Words to Take With Us Into the New Year

Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. Revelation 22:1-4

INTRO: Have you ever been so engrossed in a book or a movie, that when you put the book down or left the theater, a residue of strong emotions lingered for awhile?

It’s as if we’re still caught up in the action of the story and the experience of the characters
– but those feelings quickly go away
– that’s because they’re not reality
• they contain nothing that we have to deal with, nothing helpful

People who have had near death experiences say entering heaven is like putting aside a book or leaving a theater
Michael Herbert, “Upon returning from heaven, I felt as if I was taken from real life and reduced to the dimension of a shadow . . .”
Dr. Alexander, “Though I didn’t know where I was or even what I was, I was absolutely sure of one thing: this place I’d suddenly found myself in was completely real.”
– they describe heaven as real, and full of the beauty that brings us pleasure, yet amplified
– everything that causes distress, fear, or pain is gone

. . . and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away (Rev. 21:4)

If we condensed all of heaven’s wonders into one statement, it would be the line in verse 4, “they will see His face”

We have really butchered the Book of Revelation Continue reading →

The Fourth Advent Candle

The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them. Luke 2:20

INTRO: Yesterday Barb and I were walking Kona in San Clemente

When we came to the pier, there were a lot of other people milling around. I noticed three boys in particular, about junior high school age walking toward us. Just then, a large palm branch fell from the top of one of the trees and crashed on a roof nearby, startling everyone. Immediately one of the boys yelled “It’s 12-21-12!” — the date the world was supposed to end according to calculations based on an ancient Mayan caldendar.

Friday’s apocalypse turned out to be yet another dud
– remember Y2K predictions? or the wild-eyed predictions of Harold Camping last year?

However, on December 25th, something world-changing will happen–again
– in our hearts and in our homes

We hear the shepherd’s story every year

So it seems like it happens again and again – we’re familiar with it
– it feels natural, even if in a fairy-tale sort of way
– but it was not natural for them!
• they were visited by angels only this one time in their lives
• this had never happened before in the lives of their ancestors and it never happened again in the lives of their descendants Continue reading →

The Third Advent Candle

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the Highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased” Luke 2:13-14

The LORD has established His throne in the heavens,
And His sovereignty rules over all.
Bless the LORD, you His angels,
Mighty in strength, who perform His word,
Obeying the voice of His word! Psalm 103:19-20

But to which of the angel has [God] said,
“Sit at My right hand,
Until I make Your enemies
A footstool for Your feet?”
Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:13-15

INTRO: In the summer of 1998, the Real Irish Republican Party detonated a car bomb in a town in Northern Ireland that killed twenty-nine people and injured more than 200

It’s brutality stunned Ireland and Great Britain
• in response to loss of innocent lives, Bono, lead singer of U2, composed a haunting melody and penned the following lines:

(Peace On Earth)
Heaven on Earth, we need it now
I’m sick of all of this hanging around
Sick of sorrow, sick of the pain
I’m sick of hearing again and again
That there’s gonna be peace on Earth
Jesus can you take the time
To throw a drowning man a line
Peace on Earth
To tell the ones who hear no sound
Whose sons are living in the ground
Peace on Earth
Jesus sing a song you wrote
The words are sticking in my throat
Peace on Earth
Hear it every Christmas time
But hope and history won’t rhyme
So what’s it worth
This peace on Earth Continue reading →

The Second Christmas Candle

But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
To little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity. Micah 5:2

INTRO: It isn’t typical for a Christian community as informal as ours to observe the season of Advent

That is, adopting a practice of formally preparing ourselves for Christmas
– but I’m finding an unexpected benefit
– when I feel the pressures of our consumer culture, returning to Advent helps me reorient myself to what matters most

The theme for the second Sunday of Advent, is Bethlehem
– this is the second candle that is lighted in the darkness of winter

We’re going to track a theme in Micah that builds to chapter 5

The way Micah introduces himself is unique among the prophets
– he connects himself with a place – his village, “Micah of Moresheth”
• most common, “the son of”
• Amos tells where he’s from, but links to his profession

With his first words, he calls not only people to hear, but also a place, “earth”
– it is not unusual for God to call the earth and sky as witnesses in his court
• but it is a reference to place in a passage that is full of references to places Continue reading →

Christmas Candles

And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel. Genesis 3:15

INTRO: I need your help this morning

When people talk about the “Christian year” (or “church year”) what do they mean?
– the church created a “Christian” calendar that divided the year into seasons
• the Christian year begins with Advent on the first Sunday in December

Christian worship is divided into two primary forms:
– “high” church worship observes a formal, set order (for Episcopalians, The Book of Common Prayer)
• there is a strong emphasis on priests, symbols, sacraments, and rituals
• “free” church worship de-emphasizes these things and claims to have no fixed form
○ however, free churches usually do fall into fixed routines
– the Christian year belongs to the high church tradition (Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, etc.)

What is “Advent”?
– the coming or arrival of Christ – but an arrival that spans time
• a first arrival and a final arrival and, in between, a day-to-day arrival
• some believers who are suffering or dying live with an awareness of his moment-to-moment arrival
– in high churches, each Sunday of Advent a candle is lighted
• Why? Since Jesus’ first coming:

The Light shines in the darkness (Jn. 1:5)
The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light; / And those who were sitting in the land of the shadow of death, / Upon them a Light dawned (Mt. 4:16) Continue reading →