How do you respond to Christmas?

Advent: Week 1
This morning begins a four week countdown to Christmas.  Some of us will respond in panic, others with a lacustre 'bah humbug', and the rest have already been listening to Christmas carols since September (when Costco put out their trees).

Whatever your response, I hope that you will use our use of Advent to increase your faith in Jesus and not the season.

For those of us that go into panic mode, start by stopping.  Reflect on what is important and get rid of the things that aren't necessary.  Take out a calendar or paper and organize the next four weeks giving extra effort towards making things simpler.  Perhaps this is the year you don't mail out Christmas cards, or you scale back all the dinners and parties, or you buy less, or??

For those of us that have a 'bah humbug' attitude (this comes and goes with me depending on the year), let go of past experiences or the present stress of this year's situations and embrace what Christmas is really about... Jesus coming to save us!  Allow the hope that we have in Jesus to fill your heart and your life.  Also, keep a safe distance from people in the next category :).

Lastly, if you are a Christmas fanatic and love every minute of the season... try being more sensitive.  Help out the "Chicken Little's" of the first category; step carefully around the "Scrooge's" (unless you want egg nog in your face); and then, if you want an extra challenge, try reflecting on your motives to see where your heart should be adjusted.

Here's to a season that can make or break us... the decision is all ours!  Much love, Clint.

Waiting Well

Sunday's message wasn't recorded so I put some of my notes down here:

Waiting Well – November 29, 2009
Psalm 25:1-5


Introduction

• People and churches celebrate Christmas in different ways.  Usually it all gets lumped into the title of ‘Advent'.'
• Ultimately advent calls us to a place of expectant waiting.
• Waiting is an inevitable part of the Christmas season.  It is an inevitable part of life.  Life really is all about waiting.  Life is comprised of line-ups.  We can’t change that fact, so we have a few options:
  

          o Get in a different line
          o Leave the line
          o Take a shortcut or budge
          o Get angry and blame others
          o Enjoy the moment and be patient

How can I enjoy waiting?
Waiting well has everything do with perspective and God’s Word is the best place to get it...

Psalm 25:1-5, NASB
"…To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in You I trust, Do not let me be ashamed; Do not let my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed; Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed. Make me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day."

Have you ever asked yourself why you dislike waiting?

• We fear we’ll miss out; or
• We are greedy and we want what we want right now
  

Aren’t these fears and greed similar to the Garden of Eden?  Adam & Eve feared that they were missing out, instead of waiting and trusting God.

Our dislike of waiting comes ultimately from fear (lack of God’s love [1 John 4:17-18]) and distrust.


v. 1      "…To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul (being, life, self, person, desire, appetite,             emotion, and passion).

v. 2      O my God, in You I trust (confidence, security, rest).  Do not let me be ashamed (shy, humiliated, or seen where it looks as though God has disregarded or forgotten me)

• When someone budges or takes a shortcut AND it works…  they don’t seem to suffer any consequences… it makes us seem like fools… fools for waiting in line with the rest, fools for not being bold enough to take a step, fools for waiting… the result is we are ashamed (humiliated).
• The psalmist is saying “may I not be humiliated for not forcing or budging my way in the line-up of life.”
  

Do not let my enemies exult over me.

What goes through your mind when someone budges in front of you?
“What makes them so important?”

• “I want to do what they just did.”
• “That’s not fair, I deserve to be ahead of them.”
• “I better do something and bring justice.”

Last year a 6’4”, 270lb Walmart greeter in New York was trampled to death by a line-up of people waiting to get in to the US Thanksgiving Sale.

What about the real line-ups in life.  What do you do when…

• Someone gets a promotion you were waiting for.
• Someone buys something that you have always wanted, but couldn’t afford or couldn’t justify.
• Someone has a baby and you’ve been trying for years.
• Someone’s kid is better at something than yours.
  

v. 3      Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;

We have to trust in God – that by waiting (even though at times it seems like we are behind and others are enjoying the benefits of their shortcuts) at the end of the day it will not be us looking like fools, but that our waiting on God’s timing will have been the wise choice.

Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.

• People that budge or take shortcuts will get bitten.
• Sin is really taking shortcuts in life or budging…  it is taking control, not trusting God, and relying on your own understanding and greed to get what you want.
• Purity is all about waiting in the right line and in God’s timing.
  

v. 4      Make me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths.

Continue to pursue God, obeying Him, following Him… He will place you in the right line and even though you may not understand why you are in the longer line, you can be confident to know that it will all work out in the end.

Waiting = TRUST
Budging/Shortcuts = SIN

v. 5      Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day."

Allow God to show you what line-ups are right.  Some, even if you’re patient, are just simply the wrong line-up (i.e. illegal/immoral activity; disobeying God)

We think we know better than God, but we need to be taught and to trust Him when He says wait.

Christians don’t see life as line-ups because they don’t see the front of the line as the destination.  They see their place in the line as the destination.  They seen an opportunity to trust God; to live in the moment; because they are confident in the hope they have in Christ.

That hope translates into patience, peace, and selflessness.  It translates into the perspective that if God wants me at the front of the line that bad, he’ll part the red sea to make it happen.  I’m not afraid that I’ll miss out because God know what I need and He’ll provide for all of my needs.

Bring on the line-ups because I can’t wait to trust God even more.

The Liturgical Year & Advent

I read this book, The Liturgical Year by Joan Chittister (a Bendedictine nun) this week and found it fascinating!

Growing up in a pentecostal evangelical setting liturgical practices were as foreign to me as confession or buddhism.  While the majority of liturgical activities are simply tools that can be heart-felt, providing an avenue for spiritual growth, they can also tempt the believer into duty, religiousness, and irrelevance.

However, because so much of the traditional liturgy is new to me, I find it fascinating... but I can certainly see how if I grew up in a church where it was the norm, I'd be sick of it and looking for ways to be real.

My primary reason for reading this book was to find out more about advent.  Here are some interesting things I read:

• "Advent" is latin for 'coming' or 'arrival'
• it started in Gaul (France) at the end of the 5th century
• the purpose of observing advent is to learn how to wait and to prepare the heart for the significance of the season
• advent celebrates all that Jesus means (past, present, and future)
• advent points to the second advent (or the return of Christ)
• advent focuses on the joy of Christ
• the first week of advent reminds of the call/need for a Messiah and the peace that He brings
• the second week of advent calls us with John the Baptist to repent and prepare
• the third week of advent calls us to rejoice that the Lord is near
• the fourth week of advent reminds us of Joseph's doubts, Mary's struggle, Elizabeth's faith
• the mature Christian sees the empty tomb when they look at the manger
• the western church emphasized the humanity of Jesus
• the eastern church emphasized the divinity of Jesus (responding to cultural pressures that Jesus was simply a man)
• different cultures and church traditions celebrate Christmas at different dates (due in part to different calendar systems)
• December 25th was chosen as Christmas in the West because that was the day that the Roman empire celebrated the sun (Roman god Sol Invictus [Invincible sun]).  In 313 in the Edict of Milan, Christians could finally worship freely.
• In 321, Emperor Aurelian declared the day an official "day of rest".

Churches have taken the advent concept and created their own traditions.  I think this is perfectly acceptable and even think that churches should change their own tradition/liturgy in an effort to come at the faith and scripture from new and more meaningful approaches.

While there are parts of Christmas that drive me nuts, there are other parts that I love.  Discovering more from history's response has definitely enhance my understanding of the season and has increased my faith...  I hope your faith is increased this season too.

Interview with Zain Krikau

This morning we did something a little different during our gathering.  Instead of a traditional sermon, I had the privilege of introducing and interviewing Zain Krikau.

When you get a moment, pop on over to the MFC website and take a listen: http://www.missionfoursquare.com/index.php/downloads/sermons.html.

You'll hear the story of a man that gave is heart to Jesus and how Jesus changed his life.

Can You Guess Who This Is?

Next Sunday... November 22, 2009 we will be doing something a little different!  Instead of a traditional sermon I will be interviewing someone from our church.  Their photo is the one above and although they have aged since this photo, that same smile and love for life is evident.

The purpose for this interview is...

• Hear a modern day story of God's power and life-changing ways
  
• Get to know someone from our Church family a little better
• Encourage us to see the big picture (i.e. grow our faith)
  
• Inspire us to become better
• Bring glory to God!

We will be setting up a couple club chairs on the stage and I will brush off my best "Oprah" face.  You will laugh, cry, and be changed!