Worship is a response! God has accomplished great things! -->
Worship is a priority! God and His will must be first! -->
The worship of God --
which reflects our love for the God proclaimed in the Scriptures,
our longing to participate in the sacraments whereby we remember
our spiritual union with Jesus Christ and fellow believers, and
the desire for
total discipleship
as members of His spiritual kingdom -- THESE are important
to us! Worship requires us to bow in humility so that we can
lift all
of our attention upon the creator, sustainer, and redeemer of
the universe. You are invited to join us as we seek the face of
our
great God and Savior.
Below
you will find the contents of
a Sunday morning Order of Worship. Many of the songs listed
below are linked to sites to assist in hearing the tunes (provided
as
a reference,
but many times, not exactly as we play them, and sometimes with
images that we don't endorse!)
The Scripture
references are also linked and can be heard online. Past worship
folders are accessible by linking
to the PDF archive
file
on the right
(along
with some past sermon quotes). Please read beyond the following
Order of Worship listed below to
read about our “philosophy” of
worship. Beyond that are some notes from a recent sermon. Thank
you for visiting!
IF you have more interest
in learning about our ENTIRE Sunday morning service, please link
here: SUNDAY
MORNING SCHEDULE
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Visit: http://www.web2pdfconvert.com/ and enter: http://www.communionpres.org/service.html
Order
of Service - 2/5/12 -
Rev. Kent Moorlach Preaches
• We welcome you to our service today! It is a blessing when God’s people gather to worship Him in spirit and truth! We trust those visiting for the first time will sense our desire to follow a pattern of worship revealed in God’s word; the priorities of which are outlined in this order of worship. Bibles and Prayer Cards are available at our Guest Book table. A “Welcome Bag” has also been prepared for our first time visitors.
• Each Sunday we participate in a sacrament instituted by Christ to express our
communion with him, one another, and to remember Gospel truths. When coming to the Lord’s Table, participants are stating that they are: baptized; active members in ‘good standing’ with a creed confessing church; and professing that Christ alone is their savior. The sacraments teach us to“see and sense” the promises of Christ.
• We encourage “family worship.” Families with young children who practice this at home are welcome to stay for the service. Above all, this time is set apart to focus attention upon God’s attributes and actions! Please minimize “distractions” by utilizing our “childcare room” which is staffed by volunteers and has a video feed of the service.
•May God be glorified and honored in all that we do in His name today!
Preparation for Worship with Prayer and Songs of Ascent
*Opening Hymn — Jesus, Master, Whose I Am (Dix)
Jesus, Master, whose I am, purchased thine alone to be,
By thy blood, O spotless Lamb, shed so willingly for me,
Let my heart be all thine own, let me live to thee alone.
Jesus, Master, I am thine: keep me faithful, keep me near;
Let thy presence in me shine, all my homeward way to cheer.
Jesus, at thy feet I fall, O be thou my all in all.
Jesus, Master, whom I serve, though so feebly and so ill,
Strengthen hand and heart and nerve, all thy bidding to fulfill.
Open thou mine eyes to see all the work thou hast for me.
Lord, thou needest not, I know, service such as I can bring;
Yet I long to prove and show full allegiance to my King.
Thou an honor art to me: let me be a praise to Thee.
*Call to Worship
Psalm 5:11
Elder — But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them ever sing for joy,
All — And spread Your protection over them, that those who love Your name may exult in You.
*Confession and Cleansing
Prayer of Adoration & Confession
Here we are, Lord, coming to this place to hear Your words and to respond to Your promises; but we have sinned. We remember that You are slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but will by no means clear the guilty. Please pardon our iniquity according to the greatness of Your steadfast love, just as you have always forgiven Your people, according to Your covenant mercy…
Assurance of Pardon
Praise Song — ‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus
’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word;
Just to rest upon His promise, just to know “Thus saith the Lord!”
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him! How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! O for grace to trust Him more!
O how sweet to trust in Jesus, just to trust His cleansing blood;
Just in simple faith to plunge me ’neath the healing, cleansing flood!
(Refrain)
Yes ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus, just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking life and rest, and joy and peace.
(Refrain)
I’m so glad I learned to trust thee, precious Jesus, Savior, friend;
And I know that thou art with me, wilt be with me to the end.
(Refrain)
Consecration by the Word
Old Testament Reading — Numbers 14:1 — 10
(Those trusting in God’s promises are ready to advance despite apparent obstacles.)
Old Testament Wisdom — Job 4:7 — 21
(The “advice” from Job’s friends seem to express a proper understanding of justice.)
Reader — The words of the Lord. Congregation — Thanks be to God.
Psalm — 5:7—12 (Aberystwyth)
Now in Your abounding love, to Your house will I draw near,
Bowing to Your holy place, worshiping in rev’rent fear.
Since O Lord, my enemies all around me lie in wait,
Lead me in Your righteousness; make Your way before me straight.
In their mouth there is no truth; all their heart destruction seeks,
Like an open grave their throats, while their tongue with honey speaks.
Make them bear their guilt, O God; snare them in the things they planned!
Cast them out for all their sins, rebels who against You stand.
Yet let all who trust in You, sing for joy through all their days,
Guard all those who love Your name, let them give You joyful praise.
Blessing to the righteous one, You, O Lord, will surely bring;
With Your favor, like a shield, You will give him covering.
New Testament Gospel — Luke 18:1 — 8
(A parable of the widow seeking justice.)
New Testament Epistle — 2 Corinthians 11:18 — 33
(The Apostle Paul recounts the various trials of his life.)
Reader — The words of the Lord. Congregation — Thanks be to God.
*Song — Jesus Cast a Look on Me
Jesus cast a look on me, give me sweet simplicity.
Make me poor and keep me low, seeking only Thee to know.
All that feeds my busy pride, cast it evermore aside.
Bid my will to Thine submit, lay me humbly at Thy feet.
Make me like a little child, of my strength and wisdom spoiled,
Seeing only in Thy light, walking only in Thy might.
Leaning on Thy loving breast, where a weary soul can rest;
Feeling well the peace of God, flowing from His precious blood
In this posture let me live, and “Hosannas,” daily give;
In this temper let me die, and “Hosannas,” ever cry!
Sermon: “Survivor: Malta”
(Message by: Rev. Kent Moorlach; Text: Acts 28:1-15)
Coming Together as the Church
Elder’s Response & Affirmation of Faith — Westminster Larger Catechism
Elder — [Q. 71] How is justification an act of God’s free grace?
All — Christ, by His obedience and death, did make a proper, real, and full satisfaction of God’s justice on behalf of them that are justified; therefore God accepts the satisfaction from a guarantor, which God might have demanded of them: He provided this guarantor, His own only Son, imputing Christ’s righteousness to them, and requiring nothing of them for their justification but faith, which also is His gift, their justification is to them of free grace.
Offering
[Please pass the offering baskets through your section toward the back. Special prayer requests should be noted on a prayer card and placed on the table to the right of the sanctuary. Thank you.]
Congregational Prayer & The Lord’s Prayer
Communion Through the Sacraments
Song of Preparation — To God Be All Praise (Whate’er My God Ordains)
Sing praise to God Who reigns above, the God of all creation,
The God of power, the God of love, the God of our salvation.
With healing balm — my soul is filled —
And every faithless murmur stilled: To God be all praise and glory!
What God’s almighty power hath made His gracious mercy keepeth,
By morning glow or evening shade His watchful eye ne’er sleepeth;
With His kingdom — and with His might —
All that He does is just and right: To God be all praise and glory!
Let all who name Christ’s holy Name give God all praise and glory;
Let all who own His power proclaim aloud the wondrous story!
Cast each false hope — down from its throne —
For Christ is Lord, and Christ alone: To God be all praise and glory!
Sacrament of The Lord’s Table
The presiding minister will give direction for participation in this meal.
{Wine is located on the table edge nearest to the cross. Grape juice is on the outside.}
Commissioning of the Church
*Closing Prayer & Doxology; Benediction & 3-fold Amen
*Those who are able, please stand. — CCLI #2831635
Please join us after the service for refreshments and Sunday School classes
Prepare for each Sunday’s Service by visiting our website “Worship Service” tab.
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Think of all that God has
done; think of who He is! Creator
and sustainer of the universe; Provider and Protector
of His people; Righteous judge and loving
Redeemer! If these concepts have any connection with
our souls, we will lift up to God our thoughtful praise
and offer to Him
all
that we value – for it all rightly belongs to Him
alone.
The simple truth of worship is this:
everybody is doing it! Even those who never attend church spend
their time,
devotion, money,
planning, and daydreaming on earthly pursuits – and for what
purpose? To possess something of value, something significant, something
that will provide purpose for living. Worship of earthly pursuits
equally illicit a response – but
the focus of human worship is, “Look at what I have accomplished,” rather
than, “Thank God for what He has done! From beginning to end,
thank God for His purposes. His purposes are greater than mine!”
The purpose of our worship then is to honor and glorify God by gratefully
offering back to Him all the good gifts, and all the knowledge of
His greatness and grace. It involves praising Him for who He is and
desiring His glory above our own.
This kind of worship however is not merely a personal invention.
Even though we are awestruck in wonder of God and long to participate
in a grateful celebration, our zeal is also accompanied with the
knowledge that God alone has proscribed the type of worship that
is acceptable to Him.
“The basis of worship is the
covenant relationship whereby God has bound himself to those whom
He has saved and claimed. This
was true of Old Testament worship as it is now of Christian worship.
The spirit of covenant worship, as the Old Testament models it, is
a blend of awe and joy at the privilege of drawing near to the mighty
Creator with radical self-humbling and honest confession of sin,
folly, and need. Since God is holy and we humans are faulty, it must
ever be so in this world. As worship will be central in the life
of heaven (Rev. 4:8-11, 5:9-14; 7:9-17; 11:15-18; 15:2-4; 19:1-10),
so it must be central in the life of the church on earth, and it
should already be the main activity, both private and corporate,
in each believer’s life (Col. 3:17).” – John Piper
(Worship: God Gives a Liturgical Pattern)
Our worship is dedicated to God as an act of service
to the One who has ordered all of life. To that end, our “liturgy” includes:
prayer; singing; the reading of Scripture; preaching of the Word;
and the administration of the sacraments. From the beginning of the
Christian church, these elements have been regarded as an appropriate
response to the saving work of the Triune God.
Families, including young children,
are encouraged to worship together in the main service. We recognize
God's gracious activity of saving
whole households documented in the Scriptures; therefore, we place
a value on entire families participating in our service. However,
we also acknowledge that some of our youngest need special attention
during an hour long service! For those who wish (or need), there
is also a wonderful childcare facility available.
The ARPC Book of Worship encourages
family worship, and so do we! From the Book of Worship, Chapter
2: "Family worship should be biblical
and instructive: made interesting and inspiring to high ideals of
Christian living and service. Participation by all should be encouraged.
Subjects to discuss, materials to use, and activities of this worship
period may be suggested by any member of the group. Ordinarily, the
head of the home should assume the leadership responsibility."
And again, from the ARP Book
of Worship, Chapter 3, section B: "Equally necessary for
spiritual growth is daily worship, privately as an
individual, and as a family in the home. There should be the reading
of Scriptures and prayer. Other materials and activities may enhance
the worship experience. Christian families should set aside some
time each day to worship God. The Head of the home should see that
this is done."
The Lord's Supper is celebrated at
most services--signifying the primary importance of Christ's atoning
work to present us holy
and
acceptable unto God. The Lord’s Table is open to those who
claim Christ as their Lord, having been baptized (or have indicated
a desire to be baptized), who have expressed a desire to repent of
their sins, and who are not under the discipline of a Bible-believing
church. Children may partake if they can clearly express their faith
and their understanding of the Table. If visitors to our church wish
to partake in the Lord's Supper, we ask that they listen carefully
to the admonitions of our presiding pastors. Those seeking to participate
in the "full
communion" of
our church through membership should seek out an elder to discuss
this process.
A detailed guide to the ARP's purposes
for public worship can be found at this link:
http://www.arpsynod.org/pdf/Standards/Directory%20of%20Public%20Worship.pdf
May God be glorified in our praise
and service of Him.
Visit: http://www.web2pdfconvert.com/ and enter:
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|
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Sunday;
February 5,
2012
Series:
Who ACTS Like This?
" He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm "
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Listen to sermons
online!
Please visit the following links:
Our
most recent sermons are found here:
http://sermon.net/communion
A host of archived sermons are found here:
http://www.sermoncloud.com/Compres/
PDF of Worship
Folders:
Our Sunday morning liturgy
is reflected to the left (burgandy
colored) and
below (PDF files). The reverse
side of each Worship Folder (not
posted) contains a cover, a Family
page, and a list of ministry contacts
with
our calendar of activities and GIFT Group meetings.
We hope you will visit us soon for
a Sunday Worship service.
Click on a date below to sample a PDF file:
January 1, 2012 (Rev. Chris Coleman)
February 20, 2011
March 13. 2011
April 24, 2011 (Resurrection Sunday)
May 15. 2011
June 12, 2011
July 17, 2011
August 28, 2011
September 11, 2011
October 30, 2011 (Reformation Sunday)
November 20, 2011
December 25, 2011
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Sunday Morning
Readers:
Click here for our reader's guide!
Quotes
from past sermons:
The simplest theological term for
how the Holy Spirit connects us to the holiness of God is the word, “applies.” The
Spirit applies to us the very life and law-keeping of Christ.
The Spirit
applies to us the finished work of Christ upon the cross, the Spirit
applies to us all the promises of God to us in Christ – so
that in every possible way, in God’s sight we are regarded
as holy, righteous, beloved, and free from condemnation – we
are cherished by God as God cherishes His own Son, Jesus Christ – and
the Holy Spirit makes it all "stick" to us; and no power in the universe
can steal it from us because it is all the work of God upon us, and
not the work of our hands.
These
are encouraging words in light of what Jesus also promised for us
in John 16 – trial and tribulation! We will go through times
of heartache, persecution, and loneliness.
It is at these times that we will be most tested and tempted to turn
our backs upon the will and purposes of God.
But
to the one truly converted and connected, the Spirit will continue
with this one and persevere with them until
the very end. How important
this promise is to the success of the church – because in our
lifetime, we will not all display the morality we know to be right,
or the behavior and attitudes which speak to the transforming work
of the Spirit – but God will not give up on His plan
to make us truly pure and devoted in following Him.
And in our life,
we will not all display the doctrinal precision we know we should
possess; the diligence to study, the discipline
to train our hearts and minds - which also speaks to the evidence
of the Spirit working in us – but God will not abandoned His
project to convince us of His truth, and His love in our mind,
body, and soul.
---)------------
...But something
happened to John the Baptist; he had serious questions about whether
Jesus really understood
the goals of the Kingdom – and while Jesus reassures John
about his ministry; Jesus eventually gathering his followers,
AFTER HIS RESURRECTION in Acts 1:3 …appearing to them during
forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying
with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to
wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "you heard
from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized
with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
And thus reveals a major component of Jesus’ Kingdom and
rule – the presence and influence of the Holy Spirit. Christ’s
kingdom will be a spiritual kingdom that has an impact upon all
earthly kingdoms. Jesus commissions his followers in Matthew
28, 18 …, "All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore
and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold,
I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Jesus
wants this world transformed by making disciples. Jesus’ plan
for growing his Kingdom is by making disciples. This church is about
making disciples -- we are about discipleship here. What is a disciple?
A disciple is a learner, a pupil, a follower.
We want people to learn how to follow Jesus. How do we do this? We
will baptize them, and we will teach what is commanded – and
all of this under the power and direction of the Holy Spirit.
If you are a follower of Jesus today, a serious disciple, you will
be observing what Christ has commanded and you will be baptized into
the name of the Triune God.
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And that is the question, isn’t it – Even IF I am a
member of a Christian Household – one that is spiritually “set
apart” from the rest of the world which is under God’s
wrath – what benefit is it to me if I can still somehow forfeit
my final redemption?
I don’t want to be a "temporary object" of redemption! I don’t
want to just enjoy church fellowship and potlucks here on earth if
it’s not going to translate into an eternal redemption of both
my body and soul in heaven!
I
AGREE 100%: And this is the tension for anyone who gets baptized,
whether a Baby raised in the church,
or the Biker raised by a gang
who has a conversion experience as an adult. ONCE they are both baptized,
they become visible members of God’s Kingdom. In their baptism
we claim that the washing waters puts them to death, no longer spiritually
connected to the lost communion earned by Adam and Eve. They are
therfore, buried and raised up to a life completely connected to
the righteous life of Jesus Christ -- cleansed of all
their sin, born again by the Spirit, and adopted into the family
where our older brother Jesus Christ, sets the example -
and as we follow our brother's example, and as we obey our Father,
and will promote His kingdom.
In
baptism, we declare that the baptized receives every blessings and
benefit of being a member of a redeemed household.
This baptism is actually a sanctifying influence for the Christian
home just as it was for the Jewish household of the Old Testament,
God's uniquely chosen people.
In Romans 9:4 the Apostle Paul lists the benefits that the Jews
received growing up in a household of faith: They are Israelites,
and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving
of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs,
and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is
God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
Paul
is stating that being connected to a Jewish household gives a person
a front row seat to hearing,
learning,
and inculcating the faith (HEY – THAT’s
the definition of a Disciple!!)
this is the "classroom" that God desires for His chosen people.
AND
It is the same for those who are raised in a Christian household!
There are tremendous benefits
-- and
we should call it the Grace of
God -- that children in a home with at least one believing parent
-- receives the influence of a saint in their life. When children
are raised in a Christian home, the children will learn how to pray,
they will learn the stories of God’s faithfulness, they will
learn the importance of the Christian community, they will learn
about Jesus who loves the little children – and all that learning
contributes to discipleship!
And
to mark people out as a disciple, we baptize them – JUST
LIKE JESUS COMMISSIONED. In this baptism we tell them, and everyone
observing, that they are an object of God’s redemption, they
are now in a household that is protected from the wrath of God, that
they have
received God’s sign and seal of acceptance and welcome – They
have now received the TRUE SIGN of a members of God’s kingdom – the
church.
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Adam and Eve in all their strength
could not merit their own redemption – so
God provided a covering for them, and a promise! Likewise, not one
of us, from the youngest to the oldest, to the strongest, wisest,
or richest, could ever perform what would be required to redeem our
lives – So God in His grace has provided a covering for us
in our baptism – that all of the Trinity would provide for
us all the righteousness of Christ and provide us with a promise:
never to leave us or forsake us – this is the sure hope
for all who long to be faithful disciples.
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This leads me to a primary principle. A kingdom must have a king,
and a people and a boundary. For the Christian today, everything
is related to these boundaries:
What are the boundaries of God’s rule, and the rule of human
governments?
Where are the boundaries to be found between living for God’s
kingdom and living in society,
and who enforces the boundaries of each kingdom? How does Jesus rule
his people, and how should a government rule it’s people?
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And this is our real struggle isn’t
it – it
is against our Creator. We have chosen to not live up to what
He created us
to be – We are suppoed to be people who love justice and
beauty and goodness and purity. BUT We love shortcuts instead
of integrity.
We choose earthly influence over eternal significance. We are
constantly seeking after “the life;” but are hell
bent on destroying ourselves as we do it.
In our very soul, we know that a King is going to return and make
everything that is wrong about this world right again; but we are
so focused on our tiny existence, that we never look up and acknowledge
His rule over our life.
But His plan for ruling and reigning
over every selfish power has already been announced in Genesis
3:15: the Lord says
to the serpent:
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring
and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise
his heel."
This
is the proto-euangellion – the
first mention of the Gospel in the Bible.
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This just happens to be the Christmas story. God
sending His savior king to a hostile world to overthrow the tyranny
of the Devil and
his seed. But Satan does not like it. Like a wicked dragon, he seeks
to devour the seed of the woman – always attacking the descendants
of Abraham. And finally when the King is born in Bethlehem, Herod
the Great seeks to destroy this child by murdering all the young
boys of that small town – but God intervenes to protect this
Savior King.
And as this boy grows and lives
his life, he proves himself to be a wonderful counselor, especially
when tempted by the devil. Jesus
does not give into his human appetites, or claim the nations as an
inheritance before completing the full terms of his contract.
He proves himself
to have wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and
fear of the Lord.
When tested, Adam and Eve perceive with their eyes and they listen
with their ears. But this is not how the Savior King will judge,
for he knows what righteousness is. It is not self seeking, but it
defends the weak and the meek and establishes equity upon the earth.
This Savior King is in fact, the Mighty God who will conquer the
curse of death that has destined every line of humanity to the dust
of the earth.
But this Savior
King is also the Everlasting Father. Bringing to our lives eternal
significance – our works will
not perish in the dust; but will have impact in the heavenly realms.
Our Savior
King rules over earth and eternity and He will finally, and as we
expect Him, defeat every evil force and triumph in glory over the
serpent and his schemes.
And
His victory as king will be final; because He will rule as the prince
of peace! All fighting will end, and the
burden he bears upon
His shoulders of managing the heavenly kingdom will be akin to the
work that Adam had in the Garden before he fell into sin – it
will be a joy and exhilaration to rule over a people who only love
the glory of God and desire to obey Him for all of eternity.
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Prophecy cannot predict anything!
prophecy cannot be fulfilled if there is no gameplan in place!
More than that, the plan may be
in place, but it does no good unless you have the absolute ability
to carry out the plan! And this is exactly what God does! God can
fortell elements of the Christmas story hundreds of years before
the prophesied events happen because God has a plan for this world,
and He has the ability to accomplish His purposes.
---)------------
God promised Abraham a line of inumerable
descendants – and that Kings would come from his fruitfullness.
But his wife Sarah was barren, The way of women had ceased in her
body, she was worn out. She could still cook in the kitchen, but
HER own oven had lost its fire.
Sarah
was a woman, who in that culture, was actually considered cursed
by God for her barren condition. AND now here
she is, late
in life; she’s probably doubting that her life amounted to
anything at all – why had she been born, what had her life
accomplished? And yet powerfully, at the end of the day, Sarah IS
an accomplice
to the redemption of God’s people, she helps to establish the
Rule of the Messiah, and she is a patriot in defeating the power
of the devil – Wow!
It
was a MIRACLE that Sarah had a baby. God visits, announces, and says “Nothing is impossible.” God took that which was
looked over and forgotten and beyond use, and planned to accomplish
something great in her – That is Christmas!
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It’s ironic to realize that
the Christmas story is carried along by two women of note: One
was a woman who couldn’t get pregnant, and the other
was a woman who shouldn’t have been pregnant.
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And this is where the plans and prophesy of
Christmas impact our present. Dare I say, with the weight of prophetic
wisdom, that there must now be certain things we can completely
affirm because of Christmas!
We dare not over-look, neglect, or ever think that some person in
the world has no significance or impact
upon others. Who are we
to determine that God has not intended to do something even though
the weakest and the most incapacitated? Christmas teaches us that
God uses old, barren women; unpopular and little towns; frightened
and hassled young women needing shelter – these are the ones
that God uses to work miracles of redemption – and our eyes
and sensitivities should always be towards these and others.
---)------------
Christianity is a trip! When I say
this, I mean two things primarily. (1) God is a mover! God created
everything,
and He likes it moving – everything in creation is spinning,
or flying, or gravitating, or floating, or growing, or dying – it
all has momentum, and it is going in a some direction! When we
evaluate all of life from both a scientific and a Biblical perspective – we
really can say with our best 60’s voice “Life’s
a trip, man.”
(2) When I say Christianity is a trip, I mean
that God does NOT have you where He WANTS you to be right now! – This
is what I mean by that --God wants you to be going in a particular
direction
(and I mean that spiritually, ecumenically) – and He will
take you there until He fulfills His and our ultimate destiny – and
that destiny is His Glory! If you are still here on this planet
at this very moment – God is without a doubt, taking you
somewhere! – trippy!
---)------------
I think the details of the Christmas
story again teach us the obvious: God wants to move people from
their current
location – and
now I am speaking primarily in a spiritual context (stop moving away
from California!) – and take them to a place where people will
see His Glory!
Joseph and Mary
had to move to see God’s glory. Shepherd’s
in the field who thought they are seeing God’s glory, had go
to another place to look into the face of true glory. All of this
taking place as Wiseman from the east are traveling on their way…
We
often look at how life moves us about, and conclude that it is actually
a great inconvenience. We get upset by the
trials that force
us to change our plans; we voice our complaints to God for how everything
needs to start over again – and we take things quite personally
that the GREAT goals we had in mind, slip by us and become a waste
of all our time and energy.
But
think about Joseph and Mary for a moment. Two people elected by God
to carry out the plan of redemption – and all they are
is HASSLED! She is pregnant before her time; he is committed to a
future bride who has regular conversations with “angels;” they
both must pick up and travel when it was really time to settle down.
WHAT
was God doing? I’m sure they each had their life perfectly
planned out – but now God is moving them to ---- HIS greater
glory.
SO God is also moving
us – He has a goal in mind – He
has a plan to bring each of us a future and a hope. And yet, we all
know what it is to be HASSLED by uncontrollable circumstances; but
we must hold on to the conviction that God’s view of the terrain
that we are traveling is far more clear to Him – and that He
has a glorious objective in mind. Perhaps we should accept then that
life is more than a trip – it is actually a pretty amazing
RIDE! The LORD has you, He has EVERYTHING in creation moving, and
He has a destination for us all.
---)------------
This again is the Christmas story – distance being covered
in order to reveal the glory of God. Our obvious application of the
Christmas story is this – will we trust God to lead us in a
direction that will reveal His glory? At the end of our “ride” will
we be convinced that we will be publicly glorifying God for His grand
design?
There is one direction
that would seem to be the opposite, or the negation of this message,
and that direction is
backsliding! Backsliding
is also a trip isn’t it? It is traveling in a direction. But
does it go in a direction where God is Glorified? Well, Yes, and
No – Surely, it is God’s revealed will that backsliding
is antithetical to the Christian life of maturing and becoming more
like Christ! This is the glory of salvation – that we would
be like Christ – this is God’s chosen direction for His
chosen people.
Unfortunately,
many of us know what backsliding is – it’s
the charting of our own path, it is the ignoring of God’s clearly
marked boundaries, it is our unwillingness to walk difficult paths,
and it is our fascination with shortcuts.
As
a former backslider (…) I’d like to speak to anyone
wavering off the path – God’s word is clear about His
ultimate end for His people. We will either glorify God for His goodness
and gracious provisions – OR – we will glorify Him for
His righteous judgment against sinners.
---)------------
This has been the theme of our current Advent
series – It
appears that those people who have some degree of “earthly
glory,” are the most threatened by the gift of God, they refuse
the gift and the relationship that the gift provides.
I
think this still holds true today. The person who rejects God’s
gift of Jesus Christ, is the one who is apt to glorify their own
intellect, or independence, or even their own sinful lifestyle – they
glory in it – even a destitute bum on skid row, in his own
eyes, can have too much pride to receive God’s gift. And conversely,
it is the poor in spirit, the one who recognizes that they have no
glory in themselves – these are the ones whom God lavishes
His gift upon – and here is the greatest part of the story – If
we are willing to admit that we have no glory in ourselves, then
God will lavish upon us the gift of His glory!
---)------------
Jesus didn’t come to earth
at Christmas time to simply offer peace and justice, He came to
demand it, to require it, and to command
it from every being in the universe. Jesus came to establish His
dominion so that everyone would live according to His kind of peace – that's
the kind of “PEACE ON EARTH” that Jesus brings at Christmas!
He is going to get it HIS WAY!!
It’s this kind of teaching
that makes me want to start my own T-shirt business – where
the front of the shirt says, “Jesus
offers NOTHING,” and on the back it will say, “He Commands,
He Demands, He Requires!” (CommunionPres.org)
---)------------
And this leads me to discuss the greatest battle
of all time. It was the war that took place upon the cross in the
body and soul of
Jesus my savior. At the cross, God went to war against every unholy
sin found in His children. Every profanity, every adultery, every
mockery, every vanity – you name it – every little and
big thing that fell short of the glory of God was defeated and destroyed
and rendered powerless by the furious wrath of God at the cross.
Every
soul who trusts in the savior will know that the final death blow
upon sin, and the power of death, and the
power of the devil was
executed upon the cross of Christ. God went out marching to war against
the stench and wretchedness of rebellious disobedience and apathetic
unbelief and in a gruesome, but final battle – destroyed the
complete curse of sin upon the perfect Lamb of God who offered himself
as a sacrifice on behalf of a dying and defiled humanity.
Jesus
Christ took every one of our sins and placed them before the righteous
execution of God and Jesus paid
for our misery in His body
upon a bloody battlefield so that we would NEVER, EVER, have to experience
the threat of God’s judgment for all eternity.
Who
was my enemy on that day when Jesus represented me in battle? Well,
that’s the beautiful scandal of the cross. God marched
out to battle to destroy me -- my sin and rebellion; but Jesus enters
in as a faithful brother and took my just punishment -- ON THAT VERY
BATTLEFIELD, it was the demanding God who was my enemy! God was killing
me off at the cross – why me? Because I was in league with
every rebellious sinner from Adam and Eve on – But look at
what God did in a moment of Justice – He brought Peace…
While
God came to destroy me in battle, He righteously satisfied His judgment
upon sin in Christ – and
gave to me the Righteousness of Christ. God took away my offense
by placing it upon Christ and
gave to me the righteous, pure, faithful, sincere, and selfless life
of Jesus Christ and raised me up as a revived and restored humanity.
God my enemy became God my savior.
---)------------
At the end of the day, I find it hard to know peace and justice
when I seem to be struggling with myself as enemy. The struggle against
myself is also never helped when I hang out with the wrong people,
and in the wrong places.
So
I ask myself, Why do I give in to the part of me that Christ has
defeated? It’s like entertaining the dead when I should
really be proclaiming the gospel to them so that they would hear
and see the power of life – the power of the resurrected Christ
in my life!
May God forgive,
and convict us for all the times that we waste opportunities playing
around with the “dead and damned” when
we should have been bringing them the truth, and light, and life!
These people do not know peace, and my casual entertainments with
them does not prepare them for the reality of the spiritual war that
is going on! We as Christians should not know peace if we never live
as soldiers of the light.
---)------------
I furthermore believe that this God
made me in such a way that I could comprehend Him in some way.
That He
equipped me with a sound
enough mind that could conclude that everything existing on earth,
in the solar system, in the galaxy, arrived here by more than just
a random collision of gaseous clouds (Which was Carl Sagan’s
answer to Why Am I Here? “We owe our existence to a random
collision of gaseous clouds.”)
Carl
Sagan’s conclusion as to why we exist is very unsatisfying
to me. And I don’t believe that I am being proud or preferring
my specie over another, because I have an awareness of my own mind,
my own thoughts, and my own “soulishness” if you will,
that compels me to believe that there is a powerful God who intends
to be God over all life on earth.
More than that, this God has the ability to communicate with me
personally. He has preserved a series of texts of His truths in the
Bible that I can read and make sense of its teaching. This God can
also speak to my inner conscience and motivate me spiritually to
think and act in a certain way.
So here is my foundation for life. I have placed my faith on this
foundation: I Am Here because God exists; and I am here because this
God is going to do something with me! My mind rejects uncaused accidents
and purposeless activity
Hebrews 11:6 And
without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw
near to God must believe that He exists and
that he rewards those who seek Him.
---)------------
My faith tells me that there is a
huge reality that I cannot see – Angels,
and warfare, and heavenly realms. I don’t see it, but I believe
it, and I want to act like I believe it by living boldly, offering
my body as a living sacrifice, trusting that the very words of God
that
I speak will not return void.
All
I’m saying is that if we really believed in all the things
we say we believe in, we’d act a whole lot different – we’d
be more faithful in following, serving, and worshipping Christ.
---)------------
This leads me to the next aspect
of FAITH, it rests on a testimony. Now lots of churches love to
hear people’s testimony. It is
such a regular occurrence in so many churches – "Brother Bob,
come here and tell the congregation your testimony!" And then Brother
Bob explains how important he was, or how sinful he was, and how
he had a miraculous encounter with Jesus, and how now he’s
a happy, faithful follower of Christ – Now it’s wonderful
to hear the redeemed of the Lord say so, But you know what? My faith
is never to be placed in a mere man’s testimony. There are
only two testimonies we are to build our faith upon! Do you know
them?
The testimony of God’s word, and the testimony of the Holy
Spirit confirming God’s word! And God’s word, and the
Holy Spirit ultimately only speak of ONE THING don’t they?
The man, Jesus Christ!
Here’s my testimony for you today. The more you know, learn
about, read about, pray to, ponder, obey, and follow Jesus Christ – the
more you do these things – the more rewarding your personal
faith will be. And I say this based upon God’s word!
If
your faith is ever placed upon a mere man’s testimony – no
matter how stirring and inspiring it is, it is NOT a firm foundation
for faith, because it is not the gospel!
Brother Bob does not call you to faith, Brother Bob does not share
with you his righteousness, Brother Bob is not sanctifying you, Brother
Bob is not preparing a place for you for all eternity!
Let’s not get captivated by non-biblical stories, but let’s
faithfully share the testimony about what Christ has done for us
in his life, death, and resurrection, and in the Spirit’s ability
to confirm it in our souls. And if I can pair down 1 John
5 to make the point: … the Spirit is
the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. If we receive
the testimony of
men, the testimony
of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that He has borne
concerning His Son.
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