Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10-11 (read verses 1-20)

INTRO: Let me say this just once this year:

I do not like the direction that our culture herds us at Christmas time

For example, there is the television commercial that lists all the important things a husband should tell his wife
– then we’re told that the way to communicate these things is with a gift of diamonds
I not only resent being told how I am supposed to express myself (let alone the cost of diamonds), but also the idea that a thing given can substitute for the words we need to say to each other and the deeds we need to perform for each other
– I think that too frequently we are trying to buy with gifts the affection we are too lazy to earn through our undying devotion Continue reading →

Who is the wise man that may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD has spoken, that he may declare it? Jeremiah 9:12
When I saw her, I wondered greatly. And the angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman . . .” Revelation 17:6-7

This is the way of prophecy; it ventures into the territory of imponderables and mysteries. It divulges a secret, yet even then the message or vision remains inscrutable until explained. Continue reading →

From the weekly Reflexions that I wrote for three years, here are several having to do with time, reprinted along with a couple of extra chapters not previously published.

You can find this at Lulu.com

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/reflections-on-time/11773905

And notice that you can download a less expensive version as a PDF file with no shipping costs!

You also have the option of writing a wonderful and glowing review of this book once you’ve read it.

Also, reprinted and published in a new binding (otherwise the same with the addition of three poems) is Reflections On Breath. Hopefully I will also finish Reflexions On Church within a couple more weeks and then on to the much larger and, I believe, really helpful books, Reflexions On Prayer.

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/reflections-on-breath/11771231

Don’t ask why, because I don’t know. But I decided to blog my meditation from this morning.

This year I am reading through the New Jerusalem Bible, so if the passages I quote sound strange to you, that is why. Also, I am reading three chapters from the Old Testament each morning and one from the New. That’s all the explaining I’m going to do. Anything else in the following meditation that doesn’t make sense to you will have to remain a mystery.

But who can detect his own failings?
Wash away my hidden faults.
Psalm 19:12 Continue reading →

Reflexion is polyvocal, which means that our message is told and our prayer is offered in multiple voices. These voices are as varied as our human members, so among them you will hear precision and metaphor, exploration and certainty, report and story. Every voice is beautiful and contributes something to the symphony of our spiritual community.

Here is one of the voices we always enjoy hearing.

I’ve been thinking about wells versus fountains today. Decorative fountains are fabricated and draw our attention by their beauty or the sound they make. They are useful to cover a less attractive area or to elevate it. Fountains move water in a way that is spontaneous, even joyful. Continue reading →

Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it toone of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'” Matthew 25:31-46 (37-40)

INTRO: Whenever the Scriptures brings up the last judgment, it is to force us to look at ultimate issues
When my life reaches its final hour, what will it equal?
 – what will be the sum total of everything I’ve done?
 – taken as a whole, what was my life’s value? its spiritual and moral quality? its contribution?
– what was the meaning of my life?
These are the issues that are put on trial before the Son of Man in Matthew 25 Continue reading →

How to Know Jesus Today _ John 10 _ Chuck Smith Jr.

In this week’s sermon notes, I pointed out how the complaint about Jesus going to the home of Zaccheus was a distraction from the plot of the story. The same is true today. When religious people start scrutinizing other believers for what they feel are flaws in their doctrine and publish their criticism, they steal attention away from what Jesus is doing through the ministry of those they criticize. In fact, I cannot help but think that some people criticize others that God uses in a big way, not only for jealousy, but in order to draw attention to themselves. Continue reading →

Colossians 4:2-6

INTRO: I received one of the best emails ever
A guy involved in ministry – got divorced and then went off the deep end
One morning, miserable, he remembered a sermon of mine that had meant something to him
So he looked for me on Google
The first hit, he said, was a negative one that included a printed transcript of a talk I had given Continue reading →

Sometimes I come to a passage of scripture that I know well and wonder, could there possibly be anything here that I have not seen before? Of course, there always is something new. That’s the wonder of it. 

Yesterday I began reading through 1 Samuel, and it hit me that right from the outset worship is the central theme of the opening chapters. After we are briefly introduced to the characters and given a couple of details (1:1-2), the plot begins with Elkanah taking his family every year “to worship and to sacrifice to the LORD of hosts in Shiloh.” In the same paragraph we learn that the two sons of Eli the priest were there (1:3). This is significant, because these young Continue reading →