Tag: Christmas

Advent Reflections: Psalm 139:7-12

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“Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I fly on the wings of the dawn and settle down on the western horizon, even there your hand will lead me; your right hand will hold on to me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light around me will be night’—even the darkness is not dark to you. The night shines like the day; darkness and light are alike to you.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When the apostle Matthew was writing Jesus’ story, he began at the beginning. Writing for a Jewish background audience, he rooted Jesus in Jewish history, showing Him to be the Son of David as every Jew knew the Messiah would be. Then, he told the story of His birth. Narrating through Joseph’s experience, Matthew went out of his way to show that Jesus’ birth was the fulfillment of prophecy. Specifically, He fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy about a child born to a virgin who would be called Immanuel, which means “God is with us.” Jesus made it possible for the God who is everywhere in Spirit to be with us in relationship. Let’s celebrate the goodness of our God with David’s words today.

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Taking Him at His Word

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We all know the story of the wise men. They came from the East, following a star, to worship at the feet of the newborn king of the Jews. Along the way to Bethlehem, they stopped by Jerusalem for directions. Interestingly the people who told them to go to Bethlehem to find the baby knew that the Messiah would be born there. If that was the case, though, why weren’t they already there themselves watching and waiting for His arrival? That’s the question we are exploring today as we continue our Advent series, When Heaven Met Earth. Let’s dive in together.

Taking Him at His Word

There is a difference between taking something seriously and taking it literally. Now, sometimes there’s not much of a difference. If I were to give you an instruction like, “Stand up and walk up here on stage,” you could take me both seriously and literally by getting up and joining me up here on stage. On the other hand, if I were to tell you that I want you to do something for me, and to have it done for me yesterday, taking me literally would be impossible. Unless you happen to have a time machine handy, doing something that I asked you for today, yesterday is physically—not to mention temporally—impossible. But you could take me very seriously, understanding me to indicate that I want you to do it for me as quickly as you possibly can. That’s what I was really expressing anyway. I never meant to be taken literally when I said it. That would have been silly.

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Songs of the Season

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“Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The time has come for one of my favorite annual traditions. Songs of the Season are back! There is no season with a musical collection associated with it like the Christmas season. The songbook itself is not only enormous, but each of the songs has been treated to an almost endless variety of covers. They have been reproduced in every genre, every style, by every artist imaginable. And more and more are being released each year. So, each year, during this special season, we take a look at a handful of the songs that have most caught my eye. This year we are going to start with my favorite song in a brand new version that…made a bit of a splash when it was released a few weeks ago. Let’s take a look at Skillet’s version of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

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Advent Reflections: Romans 11:33-12:1

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“Oh, the depths of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?’ And ‘who has ever given to God, that he should be repaid?’ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.” (CSB – Read the chapter here and here)

Christmas is a time for giving gifts. That has been the tradition at least in the West for hundreds of years. And how interesting it is that even as Christmas has been thoroughly secularized and commercialized by our culture, stripping away almost everything that saw to the creation of the holiday in the first place, gift giving has remained. I don’t know about you, but when I was growing up, whenever we got a gift we had to write a thank you note. It’s a practice we have instilled in our kids as well. When you receive a gift, it is right and proper to respond in some way to demonstrate your gratitude. Well, the gift that sparked all the gift giving we still celebrate today was the gift of Jesus. It is only right that we respond to this gift. Let’s talk about how.

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Advent Reflections: Psalm 16:7-11

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“I will bless the Lord who counsels me—even at night when my thoughts trouble me. I always let the Lord guide me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices; my body also rests securely. For you will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful one to see decay. You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever thought you knew how to do something, only to have someone come along and give you counsel on it? Worse yet, was their counsel right and wise and revealed that you didn’t know as much about doing whatever it was as you thought? And if that seems like an oddly specific situation, all I’ll say is this: more times than I can count. This is bad enough when it’s doing a task that isn’t ultimately all that significant. It’s many times worse to find out you don’t know as much as you thought when it comes to doing life itself. Yet this lies at the heart of the Gospel. God knows how to do life better than we do. The Advent season is a reminder of when God revealed definitively that He knows how to do life better than we do. If we will take His counsel, His presence is the reward. Let’s talk about it.

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