One More Thing (Again)

Hi Five Oakers, The weekend is here again, and there are a few things I want to share with you.

The Weekend

Christmas is a good news story for us only when we can face the bad news it addresses. 

We're concluding our Christmas series with the brutal and barbaric part of the Christmas story found in Matthew 2. But what I hope you see in the joy and the hope and the love contained in this darker story.

This will be a powerful message that underscores the good news of the gospel for all of us who admit we need Jesus, we need rescue. Bring a friend who needs to hear the gospel, and come ready to be refreshed in the gospel that is the power of our salvation.

FYI

Russell E. Saltzman on "The Nativity of Our Lord"

Jesus came as a stranger, uncelebrated and unremarked, and he was greeted only by other strangers, strangers who could recognize in themselves a restless need only Christ could fulfill. Isn’t each of us to a degree a stranger in this world too, alone, unsettled?

John Stonestreet on "Do Your Kids 'Get' Christmas? More than Rules and Stories"

Most of these children’s Bibles told great stories about heroic men and women who did what God said and everything worked out for them. And if you do what God says, it follows everything will work out for you, too. Right? Well, that’s the version many kids get from well-intentioned Christian teachers, videos and Sunday school curriculum. The problem is, it’s not the story of Scripture.

One More Thing

Matt Woodley on being like Herod:

Like Herod, I'm not just an imperfect human who needs a little improvement; I'm a rebel who must lay down his arms.

One More Thing

Hi Five Oakers, The Christmas Eve services begin tomorrow, and there are a few things I want to share with you:

Christmas Eve Services

We're back to the Magi for our Christmas Eve services. The Magi were on a quest to honor the newborn king of the Jews. They likely traveled 800 or more miles to find the baby. But their presence in Bethlehem tells us more about God's quest than theirs. God was on a quest. He's still on that quest. And no one, absolutely no one, outquests God.

Is there someone you know who needs to know the God whose quest brought him to earth, to become a man?

FYI

Perry Noble on "Once Upon a Time a Person was Drowning"

Once upon a time a man was drowning and was completely unable to save himself… A boat came along filled with people who were passionate about debating whether or not drowning people were predestined to drown, or whether or not they were drowning because of their choices. Another boat came along filled with people who were doing an in depth study on how to help drowning people.

Timothy George on "Bonhoeffer in Advent"

There was a tender side to Bonhoeffer, but he was no sentimentalist, and he did not romanticize life inside prison. In letters to his family, he put up a brave front so as not to increase their worries about him. But he confided to his close friend Eberhard Bethge, “Despite everything I have written, it is horrible here.

One More Thing

Have you thought of someone to invite to Christmas Eve yet? Think beyond the usual suspects, because God did. God led the Magi to Jesus and they, more than any others in the Christmas story, did not belong there. Yes, even more than shepherds. They were dedicated to things God hates. Yet God used those very things to lead them to Jesus. So, maybe you can think again. Who needs to know this God who calls us by his grace, even when we love what he hates?