Sunday, December 27, 2015

A Charlie Brown Christmas ~ A Rocky Start

So the weeks leading up to Christmas is this kind of crazy, stress filled whirlwind that culminates on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day or Boxing Day, or whenever we celebrate with family and friends, and then we settle back into a more normal routine and get ready for the New Year.  We might think this mirrors the story of Jesus and that after the crazy, stress filled whirlwind of a trip to Bethlehem, a crowded inn, a noisy stable, a smelly manger and the strange visit of the shepherds who talked about hearing the songs of angels that it got back to a more normal routine for Mary and Joseph.  But that is not what happened.  In fact, what happens next reminds me of a scene from a Charlie Brown Christmas Special, but not the one you might be thinking of.

In 1992 Charles Schultz and Bill Melendez came out with another special called, It’s Christmas Time Again, Charlie Brown and I’ll be honest, it doesn’t have the same charm and power as the first one, but the opening scene of the special looks like the first few years of life for Mary, Joseph and their baby, Jesus.

This clip hits home for me, and I do mean hit.  At my Grandmother’s house there was a steep little hill in her back yard that looked just perfect for sledding.  I couldn’t figure out why none my sisters were going down it but opting to go down much more gentle slope farther away.  So went to the top of that little hill and got read to go.  The plan was solid – and about 5 seconds into the ride I realized why no one else was sledding there.  The house was about 20 feet away and I had no way to stop.  For Linus, everything looked good too and the plan was solid.  Climb in the box and sled smoothly down the hill what could go wrong?  The same for Jesus and his family.  He arrived and all the craziness is over and everything was going fairly well, in fact, they had even been visited by some Magi who gave them gold, frankincense and myrrh – so everything looked good until the night that Joseph had a dream.  Matthew 2:13-16.

Suddenly they are off to a Rocky Start.  I’m sure Mary and Joseph’s plan had been to return home and raise their child, the Son of God, among family and friends, not flee to Egypt and live with strangers.  And think about it, the prophets said that their child was the prince of peace and yet as an innocent baby he is being threatened and attacked by one of the most ruthless rulers Judea had ever know.  Herod was the worldly king of the Jewish people and he was known as a power-hungry man who would do anything necessary to keep his hands on the throne.  When Herod first became king he assassinated most of the Sanhedrin, which was the ruling body of the Jewish people.  He murdered is wife and mother and even three of his own sons in order to make sure he maintain control and that there would never be any other heirs to his throne.  So when some Magi told him that a new king had been born, Herod thought nothing of finding this king and having him killed.  So Herod ordered the death of all the children in and around Bethlehem.  Matthew 2:16-18.

So it was a rocky start for Mary and Joseph as they fled to Egypt but what we need to remember is that even though things weren’t at all what they expected, God was still at work.  God knew what Herod was going to do which is why he didn’t send the Magi back to Herod after they visited Jesus.  By warning them to go home a different way it gave Mary and Joseph a head start in their escape.  So while Mary and Joseph couldn’t see it – God was at work during this rocky beginning.  At just the right moment an angel came to warn them to get out of Bethlehem and because God had sent the Magi to Jesus Mary and Joseph now had some gold to help them n their journey.  God is always at work and God always has a plan even when we cannot see it.

As we enter into this New Year we need to remember that there are going to be unexpected and difficult moments in life and yet there is nothing unexpected to God.  God knows what is going to take place and God is already working on a plan for us to make it through.  God was not only telling Mary and Joseph that they needed to run – but he was preparing all the places that would take them in.  That we don’t know what happened during their flight to Egypt tells me that things at this point went a little more smoothly and that’s because God had already made a way.  The end of the story is that Herod died and Joseph was told in another dream that it was now safe for him and his family to return so they went back to Nazareth.  God was at work even if Mary and Joseph didn’t see it and God is at work in us even when we don’t see it.

Another truth of this story is how God takes what we might think is insignificant and uses it for something amazing.  What was it that led the Magi to search for the new king?  A star – something we see thousands of every night.  And what told the Joseph he should flee Bethlehem and then return home?  A dream – something we do often, sometimes every night.  God takes seemingly simple and insignificant things and uses them for something amazing but only if we are willing to look and listen.  The Magi were looking at the stars which is why they saw something new and checked it out.  Joseph must have been listening to his dreams – and why not, he was also told in a dream that Jesus was going to be the son of God.  If God was going to start speaking to me in dreams like that, I would listen too.  So they were in tune with the simple ordinary aspects of life and through them God did amazing things.

This New Year we need to pay attention to the simple and ordinary things of life and look for God to use them in amazing ways.  Maybe it will come through our routines at work, or through our dedication and commitment in worship, maybe it will come during times of prayer or praise or even play – but if we know God is always working in us then we need to watch and wait for him to appear.  Too many times we look to God to give us some kind of spectacular sign when what we really need to do is pay attention to the simple things God does every day.

Next month we start a new series called 5 things God uses to grow our faith and the truth is that these 5 things are simple.  God uses teaching, relationships, our spiritual disciplines and ministry and the circumstances of our lives to lead us and grow us.  The question is will we look for God in these simple things and learn how to use them to grow daily.
So it was a rocky start for Mary, Joseph and Jesus.  They were persecuted and forced from their home.  They listened to God, trusted what He said and set off to Egypt, becoming refugees.  Who would have thought that a series on Charlie Brown would lead us to Matthew 2 and the story of Mary and Joseph facing a rocky start to their life as a family?  Who would have thought that Charlie Brown and Linus trying to sled down a hill in a box would lead us to one of the most difficult issue facing our world today and one of the most divisive issues facing our country?  While we may not have seen this coming, God did because God is always at work in our lives and God is always leading us where He wants us to go, so here we are today, face to face with the refugee crisis facing our world.

Let me share start by saying I am honored and greatly blessed to be part of a congregation that despite what we may think and believe politically we can come together to make a statement on Christmas Eve that we need to reach out to Jesus.  That we did not shy away from the desperate struggle of refugees around the world to survive because of our current political circumstances is a sign of the strength of faith and courage this church has.  When I told some of my friends and colleagues that we were giving our Christmas Eve offering to the Global Refugee Crisis through UMCOR, what I heard most often was – wow.  That’s something.   And you are something for being willing to see the real human need in the midst of the all the political talk on both sides.

This is not an easy issue for us to work through as a nation.  We need to ensure the safety and security of our communities and yet we can’t forget our call to care for those in need.  We face the same thing here in the church; while we are open to all people we also have to work to ensure the safety and security of our children.  We also cannot forget that many refugees in the world today are our brothers and sisters in Christ.  There are Christian around the world who have been forced out of their homes because of their faith and they need our support and prayers.  Even among the surge of refugees from Syria there are Christians whose families and faith communities date back to the times of the Bible.  And think about the added struggle for them, they are not only fleeing their homes but travelling among the other refugees can be dangerous for them because of their faith and so they are often in even greater danger and face greater needs.  While we struggle with the political crisis of refugees, let’s always remember that in many cases, no matter who they are, they are our brothers and sisters and we need hear the call of God to care for those in need.

And think about this, as Christians, we are all refugees living in a foreign land because this world is not our home – our home is the kingdom of God.  I don’t just mean heaven when we die, I mean we are to live in this world today as if we were citizens of God’s kingdom.  In one of Jesus final prayers he prayed for the disciples and for the church, he said, I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.  We are sent by God into the world but we are not to be of this world which means we are not to let the values and priorities of the world shape or lives.  

So we need a kind of refugee mindset as we move into the New Year and there are two things that can help with this.  First: keep your eyes, minds and hearts focused on the Kingdom of God.  The Apostle Paul tells us that we can do this by only thinking about that things that are Godly.  Philippians 4:8.  We have to look to the things of God and not the things of this world and we need to allow God’s values and priorities shape us.  Just as most refugees want to go home and so keep their eyes and hearts fixed there, we need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus who shows us what it looks like to be a citizen of God’s kingdom.

The second thing we need to do to be refugees moving toward God’s kingdom is to be willing to leave everything behind.  One thing all refugees have in common is that they have to leave everything behind.  They not only leave homes, clothes and all their possessions, they leave behind their identity and livelihood.  While they may have had good jobs or been talented craftsmen in their home countries, they have to leave all that behind in order to find life.  Jesus said the very same thing to those that wanted to follow him.  They had to be willing to leave everything behind.  Jesus said that whoever loses their life for me will find it.  To follow Jesus means we have to leave this world and at times our own hopes and dreams behind..

Whether the new year begins with a Rock Start or those challenges come in the weeks and months to come, what we can be sure of is that God is at work in our lives and we can find God working if we will look for him in the simple ordinary events of daily life.  As we move on toward on our home in the Kingdom of God, let us trust God to provide for us and give us the strength and faith and courage to persevere.


Next Steps
A Rocky Start

1. Read the story of all that Mary and Joseph faced after Jesus was born ~ Matthew 2.  Identify all the ways God was at work even though Mary and Joseph may not have seen it.

2. God worked through stars and dreams – things we might take for granted and seem insignificant.  What simple things might God use in your life during 2016 to speak to you?  What one thing can you do to help pay more attention to these things?

3. Resolve to be in worship during the month of January to learn about the 5 Things God Will Use To Grow Your Faith.
teaching
relationships
spiritual disciplines
ministry/service
circumstances

4. How does Jesus spending His young life as a refugee shape your thinking about the current refugee crisis facing our world?  How does it shape your political thoughts as we wrestle with this as a country?

5. We are refugees living in a foreign land because our home is the Kingdom of God.  To keep a refugee mindset in the coming year we need to:
Keep our eyes, minds and hearts focused on the Kingdom God.  Read Philippians 4:8.
Leave everything behind.  What do you need to leave behind as you move into this new year?


Sunday, December 20, 2015

A Charlie Brown Christmas ~ True Peace




What are you hoping for this Christmas?  What’s on your Christmas list?  What gift is it that you just have to have in order for your life to be complete and for you to finally be at peace?  As children we may have said something like a Red Rider BB gun or a Cabbage Patch Doll, but as adults our hopes change.  Now we hope for the best Star War’s gifts out there like the light saber BBQ Tongs

so we can BBQ like a Jedi; or maybe it is the Darth Vader Waffle Maker.



Actually, as we get older the gifts we often hope for can’t be bought from amazon.  Maybe the gift we hope for this year is for our family to be together, or for a relationship to be healed, or for our job situation to improve.  Maybe the gift that will bring peace is to see our children grow in faith and find courage and strength to make it through difficult times.  Through the years what we hope for changes, but what doesn’t change is that we still have hopes and dreams.  We still long for gifts that we think will bring us peace.  What Charlie Brown hoped for was something to help bring his life a sense of purpose and fulfillment.  He wanted something to give him peace and he turned to many different people for help, but one person turned to him, his sister Sally.  (video)

Sally had an extensive Christmas list and she had her hope set on every one of these very specific gifts.  There were so many items on her list that she decided to make it easy on Santa and just ask for money.  For Sally, her hope and heart was set on material goods.  Her expectation and desire was for cold hard cash.  That’s what she hoped for because that’s what she thought would make her life complete.  Money was not only what she deserved, it was what she thought would bring her peace.  

Today if we are looking for something that will bring us peace, we have a choice.  Like Sally, we can look to the material goods and wealth of this world and trust rising stock markets, Christmas bonuses and higher paying jobs or we can look to God.  Sally was a young girl who looked for peace in the world but Mary was a young girl who looked for peace in God.
Like all good Jewish girls, Mary had her own hopes and dreams.  She dreamed of marrying a honest God fearing man and having lots of children because these were signs of God’s blessing  Like all good mothers she dreamed that her children would grow up to have a life blessed by God and a life that would be a blessing to others.  Many Jewish girls at this time dreamed that their children might grow up to the Messiah because that was the highest honor and the greatest blessing they could know and people at this time were looking for the Messiah to come.  These were all things Mary would have hoped for and these were the things that would bring her life true and lasting peace and like most girls she would have thought these things would all come through the normal channels of life like a husband and marriage, but then Mary had a visit from an angel.  Luke 1:26-38.

Suddenly Mary is faced with a choice.  Would she place her hope for a child, and the hope she had for that child, in herself and trust in her upcoming marriage to Joseph or would she place her hope and trust in God?  To trust God was difficult because Mary was a virgin so how could she possibly become pregnant without Joseph and if she did became pregnant outside of marriage it would end her future with Joseph, end her reputation as a faithful woman and maybe even end her life.  From the world’s point of view God’s plan made no sense, was incredibly unlikely to happen and included tremendous risks, but Mary said yes.  Mary trusted God to help her find true peace.  

Sally turned to the world to find peace, but Mary turned to God.  If we are looking for peace, where will we turn and what will we trust?  Will we trust the things of this world?  Will we trust the material goods of the world to make us complete?  Will we trust the things that make sense to us and the things that don’t bring any risk or will we look for peace in God?  To find peace in God means we have to commit ourselves completely to God, and say like Mary, Here am I, the servant of the Lord, let it be with me according to your word.
Mary surrenders herself fully to God and places herself completely in God’s hands and that is the only way to find true peace.  To find peace today we have to submit ourselves to God and submission is a totally commitment.  When Mary surrendered to God it was a total commitment.  Think about what it means to become pregnant.  I have it on good authority that it affects absolutely every part of your life.  Being pregnant affects your eating and sleeping.  It affects the clothes you wear and your ability to move.  Physically, pregnancy affects everything, but it goes deeper than the physical changes and I’m not just talking about the emotions and hormones, I am talking about relationships.  Relationships change, even a woman’s identity changes as she goes from being a daughter and wife to being a mother.  For Mary, placing her trust in God meant that everything in her life would change as she now follows God’s will.  Giving up this kind of control is often why we struggle to trust God.  If we continue to trust the things of this world then we are still in control, but when we place our trust in God we are giving control to God and we set out on His course for our lives.

And surrendering to God in order to find peace doesn’t mean that everything is going to run smoothly.  Think again about Mary; engaged to be married, but now pregnant by God.  What will Joseph say?  What will the people in the community say?  From the very beginning this was going to be a struggle.  When it was time for her to give birth they had to take a journey – when they got to Bethlehem there was no place for them to stay – when the baby arrived all they had was a manger.  The only visitors were a group of shepherds.  Not exactly the situation Mary may have anticipated or hoped for – but because she was fully surrendered to God and trusted him, she was able to remain strong.  Mary wasn’t looking to things of this world to bring her peace and comfort; she was placing all of her faith and trust in God.  Placing our trust in God means giving all we have to God and then sticking with God even when things get difficult.


Mary shows us that true peace isn’t found in this world but in giving ourselves fully to God but she also shows us why we can trust God and what God’s peace looks like.  After Mary said yes to God she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was also pregnant in a pretty miraculous way.  Elizabeth was much older than Mary and had never been able to have a child, but now in her old age she was also pregnant and when Mary arrives, Elizabeth affirmed that God had truly blessed Mary and that her child was from the Holy Spirit.  During this visit Mary shared this song of praise: Luke 1:46-55.

It is in these words where we begin to understand where the Mary’s peace came from.  It came from Mary believing that God really did know her, and that God was doing something great in her and that God was going to lift her up.  Luke 1:48, Luke 1:49, Luke 1:52b. This is still where peace still comes from, it comes when we believe that God knows us and that God will do great things for us and that God will lift us up.

God knows us.  God knows our strengths and weakness, our hopes and dreams, our gifts and abilities.  At times, God knows us better than we know ourselves and God knows what will bring us peace.  When I first gave my life to Christ I told God that I wanted to serve him with my life’s vocation and I looked at everything except the local church.  Because I didn’t want to be a local pastor I looked at being a chaplain, I looked at being a missionary; I looked at producing Christian TV programs.  I looked at everything but refused to look at being a local pastor until God put me in a local church during seminary.  It was through a placement at Mt. Hermon UMC in Graham NC as an associate pastor that I finally faced the reality that God knew me better than I knew myself and that the local church was a good place for me and maybe the only place where I would find peace.  When we truly believe that God knows us better than we know ourselves and that God knows what is best for us and leads us in that direction that we can fully give ourselves to God and begin to find some peace.

Peace also comes in knowing that God will do great things for us, but let me be clear - God can only do great things for us if we will give ourselves to Him.  God could not have done anything in Mary if she had said no, but because she surrendered herself and said yes, God was able to do something miraculous and bring Jesus, our Savior, into this world.  It is only when we say yes to God and surrender to God our hearts and hands and lives that God is able to begin to do great things in us.  Sometimes God doing great things in us starts in very small and unseen ways.  I’m sure Mary wondered if God was doing anything in her during those first few days and weeks, but after her cousin Elizabeth affirmed God’s blessing she knew that God was doing something great.  It often takes time for us to see the great things God is doing and sometimes we may not see it at all.

Many times the great things God wants to do in our lives may not be anything that can be seen.  For example, faithful prayer may not be seen by the world as anything great, in fact many people today don’t see prayer as effective at all, but prayer is powerful and important and God can do great things in us and through us if we will surrender to him and pray.  And we may never see the results of those prayers, but again, it doesn’t mean God isn’t doing something miraculous.

Giving is also not something people see as a great thing – but when lives are changed by our gifts – it is truly great.  Through your generous giving we were able to help a couple get back together and start to heal their relationship and move forward in life and faith.  While Mary could see the great thing God was doing in her, we often do not see it but faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen and faith brings peace.  Peace comes when we surrender to God knowing that God will use us for something good even if we don’t know it or see it.

Peace also comes when we know that God will lift us up but again God can only lift up those who will first bow down to him.  This is what Mary tells us in Luke 1:52-53.
It is the hungry and the poor and the humble and the servants that God lifts up.  It is those who have surrendered to God that God honors and fills and brings peace.  James 4:10 says, humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up.    So humility and surrender are necessary for us to experience the blessing of God’s peace.

For Sally, peace came from trusting the things of this world but for Mary, it came from trusting God.  Today peace still comes from God but only when we are willing and able to say, Here am I, the servant of the Lord, let it be with me according to your word.  I invite you in these days leading up to Christmas to surrender to God.  Don’t look to the world to bring you peace and don’t trust the gifts that can be purchased to make you whole.  Turn to God, trust God and surrender to God fully for this the only path that leads to peace, a true and lasting peace that passes all understanding.


Next Steps
A Charlie Brown Christmas ~ True Peace

1.  Growing up, what gift did you think you just had to have in order for life to be complete?  Did you receive it?  How long did the peace and fulfillment last?

2.  What gift do you want this year?  Is it something that will bring true peace?

3.  Read the story of Mary in Luke 1:26-56

4.  Mary experienced true peace because she surrendered herself to God.
What would complete surrender look like in your life?
What area do you struggle to give to God?
What can you do this Christmas to draw closer to God?

5.  Peace for Mary came in knowing that:
God knows us -  Luke 1:48
o Do you find this scary or encouraging?  Why?
o What hope and dream can you share with God?
God will do great things in us - Luke 1:49
o What great thing has God already done in you?
o What great thing would you like God to do in you?
o What great thing can you do between now and Christmas?  Prayer, Giving, Faith Sharing
God will lift us up - Luke 1:52
o Humble yourself before God in worship and prayer
o Think of others before yourself during the Christmas Celebration

Join us for Worship on Christmas Eve at 4:00, 7:00 or 9:30.

Sunday, December 13, 2015

A Charlie Brown Christmas ~ Be Content


Charlie Brown’s search for the true meaning of Christmas leads him in many directions.  What he’s looking for is something that will make him happy, but it goes beyond happiness.  Charlie Brown is looking for joy and contentment, something that will not just fill his Christmas but his entire life.  No one that Charlie Brown encounters seems happier than his dog Snoopy.  Snoopy shows Charlie Brown, and all of us, what many people do during the Christmas season to be happy.  g

The first thing Snoopy does is decorate his doghouse.  Many people decorate their homes during the holidays to try and get that Christmas spirit.  We will set up trees, put candles in the windows and struggle to untangle lights all in an effort to make ourselves and others happy.  Not only is Snoopy decorating his house for himself, he is doing it to win a prize.  He wants the attention and approval of others.  I wonder how many people decorate their homes because they really enjoy decorating or because they are seeking the approval of their neighbors.

My first year in Lewisburg I quickly realized that everyone in my neighborhood decorated their homes for Christmas.  Since the parsonage sat on the corner at the entrance to the development, I didn’t feel like I had much choice- I had to decorate.  I put candles in all the windows (complete with extension cords and timers), strung icicle lights across the porch and put lights on all the shrubs because I didn’t want people to think I was a Grinch – after all, I was the pastor.  I didn’t enjoy doing it each year because the perfectionist in me didn’t like how the lights looked because they were never just right, but I did it because I didn’t want others to think less of me.  I did for their approval and acceptance.

So decorating doesn’t always make us happy and decorations don’t stay up forever, at some point we have to take them down, pack them away and then feel a little dark and empty when it’s all gone.  The happiness that all the tinsel and glitter brings doesn’t last, so once Snoopy’s doghouse is decorated, he turns to something else to be happy, dining.

Now this is going to hit close to home for many of us, but let’s be honest, we all turn to food this time of year to make us happy.  That’s why we make and eat so many Christmas Cookies!  For many families there are certain foods we only make this time of year and when eat them, they make us happy.  In my family it is bara brith and kuchen – 2 breads made by my Grandmothers that now my Mom makes, and then there is peppermint stick ice cream with homemade hot fudge sauce.  This week for a clergy luncheon Pete served this and all I had to do was take one spoonful and I was happy because it tasted like Christmas.  But too much of this happiness will not help us be content or happy once January rolls around and we step on the scale and realize we gained 10 pounds.  All our happiness is gone then and we will feel miserable and frustrated with ourselves and struggle to take off all those cookies.  

Food doesn’t satisfy Snoopy either and so he turns to one final means of finding happiness – dancing. We also turn to entertainment during this season to find happiness.  Some people are already in line to get into the new Star Wars movie but the force won’t stay with them for long.  Eventually there will have to be another movie, another concert, another game, another “dance” in order to stay happy.  The entertainment of the world doesn’t bring lasting happiness so the search goes on.  

Decorating, Dining and Dancing are three things which many people turn to in order to be happy in this season, but they just don’t last which is why January is often a dark and depressing month.  Now please don’t leave today and say that Andy said we shouldn’t decorate our homes, bake cookies or attend concerts, movies and parties, I am not saying that at all.  What I am saying is that if we look to these things or anything in this world to bring us lasting joy – we will be let down.  Decorations, dining and dancing and the happiness they bring don’t last.  The pleasures they provide are temporary and tied into what’s happening around us and they don’t bring abiding joy.

Snoopy offers Charlie Brown happiness, but Charlie Brown is looking for something more and something that will last, something that will endure and actually help him when times get tough.  What Charlie Brown needs and what we need, is joy.

Rejoice.  It is a command given to us over and over again in the Bible and yes it is a command.  Look at 1 Thessalonians. 5:16.  Rejoice Always.  God is commanding us to be joyful – it’s not a suggestion.  It doesn’t read try joy, or might I suggest you be joyful – it says, Rejoice - Be Joyful.  Because it is a command, joy must be possible for us at all times because God is not going to tell us to do something that can’t be done.  Certainly God is not going command us over 300 times to be joyful if joy were not a possibility for us.  If joy is possible at all times then it cannot be tied to what is happening around us, it must come from someplace else.

1 Thessalonians drives home the point that this rejoicing is a command and possible in all circumstances by saying Rejoice Always, not just when things are going well, not just when we are getting our own way, but always.  If we are only joyful when things are going well, then it’s not real joy – it’s just being happy.  Snoopy was happy when he won the contest for his doghouse but then he was not so happy when the music stopped and he had to stop dancing.  Happiness is tied to our circumstances but joy is an attitude of the heart which endures and stays with us and within us even when what is happening around us may be difficult.  James 1:2-3 says, consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Joy is what carries us through those tough times because joy is the understanding, conviction and certainty that God is in control and that God is with us.

Psalm 5 shows us how we can find this kind of joy.  Psalm 5:11-12.  Let all who take refuge in God rejoice.  So what does it mean to take refuge in God so that we can find this joy?  Taking refuge in God means that we follow Jesus and abide or remain in him.  Jesus said, I am the vine and you are the branch, remain in me and I will remain in you.  When we remain in Jesus, when we give ourselves to him and strive to walk with him each and every day we are taking refuge in God and the joy will come.  Because joy is one of the fruits of God’s spirit we know it will develop and remain in us as we allow the Spirit of God to dwell in us.  So we experience joy not by turning to the things of this world, or even turning to ourselves but in daily turning to God to receive God’s love.

For many of us, this is where the problem comes; it is hard for us to trust that God really loves us.  It is hard for us to place our lives fully in God’s hands when we keep wondering how God can love a sinner like me.  We can see God’s love for others.  We can see God reaching out and caring for those around us, but many of us still question whether or not God can love me with all my doubts and problems and sin.  I’m not sure what we can do to increase our understanding of God’s love for us because the word of God can’t be any clearer.  God says to us over and over again how much he loves us so I’m not sure we can do anything to make that clearer, maybe what we need is to just hear that message more often.

There was little girl who every month went out on date with Daddy.  One month their date was to go out for breakfast.  After they ordered their meal, the Father started to tell his little girl how special she was and how much love and joy she had brought into his life and how proud he was of her and how much he loved her.   When their food came, the father picked up his fork and started to eat, but the little girl reached over and touched her Dad’s hand and said, longer Daddy, longer.  So he put his fork down and kept telling her how special she was and how talented she was and how much she and her Mommy loved her.  He again picked up his fork to start eating when the little girl reached out her hand a second time and said, longer Daddy, longer.  So again this father put down his fork and told his daughter how much he loved her.  And every time he went to pick up his fork the little girl said, longer Daddy, longer.  They didn’t eat much that day, but the little girl got what she needed.  She knew how much her Daddy loved her.

There are times when we need to say to God, longer Daddy longer and then sit and listen to God say over and over again how much he loves us.  From the beginning to the end of the Bible we hear the story of God’s love for us and how God reaches out to us again and again to say, I love you.  When the little girl heard her Daddy talk about how much he loved her, she knew she could trust him and she grew to trust him more.  The more we hear about God’s love for us, the more we will be able to trust God and find refuge in God which helps us experience the joy God has to offer.

God’s unconditional love was also seen on the night of Jesus’ birth.  The first people who heard about the birth of Jesus were a group of shepherds on the hillsides of Bethlehem.  The angel told them, Fear not for behold I bring you good news of great joy.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior, who is Christ the Lord.  Now shepherds were not the most respected group of people.  They weren’t the most religious, faithful, or trustworthy but they were the first to hear this good news of great joy.  And the angels didn’t tell them they had to clean up their act before they could go and find the babe lying in a manger.  This means that we can all come to God just the way we are.  God doesn’t require us to change before He will love us, He loves us first and then allows His love to change us and fill us with joy.  

God’s love for us is unconditional which means that we can rejoice always or as the Psalmist says it, we can ever sing for joy.  Because of God’s love for us we can experience joy at all times and in all places.  God’s love doesn’t depend on things going well or on us doing well, it is always available which means joy can be experienced in all circumstances.  Even when we are in trouble and in danger, God is there to bring us joy, look at Psalm 5:11b.  Spread your protection over them that those who love your name may rejoice in you.  God doesn’t keep us from experiencing pain in lives – we will all go through hardships and suffering, but when we do, God’s protection, or presence, is there so that even during those times we can experience joy.  The joy in these moments comes from knowing that God is with us and that his strength and power and the power of his love will see us through.

So what’s holding you back from experience the joy God has to offer?  What’s keeping you from being content and causing you to keep searching for something to make you happy?  During this hectic season of the year, don’t look for joy in decorations, dining and dancing, don’t look for joy in any of the things of this world, look for it in God’s unconditional love and take refuge in him.



Next Steps
A Charlie Brown Christmas ~ Be Content

Snoopy found happiness in decorating, dining and dancing.  Where do you look for happiness during the Christmas season?  What things destroy this happiness?

1.  Read 1 Thessalonians 5:16
God commands us to rejoice which means joy is not based in our circumstances or situations.  Where can you find joy?

2.  Read Psalm 5

  • What does it mean for you to take “refuge” in God?
  • In what areas of life do you need to follow Jesus more closely?  
  • Jesus said he is the vine and we are the branches.  How can you stay connected to Jesus this week and draw your life from him?  


3.  Joy also comes in knowing that we are unconditionally loved by God.  Read the following Scriptures that talk about God’s love for us.

  • Isaiah 49:15-16  
  • Isaiah 54:10,
  • Jeremiah 31:3-6
  • Zephaniah 3:16-17
  • John 3:16-17
  • Romans 5:1-8
  • Romans 8:28-30


4.  In what areas of your life do you need God’s love and protection to spread over you?  Ask God for that help today.

5. Joy is also found in giving ourselves away.  What act of service or sacrificial gift can you make during this season?

  • Helping with the Christmas Dinner
  • Helping those in need through the Christmas Offering
  • Supporting Toys for Tots or another gift giving program



Sunday, December 6, 2015

A Charlie Brown Christmas ~ Give It Up

Charlie Brown’s search for the true meaning of Christmas took him to several friends who all had different ideas about how to turn his attitude around and get the most out of the holiday.  The first person Charlie Brown talks to is the one who believes she has all the answers, Lucy.  Lucy is at her psychiatric booth when Charlie Brown comes up to discuss his problem.

What Lucy decides Charlie Brown needs is involvement, better yet, he needs the ability to direct, which means he is the one to tell others what to do.  He gets to be in control.  The reason this makes sense for Lucy is because for her, life is all about being in control.  Lucy loves to be in control, in fact, while Lucy tells Charlie Brown he is going to direct the play, she is the one who decides what part everyone gets.  For Lucy it is all about being in control and having things her way and if she doesn’t get her way, she is willing to force the issue.

For Lucy, life is all about being in control.  For many of us, life feels healthy, balanced and good when we are in control and when we get our way.  Do any of you struggle with this need to be in control?  Most of us really like to get things our way and our need for control may be seen in little things like who gets to hold the remote control or who set’s the thermostat at night, or maybe our need for control is seen in larger issues like how money is spent in the family.

This time of year the fight for control can be big, especially for newlyweds.  Newly married couples have an entire list of decisions they have to work through in order to celebrate their first Christmas.  What kind of tree do you put up, artificial or real?  What about lights – white or colored?  Blinking or non-blinking?  When do you open gifts, Christmas Eve or Christmas day?  What about the food on the table, will it be turkey?  Ham?  Roast Beef?  (solve that problem by coming to eat here!)  Whether it is Christmas or any other season of the year, most of us like getting our own way – we like to be in control.  It is the human condition and in many ways it is the original sin.

Think back to Adam and Eve in the Garden.  God told them they could eat of any tree they wanted, just not the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  Genesis 2:16-17.  God gave them control over everything in the garden except eating from one tree and what do Adam and Eve immediately want to do, they want to eat from that tree.  They want total control of their lives.  They want to be the ones making all the decisions.  They want things their way so they disobey God and do the one thing they were told not to do.  It was this decision to take control that broke their relationship with God.  Their need to be in control not only broke that relationship it broke the relationship they had with each other.  Look what happens when God asks them what is going on, Genesis 3:11b-13.

When questioned by God about what they had done, Adam and Eve aren’t honest but they also don’t support each other.  Adam throws Eve under the bus by saying, she made me do it and then Eve places the blame on the serpent.  Not only is their relationship with God broken but their relationship with each other is broken.  Our need to be in control leads to sin which destroys our relationship with God and one another which leads to all kinds of evil in our world.

But God does not leave us in our sin and God does not leave us in our broken relationships.  God offers forgiveness and God restores relationships but only when we are willing to give it up – give up control.  Giving up control was the message of John the Baptist who came to prepare the way for Jesus.  Mark 1:1-5.  John prepared people for Jesus by calling them to give up control of their lives and turn back to God and they did this through repentance.

The process of repentance requires two things and the first one is confession.  We first need to confess that we are sinners.  We need to confess that like Adam and Eve we like to control everything and we like to get our own way and that all too often we disregard others in order to get it.  We are like Lucy giving people 5 good reasons we should be in control, but this way of life is killing us.  Confession our control issues isn’t easy because while we can see the issues of control in other people’s lives, it is not easy to see it in our own.

Why is it that we can see how our spouses, children, parents and coworkers are all control freaks but if someone points it out in our own lives we get defensive?  We just don’t see those issues in our own lives and if our eyes are ever opened so we do see it, just like Adam and Eve, we make excuses or blame others.  If we want to experience the fullness of life God has for us then we need to repent and the first step of repentance is to acknowledge our own sin and our own issues of control.  So confession is the first step, but it is not the final step.

The repentance John talked of was twofold, there was confession of sin and then baptism.  John took people down into the Jordan River and plunged them under the water and then lifted them up again in a symbol of new life.  They were dying to their sin and rising up to live life differently.  After the death and resurrection of Jesus, baptism wasn’t just a symbol of death and new life there was a real connection we had to the death and new life of Jesus.  In Romans 6 it says we were baptized into his death and raised with him to new life.  Romans 6:6 says, for we know that our old self was crucified with Christ so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.  So through Jesus’ death our sin has been destroyed so that like Jesus we can be raised up to live a new life.

So repentance isn’t just acknowledging our faults and saying that we are sorry, it is turning away from that sin to live life differently.  The word repent means to turn and so there has to be this desire to turn away from sin, or in this case to turn away from being in control, so that God can be in control and fill us with the life he has to give us.   God has always wanted to have this kind of presence and control in our lives.  While God gave us free will, God always wanted us to live in a relationship with him where we allowed God to lead us.

God created us and so God knows what is best for us and if we will allow God to lead us and in healthy ways control us we will experience the fullness of life God has for us.  When we give control back to God we become connected to God through the Holy Spirit and it is the Holy Spirit that helps us live life differently.  It is the Holy Spirit living in us that helps us experience love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  This is what we will experience when we give control back to God.

We see that one of the fruits of God’s spirit is peace and this is not an absence of violence or conflict as much as it is a deep connection we experience with God and others.  Peace is what opens the door to forgiveness and helps us reconcile and build relationships.  So it is in giving control back to God that we experience stronger relationships with one another.  This was true for one man in the Bible who struggled with his own need to be in control of a situation that was quickly getting out of control.

Joseph was engaged to a woman named Mary and everything looked ideal for them, until Mary came and told him that she was pregnant.  How quickly life can get out of control.  Joseph knew that he was not the father and he struggled to believe what Mary said about God being the Father so he took control of the situation and decided to dismiss Mary quietly.  He cared for Mary and didn’t want her held up to disgrace and maybe even death, so he controlled the fallout and was going to simply divorce her.  That was Joseph’s plan until one night when Joseph had a dream.  Matthew 1:20-21.

God’s plan was for Joseph to take Mary as his wife because the child she carried was God’s and was going to be the Messiah.  Joseph had his part to play in God’s plan but the choice was his.  Joseph could maintain control of his life and follow his plans or he could give up or give back control to God and follow God’s plan.  Joseph followed God’s plan and while things weren’t easy – Joseph was able to experience the blessing of God.  Joseph giving control of his life back to God also helped Mary and the world experience the blessing of God that came through Jesus.

For Lucy, finding meaning in life came from being in control and that’s what she offered to Charlie Brown.  To find meaning in Christmas, Charlie Brown, get involved and take control, but it didn’t work and it never will.  Meaning and purpose and fulfillment in life aren’t found in keeping control but in giving it up or giving it back to God.  The best gift we can give ourselves this year is the gift of repentance.  If we can acknowledge our need to be in control and confess the ways that this is killing us, then we can begin to let it go and allow God to lead us to life.

Communion provides us the opportunity to do just that.  By coming to the table and sharing in this meal we are saying that all our attempts to feed ourselves and find life in all that we can do has failed and so today we are going to stop trying to do it all on our own and allow God to feed us and nourish us and guide is in the way of life.  So let us give it up and come to Jesus at the table so we can gain it all.


Next Steps
A Charlie Brown Christmas ~ Give It Up!


1.  In what areas of the Christmas Season do you like to get your way and be in control?  In what areas of life do you like to get your way and be in control?


2.  Giving control back to God comes through repentance and repentance calls for confession and new life (baptism).

Confession: What issues of control that are negative and destructive to your life and relationships can you identify?  Acknowledge these and confess them to God.

New Life:  What one area of this holiday celebration can you give over control to someone else?


3.  Christmas is often a time of making “to do” lists, this year make some “to be” lists.  I will be…
in the moment,
spending more time with my family,
focused on joy, etc…


4.  John the Baptist helped prepare people for Jesus.
Who helped prepare you to hear and receive the grace of God through Jesus?
Name and pray for one person you can help prepare to hear and receive the grace of God through Jesus.
What one thing can you do this week to help prepare this person to accept Jesus as their Savior?