There is a fascinating phrase to describe the presence of God in the Garden of Eden just after Adam and Eve’s fall: And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden (Gen. 3:8). 

I’m not sure what that sound was like or what their relationship was like with God, but I think we can agree that a certain level of connection between Creator and creation was broken in the fall.

And at Christmastime, we sing and proclaim the name of God as Emmanuel, “God with us.”   God is and always has been Emmanuel; it did not start with Christ’s birth, but I think Jesus as a baby created a new way for God to be with us.  Our Savior is not a far off power; he loved, lost, listened, obeyed, and was betrayed.  Our experience is not foreign to Him. 

Jesus said in John 15:26 that we will always have God, Emmanuel with us. I like the amplified version for a more clear understanding:  “But when the  Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of Truth who comes from the Father, He will testify and bear witness about Me.

There was a change when Christ came; he grew up, talked, taught, loved, and ministered in a tangible way to many people.  He does the same today, through our interaction and relationship with the Holy Spirit.  Because of Christ at Christmas and his life, death, and resurrection– we who put faith in Christ and believe upon his name have our Emmanuel every day, all night, and forever. 

Week 4: Let the King of Glory Come In

I was praying about what to share today and “lift up your head, and let the King of Glory come in” immediately came to mind. I love that verse, but I wasn’t sure what Psalm 24 has to do with Christmas. Let’s see what connections can be made:


1The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
2for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.
3Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol
or swear by a false god.
5They will receive blessing from the Lord
and vindication from God their Savior.
6Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, God of Jacob.
7Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
8Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle.
9Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
10Who is he, this King of glory?
The Lord Almighty—
he is the King of glory.

Ahh, I see now. This Christ-child is who Christ has always been and who He will always be. He founded the sea, the earth is His, and all who live in it. The shepherds went to worship him, the angels declared His glory in the skies, the star shone, the baby leapt in Elizabeth’s womb, and the wise men sought Him out. The Virgin Mary gave birth to him and Joseph helped raise him. He is God Incarnate, Emmanuel.

The psalm is about building the temple. A permanent, physical structure acknowledging who the Lord is instead of the portable tabernacle. That’s what we must also do – make a permanent life-altering decision to let the Glory of the Lord rule and reign in our lives: to renew our minds, engulf our soul, and inhabit our spirit. Lift up your head… that the King of Glory may come in. This is our Lord Jesus, the Baby, the Lord of Lords, the Messiah-Savior—This is the essence of Christmas.

I was explaining to the kids last week that we talk about Jesus’s birth at Christmastime, but the plan was in place well before that.  After asking them what they thought the gestation of a baby was (and indicating everything from a few months to 5 years) we settled on the fact that the Christmas story may have begun as early as April. 

If I’m honest, I had never given this fact much thought, since probably like you, I tend to focus on the details of Christmas only once per year. That began my wheels turning…  

Let’s look at Luke 1:13. 13But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.”

We generally do not include John the Baptist as part of the nativity scene, right? But he plays a significant role in preparing the way for the Savior as Jesus entered in his earthly ministry.  And I think this may be a take away…

God prepares the way.  It is our job to simply follow. John was conceived and consecrated for his mission before Jesus was conceived. God has a plan.

I always interpreted(and I think correctly) that when the angels appeared to Zechariah, Mary and Joseph and the first thing said is “Fear not;” it was because  the presence of the angel himself would be terrifying.  I am beginning to wonder if it really was the message itself that was the scary part. Zechariah had a hard time wrapping his head around it.

It’s not our job to understand how God plans to accomplish His will in our lives.  Our responsibility is to  just follow His lead. I think we do not have to be concerned about striving to work out the details.  Just listen. Follow the instructions. And let Him lead.  

When God is doing big things, it becomes quite clear. After all, he sent a host of angels and a bright star to the shepherds.  They weren’t confused. They knew where to find the Savior…..and so do we. 

We disrupt your regularly scheduled, highly planned-out, perfectly situated life to bring….A complicated mess with seemingly unwinnable odds. Merry Christmas, all!

Take a moment to consider Mary’s plan. If we modernized her situation in an effort to gain understanding it may have looked like this: she’s probably got the ring, said yes to the dress, put a deposit on the venue, and currently has 3 calls into local caterers. Then an Angel of the Lord came to her and said, “Fear not, there has been a change in plans.”

I will always marvel at Mary’s response as it is recorded in Luke 1: 38 “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

Being mother to the Savior of the world was not Mary’s plan—it was God’s. Her world must have been turned upside down as she began a journey she could have never conceived of by herself.

But she said “yes” to God. Perhaps, you have had or are currently living through a holy disruption. When your life is shaken and not what you want it to be—What if God’s working out a plan that is wilder and more divine than you could have ever conceived?

Mary’s situation reminds me of another of God’s servants who dared to say “yes” to God when his life took a wild turn he didn’t see coming (pun most definitely intended). These words are from Paul and I share them for you today:

14For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Don’t miss God’s direction in the midst of disruption and chaos that we may face. He may just be calling you out to something you could have never conceived otherwise. We should strive to echo Mary’s response: “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be as according to your word.” We can live with a great hope that God’s plans are better than ours, and Jesus makes a way so that His plans can become our reality .

Tonight we celebrate our Savior stepping into our world as a baby. We celebrate our Christ in a cradle. Sometimes in the sweetness and innocence of this moment, we miss the fact that the battle begins to turn in our favor at Jesus’s birth. Without the cradle, we have no cross and no empty tomb: we have no salvation and no hope.

But alas, Jesus came, taught, walked, healed, and loved here on earth. And when the time came for his mission to be fulfilled, he took our sins on his shoulders and paid the ultimate price for our rebellion to bring us redemption. He rose again on the third day and rules now–giving us victory over death and sin itself. We need the cradle of Christ because it leads to the cross and the empty tomb.

Colossians 2: 13-15 explains it this way:
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

As we light the Christ candle this evening: We acknowledge Christ’s cradle, His cross, and the empty tomb.

Father,
We praise you for your unfailing love. We thank you for sending Christ that we may be reconciled to You through His death. And we thank you for the victory we can claim because of His resurrection. We thank you for this Christmas and the very first one some 2,000 years ago.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.

You’ve probably noticed by now that the advent readings and the sermon’s themes this advent season have focused on hymns. For many of us, these hymns are rooted deep in our hearts and evoke all sorts of memories when we sing them. “Great is Thy Faithfulness” is Patrick and my marriage anthem as we sang it at our wedding. “How Great Thy Art” will forever be linked with William as we sang that song to him over and over as we cradled him as a baby. Jayna was not a fan of the singing, so there is no song attached to her infancy. Brennan’s song is “Rock of Ages” today’s sermon theme.

Today, I’d like to acknowledge something that typically gets glossed over when we celebrate and enjoy the light and love of Jesus coming as a baby. For some, perhaps many— Christmas is hard. It brings a sense of mourning and loss. Where do we turn when the joy of Christmas is overshadowed by pain? We go to Jesus.

Psalm 46 says God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble…
Isaiah 4:6 says There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain…
Psalm 28:8 says But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.

I could continue for quite some time with scriptural reference after reference…

The old hymn Rock of Ages states the same truth this way: “Rock of Ages cleft for me / Let me hide myself in Thee.” The beauty and truth behind this hymn is that it highlights our utter dependence on Christ for our salvation, sanctification, and our moment to moment: “Nothing in my hand I bring / Simply to the cross I cling.”

It’s ok for Christmas to be hard. Hide in Christ. He came as a baby and experienced the fullness of humanity for your sake and mine. He is not a far away God who rules at a distance. He offers an intimacy like no other. This is also a part of Christmas: Jesus –Immanuel, Jesus as man.

Father,
We thank you for sending Jesus although fully God to walk fully as a man. He understands our loss and he comforts us in our distress. We thank you for offering us a hiding place when all about us screams of glittering lights. You are our refuge and strength– and our ever present help. You are a good God, and the best of Friends– for that we praise you.

In Jesus Name,
Amen.

Those of us who walk in relationship with Jesus and have experienced His salvation have a story to tell. It may begin at different points in our lives, under a set of different circumstances and have had a range of impact, but the story is the same: “I was walking in darkness and saw a great light.”

Many of us have had our advent with Christ: the period in time in which we responded to the gift of salvation. As John 1 puts it: “ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men—” Christ is our light. My light. He’s a light worth sharing.

You have a light. Matthew 5 says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on the hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Telling our story is telling God’s story. In a couple of weeks, when we gather with our loved ones and friends, let’s be open to His leading and share when the opportunity arises. It only takes a bit of transparency and to be clued into the Holy Spirit’s leading. If you walk with Christ, you’ve got a story to tell. And whether they know it or not, others are desperate to hear and receive it.

The Light has come. He came as a baby. And he is coming again. We have no right to hide our lights under a basket: not when we are loved this well by a God this faithful.

I ask that you prayerfully consider who needs to hear your story. A three-fold prayer is highly effective: Lord, open a door, open a heart, and open my mouth.

Go tell it on the mountain, or in a card, phone call, or over a meal: Go tell it everywhere! Down in a lowly manager our humble Christ was born/ And brought us all salvation/ that blessed Christmas morn!

Father,
Help us to honor the gift of salvation we have received by sharing our light with others. Help us to understand the divine opportunity and responsibility you have given us when we were offered Your grace so freely. Help us to see like You do, and help us to love like You do. Help us to glory You by placing our light on a lampstand for all to see.

In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.

I’m sure you’ve heard that famous song by Faith Hill: “A Baby Changes Everything.” Most of us can recall the shift in the cosmos that happens when our firstborn comes into the world and into our arms and hearts. Babies do change a lot, but there is one baby who quite literally changed everything.

We are so familiar with our traditions and cycles of the calendar in our lives that we sometimes miss the opportunity to sit and ponder the mystery and miracle of Jesus as “the new-born King.” We don’t live in a “before Jesus walked on earth” part of history. We can’t really understand the system of necessary sacrifices or the laws, rules and regulations that needed to be meticulously followed to meet God’s standard. Afterall, isn’t the very point that we can’t do it. Effort alone cannot make one holy.

However, Jesus as a baby brings the opportunity to reconcile God and sinners. Jesus as a baby–”God coming in flesh to dwell / our incarnate Deity–” is the beginning of our way back to the Father. Jesus’s birth is the birth of hope. Our only hope. As the Christmas hymn says “Life and Light to all he brings / Born that we no more may die / Born to raise us from the earth / Born to give us second birth.”

Jesus explains his purpose in his own words recorded in Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” And for whatever reason, he came as a baby.

As we reflect on the 2nd week of Advent, take some time to sit and ponder the miracle and mystery of Jesus- our Savior, Creator, and Sustainer in the arms of his mother Mary.

Father,
We thank you for sending Jesus to earth as a baby. Thank you for making a way for us to be reconciled with you. Thank you for the hope that comes with the birth of Jesus. Help us never lose the wonder of Jesus: our newborn King.
Amen.

Advent is the anticipatory time when we prepare our hearts for the arrival of the Christ-child into our world which we celebrate on Christmas. It’s a busy time– full of errands and gatherings. It’s also special and sacred. Our worship services feel a bit more enriched as God’s people turn their attention to our coming and returning Savior.

We long for Jesus’s second return not unlike the Jewish people longed for and awaited for the Messiah. Isaiah 9: 6-7 is a familiar Messianic prophecy:

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.
7Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.

These words were spoken some 700 years before our Jesus was born. Roughly 25 generations waited on Prophet Isaiah’s words to be fulfilled and sadly some still wait, for they are unable to recognize Jesus for who He is “Emmanuel, God with us” . The anticipation must have been great. As it is today: Is it this year? This week? Perhaps, it’s 700 years more? It is not for us to know when Jesus will return.

However, we have the responsibility to prepare. We have the opportunity to accept Christ as our Messiah and to dedicate our lives to His teaching and lordship. And we can bring Jesus, our Emmanuel, wherever we go. “O, Come, O Come Emmanuel—come bless us here. Oh, Lord, we need you now.”

As we light the first candle of Advent, let’s open our hearts to the presence of God in our lives.

Father,
Prepare our hearts for the return of your Son. By Your grace may we welcome Him afresh or for the first time into our lives. Let this advent season be one of deep revelation of Your purposes for our church and our lives. May we live expectant lives and our actions and words reflect an urgency to share the story of our Messiah with all who wait for their Savior.
It’s in Jesus’ most holy name, we pray. Amen.

When Jesus walked the earth, He explained his dependence on the Father in John 5:19: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.” Clearly Jesus is explaining that the Son and the Father are in perfect alignment. And while Jesus walked as a man, He was dependent on the Father.

Later, as Jesus was preparing to leave his earthly ministry, He explains in John 16: 13-15 the role of the Holy Spirit: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.”

Jesus explains that the Holy Spirit  equally depends upon and is in alignment with Jesus who is in alignment with Father. Jesus says the Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me and all that belong to the Father is mine.

The Trinity is part of the beautiful mystery that is God and I believe is not intended to be perfectly comprehended. However, I fear that we sometimes treat each personhood of the Trinity as if they are lesser versions of the true God. As if each person is a third of the wholeness of who God truly is. Because the Holy Spirit is the person of God that we interact with in a more regular (in which I use “regular” to indicate numbers of encounters) way that He is somehow holds  less power, authority, and prominence as Creator and Sustainer of the universe than the Son or Father. But that’s not how Jesus explained it. Three persons in perfect alignment and perfect dependence. There is no lesser God.