The shocking story of Christmas

Do you sometimes wish that you could re-read your favorite book, or watch your favorite movie, over again for the first time?  After a while, even with our favorites, we tend to lose the sense of suspense and wonder.  After all, we know how the story ends.  Christmas can be the same way for Christians.  We've heard the story since we were children, most of use could recreate the Gospel accounts from memory (if not word for word, at least in substance).  This is a story that we know.
And yet, wouldn't it be helpful to look at the Gospel account through the eyes of the first century readers who are hearing the account of Jesus' birth for the first time?  How would their reaction to the events surrounding his birth differ from our own?  One way which we can be relatively certain that our reactions would differ is in the area of how shocking the story would have seemed then, versus how tame it seems now.
We aren't surprised at all that angels spoke to Mary and Joseph (although I bet Mary and Joseph were surprised!), that our Lord was born in a manger, and that his first visitors were lowly shepherds.  We've grown accustomed to the story of a humble king born in this way because we're familiar with the servant attitude that Jesus champions.  In contrast to our comfortable feeling, the Gospel accounts are actually full of surprising twists and turns (not just in the birth narrative) that would have been far more stunning to those who were hearing them for the first time than they are for us today.
We have the benefit, and it certainly is one, of two thousand years of Christian culture and history to draw help frame our experiences and deepen our understanding of God's Word.  And yet, that same background can insulate us from seeing and feeling the Gospel from a fresh perspective.
This Christmas, when you're hearing about the old familiar story of the birth of Jesus, take a moment to look for the scandal and try to see the sudden twists and turns.  Ask God to give you a fresh understanding of his Word so that you too can read about the birth of Christ for the first time.

Sermon Video "O Come, O Come Immanuel!" - Isaiah 7:14, 9:2,6-8

How long would you wait for something you wanted? The prophet Isaiah tells the people of Israel, God's covenant people, that the promises to Abraham and David will be fulfilled. Little did they know that they would have to wait 700 years for the virgin Isaiah spoke of, Mary, to hear from the angel announcing the coming of the Messiah. In addition, Isaiah tells us that the one to come will be a light in our darkness, will institute a government of justice and righteousness, will establish the throne of David, and will save all of us from our sins.


To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

Prostitutes are people too

What are weird title for a post; the thought occurred to me because I was reading a novel where a spoiled rich youth in Victorian England had learned to his own discomfort that the prostitutes he frequented were women making desperate choices (in order to have food to eat, a place to live), whereas he had spent his whole life not having to worry about anything.  His private frivolity was their very public humiliation, and when he realized the truth of the matter his eyes were opened up to all new observations about poverty and crime.  It reminds me also of  story I read in the paper recently that chills the heart about the child sex slave trade in South East Asia.  These children, likewise, have not chosen to live such a life, they literally have no choice...In the end, such things should remind us that our own default judgemental superiority for those less fortunate is a very dangerous thing.  It allows us to separate the world into categories of "us" and "them" that are in direct conflict with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It was no accident that Jesus spent much of his time ministering to and witnessing to prostitutes and tax collectors.  He was mocked and criticized (Mt. 11:19) by the "righteous" people of his day who felt no such need to try to save the sort of people to whom Jesus' message of God's love and forgiveness appealed. 
Which group are we in?  The one that Jesus belongs to which considers all men, women, and children to be God's own, that puts compassion before judgmentalism and holds out a hand in hope; or, are we members of the group the Pharisees belonged to that is content to work with our kind of people and forget that there is a dark side to this world that we live in where people make choices far less free than our own?
What were Jesus' words to the woman caught in adultery when the Pharisees brought her hoping for a stoning?  "Go now and leave your life of sin." (John 8:11)  When confronted with the wickedness of the rich, Jesus reacted with anger, when confronted with the wickedness of the poor and wretched, Jesus reacted with compassion.  There's a lesson to be learned there.

Sermon Video: "Devote yourselves to prayer" Colossians 4:2-4

What things are you devoted to in life?  What are your priorities and passions?  Paul explains that the Christian should always answer prayer as one of his/her answers to those questions.  Not only is prayer important for the individual, it is also a key element of community worship and helps build bonds between believers in Jesus.  Finally, Paul stresses the need for prayer in the spread of the Gospel message where doors need to be opened to give grace a chance.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

Some hurts can't be healed

"The realm of Sauron is ended!"  said Gandalf, "The Ring-bearer has fulfilled his Quest."  I just reread that portion of Tolkien's The Return of the King (For the 15th time?  Maybe, I know I've read the series at least that many times; it is, afterall, my favorite.) today.  In the book, a great evil is removed from the world with Frodo's victory over Sauron.  Sauron hopes to enslave the world in his lust for power but is done in by a humble hobbit who has no desire to lord anything over anybody.  That moral lesson is itself a profound one for Tolkien, but another emerges as you read the last few chapters of the book.  Over time, it becomes clear that all of the hurts caused by Sauron, and others, cannot be healed.  Some of the wounds are too deep, some must be lived with even when evil has been defeated.  Tolkien's brilliant novels are a work of homage to those who risk everything in service to a greater good and whose sacrifices he witnessed first-hand in life on the Western Front in WWI.  His service in war taught Tolkien that evil cannot be wholly removed from our world.  The "war to end all wars" only put a stop to war long enough for a new generation to grow in its shadow and start a new bloodier war.  For many veterans, Tolkien's words hit especially close to home.  They may have returned "whole", or nearly so, from war, but a part of them has been forever left behind with the brothers in arms they lost and the horrors they witnessed.
In the end, Tolkien's hero Frodo, and his trusty servant Sam are permitted to sail over the sea to the Undying Lands where they can find rest and peace at last.  In our world, we can offer comfort to those who mourn, honor to those who have sacrificed, and gratitude to those who have served, but we cannot heal all wounds.  It is beyond our power to do so. 
Is there hope, for healing in the end?  How can troubled souls find peace?
"Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.  They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."  - Revelation 21:3-4
There is hope, there will be peace, and sorrow will be turned to joy when one day we all stand in the presence of our savior and feel the warmth of the embrace of God's own Son.