While tomorrow (Christmas) will be a time of great joy and excitement for young and old alike - for others it will be a difficult and trying time. Many will be reminded of the loved ones that they have lost this past year or in years gone by - perhaps some had bought presents already before their loved one died and will be reminded of it tonight when they pull them out of the closet to put under the tree. Others will have sadness triggered by by certain smells, songs or family traditons that will now seem so lonely.
And then there are those who may not have lost loved ones to death but through divorce. Children will be spending Christmas Eve with Dad and Christmas Day with Mom or vice versa. No longer a happy family together on Christmas. Then some will be missing loved ones because of distance, work schedules and the duties of war. When you are opening your gifts tomorrow or headed off to church - remember those who may be lonely and hurting. Call them up, invite them over or visit them and especially pray for them.
For the One of whom the Prophet says, "For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9"6) is also the One who brings great comfort and joy (cf. Isaiah 61:1-3).
God Bless and Have a Blessed Christmas Lord's Day.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Monday, December 19, 2005
Sunday Postscript 121805
We were back in 1 John chapter 4 (7-11) again. This was the message that I didn’t get to preach last Sunday evening because of “my stone of stumbling and rock of offense” (which is still with me apparently but not causing any pain – Praise God!). Anyway, yesterday’s message was “Love One Another”.
This was the ‘bread’ of the sandwich. Mark uses the ‘sandwich’ technique quite a bit. Here John uses it to stress that “God is Love” (last week’s message) is at the center of “Love One Another” (vs. 7a & 11). So you have to read last weeks Postscript to see what “God is Love” is all about.
Because God is Love (and all that it entails) we can experience the Love of God. First we must be “born of God” (vs. 7). To be born of God is to be adopted as God’s child through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is essentially being born again (regeneration). Jesus gave Nicodemus the instruction about what it means to be born again in John 3:3-8. Being born of God is being born of the Spirit. And this in itself is an act of God’s Love. But is this Love bestowed upon every individual person without distinction? Absolutely not! Consider Romans 8:28-30 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. We have here the great covenant promise that God works out all things for the good and benefit of those who love Him. This does not include everyone, however, as is evidenced by the fact that those who love God are those whom God has “called according to His purpose”. God’s revelation and our experience teach us that not everyone loves God and not everyone has been born again by the Spirit. Only those who love God, because they have been called by God, have all things work out for their good. Those that do not love God will not have things work out for their good – those who do not love God will have their end in eternal judgment and condemnation.
We also see in this Romans 8 passage the ‘Golden Chain of Salvation’. In vs. 29 – Those whom God foreknew (i.e. fore-loved) these are the ones whom He predestined in love before the foundation of the world (cf. Eph. 1:4-5). God’s love is clearly demonstrated in this, His decree of predestination (election). Then those whom God predestined, these are the ones whom He has called (in the fullness of time – i.e. our time, human history). They have the gospel preached to them and they receive the inward call of God’s Spirit, i.e. they are regenerated by the Spirit – born again and born of God. So those that are foreknown/fore-loved, predestined, and called – these are the very same ones that are justified and will ultimately be glorified. This is how we experience the great love of God through Christ when we are born of God. (now back to 1 John).
Through God’s love poured out for us we are not only born of God but we actually can know God (1 John 4:7). God is knowable and it is only through Jesus Christ who came because of God’s love for us, that we can know God for He has declared Him (John 1:18) and reveals the Father only to those whom He wills (Matthew 11:27). Thus only Jesus holds the key to eternal life – He is the door that we must pass through – but we can only enter if He has loved us before the foundation of the world (cf. John 14:6).
But if we do not love, vs. 8, tells us that we are giving evidence that we do not know God, for God is love. So if we do not love, God has not loved us nor known us. This was a key issue that John was dealing with in his epistle. There were false teachers who did not love the brethren. They denied Christ coming in the flesh which means they would have to deny God’s great gift of love, so they were giving evidence of being charlatans and unbelievers. John applies the test, vs. 11 “If God so loved us, we ought to love one another”.
If God loved us so much that He would send His Son to suffer and die for our sins even when we were His enemies; then wouldn’t it cross our minds, even in the slightest way that in like manner “we ought to love one another”. If we have experienced God’s love, if we have been born of God and know God – what could possibly keep us from loving one another as God commands (cf. John 13:35). What keeps you from loving one another? Sin, pride, arrogance, selfishness, seeking after your own interests – essentially this is self-love. Self-love is a great hindrance to loving one another. Or maybe someone hurt you and offended you, they did something you did not like, they betrayed your trust, or they gossiped about you and said hurtful things about you, maybe they stepped on your toes, they nosed their way into your business or they ignored you and acted as if you didn’t exist and yet they continuously tore you down every opportunity they could. It’s getting close to Christmas; perhaps they were thankless and misused and destroyed all the nice gifts you have given them in the past. There is enough evidence here that would hold up in any court of law. Certainly you would be justified - you should not have to love “Them”!!
But, look in the mirror, folks – isn’t this exactly how we treated God when we were in sin – slandering and despising His name, breaking His laws and abusing the gifts of His goodness. And what did God do in response? He sent His only begotten Son to suffer and die for our sins, to endure the wrath that we deserved – While we were His enemies, Christ died for us! “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another”.
Finally, how are we to love one another? If God loved us unconditionally –we ought to love one another, unconditionally – there should be no pre-requisite for our love toward one another. We are not to love one another because we are the nicest, smartest, wealthiest, strongest, or loveliest. We are not to love only those who love us. No we are called to love even the unlovely – which is everyone of us. We are unlovely because though we are redeemed – we still have a part of the sin nature – we are imperfect, we fall into sin, we make mistakes, we say things we shouldn’t and do things we shouldn’t – yet we are to love one another despite all these short-comings. Consider Paul’s definition of Love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. How are we to love one another? We can love one another by being patient toward one another, by being kind and not being jealous. We can love by being humble and not arrogant; by being self-controlled in our actions and speech; by seeking the interests of others over our own interests. We can love by not being quick to anger. Furthermore, we will not hold grudges and we will not say “I told you so” when someone falls. We love one another by speaking the truth in love, by bearing one another’s burdens, praying for one another, encouraging one another, building one another up and persevering with one another. Love like this never fails. For love like this reflects the love of God that He has shown to us and given to us.
Because of this great gift of God’s love for those who were unlovely – we should be spurred on in our Love for one another – for God is Love – and He is to be at the center of how we are to relate to one another. His example was love, so beloved; we ought to love one another! For the Glory of Christ alone.
This was the ‘bread’ of the sandwich. Mark uses the ‘sandwich’ technique quite a bit. Here John uses it to stress that “God is Love” (last week’s message) is at the center of “Love One Another” (vs. 7a & 11). So you have to read last weeks Postscript to see what “God is Love” is all about.
Because God is Love (and all that it entails) we can experience the Love of God. First we must be “born of God” (vs. 7). To be born of God is to be adopted as God’s child through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is essentially being born again (regeneration). Jesus gave Nicodemus the instruction about what it means to be born again in John 3:3-8. Being born of God is being born of the Spirit. And this in itself is an act of God’s Love. But is this Love bestowed upon every individual person without distinction? Absolutely not! Consider Romans 8:28-30 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. We have here the great covenant promise that God works out all things for the good and benefit of those who love Him. This does not include everyone, however, as is evidenced by the fact that those who love God are those whom God has “called according to His purpose”. God’s revelation and our experience teach us that not everyone loves God and not everyone has been born again by the Spirit. Only those who love God, because they have been called by God, have all things work out for their good. Those that do not love God will not have things work out for their good – those who do not love God will have their end in eternal judgment and condemnation.
We also see in this Romans 8 passage the ‘Golden Chain of Salvation’. In vs. 29 – Those whom God foreknew (i.e. fore-loved) these are the ones whom He predestined in love before the foundation of the world (cf. Eph. 1:4-5). God’s love is clearly demonstrated in this, His decree of predestination (election). Then those whom God predestined, these are the ones whom He has called (in the fullness of time – i.e. our time, human history). They have the gospel preached to them and they receive the inward call of God’s Spirit, i.e. they are regenerated by the Spirit – born again and born of God. So those that are foreknown/fore-loved, predestined, and called – these are the very same ones that are justified and will ultimately be glorified. This is how we experience the great love of God through Christ when we are born of God. (now back to 1 John).
Through God’s love poured out for us we are not only born of God but we actually can know God (1 John 4:7). God is knowable and it is only through Jesus Christ who came because of God’s love for us, that we can know God for He has declared Him (John 1:18) and reveals the Father only to those whom He wills (Matthew 11:27). Thus only Jesus holds the key to eternal life – He is the door that we must pass through – but we can only enter if He has loved us before the foundation of the world (cf. John 14:6).
But if we do not love, vs. 8, tells us that we are giving evidence that we do not know God, for God is love. So if we do not love, God has not loved us nor known us. This was a key issue that John was dealing with in his epistle. There were false teachers who did not love the brethren. They denied Christ coming in the flesh which means they would have to deny God’s great gift of love, so they were giving evidence of being charlatans and unbelievers. John applies the test, vs. 11 “If God so loved us, we ought to love one another”.
If God loved us so much that He would send His Son to suffer and die for our sins even when we were His enemies; then wouldn’t it cross our minds, even in the slightest way that in like manner “we ought to love one another”. If we have experienced God’s love, if we have been born of God and know God – what could possibly keep us from loving one another as God commands (cf. John 13:35). What keeps you from loving one another? Sin, pride, arrogance, selfishness, seeking after your own interests – essentially this is self-love. Self-love is a great hindrance to loving one another. Or maybe someone hurt you and offended you, they did something you did not like, they betrayed your trust, or they gossiped about you and said hurtful things about you, maybe they stepped on your toes, they nosed their way into your business or they ignored you and acted as if you didn’t exist and yet they continuously tore you down every opportunity they could. It’s getting close to Christmas; perhaps they were thankless and misused and destroyed all the nice gifts you have given them in the past. There is enough evidence here that would hold up in any court of law. Certainly you would be justified - you should not have to love “Them”!!
But, look in the mirror, folks – isn’t this exactly how we treated God when we were in sin – slandering and despising His name, breaking His laws and abusing the gifts of His goodness. And what did God do in response? He sent His only begotten Son to suffer and die for our sins, to endure the wrath that we deserved – While we were His enemies, Christ died for us! “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another”.
Finally, how are we to love one another? If God loved us unconditionally –we ought to love one another, unconditionally – there should be no pre-requisite for our love toward one another. We are not to love one another because we are the nicest, smartest, wealthiest, strongest, or loveliest. We are not to love only those who love us. No we are called to love even the unlovely – which is everyone of us. We are unlovely because though we are redeemed – we still have a part of the sin nature – we are imperfect, we fall into sin, we make mistakes, we say things we shouldn’t and do things we shouldn’t – yet we are to love one another despite all these short-comings. Consider Paul’s definition of Love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. How are we to love one another? We can love one another by being patient toward one another, by being kind and not being jealous. We can love by being humble and not arrogant; by being self-controlled in our actions and speech; by seeking the interests of others over our own interests. We can love by not being quick to anger. Furthermore, we will not hold grudges and we will not say “I told you so” when someone falls. We love one another by speaking the truth in love, by bearing one another’s burdens, praying for one another, encouraging one another, building one another up and persevering with one another. Love like this never fails. For love like this reflects the love of God that He has shown to us and given to us.
Because of this great gift of God’s love for those who were unlovely – we should be spurred on in our Love for one another – for God is Love – and He is to be at the center of how we are to relate to one another. His example was love, so beloved; we ought to love one another! For the Glory of Christ alone.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Sunday Postscript 121105
Yesterday’s service was the most painful I have ever endured. However, it was not due to the content, but rather; it was due to the excruciating pain of a kidney stone that decided to flare up Sunday morning. I am always amazed at God’s sustaining grace – and as I said to our elders before the service – “God will give me the strength, I believe that”. And praise be to God, He did for His glory; though it was not easy. Please keep me in prayer as I deal with this “stone of stumbling and rock of offense” this week. Yesterday, we also celebrated the Lord’s Supper and the message fit in quite well with the sacrament. We did cancel the evening service though due to my incapacitation and the impending bad weather (so I’ll preach that message next week, d.v.).
Our text was 1 John 4:7-11 and the title was “God is Love”. Love is one of the great attributes of God. Love not only describes God’s actions, but it is His very being – He loves and He is Love. Since God is love then it necessarily follows that love is from God. If there is no God, then there is no love and according to the Apostle Paul in 1 Cor. 13 – if you have not love then you have nothing and are nothing. God is the source and fountain of love. God’s love is perfect and unconditional. God’s love is perfect because it is complete and lacks nothing. God’s love is unconditional in that it is not dependent upon anything outside Him. God does not love us because of our purity, beauty, intelligence or talent – He loves us because He is Love
But there are two cautions. First, God is not “just” Love. Many people today (including many Christians) trumpet the idea that God is love and only love. This is warm fuzzy Christianity. Those who espouse this error like to make a distinction between the God of Judgment in the OT from the God of Love in the NT almost as if they were two different gods. But the God of Judgment in the OT was a God of Love and the God of Love in the NT is still a God of Judgment. These folks are often at a loss when tragedy hits as they are confounded with the question: If God is a God of Love (only) then how could He allow this to happen?
Another caution is that you can’t reverse the phrase and come out with the same result. That is, Love is not God. This also is a very popular belief today. I was reminded of the Beatles song, “love, love, love – all you need is love (love is all you need)”. To say love is God is to make love an idol. Those who preach tolerance of all kinds of sinful lifestyles have fallen prey to this idolatry.
There are two other attributes of God that often seem contradictory to “God is Love”; His Holiness and His Justice. God is Holy. God’s holiness is His absolute purity and His perfection; He is without spot or blemish. Because God is Holy, He cannot stand the sight of sin, He hates it (Ps. 5:4; Prov. 6:16-19). And because of God’s holiness, because He hates sin – He must punish sin for He is also Just (Ps. 111:7). God’s justice is His measuring all things with perfect fairness and equity according to the perfect standard of His Law. When God administers His justice – all receive their just rewards; blessing upon those who keep His law and holy wrath upon those who do not. And remember, it is this same God who is the God of Love.
God’s works are multi-faceted displays of His glorious attributes and no where is this more evident than in the greatest manifestation and expression of God’s Love toward Mankind: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10). God sent His only begotten Son (John 3:16) into the world – into our world with all its sinful and fallen decadence. This is what we celebrate at Christmas; God’s sending His one and only Son into human history. This sending of His Son was a great manifestation of God’s Love to us. But why? Why would God show us His love by sending His unique only begotten Son into this fallen and sinful World?
Was it because of our love for God? Absolutely not! First, our love for God did not cause God to send His Son into the World; God’s love is unconditional – it is not motivated by anything outside of Him. It is unmerited. Secondly, there was no love on our behalf for God to respond to. We did not love Him! We could not love Him – because of our sin we could only love and serve ourselves. We were God’s enemies; we had broken His law and violated His covenant. Consider the descriptions of how we were, when we were in sin: Eph. 2:3, 12; Rom. 1:29-31; 3:10-18. How could we possibly misconstrue this as love for God? Thus, it is impossible that our love for God would spur on His love for us. But look how John defines love – “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us” (vs. 10) – undeserved, unmerited, unconditional – That, friends, is Love! But it gets better.
God sent Jesus Christ His Son to be the ‘propitiation’ for our sins. This is a great theological term that should not get lost in modern translations. Jesus was the atoning sacrifice for our sins. This is where we see the Love of God crashing in through His Holiness and Justice. We know that God is Holy that He hates sin and in His Justice He must Judge all sin – and the wages of sin is death. Well we just considered what we look like when we are in sin – if that is how we remain – we are headed for condemnation and destruction under God’s Holy wrath and anger. This is what we all deserve because of our guilt and sin before a most Holy and righteous God. Eternal punishment in Hell is our just reward. But, enter God’s undeserving, unmerited, unconditional Love through His only Begotten Son Jesus Christ our Lord whom He sent into the World.
Paul explains it this way in Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ died for us. He was the propitiation for our sins. He was the atoning sacrifice that removed our sins. He endured the wrath and curse of God on our behalf. He suffered and died on the Cross so that we would not have to. God’s righteous and just wrath for our sin was turned away from us and poured out upon His own only begotten Son whom He sent for this very purpose all because He loved us. Through His shed blood we have reconciliation and Peace with God. Praise God for His indescribable Gift.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Sorry, We're Closed
A portion of this article appeared in our local paper this morning. The Mega-churches are closing their doors on Sunday Dec. 25 (Christmas Day). Here are some reasons given:
1) “pastors are canceling services, anticipating low attendance on what they call a family day”. (My comment: I would love to know what ‘low attendance’ is for a 15,000 member Mega-Church – 10,000? 5,000? 1,500? 150?).
2) “The churches closing on Christmas plan multiple services in the days leading up to the holiday, including on Christmas Eve” (Tired and weary from all the services – they will need a day of rest).
3) “Cally Parkinson, a spokeswoman for Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., said church leaders decided that organizing services on a Christmas Sunday would not be the most effective use of staff and volunteer resources” (Imagine the local hospital saying the same thing).
4) “"If our target and our mission is to reach the unchurched, basically the people who don't go to church, how likely is it that they'll be going to church on Christmas morning?" she said.” (Ah, here is a likely suspect: a malfunctioning ecclesiology).
5) "We believe that you worship every day of the week, not just on a weekend, and you don't have to be in a church building to worship." (Ah yes the “All of Life is worship” principle. Very liberating. True we are to glorify God in all that we do, but what was it, something like “The Lord Blessed the seventh day and sanctified it” (Gen. 2:1-3).
6) Troy Page, a spokesman for Fellowship Church, said the congregation was hardly shirking its religious obligations. (Is that ‘hardly’ as in ‘barely’ or ‘hardly’ as in ‘forcefully’? Troy? Anyone?)
7) Fellowship will hold 21 services in four locations in the days leading up to the holiday. Last year, more than 30,000 worshippers participated. "Doing them early allows you to reach people who may be leaving town Friday," Page said. (And what about the folks coming to town?)
8) The closures stand in stark contrast to Roman Catholic parishes, which will see some of their largest crowds of the year on Christmas, and mainline Protestant congregations such as the Episcopal, Methodist and Lutheran churches, where Sunday services are rarely if ever canceled. (Oh this is great; the liberals are having services while the ‘right-wing conservative evangelical’ Christians are shutting down.)
With all the hype about secular government and businesses taking Christ out of Christmas, I think Christians have something more serious to be worried about; i.e. fellow Christians who are taking the Lord out of the Lord’s Day. There is more concern for the man-made “family day” than there is for the God ordained “Lord’s Day”.
No, this is not a rant of a small church pastor who is jealous of the big mega-churches (save that post for a rainy day); it is a true grievance of the heart that the Lord is not being honored on His Day. You can read my Sunday Postscript for my brief defense of the honoring and observance of the Lord’s Day. Now lest I be accused of hypocrisy – in my church we are canceling our usual Sunday School classes on Dec. 25th so that families who may have a little more activity than their usual Sunday routine can have a little extra time. But, Sunday School is not God ordained for the Lord’s Day (though some may think this so); yet, His worship is. We are not cancelling our worship service and we will probably have a psalm sing in the evening (which seems to becoming our annual event – “The Coming of the King”, but more on that later too).
I think part of the issue here is the emphasis that is placed on Christmas and other similar ‘Christian’ holidays. I am not totally against celebrating Christmas or Easter. I have a lot of fond memories (both secularized and religious) of these holidays (except for the vanilla bunny incident – but more on that in April). I don’t think it is necessarily wrong to have a particular day of remembrance for the birth of our Savior. But I am against these days being exalted above the weekly Lord’s Day; i.e. when the holidays become ‘holy days’. I know some will call me inconsistent and poke fun at the imaginary line I have drawn, but so be it. We do not typically gather together for worship on Christmas Day, for God has not appointed us to do so. Besides, God has not even given to us the exact date of Christ’s birth (a pastor’s forum to which I belong has been debating this issue with some arguing the traditional Dec. 25th and some spring and some in the fall and some that it is all of pagan origin anyway – see Gene Edward Veith’s article in the latest issue of World for a helpful perspective). December 25th as the birthday of Jesus is mere speculation (albeit educated, but still a guess)– for God has not revealed it to us in His Word. And I think it is because of the very abuses we are seeing now (Christmas being made a ‘holy day’ and services being cancelled on the Lord’s Day), that God did not give us the exact date, because He knew it would be too great a temptation for us and that we would make an idol out of it.
However this year, we will be gathering together for worship on Christmas Day – though not because it is Christmas Day – but because it will be the Lord’s Day. And yes, I am planning on having a ‘themed’ message that day that should coincide nicely with the ‘season’ and our evening time of praise. And our doors will be open to welcome the worshippers of God (or at least they will be unlocked – it’s is a little too cold in the North Country to be leaving the door open late in December).
1) “pastors are canceling services, anticipating low attendance on what they call a family day”. (My comment: I would love to know what ‘low attendance’ is for a 15,000 member Mega-Church – 10,000? 5,000? 1,500? 150?).
2) “The churches closing on Christmas plan multiple services in the days leading up to the holiday, including on Christmas Eve” (Tired and weary from all the services – they will need a day of rest).
3) “Cally Parkinson, a spokeswoman for Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., said church leaders decided that organizing services on a Christmas Sunday would not be the most effective use of staff and volunteer resources” (Imagine the local hospital saying the same thing).
4) “"If our target and our mission is to reach the unchurched, basically the people who don't go to church, how likely is it that they'll be going to church on Christmas morning?" she said.” (Ah, here is a likely suspect: a malfunctioning ecclesiology).
5) "We believe that you worship every day of the week, not just on a weekend, and you don't have to be in a church building to worship." (Ah yes the “All of Life is worship” principle. Very liberating. True we are to glorify God in all that we do, but what was it, something like “The Lord Blessed the seventh day and sanctified it” (Gen. 2:1-3).
6) Troy Page, a spokesman for Fellowship Church, said the congregation was hardly shirking its religious obligations. (Is that ‘hardly’ as in ‘barely’ or ‘hardly’ as in ‘forcefully’? Troy? Anyone?)
7) Fellowship will hold 21 services in four locations in the days leading up to the holiday. Last year, more than 30,000 worshippers participated. "Doing them early allows you to reach people who may be leaving town Friday," Page said. (And what about the folks coming to town?)
8) The closures stand in stark contrast to Roman Catholic parishes, which will see some of their largest crowds of the year on Christmas, and mainline Protestant congregations such as the Episcopal, Methodist and Lutheran churches, where Sunday services are rarely if ever canceled. (Oh this is great; the liberals are having services while the ‘right-wing conservative evangelical’ Christians are shutting down.)
With all the hype about secular government and businesses taking Christ out of Christmas, I think Christians have something more serious to be worried about; i.e. fellow Christians who are taking the Lord out of the Lord’s Day. There is more concern for the man-made “family day” than there is for the God ordained “Lord’s Day”.
No, this is not a rant of a small church pastor who is jealous of the big mega-churches (save that post for a rainy day); it is a true grievance of the heart that the Lord is not being honored on His Day. You can read my Sunday Postscript for my brief defense of the honoring and observance of the Lord’s Day. Now lest I be accused of hypocrisy – in my church we are canceling our usual Sunday School classes on Dec. 25th so that families who may have a little more activity than their usual Sunday routine can have a little extra time. But, Sunday School is not God ordained for the Lord’s Day (though some may think this so); yet, His worship is. We are not cancelling our worship service and we will probably have a psalm sing in the evening (which seems to becoming our annual event – “The Coming of the King”, but more on that later too).
I think part of the issue here is the emphasis that is placed on Christmas and other similar ‘Christian’ holidays. I am not totally against celebrating Christmas or Easter. I have a lot of fond memories (both secularized and religious) of these holidays (except for the vanilla bunny incident – but more on that in April). I don’t think it is necessarily wrong to have a particular day of remembrance for the birth of our Savior. But I am against these days being exalted above the weekly Lord’s Day; i.e. when the holidays become ‘holy days’. I know some will call me inconsistent and poke fun at the imaginary line I have drawn, but so be it. We do not typically gather together for worship on Christmas Day, for God has not appointed us to do so. Besides, God has not even given to us the exact date of Christ’s birth (a pastor’s forum to which I belong has been debating this issue with some arguing the traditional Dec. 25th and some spring and some in the fall and some that it is all of pagan origin anyway – see Gene Edward Veith’s article in the latest issue of World for a helpful perspective). December 25th as the birthday of Jesus is mere speculation (albeit educated, but still a guess)– for God has not revealed it to us in His Word. And I think it is because of the very abuses we are seeing now (Christmas being made a ‘holy day’ and services being cancelled on the Lord’s Day), that God did not give us the exact date, because He knew it would be too great a temptation for us and that we would make an idol out of it.
However this year, we will be gathering together for worship on Christmas Day – though not because it is Christmas Day – but because it will be the Lord’s Day. And yes, I am planning on having a ‘themed’ message that day that should coincide nicely with the ‘season’ and our evening time of praise. And our doors will be open to welcome the worshippers of God (or at least they will be unlocked – it’s is a little too cold in the North Country to be leaving the door open late in December).
Monday, December 05, 2005
Sunday Postscript -120405
Praise God who gives strength to our bodies of dust when we are weak. I had some sort of stomach bug all day Saturday and didn’t feel much better on the Lord’s Day, but the Lord gave me enough strength to preach the Word, but then I was done and went home and rested. So just one message for God’s people yesterday – though I heard they had a good time of singing God’s praises in the afternoon service. And apparently I missed a wonderful fellowship meal with lots of goodies – but somehow they didn’t seem all that appealing to me. So here is my Sunday Postscript for this week.
Preached on Genesis 2:4-7 “Dust to Glory” yesterday. God made Man from the dust of the ground; the ordinary, lowly, worthless dust that we walk on every day. The animals are also made from the dust. No wonder animals and mankind have so much in common, but not because of evolution but because God used the same stuff to make Man and animals. Not only are we made from the dust, but dust shall be our end (Gen. 3:19). The funny (or maybe sad) thing is that even though we are dust, we sure do spend a lot of time, energy and money on the dust vainly trying to prevent it from it’s inevitable end or at least trying to make it look nicer as it deteriorates toward the end. Certainly we should care for our bodies – but maybe our priorities are off a bit and we need to consider those things which will last.
But, even though we are dust, we are not just dust. We do have a value and worth, but this value and worth does not come from the material we are made from or how we try to dress it up, rather it comes from the God who is mindful of the dust. “For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” Psalm 103:14. God took the time to form and fashion us, even as the potter forms and fashions the clay into a work of art. We truly are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-15). For this we can rejoice and give thanks.
However, not only do we have worth and value because God formed us but especially because He breathes into our nostrils the breath of life. Whereas we share with animals the dust of the ground – only mankind has the breath of life. Now its true God gave the animals life by the command of His Word, but their life breath is of a physical nature and returns to the ground when their body does (Eccl. 3:21). However with Man, God condescended to actually breathe upon him and give him life via imparting a soul. The key difference between Man and Animals is that animals do not have souls
We must guard against Gnosticism and remember that God created Man body and soul and both ‘very good’. And in some way both body and soul reflect the image of God. But the soul is man’s dignity – without it Man is but a pile of dust. And the soul is immortal, it will last forever. When the body dies and the soul departs Solomon says, “the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:7.
But depending on who you are trusting at the time of your death will determine just how that soul returns to God. Those who trust in Christ Jesus for salvation – the soul immediately passes from the body of dust to glorious presence of God, as Jesus promised the thief on the cross (Luke 22:43). Then one day the souls of believers will be reunited with not a body of dust, but rather, an imperishable and incorruptible body (1 Cor. 15). This is the great hope of the Christian believer.
However, those without Christ, those without the clothing of His righteousness and without His Spirit in them (which is the breath of God unto eternal life), without hope in this world – when they die - their bodies return to the dust and their souls go to the presence of God’s eternal wrath where there is darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth.
This being the truth of the Gospel – perhaps we should spend more time and effort considering the estate of our souls and their condition before the Almighty God. Those who have ears to hear, let them hear to the glory of Christ alone. Amen.
Preached on Genesis 2:4-7 “Dust to Glory” yesterday. God made Man from the dust of the ground; the ordinary, lowly, worthless dust that we walk on every day. The animals are also made from the dust. No wonder animals and mankind have so much in common, but not because of evolution but because God used the same stuff to make Man and animals. Not only are we made from the dust, but dust shall be our end (Gen. 3:19). The funny (or maybe sad) thing is that even though we are dust, we sure do spend a lot of time, energy and money on the dust vainly trying to prevent it from it’s inevitable end or at least trying to make it look nicer as it deteriorates toward the end. Certainly we should care for our bodies – but maybe our priorities are off a bit and we need to consider those things which will last.
But, even though we are dust, we are not just dust. We do have a value and worth, but this value and worth does not come from the material we are made from or how we try to dress it up, rather it comes from the God who is mindful of the dust. “For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” Psalm 103:14. God took the time to form and fashion us, even as the potter forms and fashions the clay into a work of art. We truly are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-15). For this we can rejoice and give thanks.
However, not only do we have worth and value because God formed us but especially because He breathes into our nostrils the breath of life. Whereas we share with animals the dust of the ground – only mankind has the breath of life. Now its true God gave the animals life by the command of His Word, but their life breath is of a physical nature and returns to the ground when their body does (Eccl. 3:21). However with Man, God condescended to actually breathe upon him and give him life via imparting a soul. The key difference between Man and Animals is that animals do not have souls
We must guard against Gnosticism and remember that God created Man body and soul and both ‘very good’. And in some way both body and soul reflect the image of God. But the soul is man’s dignity – without it Man is but a pile of dust. And the soul is immortal, it will last forever. When the body dies and the soul departs Solomon says, “the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:7.
But depending on who you are trusting at the time of your death will determine just how that soul returns to God. Those who trust in Christ Jesus for salvation – the soul immediately passes from the body of dust to glorious presence of God, as Jesus promised the thief on the cross (Luke 22:43). Then one day the souls of believers will be reunited with not a body of dust, but rather, an imperishable and incorruptible body (1 Cor. 15). This is the great hope of the Christian believer.
However, those without Christ, those without the clothing of His righteousness and without His Spirit in them (which is the breath of God unto eternal life), without hope in this world – when they die - their bodies return to the dust and their souls go to the presence of God’s eternal wrath where there is darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth.
This being the truth of the Gospel – perhaps we should spend more time and effort considering the estate of our souls and their condition before the Almighty God. Those who have ears to hear, let them hear to the glory of Christ alone. Amen.
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