs us for life, love and protection. Everything they need in life they need from us. Everything God needed as an infant he needed from Mary and Joseph. He needed them for food and protection. God needed them for love and nurturing. He needed them to clean dirty diapers or swaddling clothes. It amazes me that the God of creation allowed himself to be that vulnerable, but God did it for a reason, God came as an infant because God wanted a relationship with us. God not only wanted to hold us – God wanted us to hold him. God not only wanted to talk with us, God wanted us to talk with him. God wants a relationship with us.
Tonight God wants us to hold him in our hearts and lives and God wants us to talk with him. God wants us to share with him our hopes and fears. God wants us to share with him our joys and our sorrows, our dreams and our disappointments. God wants us to reach out to him so that he can reach out and take hold of us. You see when a child grabs hold of your finger, they’re not just looking for strength and love – they are giving strength and love. Every time a child grabs hold or our fingers or holds tight to our hands, don’t we feel loved? As we allow God’s gentle yet strong fingers to wrap around our hearts and lives we know that we are loved and we know that it’s God’s touch that can heal us and God’s love that can change us. It’s a love that saves us. God came as a child because God wants to build a relationship with us, a relationship where the love that is offered can make us whole, but that relationship won’t be forced on us by God. God doesn’t grip us with an iron first or crush from the outside. God reaches out with an infant’s hand and allows his love to change us from the inside. God’s love can change us if we will allow God’s love to hold. God’s love can save us if we will open our hearts to God’s touch and our lives to God’s presence.
God came in the person of Jesus to be the hero who not only saves the world, but saves each and every one of us. And Jesus saves us by forgiving us of our sin and by reaching out in love to be a part of our lives. God still invites us to enter into a relationship with him, the message of the angels still rings out over all the earth, can we be still and silent enough to hear it? Will we open our hearts and lives and receive it? I invite you, as the angels did over 2000 years ago, to enter into a relationship with God through the savior Jesus Christ. The ultimate hero is Jesus and he has come to save us, so I invite you to reach out and take hold of the hand that extends to us from the manger. I invite you to allow the touch and the love of God that comes to us through Jesus to forgive you and bring you new life.
That’s what happened on the night that Jesus was born, the message of Christ’s birth was not announced in the overcrowded city of Bethlehem, it was proclaimed on the quiet hillsides of Judea. I’ve often wondered how a heavenly host of angels wasn’t noticed by more than just a few shepherds and I’ve come to the conclusion that everyone else was just too busy, no one else was quiet enough to hear the message and the song of the angels. I wonder sometimes if the heavenly hosts of angels are still proclaiming that Christ has come and we don’t hear that message or notice the glory of the heavenly host because we are too busy and we aren’t willing to be still and quiet.
We can’t let this night go buy without hearing what the angels said and taking it to heart, because their message can change our lives. Listen again, be still and hear the message of the angels, Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. What the angels are saying is that there is a hero who has come to save us and that hero is God himself who enters into our world as a tiny infant child, and God comes to save us, to forgive us and to bring us into an eternal relationship with Him. While some heroes may serve and save those around them out of a sense of duty or an obligation to do the right thing, God is motivated out of love.
In John 3:16 it says, for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. In Romans 5:8 it says God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. But before that, God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ was born for us. You see God didn’t wait for the world to get its act together before he came, God didn’t wait for people to start living holy and righteous lives before he entered into the world, God came in the midst of the darkness and God still comes to us in the midst of our darkness. Whether it is the darkness of our doubt or fear or sin – God comes to us tonight. Maybe it’s just the darkness of having lived a long time away from God and from God’s will and God’s presence and God’s purpose for our lives. If that’s where we are, it doesn’t matter, God still comes to us. There’s a hero who has came to save us Can we hear that message of the angels, unto us is born this night, a Savior. God isn’t waiting for us to get it all together or to clean up our act, God is right here right now to love us and in his love he save us.
God comes to us in the person of Jesus to be our Savior. Jesus is the hero who comes to save us from our sin, and he didn’t do that by being laid onto the wooden slats of a manger the night he was born, Jesus saves us from sin when he is willing to stretch out his arms onto the wooden beams of a cross. We can never forget that the child who was born that night in Bethlehem grew up and was willing to take our sin onto his cross. We can’t look at the simple beauty of the manger without also seeing the simple beauty of the cross because it was on the cross that Jesus saved us by paying the penalty for our sin and it was three days later at an empty tomb when Jesus rose from the grave that offered us forgiveness and a new life, not just an eternal life in heaven, but a new life that can be lived right here and now. God wants us to live a life in this world that is filled with his presence and love and power and we do this when we reach out and allow God’s love and grace into our hearts and lives. We experience the fullness and abundance of God’s presence and love when we live in a relationship with God and it’s that relationship that Jesus came to establish and we know this is what God wants because when God entered into the world on that silent night in Bethlehem it was as a child.
Look at the last part of the angel’s message, and this will be a sign unto you, you shall find a babe wrapped in strips of clothes and lying in a manger. Of all the ways that God could have enter into this world as a savior, God chose to come as a baby. Think about that, the very first time God reached out and physically touched the world he created - God was reaching out of a manger with a tiny little hand. Have you ever had an infant hold on to your finger? Most of you probably have, either a child or grandchild, maybe a niece or nephew. You place your finger in the infants hand and what does it do, it slowly closes its fingers around yours. It’s a strong grip and in that moment we know that the child is totally dependent upon us. It needs us for life, love and protection. Everything they need in life they need from us. Everything God needed as an infant he needed from Mary and Joseph. He needed them for food and protection. God needed them for love and nurturing. He needed them to clean dirty diapers or swaddling clothes. It amazes me that the God of creation allowed himself to be that vulnerable, but God did it for a reason, God came as an infant because God wanted a relationship with us. God not only wanted to hold us – God wanted us to hold him. God not only wanted to talk with us, God wanted us to talk with him. God wants a relationship with us.
Tonight God wants us to hold him in our hearts and lives and God wants us to talk with him. God wants us to share with him our hopes and fears. God wants us to share with him our joys and our sorrows, our dreams and our disappointments. God wants us to reach out to him so that he can reach out and take hold of us. You see when a child grabs hold of your finger, they’re not just looking for strength and love – they are giving strength and love. Every time a child grabs hold or our fingers or holds tight to our hands, don’t we feel loved? As we allow God’s gentle yet strong fingers to wrap around our hearts and lives we know that we are loved and we know that it’s God’s touch that can heal us and God’s love that can change us. It’s a love that saves us. God came as a child because God wants to build a relationship with us, a relationship where the love that is offered can make us whole, but that relationship won’t be forced on us by God. God doesn’t grip us with an iron first or crush from the outside. God reaches out with an infant’s hand and allows his love to change us from the inside. God’s love can change us if we will allow God’s love to hold. God’s love can save us if we will open our hearts to God’s touch and our lives to God’s presence.
God came in the person of Jesus to be the hero who not only saves the world, but saves each and every one of us. And Jesus saves us by forgiving us of our sin and by reaching out in love to be a part of our lives. God still invites us to enter into a relationship with him, the message of the angels still rings out over all the earth, can we be still and silent enough to hear it? Will we open our hearts and lives and receive it? I invite you, as the angels did over 2000 years ago, to enter into a relationship with God through the savior Jesus Christ. The ultimate hero is Jesus and he has come to save us, so I invite you to reach out and take hold of the hand that extends to us from the manger. I invite you to allow the touch and the love of God that comes to us through Jesus to forgive you and bring you new life.
Christmas Heroes - Shepherds
Like all the people we’ve been looking at in the Christmas story, the shepherds of Bethlehem are heroes because they also were called to be part of God’s plan to bring salvation to the world. The job of the shepherds was to share the good news that the Savior had been born and that’s what they did. (Luke 2:17) After the shepherds find Jesus lying in a manger – they go through the streets of Bethlehem and tell people not only about a baby lying in a manger but how they found the baby because a heavenly lost of angels told them where to look, and then they shared with people what the angels said about the child, that he was the Savior, Christ the Lord.
To me the shepherds are heroes because while the angels told them that the savior had been born and they told the shepherds where to find the child, the angels never told the shepherds that they had to share this news with anyone. The angels give the shepherds a sign so they will know that they have found the Savior, but the angels never told the shepherds that once they found the baby that they had to share this good news with others, the shepherds did this all on their own. From the glory of the angels that appeared to them on the hillsides, to the humility of a child found lying in the hay of a feeding box, the experience of God that the shepherds had was so profound, so life changing, that they couldn’t keep it to themselves, they didn’t want to keep it to themselves, they wanted to share this experience with others. The shepherds wanted others to know the glory and the power and the love of God, so they shared the experiences of that holy night with others. We become heroes when we share our experience of God’s love and grace and power with others, and we need to do it not because we have to or because God calls us to, but simply because we want to. Have we had an experience of God’s love and grace so profound and so personal that it compels us to share it with others? That’s really what the shepherds experienced that night, the profound grace and love of God and their story tells us that God’s love has no limits.
You see, of all the heroes in this Christmas story, the Shepherds are by far the most unlikely. While the shepherds we see standing in our nativity scenes and in our Christmas pageants look innocent or even righteous, as a group, shepherds were not held in very high esteem. Shepherds were known for being crooks and liars. They could not be counted on to do or say the right thing and they had such a bad reputation that they were not allowed to give any testimony in a court of law because they could not be counted on to tell the truth. So it’s to a known group of liars and thieves that God chose to reveal his son on the night he was born.
Why would God do this? Why choose such an unlikely group to reveal this most important news? I mean, God could have sent the heavenly hosts of angels to kings, or priests, or even the holy and righteous men and women of Bethlehem. God could have sent his angels to people who at least others might trust and listen to, but God didn’t. God sent the angels to a bunch of men who had the reputation for not being able to tell the truth, and without even having to ask them to join his plan of salvation – they responded in faith and trust and so they said, hey, we’re in, we’re going to spread this good news of great joy. This bold move on the part of God to choose shepherds above all others shows us that the birth of Jesus and the love and salvation Christ offers are for everyone. There is no one outside of God’s reach, and there is no one outside of God’s love. God not only declares this at the birth of Jesus by choosing the shepherds, but Jesus reinforced this truth throughout his life and ministry.
Think of the kind of people Jesus called to follow him, they weren’t the best and brightest of the society and they weren’t the religious scholars and leaders of his day, they were fishermen and tax collectors. They were people passed over for others and even those who were hated and despised by their neighbors. Jesus constantly reached out to love and forgive men and women who made terrible choices in life. They were sinners, and yet not one of them was beyond the grace of God. And there is not one person today is who beyond the grace of God. It doesn’t matter what we’ve done or where we are in life. We may be facing the biggest failures we have ever faced, we may be struggling to make sense out of broken relationships, broken promises, broken dreams, and we may be wrestling with the stranglehold of sin that simply won’t let us go, but none of that can keep God’s love from us.
Look at what Paul says in Romans 8: 35-39.
There is nothing can separate us from the love of God. God loves us, and his greatest desire is for us to know that we are loved and forgiven, and that the gift of salvation is ours through Jesus. I hope that like the shepherds of Bethlehem that even if we have doubts about God’s love or God’s ability or desire to forgive us, I hope that we would at least be willing to go and check it out. That’s what the shepherds did. They went to see for themselves this thing that the angels talked about. They went to find for themselves this savior, and I hope that if we have any question about whether or not God loves us or forgives us that we will just check it out and see if it’s true. We can check out the claims of God by reading God’s word. We can read about the love of God lived out in the life of Jesus. See what God says – see what Jesus does. Pray and listen to the still small voice of God. Above all the noise and busyness of this season, take a moment to hear the voice of a savior say, I love you and I forgive you, and you are mine. The birth of Jesus proclaims that God loved the world, but the choice of Shepherds to be the heroes who first tell this story of God’s love, is a sign that God loves all people, even the most unlikely, the most distant, and the most sinful.
Heroes not only accept God’s love, they share this good news and they share God’s love with others. Are we willing to share the love of God? Are we willing to say by our words and actions that God’s grace has touched our hearts and lives? One of the most powerful ways we share this good news is in how we talk about the people around us. When we are critical of one another and when we put one another down or say things that are not encouraging and uplifting, then we are not sharing the love and grace of God. And what’s sad is that even in the church, this kind of talk takes place. Cutting people down is so much a part of our culture today that many times we may not even be aware that we are doing it and so it creeps into the life of the church. But when we look down on others, when we judge and are critical of their actions, their looks, or their lifestyle, we are not sharing the good news that all are loved and accepted by God and the truth is there is no place among the people of God for words and actions that don’t lift others up. In Ephesians 4:29 it says, do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
In a world where people think nothing of cutting others down – we become heroes who offer grace and salvation when we speak words of love and acceptance at all times and in all places. We can’t just say the right thing when we are here, we have to say the right thing everywhere because the world is listening. Look at the end of Ephesians 4:29, so that it may benefit those who listen. It’s not just those we are talking to who are listening to us, the world is listening. People are listening to how we in the church talk about one another and if we can’t say positive things about our brothers and sisters, then what hope is there that we can offer the world the grace and love of God. If we can’t truly accept one another right here, then how can we possibly share with others that they are loved and accepted by God. People are listening to us and they are evaluating our words. People are listening to see if our words are filled with grace, or judgment, and they are using what we say to determine if we are filled with grace or judgment.
The words of the shepherds were filled with grace and love and joy because they had been accepted by God. They knew God’s grace because they realized they had been chosen by God to see the Savior. They knew God’s love because they found the child lying in the manger just like the angels told them. The message of the shepherds wasn’t learned from a book, they didn’t read somewhere that God loved them, this was their story and so they shared out of their own personal experience of God’s love and grace. When we share our own personal story of God’s acceptance and forgiveness and love at work in our own lives and when we live that out in real ways in the world around us, we are the heroes who are part of God’s plan of salvation.
I believe the world today is in need of heroes. People don’t want to hear criticism, and they don’t want to hear some truth we learned in a book, people want to know how we have experienced God’s acceptance and forgiveness. They want to know that they are loved and they need to hear words of acceptance and grace and love from us. So as we get closer to the Celebration of Christ’s birth and as things maybe get a little more stressful and a little more hectic, let us first find those moments of silence to hear God’s words of love and grace and then may we share those words with others. When we are that kind of hero – we will help bring salvation to the world.
To me the shepherds are heroes because while the angels told them that the savior had been born and they told the shepherds where to find the child, the angels never told the shepherds that they had to share this news with anyone. The angels give the shepherds a sign so they will know that they have found the Savior, but the angels never told the shepherds that once they found the baby that they had to share this good news with others, the shepherds did this all on their own. From the glory of the angels that appeared to them on the hillsides, to the humility of a child found lying in the hay of a feeding box, the experience of God that the shepherds had was so profound, so life changing, that they couldn’t keep it to themselves, they didn’t want to keep it to themselves, they wanted to share this experience with others. The shepherds wanted others to know the glory and the power and the love of God, so they shared the experiences of that holy night with others. We become heroes when we share our experience of God’s love and grace and power with others, and we need to do it not because we have to or because God calls us to, but simply because we want to. Have we had an experience of God’s love and grace so profound and so personal that it compels us to share it with others? That’s really what the shepherds experienced that night, the profound grace and love of God and their story tells us that God’s love has no limits.
You see, of all the heroes in this Christmas story, the Shepherds are by far the most unlikely. While the shepherds we see standing in our nativity scenes and in our Christmas pageants look innocent or even righteous, as a group, shepherds were not held in very high esteem. Shepherds were known for being crooks and liars. They could not be counted on to do or say the right thing and they had such a bad reputation that they were not allowed to give any testimony in a court of law because they could not be counted on to tell the truth. So it’s to a known group of liars and thieves that God chose to reveal his son on the night he was born.
Why would God do this? Why choose such an unlikely group to reveal this most important news? I mean, God could have sent the heavenly hosts of angels to kings, or priests, or even the holy and righteous men and women of Bethlehem. God could have sent his angels to people who at least others might trust and listen to, but God didn’t. God sent the angels to a bunch of men who had the reputation for not being able to tell the truth, and without even having to ask them to join his plan of salvation – they responded in faith and trust and so they said, hey, we’re in, we’re going to spread this good news of great joy. This bold move on the part of God to choose shepherds above all others shows us that the birth of Jesus and the love and salvation Christ offers are for everyone. There is no one outside of God’s reach, and there is no one outside of God’s love. God not only declares this at the birth of Jesus by choosing the shepherds, but Jesus reinforced this truth throughout his life and ministry.
Think of the kind of people Jesus called to follow him, they weren’t the best and brightest of the society and they weren’t the religious scholars and leaders of his day, they were fishermen and tax collectors. They were people passed over for others and even those who were hated and despised by their neighbors. Jesus constantly reached out to love and forgive men and women who made terrible choices in life. They were sinners, and yet not one of them was beyond the grace of God. And there is not one person today is who beyond the grace of God. It doesn’t matter what we’ve done or where we are in life. We may be facing the biggest failures we have ever faced, we may be struggling to make sense out of broken relationships, broken promises, broken dreams, and we may be wrestling with the stranglehold of sin that simply won’t let us go, but none of that can keep God’s love from us.
Look at what Paul says in Romans 8: 35-39.
There is nothing can separate us from the love of God. God loves us, and his greatest desire is for us to know that we are loved and forgiven, and that the gift of salvation is ours through Jesus. I hope that like the shepherds of Bethlehem that even if we have doubts about God’s love or God’s ability or desire to forgive us, I hope that we would at least be willing to go and check it out. That’s what the shepherds did. They went to see for themselves this thing that the angels talked about. They went to find for themselves this savior, and I hope that if we have any question about whether or not God loves us or forgives us that we will just check it out and see if it’s true. We can check out the claims of God by reading God’s word. We can read about the love of God lived out in the life of Jesus. See what God says – see what Jesus does. Pray and listen to the still small voice of God. Above all the noise and busyness of this season, take a moment to hear the voice of a savior say, I love you and I forgive you, and you are mine. The birth of Jesus proclaims that God loved the world, but the choice of Shepherds to be the heroes who first tell this story of God’s love, is a sign that God loves all people, even the most unlikely, the most distant, and the most sinful.
Heroes not only accept God’s love, they share this good news and they share God’s love with others. Are we willing to share the love of God? Are we willing to say by our words and actions that God’s grace has touched our hearts and lives? One of the most powerful ways we share this good news is in how we talk about the people around us. When we are critical of one another and when we put one another down or say things that are not encouraging and uplifting, then we are not sharing the love and grace of God. And what’s sad is that even in the church, this kind of talk takes place. Cutting people down is so much a part of our culture today that many times we may not even be aware that we are doing it and so it creeps into the life of the church. But when we look down on others, when we judge and are critical of their actions, their looks, or their lifestyle, we are not sharing the good news that all are loved and accepted by God and the truth is there is no place among the people of God for words and actions that don’t lift others up. In Ephesians 4:29 it says, do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
In a world where people think nothing of cutting others down – we become heroes who offer grace and salvation when we speak words of love and acceptance at all times and in all places. We can’t just say the right thing when we are here, we have to say the right thing everywhere because the world is listening. Look at the end of Ephesians 4:29, so that it may benefit those who listen. It’s not just those we are talking to who are listening to us, the world is listening. People are listening to how we in the church talk about one another and if we can’t say positive things about our brothers and sisters, then what hope is there that we can offer the world the grace and love of God. If we can’t truly accept one another right here, then how can we possibly share with others that they are loved and accepted by God. People are listening to us and they are evaluating our words. People are listening to see if our words are filled with grace, or judgment, and they are using what we say to determine if we are filled with grace or judgment.
The words of the shepherds were filled with grace and love and joy because they had been accepted by God. They knew God’s grace because they realized they had been chosen by God to see the Savior. They knew God’s love because they found the child lying in the manger just like the angels told them. The message of the shepherds wasn’t learned from a book, they didn’t read somewhere that God loved them, this was their story and so they shared out of their own personal experience of God’s love and grace. When we share our own personal story of God’s acceptance and forgiveness and love at work in our own lives and when we live that out in real ways in the world around us, we are the heroes who are part of God’s plan of salvation.
I believe the world today is in need of heroes. People don’t want to hear criticism, and they don’t want to hear some truth we learned in a book, people want to know how we have experienced God’s acceptance and forgiveness. They want to know that they are loved and they need to hear words of acceptance and grace and love from us. So as we get closer to the Celebration of Christ’s birth and as things maybe get a little more stressful and a little more hectic, let us first find those moments of silence to hear God’s words of love and grace and then may we share those words with others. When we are that kind of hero – we will help bring salvation to the world.
Christmas Heroes - Mary and Joseph
As we continue to look at the Heroes of the Christmas story, let’s go back and remember the definition of a hero. A hero is an ordinary person who discovers they have been called by God to help bring salvation to the world. Isaiah’s part in bringing salvation to the world was to hold out hope for the people of Israel that one day the Messiah would come, and Isaiah worked for that day knowing it may never come in his lifetime. Elizabeth helped to bring salvation to the world by understanding her place in God’s plan. She wasn’t the main character and her son was not going to be the Messiah. Elizabeth’s role in God’s plan was to support Mary and encourage her, and her son was going to be the prophet God would use to prepare people for salvation and John the Baptist would do this by directing people to Jesus. Today the heroes we are going to look at Mary and Joseph and perhaps more than anyone else in the Christmas story they are real heroes because they were the ordinary people who were called and chosen by God to literally bring salvation into the world because they were the ones God used to bring us Jesus.
As we think about being heroes today, there are valuable lessons we can learn from Mary and Joseph. Think about Mary, she not only surrendered herself to God’s will, but she trusted God to do this amazing work in her life. She trusted in God’s love for her and she trusted that God would use her to bring life and salvation to the world. If we are going to be heroes today then the first thing we need to understand is that God loves us and that God wants to use us. Maybe the work of salvation God wants to accomplish isn’t in the people around us, maybe it’s in our own heart and life. On some level, Mary had to accept God’s love for herself before anything else could happen. Mary had to be willing to receive God’s love before she could step out and trust God to do anything else in her life and the same is true for us. God can’t use us to bring light and hope and salvation to the world, God can’t do a great work in our lives until we allow God to do a great work in our heart. Do we trust that God loves us and that God wants to fill us and use us for some great things?
I want to invite you to read Luke 1:30 over and over again this week, but we need to make one change, replace the name of Mary with your name, so it would read like this, Do not be afraid, Andy, for you have found favor with God. We need to say this over and over again to ourselves because it’s true. We, each one of us, have found favor with God. God loves us and the first work of salvation that God wants to do is in each and every one of us. God wants to offer us forgiveness and grace. God wants us to know that he loves us. Can we trust God to love us? Can we trust that God forgives us? Are we willing to let go of our sin and let go of our failures and the shame that goes along with it all and experience the freedom and life that comes with God’s grace and God’s favor? Nothing can happen in our lives until we are willing to trust that God does loves us, but once we get that settled– the doors are opened for God to do so much more. Once we accept God’s love we will be able to share that love in ways that we never thought or imagined. Once we allow God to work in our own hearts we will find him working in our lives in ways that can and will change the world around us. In Philippians 4:13 it says, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength and we can. We can do all things when we trust that God loves us. We become heroes who help bring God’s salvation to the world we first trust understand and trust that God brings salvation to us because we have found favor with him.
Mary has so much to teach us about being a hero, but we can’t forget about Joseph. Too often Joseph is overlooked because he just stands silently in the background. There are no recorded words of Joseph anywhere in the Bible? He never speaks, and yet his courage and his willingness to say yes to God are just as important as Mary’s obedience because without Joseph, God’s whole plan falls apart. Let’s go back to Matthew 1:18-19
At this point, the only 2 things Joseph knows for sure is that Mary is pregnant, and he is not the father. While Mary has told him that the child is God’s and a work of the Holy Spirit, you have to imagine that Joseph maybe had some doubts about this. But we learn about the character of Joseph here because while he could have saved his own name and reputation and publicly divorced Mary on the grounds of adultery, he doesn’t, it says he planed to dismiss her quietly (1:19). That decision not only spared Mary public humiliation, it spared her life and the life of her child. The punishment for adultery was death, so when it says that Joseph wasn’t willing to expose her to public disgrace, it’s an act of mercy that saves Mary’s life.
But it even goes deeper than that because Joseph’s actions were saying to his family, friends and the community in which he lived that he was taking some of the responsibility for the situation himself. Joseph was not only willing to give up his legal rights for justice and revenge, he was also willing to let go of his good name and reputation to honor and care for Mary. That in and of itself is a act of great character, but here’s the thing, God wanted and needed Joseph to go one step farther and actually take Mary as his wife and be the earthly father of Jesus. Matt. 1:20-21
So not only did God choose Mary, but God was choosing Joseph as well, and God chose Joseph because he was a man of courage and character and that was the kind of man God wanted to help guide and shape the life of his son. Now what always gets me about this story is that while Mary knows that the child she carries is from God, Joseph had to take it on faith. The bible says that faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things unseen. Joseph couldn’t know for certain that the child Mary carried was from God, he had to take it on faith. Heroes are those who are willing to step out in faith and do what God calls us to do even if it doesn’t always make sense to us or to the people around us.
One of the wonderful things about my time in Lewisburg was that I got to know some amazing Bucknell students and through the years we could see their faith and trust in God grow, but we also watched them wrestle with what it really meant when they said yes to God. Like Joseph it meant that many of them had to make some choices that the people around them didn’t understand. For one young man, saying yes to God meant having to say no to a very worldly lifestyle. For his first few years of college he was very involved in a fraternity and all the partying that goes along with fraternity life and so when he said yes to Jesus it meant he began to change many of his activities and behaviors and his fraternity brothers just didn’t understand. Sometimes saying yes to God means we have to take a stand that causes our friends to question us or even look down on us. There are many decisions we make as followers of Jesus that people may question. Why would we take our vacation time to go on a mission trip? Why would we give up a night of partying to go to Bible Study? Why do we give our money to the church? Why do we choose to reconcile relationships when others might tell us to move on? Why do we choose to forgive when others might tell us to seek justice or revenge? And yet when we do give, and when we do forgive we become heroes who offer salvation and life to the world around us. We saw that once again this week in San Diego.
When a fighter jet lost power and crashed into Dong Yun Yoon’s home it killed his wife, his two daughters and his mother-in-law. And yet when he spoke to the press surrounded by his pastor and church family, he said, I don't want the pilot to suffer from this accident. I know he's one of our treasures for the country. And I don't blame him. I don't have any hard feelings. I know he did everything he could. When we chose to forgive when we could seek revenge – we help bring salvation to the world. When we have the faith to follow God’s will even when others may not understand, then like Joseph we are the heroes who offer the world the light and life of God. Are we willing step out in faith and with courage and character follow God’s will even if those around us don’t understand? And even if it doesn’t always make sense to us?
Trusting God to work within us and having the faith to step out in the world and do the right thing are not always easy, so there is one more lesson we need to learn about being a hero from Mary and Joseph. When Mary and Joseph said yes to God, they weren’t alone –they had each other. While both Mary and Joseph responded to God in their silence of their own heart, when they surrendered themselves to God, they weren’t standing alone, they were standing together. When we surrender ourselves to God, we will not be alone, not only will God be with us, but God will provide others who will stand with us and God will provide people to support and encourage us.
Now this means 2 things, first it means that as we seek to grow and develop our faith we need to seek out others. We were not meant to live a life of faith on our own, we need the help and support of God’s people. Notice that Mary not only had Joseph, but she had the support and encouragement of Elizabeth. God didn’t allow her to carry the burden alone – he provided people to offer love and support. God provides us with love and support to help us in our faith so we need to seek out those relationships and work to build up a network of friends and mentors and teachers who can help us along.
The second thing we need to understand is that there are going to be times when other people will need us to be there for them. This is often the part of being the church that we overlook. Too often we only think about coming to church or joining a small group or bible study because of what we will get out of it instead of what we can give to it. Just as we need others to support us and love us and help us along in life, there are people who need our love and support and we have to be willing to offer it. Joseph’s job in God’s plan of salvation was to support Mary, and he did it every step of the way. He didn’t divorce her publicly or quietly, he took her as his wife, he travelled with her to Bethlehem, he then travelled with Mary and Jesus to Egypt to keep them safe. Sometimes God calls us to be part of his plan because he is going to use us to help others find life and salvation and so we need to be willing to step up to the plate and be there for others.
Being a hero first and foremost means trusting that God loves us and it trusts that God is at work in our lives. Being a hero like Mary and Joseph means stepping out in faith to do the right thing even when it may not make sense. And being a hero means we understand how we not only need the support and encouragement of others, but we need to offer that support and love as well. Are we willing, like Mary and Joseph, to say Yes to God? Are we willing to be the heroes the world needs today?
As we think about being heroes today, there are valuable lessons we can learn from Mary and Joseph. Think about Mary, she not only surrendered herself to God’s will, but she trusted God to do this amazing work in her life. She trusted in God’s love for her and she trusted that God would use her to bring life and salvation to the world. If we are going to be heroes today then the first thing we need to understand is that God loves us and that God wants to use us. Maybe the work of salvation God wants to accomplish isn’t in the people around us, maybe it’s in our own heart and life. On some level, Mary had to accept God’s love for herself before anything else could happen. Mary had to be willing to receive God’s love before she could step out and trust God to do anything else in her life and the same is true for us. God can’t use us to bring light and hope and salvation to the world, God can’t do a great work in our lives until we allow God to do a great work in our heart. Do we trust that God loves us and that God wants to fill us and use us for some great things?
I want to invite you to read Luke 1:30 over and over again this week, but we need to make one change, replace the name of Mary with your name, so it would read like this, Do not be afraid, Andy, for you have found favor with God. We need to say this over and over again to ourselves because it’s true. We, each one of us, have found favor with God. God loves us and the first work of salvation that God wants to do is in each and every one of us. God wants to offer us forgiveness and grace. God wants us to know that he loves us. Can we trust God to love us? Can we trust that God forgives us? Are we willing to let go of our sin and let go of our failures and the shame that goes along with it all and experience the freedom and life that comes with God’s grace and God’s favor? Nothing can happen in our lives until we are willing to trust that God does loves us, but once we get that settled– the doors are opened for God to do so much more. Once we accept God’s love we will be able to share that love in ways that we never thought or imagined. Once we allow God to work in our own hearts we will find him working in our lives in ways that can and will change the world around us. In Philippians 4:13 it says, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength and we can. We can do all things when we trust that God loves us. We become heroes who help bring God’s salvation to the world we first trust understand and trust that God brings salvation to us because we have found favor with him.
Mary has so much to teach us about being a hero, but we can’t forget about Joseph. Too often Joseph is overlooked because he just stands silently in the background. There are no recorded words of Joseph anywhere in the Bible? He never speaks, and yet his courage and his willingness to say yes to God are just as important as Mary’s obedience because without Joseph, God’s whole plan falls apart. Let’s go back to Matthew 1:18-19
At this point, the only 2 things Joseph knows for sure is that Mary is pregnant, and he is not the father. While Mary has told him that the child is God’s and a work of the Holy Spirit, you have to imagine that Joseph maybe had some doubts about this. But we learn about the character of Joseph here because while he could have saved his own name and reputation and publicly divorced Mary on the grounds of adultery, he doesn’t, it says he planed to dismiss her quietly (1:19). That decision not only spared Mary public humiliation, it spared her life and the life of her child. The punishment for adultery was death, so when it says that Joseph wasn’t willing to expose her to public disgrace, it’s an act of mercy that saves Mary’s life.
But it even goes deeper than that because Joseph’s actions were saying to his family, friends and the community in which he lived that he was taking some of the responsibility for the situation himself. Joseph was not only willing to give up his legal rights for justice and revenge, he was also willing to let go of his good name and reputation to honor and care for Mary. That in and of itself is a act of great character, but here’s the thing, God wanted and needed Joseph to go one step farther and actually take Mary as his wife and be the earthly father of Jesus. Matt. 1:20-21
So not only did God choose Mary, but God was choosing Joseph as well, and God chose Joseph because he was a man of courage and character and that was the kind of man God wanted to help guide and shape the life of his son. Now what always gets me about this story is that while Mary knows that the child she carries is from God, Joseph had to take it on faith. The bible says that faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things unseen. Joseph couldn’t know for certain that the child Mary carried was from God, he had to take it on faith. Heroes are those who are willing to step out in faith and do what God calls us to do even if it doesn’t always make sense to us or to the people around us.
One of the wonderful things about my time in Lewisburg was that I got to know some amazing Bucknell students and through the years we could see their faith and trust in God grow, but we also watched them wrestle with what it really meant when they said yes to God. Like Joseph it meant that many of them had to make some choices that the people around them didn’t understand. For one young man, saying yes to God meant having to say no to a very worldly lifestyle. For his first few years of college he was very involved in a fraternity and all the partying that goes along with fraternity life and so when he said yes to Jesus it meant he began to change many of his activities and behaviors and his fraternity brothers just didn’t understand. Sometimes saying yes to God means we have to take a stand that causes our friends to question us or even look down on us. There are many decisions we make as followers of Jesus that people may question. Why would we take our vacation time to go on a mission trip? Why would we give up a night of partying to go to Bible Study? Why do we give our money to the church? Why do we choose to reconcile relationships when others might tell us to move on? Why do we choose to forgive when others might tell us to seek justice or revenge? And yet when we do give, and when we do forgive we become heroes who offer salvation and life to the world around us. We saw that once again this week in San Diego.
When a fighter jet lost power and crashed into Dong Yun Yoon’s home it killed his wife, his two daughters and his mother-in-law. And yet when he spoke to the press surrounded by his pastor and church family, he said, I don't want the pilot to suffer from this accident. I know he's one of our treasures for the country. And I don't blame him. I don't have any hard feelings. I know he did everything he could. When we chose to forgive when we could seek revenge – we help bring salvation to the world. When we have the faith to follow God’s will even when others may not understand, then like Joseph we are the heroes who offer the world the light and life of God. Are we willing step out in faith and with courage and character follow God’s will even if those around us don’t understand? And even if it doesn’t always make sense to us?
Trusting God to work within us and having the faith to step out in the world and do the right thing are not always easy, so there is one more lesson we need to learn about being a hero from Mary and Joseph. When Mary and Joseph said yes to God, they weren’t alone –they had each other. While both Mary and Joseph responded to God in their silence of their own heart, when they surrendered themselves to God, they weren’t standing alone, they were standing together. When we surrender ourselves to God, we will not be alone, not only will God be with us, but God will provide others who will stand with us and God will provide people to support and encourage us.
Now this means 2 things, first it means that as we seek to grow and develop our faith we need to seek out others. We were not meant to live a life of faith on our own, we need the help and support of God’s people. Notice that Mary not only had Joseph, but she had the support and encouragement of Elizabeth. God didn’t allow her to carry the burden alone – he provided people to offer love and support. God provides us with love and support to help us in our faith so we need to seek out those relationships and work to build up a network of friends and mentors and teachers who can help us along.
The second thing we need to understand is that there are going to be times when other people will need us to be there for them. This is often the part of being the church that we overlook. Too often we only think about coming to church or joining a small group or bible study because of what we will get out of it instead of what we can give to it. Just as we need others to support us and love us and help us along in life, there are people who need our love and support and we have to be willing to offer it. Joseph’s job in God’s plan of salvation was to support Mary, and he did it every step of the way. He didn’t divorce her publicly or quietly, he took her as his wife, he travelled with her to Bethlehem, he then travelled with Mary and Jesus to Egypt to keep them safe. Sometimes God calls us to be part of his plan because he is going to use us to help others find life and salvation and so we need to be willing to step up to the plate and be there for others.
Being a hero first and foremost means trusting that God loves us and it trusts that God is at work in our lives. Being a hero like Mary and Joseph means stepping out in faith to do the right thing even when it may not make sense. And being a hero means we understand how we not only need the support and encouragement of others, but we need to offer that support and love as well. Are we willing, like Mary and Joseph, to say Yes to God? Are we willing to be the heroes the world needs today?
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Christmas Heroes - Elizabeth
One of the topics of conversation during the Thanksgiving holidays with my family was who are our heroes? We mentioned mentors, teachers and members of our own family, and the idea came to us that maybe our most important heroes aren’t national or international leaders, or sports and entertainment icons, maybe our most powerful and influential heroes are the people we know, the people who are part of our daily lives and our extended circle of family and friends. Maybe our heroes are those who love us and inspire us to be all that God wants us to be. I wonder if Mary considered Elizabeth one of her heroes.
Mary has just learned from the angel Gabriel that she was being chosen to be the mother of the Messiah. Mary surrenders herself to the will of God, saying, Here am I, the servant of the Lord, let it be with me according to your word, but God’s plan is going to be hard. Being pregnant and not married is going to bring Mary some very difficult times. She is in a delicate situation not just with Joseph, but with her family and community. Will they accept her? Will they believe that what is taking place in her is from God? With all of these doubts and fears swirling around in her heart and in her head, it says Mary went with haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Mary immediately seeks out someone who will understand her and the situation she is in. Elizabeth is sure to understand, after all, she herself is experiencing a miraculous pregnancy. After a lifetime of being barren Elizabeth has conceived a child. With all that’s going on in Mary’s life, she looks for someone she believes will support her, care for her and love her through a tough time, and Elizabeth does and her response shows us what it means to be a hero.
When Mary arrives at the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth, instead of a lot of questions, there is acceptance. Heroes accept and welcome people into their hearts and lives. Elizabeth is a hero if for no other reason than she welcomed Mary into her home. Elizabeth didn’t judge her, she didn’t question her. Elizabeth accepted her and loved her. Those who are heroes in our own lives are those who don’t judge us but are willing to welcome us into their hearts and lives.
CNN did a special report on heroes and they asked for people submit names of those they considered heroes and one of the top ten was a woman named Anne Mahlum. Ann lives in Philadelphia and is a marathon runner, and every morning she would run through the streets of Philadelphia passing the homeless who would cheer her on. One day Anne stopped and wondered why she was running by all those who were homeless and not running with them. Anne contacted several area shelters, got donations of shoes and running gear and in 2007 established the Back on my Feet running clubs. Requirements to join the club are that residents have to be from affiliate shelters and have been clean and sober for 30 days. The runners are given shoes and clothes and teams run 3 days a week between 5:30 – 6:00 AM. Running has taught some of the homeless not only how to set goals but how to discipline themselves and work hard to achieve those goals. One success story is a man who since he joined the club has gotten a job, is working on his education and training for a marathon. What I love about this story is that it all started when Anne simply invited the people she saw to run with her. It stared with acceptance and a welcome.
We become heroes in the lives of others when we accept them and welcome them into our lives. It’s the first step because we can’t inspire and encourage others if we aren’t willing to accept them and interact with them, but once we do accept and love others, the door is opened for inspiration and encouragement to flow. Look again at the story of Elizabeth and Mary. Luke 1:41-45
What an encouragement these words must have been for Mary. Not only did Elizabeth welcome her, but immediately after that there were words of inspiration and hope; think about how important this was for Mary. After the angel Gabriel told her that she was going to conceive by the Holy Spirit and bear a son who would be the savior of the world, there had to be doubts and questions– so to hear these words from Elizabeth must have been powerful. Here was someone who could see what God was doing in her life. Elizabeth not only believes her, but she believes in her and she believes God is doing a mighty work within her. Elizabeth saw value in Mary, she saw the potential and literally the life within her and that’s what heroes do, they see the value and the worth and the potential in others.
Anne Mahlum didn’t see homeless men and women when she ran, she saw individuals of value and worth and she worked to lift them up. She inspired them to be all that God wanted them to be. Can we see the same value and worth in others? We become heroes when we see people the way God sees them. More than anything, my hope and prayer for the church is that we see people the way God does, as unique children with great value and worth. When we begin to see people this way, we will work to lift them up because we are going to want the best for them. We will reach out to meet their needs, we will welcome them among us and we will share with them the love of God. Haven’t the heroes of our own lives been those people who saw more in us then we ever saw in ourselves?
As a freshman at MSU I was part of a bible study that in the course of the year simply got too big. As I was talking with a friend of mine who was also in this bible study, I said it was sad in some ways that the small group had gotten so large because we didn’t have the opportunity to really share our own questions and thoughts. Dave suggested that we split the group and I was all for that until Dave asked me to lead the second group. I didn’t know enough to be a Bible study leader, in fact, of all the people in the group, I probably knew the least about the Bible or leading a Bible study, in fact I was probably the only one who wasn’t even a Christian. But Dave saw something in me, he believed in me and he lifted me up. In many ways Dave is one of the heroes in my life because he encouraged me to be more than I ever thought I could be. We become heroes in the lives of others when we begin to see them the way God see them.
But there is one more quality we see in Elizabeth that makes her a hero and that’s humility. Elizabeth understood that there was something miraculous and amazing taking place in her life, in her old age and after a lifetime of not having children, she was suddenly pregnant. There is a miracle taking place in her life and while she may have wanted to celebrate that and lift her own experience up, she knew there was something even more amazing taking place in Mary. Elizabeth understood that as important as her child was going to be, he wouldn’t be the greatest, he wouldn’t be the leader; that would be Mary’s child. Heroes are those ordinary men and women who are willing to say it’s not about me, but it’s about you. Look at what Elizabeth says, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Elizabeth knows it’s not about her and it’s not about her child. God’s plan is all about Mary and her child. Elizabeth doesn’t elevate herself or talk about her needs or her own situation, she is completely focused on someone else.
Last week we looked at the prophet Isaiah and saw how heroes are willing to give themselves completely to a work that they may never see completed, the Messiah would not come in Isaiah’s lifetime, yet he lived and worked for that day to come. Here we see that a hero is one who is willing to accept their place in God’s plan even knowing that they may not be the focus of that plan or the leader in the spotlight who get’s the praise and glory. When Zechariah and Elizabeth learn that they are going to have a child, they hear from God that it is going to be a special child, but not the Messiah, their son would simply point the way toward the Messiah. Look at Luke 1:13-17
The angel is clear that while their son is going to be a special, he is not going to be the Messiah, he is simply going to prepare the way for the Messiah to come. Are we willing to be part of God’s plan even when we know that we may not be the one in the spotlight? Are we willing to work our entire lives so that someone else can shine? It requires a lot of humility and yet inner strength to accept this kind of plan for our lives – but when we do, we become the heroes that God will use to help bring his light and love into the world.
Elizabeth is a hero because she welcomes Mary and not only accepts what God is doing in her life but she sees the full potential and blessing that Mary brings. Elizabeth is also a hero because she understands that God’s plan isn’t about her or her son taking center stage, it’s about someone else, it’s about Jesus. Can we be this kind of hero today? Will we welcome and accept those around us? Will we look for the full God given potential that lies within them? And then are we willing to humble ourselves and accept that it’s not always about us and what we want, it’s about God’s plan of salvation that comes to the world through Jesus.
Mary has just learned from the angel Gabriel that she was being chosen to be the mother of the Messiah. Mary surrenders herself to the will of God, saying, Here am I, the servant of the Lord, let it be with me according to your word, but God’s plan is going to be hard. Being pregnant and not married is going to bring Mary some very difficult times. She is in a delicate situation not just with Joseph, but with her family and community. Will they accept her? Will they believe that what is taking place in her is from God? With all of these doubts and fears swirling around in her heart and in her head, it says Mary went with haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Mary immediately seeks out someone who will understand her and the situation she is in. Elizabeth is sure to understand, after all, she herself is experiencing a miraculous pregnancy. After a lifetime of being barren Elizabeth has conceived a child. With all that’s going on in Mary’s life, she looks for someone she believes will support her, care for her and love her through a tough time, and Elizabeth does and her response shows us what it means to be a hero.
When Mary arrives at the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth, instead of a lot of questions, there is acceptance. Heroes accept and welcome people into their hearts and lives. Elizabeth is a hero if for no other reason than she welcomed Mary into her home. Elizabeth didn’t judge her, she didn’t question her. Elizabeth accepted her and loved her. Those who are heroes in our own lives are those who don’t judge us but are willing to welcome us into their hearts and lives.
CNN did a special report on heroes and they asked for people submit names of those they considered heroes and one of the top ten was a woman named Anne Mahlum. Ann lives in Philadelphia and is a marathon runner, and every morning she would run through the streets of Philadelphia passing the homeless who would cheer her on. One day Anne stopped and wondered why she was running by all those who were homeless and not running with them. Anne contacted several area shelters, got donations of shoes and running gear and in 2007 established the Back on my Feet running clubs. Requirements to join the club are that residents have to be from affiliate shelters and have been clean and sober for 30 days. The runners are given shoes and clothes and teams run 3 days a week between 5:30 – 6:00 AM. Running has taught some of the homeless not only how to set goals but how to discipline themselves and work hard to achieve those goals. One success story is a man who since he joined the club has gotten a job, is working on his education and training for a marathon. What I love about this story is that it all started when Anne simply invited the people she saw to run with her. It stared with acceptance and a welcome.
We become heroes in the lives of others when we accept them and welcome them into our lives. It’s the first step because we can’t inspire and encourage others if we aren’t willing to accept them and interact with them, but once we do accept and love others, the door is opened for inspiration and encouragement to flow. Look again at the story of Elizabeth and Mary. Luke 1:41-45
What an encouragement these words must have been for Mary. Not only did Elizabeth welcome her, but immediately after that there were words of inspiration and hope; think about how important this was for Mary. After the angel Gabriel told her that she was going to conceive by the Holy Spirit and bear a son who would be the savior of the world, there had to be doubts and questions– so to hear these words from Elizabeth must have been powerful. Here was someone who could see what God was doing in her life. Elizabeth not only believes her, but she believes in her and she believes God is doing a mighty work within her. Elizabeth saw value in Mary, she saw the potential and literally the life within her and that’s what heroes do, they see the value and the worth and the potential in others.
Anne Mahlum didn’t see homeless men and women when she ran, she saw individuals of value and worth and she worked to lift them up. She inspired them to be all that God wanted them to be. Can we see the same value and worth in others? We become heroes when we see people the way God sees them. More than anything, my hope and prayer for the church is that we see people the way God does, as unique children with great value and worth. When we begin to see people this way, we will work to lift them up because we are going to want the best for them. We will reach out to meet their needs, we will welcome them among us and we will share with them the love of God. Haven’t the heroes of our own lives been those people who saw more in us then we ever saw in ourselves?
As a freshman at MSU I was part of a bible study that in the course of the year simply got too big. As I was talking with a friend of mine who was also in this bible study, I said it was sad in some ways that the small group had gotten so large because we didn’t have the opportunity to really share our own questions and thoughts. Dave suggested that we split the group and I was all for that until Dave asked me to lead the second group. I didn’t know enough to be a Bible study leader, in fact, of all the people in the group, I probably knew the least about the Bible or leading a Bible study, in fact I was probably the only one who wasn’t even a Christian. But Dave saw something in me, he believed in me and he lifted me up. In many ways Dave is one of the heroes in my life because he encouraged me to be more than I ever thought I could be. We become heroes in the lives of others when we begin to see them the way God see them.
But there is one more quality we see in Elizabeth that makes her a hero and that’s humility. Elizabeth understood that there was something miraculous and amazing taking place in her life, in her old age and after a lifetime of not having children, she was suddenly pregnant. There is a miracle taking place in her life and while she may have wanted to celebrate that and lift her own experience up, she knew there was something even more amazing taking place in Mary. Elizabeth understood that as important as her child was going to be, he wouldn’t be the greatest, he wouldn’t be the leader; that would be Mary’s child. Heroes are those ordinary men and women who are willing to say it’s not about me, but it’s about you. Look at what Elizabeth says, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Elizabeth knows it’s not about her and it’s not about her child. God’s plan is all about Mary and her child. Elizabeth doesn’t elevate herself or talk about her needs or her own situation, she is completely focused on someone else.
Last week we looked at the prophet Isaiah and saw how heroes are willing to give themselves completely to a work that they may never see completed, the Messiah would not come in Isaiah’s lifetime, yet he lived and worked for that day to come. Here we see that a hero is one who is willing to accept their place in God’s plan even knowing that they may not be the focus of that plan or the leader in the spotlight who get’s the praise and glory. When Zechariah and Elizabeth learn that they are going to have a child, they hear from God that it is going to be a special child, but not the Messiah, their son would simply point the way toward the Messiah. Look at Luke 1:13-17
The angel is clear that while their son is going to be a special, he is not going to be the Messiah, he is simply going to prepare the way for the Messiah to come. Are we willing to be part of God’s plan even when we know that we may not be the one in the spotlight? Are we willing to work our entire lives so that someone else can shine? It requires a lot of humility and yet inner strength to accept this kind of plan for our lives – but when we do, we become the heroes that God will use to help bring his light and love into the world.
Elizabeth is a hero because she welcomes Mary and not only accepts what God is doing in her life but she sees the full potential and blessing that Mary brings. Elizabeth is also a hero because she understands that God’s plan isn’t about her or her son taking center stage, it’s about someone else, it’s about Jesus. Can we be this kind of hero today? Will we welcome and accept those around us? Will we look for the full God given potential that lies within them? And then are we willing to humble ourselves and accept that it’s not always about us and what we want, it’s about God’s plan of salvation that comes to the world through Jesus.
Christmas Heroes - Isaiah
The word advent means coming and so today we not only enter into a season where we prepare to celebrate God coming to us as the child of Bethlehem, but we also prepare ourselves for the coming again of Jesus & this Advent I want us to prepare by looking at the heroes of that first Christmas. There’s a popular TV show on NBC called Heroes & while its plot line and characters are a bit strange, I really like how they define a hero. They say a hero is an ordinary person who discovers that they have superhuman ability to help save humanity. What I want to do is change that definition slightly and say that heroes are ordinary people who discover they have been called by God to be help save humanity. The heroes of the Christmas story we are going to look at are ordinary men and women. They don’t have any superhuman powers, they were just called by God and when they were, they were willing to say yes and then be used by God to help bring salvation into the world. My hope is that by reflecting on these heroes we will discover how God is calling us to be the men and woman who today will help bring the message of salvation into the world.
The first hero we are going to look at is the prophet Isaiah. While Isaiah lived hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, he was the prophet who most often talked about the coming of the Messiah. It is the prophet Isaiah who said, (See Isaiah 9:6-7, and Isaiah 11:1-9)
More than any other prophet, Isaiah looked forward to the coming of the Messiah and while the Messiah wasn’t going to come for 100’s of years, Isaiah worked hard to not only keep hope alive among the people, but he worked to bring the people of God to a place of deeper faith and greater trust. As heroes today, are we willing to surrender ourselves to a work that we may never see complete? That’s what Isaiah did, he surrendered himself to the work of God – proclaiming that the Messiah would come, but he knew that he might never see that day arrive. Are we willing to give ourselves completely to a work that we may never see finished? That’s an interesting question for us to consider on this weekend as we celebrate Thanksgiving.
Many of the Pilgrims who left England with hopes and dreams of building a new nation and a better community never saw that dream fulfilled. Half of the company that came over on the Mayflower never made it past the first winter, but they were willing to live and die for their vision and their dream. Many of those who did survive the first harsh winter worked for years to establish this new nation, but they never saw it completed. Being a hero means we may work for God’s purpose & plan but we may never see that plan fulfilled. Like Isaiah, are we willing to place ourselves into God’s hands & work for God’s plans?
As we dig deeper into Isaiah’s life, I want us to focus on three things that helped make Isaiah a hero. The first one is that Isaiah was willing to make the most of ever God given relationship. One of the first things we learn about Isaiah is that he was the son of Amoz who was the brother of Uzziah who was the king of Judah. So Isaiah was the nephew of the King, which meant that he had some pretty powerful and influential relationships as part of his life & Isaiah used those relationships to further the work of God.
Every relationship we have is God given, so every relationship we have is important? Think about the people who surround us each and every day. Who do we work with? Who do we go to school with? Who are our neighbors? What about our family and our circle of friends? These are the people God has placed in our lives and each and every relationship is important. The first thing we need to make sure is that we are praying for these people? Are we asking God how he wants to use us in their lives? Are we reaching out and loving them the way God wants us to? Are we speaking words of grace and truth? Part of being a hero and being used by God is knowing how God wants to use us in the lives of others.
Isaiah not only had God given relationship, these relationships brought God given opportunities. Because Isaiah was the nephew of the King he moved in the courts of the priests and royalty. Isaiah had access to the highest levels of government not only his but others. What an amazing place to be. Isaiah had the opportunity to speak God’s words to the most important and influential leaders of his day, and he made the most of it. Isaiah spoke God’s word to kings and he challenged the political and religious establishment of his day. But heroes aren’t just those who walk in the courts of kings, heroes are those who see God given opportunities all around them and make the most of them.
Again, think about where you work or where you volunteer. Think about the places you go day in and day out. How can God use you in these places? Many people here work at Penn State so you have the opportunity to work with some of the best and brightest leaders in our nation. If you work with students you have opportunity to connect with and influence the future leaders of our world. One of the amazing things about Penn State is that the world comes here, so we don’t have go around the world to be involved in international missions, we can drive just 15 miles down the road. Are we making the most of the opportunities God is giving us?
We are also living in the middle of a growing community. All around us there are new developments and new people moving in. God is bringing people to us, like Isaiah in the courts of the king, we have an incredible opportunity to speak to the hearts and lives of many new people. Will we step out in faith and trust God to use us among our neighbors? Will we make the most of these God given opportunities? And then as a church we have an incredible opportunity to work with children and youth. Every day there are over 100 children in our church and the 5th quarters drew over 200 youth on Friday nights. We sit right next to the high school and all their athletic fields. We have an incredible opportunity to be used by God in our community in ways that can bring life and salvation. Will we make most of those opportunities? Will we explore all the ways God might want to use in order to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to others? Isaiah made the most of his God given opportunities & if we want to be heroes today, if we want to be part of God’s plan of salvation & share the good news of Jesus Christ with others, we need to make the most of the opportunities God gives us.
Isaiah also made the most of his God given talents and abilities. God had gifted Isaiah in unique ways which helped him to carry out God’s purpose and plan. Growing up among the royalty Isaiah was well educated, he was a gifted writer and poet and speaker and God used those unique gifts for his purpose and plan. Over the next several weeks we are going to be spending a lot of time thinking about gifts. What gifts are we going to buy for people, and what gifts might we want to get, as we think about gifts I would invite you to think about the unique gifts God has given to you and how you can best use them to further the work of God in our church and community, and world. What unique passions and interests do you bring to the church? How can God use those to build his kingdom? Look at 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. Paul writes about the gifts that were given to the church and he says…
Look at V7, to each is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good. The Message translates that this way, Each person is given something to do that shows the world who God is. Everyone gets in on it and everyone benefits from it. So here’s the truth, each person here has been a given a gift by God to be used to show the world who God is. Each person here has been given a gift to be used to help others find salvation and life in Jesus, or we might say God is calling each of us to be a hero, to use our God given gifts in ways that will help bring salvation to the world
Now you may be sitting there thinking that you don’t have anything to offer, maybe you think you are too old, or too young to be used by God. Well Moses was an oldm an when God called him to the lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, and Paul told Timothy don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young. So it doesn’t matter how old we are, or how young we are – each and every one of us has been given a gift, what matters is whether or not we are willing to use those gifts for the glory of God. What matters is whether or not we will surrender ourselves and allow God to use us.
Each Sunday during Advent you will see that as we light our Advent candles we are going to sing Surrender because that’s what we need to do to be a hero, surrender ourselves fully to God and give ourselves completely to God’s purpose & plan.
Isaiah was willing to do this. Isaiah was willing to use his God given relationships, God given opportunities and God given abilities for God’s purpose. Look at Isaiah 6:1-8. It is here, in this very personal encounter with God that Isaiah surrenders himself to God, and it will be through our own personal encounters with God that we will hear God’s call and be given the opportunity to surrender ourselves to God as well. My hope is that during this busy season of Advent we will find times of worship, devotion, study, reflection and prayer that will draw us closer to God where we will be able to hear God’s voice and respond to God’s call. Heroes are those who understand all God has given them & respond in faith and trust when God calls them. God is calling out today and he is saying the same thing he said in the days of Isaiah, Whom shall I send, who will go for me? Who will take all that I have given them and work to bring salvation and life to the world around them. May we be the heroes today who say, Here am I, Lord, send me.
The first hero we are going to look at is the prophet Isaiah. While Isaiah lived hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, he was the prophet who most often talked about the coming of the Messiah. It is the prophet Isaiah who said, (See Isaiah 9:6-7, and Isaiah 11:1-9)
More than any other prophet, Isaiah looked forward to the coming of the Messiah and while the Messiah wasn’t going to come for 100’s of years, Isaiah worked hard to not only keep hope alive among the people, but he worked to bring the people of God to a place of deeper faith and greater trust. As heroes today, are we willing to surrender ourselves to a work that we may never see complete? That’s what Isaiah did, he surrendered himself to the work of God – proclaiming that the Messiah would come, but he knew that he might never see that day arrive. Are we willing to give ourselves completely to a work that we may never see finished? That’s an interesting question for us to consider on this weekend as we celebrate Thanksgiving.
Many of the Pilgrims who left England with hopes and dreams of building a new nation and a better community never saw that dream fulfilled. Half of the company that came over on the Mayflower never made it past the first winter, but they were willing to live and die for their vision and their dream. Many of those who did survive the first harsh winter worked for years to establish this new nation, but they never saw it completed. Being a hero means we may work for God’s purpose & plan but we may never see that plan fulfilled. Like Isaiah, are we willing to place ourselves into God’s hands & work for God’s plans?
As we dig deeper into Isaiah’s life, I want us to focus on three things that helped make Isaiah a hero. The first one is that Isaiah was willing to make the most of ever God given relationship. One of the first things we learn about Isaiah is that he was the son of Amoz who was the brother of Uzziah who was the king of Judah. So Isaiah was the nephew of the King, which meant that he had some pretty powerful and influential relationships as part of his life & Isaiah used those relationships to further the work of God.
Every relationship we have is God given, so every relationship we have is important? Think about the people who surround us each and every day. Who do we work with? Who do we go to school with? Who are our neighbors? What about our family and our circle of friends? These are the people God has placed in our lives and each and every relationship is important. The first thing we need to make sure is that we are praying for these people? Are we asking God how he wants to use us in their lives? Are we reaching out and loving them the way God wants us to? Are we speaking words of grace and truth? Part of being a hero and being used by God is knowing how God wants to use us in the lives of others.
Isaiah not only had God given relationship, these relationships brought God given opportunities. Because Isaiah was the nephew of the King he moved in the courts of the priests and royalty. Isaiah had access to the highest levels of government not only his but others. What an amazing place to be. Isaiah had the opportunity to speak God’s words to the most important and influential leaders of his day, and he made the most of it. Isaiah spoke God’s word to kings and he challenged the political and religious establishment of his day. But heroes aren’t just those who walk in the courts of kings, heroes are those who see God given opportunities all around them and make the most of them.
Again, think about where you work or where you volunteer. Think about the places you go day in and day out. How can God use you in these places? Many people here work at Penn State so you have the opportunity to work with some of the best and brightest leaders in our nation. If you work with students you have opportunity to connect with and influence the future leaders of our world. One of the amazing things about Penn State is that the world comes here, so we don’t have go around the world to be involved in international missions, we can drive just 15 miles down the road. Are we making the most of the opportunities God is giving us?
We are also living in the middle of a growing community. All around us there are new developments and new people moving in. God is bringing people to us, like Isaiah in the courts of the king, we have an incredible opportunity to speak to the hearts and lives of many new people. Will we step out in faith and trust God to use us among our neighbors? Will we make the most of these God given opportunities? And then as a church we have an incredible opportunity to work with children and youth. Every day there are over 100 children in our church and the 5th quarters drew over 200 youth on Friday nights. We sit right next to the high school and all their athletic fields. We have an incredible opportunity to be used by God in our community in ways that can bring life and salvation. Will we make most of those opportunities? Will we explore all the ways God might want to use in order to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to others? Isaiah made the most of his God given opportunities & if we want to be heroes today, if we want to be part of God’s plan of salvation & share the good news of Jesus Christ with others, we need to make the most of the opportunities God gives us.
Isaiah also made the most of his God given talents and abilities. God had gifted Isaiah in unique ways which helped him to carry out God’s purpose and plan. Growing up among the royalty Isaiah was well educated, he was a gifted writer and poet and speaker and God used those unique gifts for his purpose and plan. Over the next several weeks we are going to be spending a lot of time thinking about gifts. What gifts are we going to buy for people, and what gifts might we want to get, as we think about gifts I would invite you to think about the unique gifts God has given to you and how you can best use them to further the work of God in our church and community, and world. What unique passions and interests do you bring to the church? How can God use those to build his kingdom? Look at 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. Paul writes about the gifts that were given to the church and he says…
Look at V7, to each is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good. The Message translates that this way, Each person is given something to do that shows the world who God is. Everyone gets in on it and everyone benefits from it. So here’s the truth, each person here has been a given a gift by God to be used to show the world who God is. Each person here has been given a gift to be used to help others find salvation and life in Jesus, or we might say God is calling each of us to be a hero, to use our God given gifts in ways that will help bring salvation to the world
Now you may be sitting there thinking that you don’t have anything to offer, maybe you think you are too old, or too young to be used by God. Well Moses was an oldm an when God called him to the lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, and Paul told Timothy don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young. So it doesn’t matter how old we are, or how young we are – each and every one of us has been given a gift, what matters is whether or not we are willing to use those gifts for the glory of God. What matters is whether or not we will surrender ourselves and allow God to use us.
Each Sunday during Advent you will see that as we light our Advent candles we are going to sing Surrender because that’s what we need to do to be a hero, surrender ourselves fully to God and give ourselves completely to God’s purpose & plan.
Isaiah was willing to do this. Isaiah was willing to use his God given relationships, God given opportunities and God given abilities for God’s purpose. Look at Isaiah 6:1-8. It is here, in this very personal encounter with God that Isaiah surrenders himself to God, and it will be through our own personal encounters with God that we will hear God’s call and be given the opportunity to surrender ourselves to God as well. My hope is that during this busy season of Advent we will find times of worship, devotion, study, reflection and prayer that will draw us closer to God where we will be able to hear God’s voice and respond to God’s call. Heroes are those who understand all God has given them & respond in faith and trust when God calls them. God is calling out today and he is saying the same thing he said in the days of Isaiah, Whom shall I send, who will go for me? Who will take all that I have given them and work to bring salvation and life to the world around them. May we be the heroes today who say, Here am I, Lord, send me.
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