"The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my line - only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. John 10:17-18a (NIV)
This week will feature a series of Christmas songs that aren't the classics we all know and love, but each of these songs is great for it's own reason. I'll post a link to a youtube video of the song and have a few comments as to why it's a great song, and worthy of a listen at this time of year.
Today is "Welcome to Our World" by Chris Rice. Watch, Listen, Read, and enjoy!
In addition to having a beautiful melody, it's an amazing lullaby...and yet the words are humbling as the writer declares that this little one is a much bigger deal than we could ever truly comprehend. A few thoughts on the lyrics of the song:
"hope that you don't mind our manger how I wish we would have known but long-awaited holy Stranger make yourself at home"
Sometimes we fail to prepare for Christ. And not just at Christmas. We fail to prepare for worship...probably weekly. Before a weekday starts, you probably gather your things and make sure you're ready...but how often do you connect with God before you go to worship? How often do you fail to prepare a place for God in your life...and give him whatever room is left- the manger?
"so wrap our injured flesh around You...rob our sin and make us holy"
The vivid description reminds us that we are in need of healing, and that Christ's sacrifice was both necessary and intentional. The word "rob" drives home the fact that the sin did not belong to Christ-He took it from us. How often do you ask Christ to rob your sin?
Monday, December 15, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Get Uncomfortable
"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." Romans 12: 1-2 (The Message)
This is a longer scripture than usual, but it's a greaty passage. Like many passages, it seems to communicate a different message every time it's read/studied. I've recently been reading through "With God in the Crucible: Preaching Costly Discipleship" by Peter Storey. The book is a collection of Storey's sermons during the time when South African churches began speaking out against apartheid. Many of the sermons really bothered me- they described what was happening in the community, in the country, and in the church. Sometimes, Storey's calls to action bothered me- mostly that Storey called Christians to demand that the government dismantle the apartheid system...without reverting to violence. Storey's calls were not all that unlike the calls of Martin Luther King Jr. in the U.S. during the Civil Rights movement.
The message of most of the sermons was simple and repetitive- apartheid is wrong, everyone knows it but won't change it, so the church must bring about change in a peaceful manner so that others don't try to change things violently. Storey even criticized the churches of America for being comfortable in their faith/religion. Our first reaction to this criticism is to become defensive- because we tithe, we volunteer, we even pray for our church! But the truth is that we have become comfortable. We have learned to like our little Sunday school discussions, we like a sermon that's uplifting and feel-good, we like our choirs to sound nice, we like our bathrooms clean...the list goes on.
There's nothing wrong with these things specifically. However, the problem develops when we get so comfortable with our own surroundings that we no longer realize how much God has blessed us by having a relationship with God through Christ. The 12th chapter of Paul's letter to the church in Rome urges the congregation to be different. He tells them to be radical- be different than the rest of the people...strive NOT to fit in!!! But we don't like that...because we know the saying- the nail that sticks up gets hammered down. Storey's sermons in the forementioned book stretch over a decade. We usually know when things need to change, but we don't always want to pay the cost it takes to change it. That has to change. We, the church, need to be the first to demand change when things need changing...we need to be different, for the sake of the world.
Are you comfortable in your faith? Do you find yourself concerned about little things in your church? Maybe the problem isn't the church- maybe it's your perspective... start looking for the things that are wrong in your community, in your city, in your country, in the world. Actively pursue change for the better. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world..."
This is a longer scripture than usual, but it's a greaty passage. Like many passages, it seems to communicate a different message every time it's read/studied. I've recently been reading through "With God in the Crucible: Preaching Costly Discipleship" by Peter Storey. The book is a collection of Storey's sermons during the time when South African churches began speaking out against apartheid. Many of the sermons really bothered me- they described what was happening in the community, in the country, and in the church. Sometimes, Storey's calls to action bothered me- mostly that Storey called Christians to demand that the government dismantle the apartheid system...without reverting to violence. Storey's calls were not all that unlike the calls of Martin Luther King Jr. in the U.S. during the Civil Rights movement.
The message of most of the sermons was simple and repetitive- apartheid is wrong, everyone knows it but won't change it, so the church must bring about change in a peaceful manner so that others don't try to change things violently. Storey even criticized the churches of America for being comfortable in their faith/religion. Our first reaction to this criticism is to become defensive- because we tithe, we volunteer, we even pray for our church! But the truth is that we have become comfortable. We have learned to like our little Sunday school discussions, we like a sermon that's uplifting and feel-good, we like our choirs to sound nice, we like our bathrooms clean...the list goes on.
There's nothing wrong with these things specifically. However, the problem develops when we get so comfortable with our own surroundings that we no longer realize how much God has blessed us by having a relationship with God through Christ. The 12th chapter of Paul's letter to the church in Rome urges the congregation to be different. He tells them to be radical- be different than the rest of the people...strive NOT to fit in!!! But we don't like that...because we know the saying- the nail that sticks up gets hammered down. Storey's sermons in the forementioned book stretch over a decade. We usually know when things need to change, but we don't always want to pay the cost it takes to change it. That has to change. We, the church, need to be the first to demand change when things need changing...we need to be different, for the sake of the world.
Are you comfortable in your faith? Do you find yourself concerned about little things in your church? Maybe the problem isn't the church- maybe it's your perspective... start looking for the things that are wrong in your community, in your city, in your country, in the world. Actively pursue change for the better. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world..."
Monday, December 1, 2008
Be Prepared
It's the holiday season. That can mean only one thing- company. But before that company comes, there's a lot to do. The house must be cleaned- the kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms... food must be purchased, favorite holiday treats must be made, decorations must be pulled out of storage and displayed...what am I forgetting? You tell me.
Many of us take great care in our preparations for company- maybe we have that relative that comments if things aren't spotless, maybe that treat that everyone likes is really time consuming (but you make it anyway), or perhaps we're just over-occupied with making sure everything is "perfect."
With all of these preparations to make, I wonder if we take time to prepare for the coming king? I wonder if we take time to take the good news to others during the holiday season? I wonder if we take time to think about how we're celebrating something so incredibly amazing that it caused many to stop what they were doing and worship?
"The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told." Luke 2: 20 (NIV) (bold added)
How are you preparing for Christ's arrival this Christmas season? Here's a tip- it's hard to prepare to welcome the Messiah when you're busy shopping or preparing for company. Don't let this Christmas come and go without taking time to realize the enormity of the season. Prepare your home and heart for the company of Christ.
Many of us take great care in our preparations for company- maybe we have that relative that comments if things aren't spotless, maybe that treat that everyone likes is really time consuming (but you make it anyway), or perhaps we're just over-occupied with making sure everything is "perfect."
With all of these preparations to make, I wonder if we take time to prepare for the coming king? I wonder if we take time to take the good news to others during the holiday season? I wonder if we take time to think about how we're celebrating something so incredibly amazing that it caused many to stop what they were doing and worship?
"The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told." Luke 2: 20 (NIV) (bold added)
How are you preparing for Christ's arrival this Christmas season? Here's a tip- it's hard to prepare to welcome the Messiah when you're busy shopping or preparing for company. Don't let this Christmas come and go without taking time to realize the enormity of the season. Prepare your home and heart for the company of Christ.
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