Tag: Morning Musings

Advent Reflections: John 1:14

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“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The theological word for Jesus’ coming to earth is incarnation. That’s from the Latin word for flesh which is the direct source of our word carnal. The idea is that God didn’t just put on a costume in Jesus. He became fully human and lived right here on earth as one of us. While Luke and Matthew tell the story of His arrival, John tells us the truth of who He actually was and what His coming meant. Let’s talk about this glorious truth today with John’s help.

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Songs of the Season

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“For God is my witness, how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

It’s the third Friday of the season of Advent, and that means it’s time for our final Song of the Season for this year. Christmas is a wonderful time for many, many people. There are just so many different things to look forward to. But it can also be hard. It can be hard when those elements weren’t ever present in someone’s life. It can be hard when they once were there but are gone now. For most people, there is at least one memory of a Christmas past when everything was perfect. It probably really wasn’t at the time – no time ever is – but it is frozen in our memories in such a way that all we see is the good. Christmas is often a time when we long for that. Today’s song takes us there. Pull out your tissues because this one might draw up some tears. Let’s listen to Freeze the Frame by Michael W. Smith.

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Advent Reflections: Matthew 2:4-6

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“So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born. ‘In Bethlehem of Judea,’ they told him, ‘because this is what was written by the prophet: “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: Because out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”’” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the most difficult groups of people to minister to as a pastor are cultural Christians. These are folks who, though, they don’t harbor any real animosity toward the church, nevertheless don’t meaningfully participate. But they were generally raised in the church in some capacity. And if this was a Baptist or at least a baptistic church, they probably walked an aisle and got baptized at one point in their life. Because of this, they call themselves Christians in spite of having almost no meaningful engagement with Christ in their lives. They have all the advantages of the faith at their fingertips, but are largely clueless as to what it means. Jesus was born into this kind of a situation too. Let’s talk about why claiming belief in God and actually embracing the Gospel are two different things.

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Advent Reflections: Luke 15:7, 10

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“I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need repentance. . . .I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Kids have a built-in desire to do what makes their fathers happy. There was a time when I was growing up that I said I wanted to be a lawyer. Why? Because my dad is an excellent lawyer, and I wanted to be like him, to make him happy. I soon thereafter realized I was built to be a teacher, and thankfully he gave me the extremely significant gift of supporting me in whatever I pursued, so all was well. But that desire to please him never really went away. I suspect that if you have a healthy relationship with your dad, you’re the same way. Well, God is consistently described in the Scriptures as our heavenly Father. Let’s talk about something that makes Him happy.

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Advent Reflections: Luke 15:1-4

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“All the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to him. And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he told them this parable: ‘What man among you, who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it?’” (CSB – Read the chapter)

While we love stories of broken people being made whole, we don’t actually love broken people. We push them to the margins of society. If they are bad enough, we ship them off to places we don’t have to see or think about. We certainly don’t do many meaningful things to pull them out of their brokenness. The season of Advent, though, is all about preparing for the arrival of God’s plan to do just that. Jesus was sent to save broken people. This idea lies right at the heart of His mission. Let’s talk about it.

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