Month: December 2021

Sidelined

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Have you ever felt like you’re sitting on the sidelines when you want nothing more than to be in the game? Sometimes life does that to us. As we continue forward in our Advent series, The World Turned Upside Down, this week we are looking at some characters who spent a lot of time on the sidelines before their moment came. Let’s see together how they handled it and talk about how we should.

Sidelined

I played basketball when I was in school for three years. Fourth through sixth grades. I remember when my folks got me a basketball goal for our driveway at the house where I grew up. We had a friend come over and help pour the cement foundation for it. We even got to put our handprints in it. And I dominated the driveway games for a while. So when I finally reached the age I could play a sport other than baseball (which I was generally pretty awful at), I was as excited as I could be to join the school’s basketball team. 

Then I got on the court. 

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Songs of the Season

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“This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’ – and I am the worst of them.” (1 Timothy 1:15 – CSB – Read the chapter)

When I was in high school, I was first introduced to a cappella music. This came by way of an invitation to try out for a new a cappella group the new choir director was starting. Thus began a brief career with The Patriots. It was a ton of fun and something totally new in the district which made us all little celebrities around town (which itself was hilarious as we were all band and choir and orchestra nerds of the highest order). That was toward the beginning of a cultural moment when a cappella music generally was catching on. It reached its highest point a few years later with a brief TV series followed by a trilogy of films celebrating the art. This morning, let me introduce you to a Christmas song that came out of all of this cultural movement.

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Morning Musing: Isaiah 61:1-3

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“The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance; to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion; to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair. And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the Lord to glorify him.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Who did Jesus come to save? I know the “right” answer to that question is everyone. But let’s actually think about it for a minute. Who did Jesus come to save? Here’s an answer that’s just as correct but isn’t in terms we usually use. Jesus came to save people who are in need of saving. Now, if that seems tautologous, it is, but that doesn’t make it any less important to understand. In this prophecy from Isaiah that Jesus claimed for Himself, we get a better sense of just what this means.

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Morning Musing: Matthew 1:17

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“So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations; and from David until the exile to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the exile to Babylon until the Messiah, fourteen generations.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Throughout human history there have been two questions that have had more to do with the kinds of opportunities a person would be given in life than anything else. These two questions could open doors to new careers, exciting adventures, and a lifetime of relative ease. They could also close them just as quickly. Various stories have been written featuring people heroically rising up and achieving great things in spite of having the wrong answers to these two questions. But those stories tend to be just that: stories. The way the world actually works is generally right in line with how it has always worked. And how it has always worked is that your life will be governed by the answers to these questions. Even in this nation which has long been known as “the land of opportunity” they nonetheless still hold powerful sway. They function as a way of keeping order in an otherwise unruly society. And if that order tends to be unjust, well, at least it is better than disorder. What these questions are and what they have to do with the Advent season is what I’d like to talk about with you this morning.

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Morning Musing: Psalm 40:1-2

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“I waited patiently for the Lord, and he turned to me and heard my cry for help. He brought me up from a desolate pit, out of the muddy clay, and set my feet on a rock, making my steps secure.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

How patient of a person would you say you are? I’ll wait. We joke about the fact that patience is a virtue, but in an instant society like ours, waiting is a challenging thing to do. This morning as I was turning off of Main Street and pulling into work, I had to wait just a second for a car to pass going the other direction. In that brief moment, the truck behind me started to go around me on the right (our Main Street is only a two-way road) rather than being delayed by 10-seconds on his way to his destination. Admittedly, I’ve been tempted to do the same thing in other places when I’m in a hurry myself. We don’t like to wait. Unfortunately, life is full of waiting. The world does not operate on our schedule. Neither does God. The season of Advent is also one filled with waiting. As we continue our Advent journey together, let’s talk about it this morning.

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