Incarnation: Confronted by Christmas

The Incarnation - God becoming flesh in Jesus Christ, sent by God to us - has enormous implications for us, the church. We have been sent, just as the Father sent Jesus (John 20:21). We are called to minister in this world as the Word made flesh in our own context. And we are called to empty ourselves to serve and reach those whom God has called us to love. We are Christ's Body; the Incarnation continues in us. What are we going to do about it?

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Incarnation: Means of Redemption

When God took on flesh in the baby Jesus in Bethlehem, He, as one commentator put it, "forever hallowed the flesh."  Since God voluntarily joined Himself with His creation, we can celebrate in that the Kingdom of God has come and that all of creation will one day be redeemed through Jesus.  Jesus came into the world He created, but it did not receive Him.  But all that do receive Him receives the right and power to become a child of God, inheriting eternal life in the Kingdom.  Wherever you are in your relationship with Christ (whether lifelong believer or simply curious skeptic), listen to this week's message and open up your heart to receive Jesus more than ever this Christmas.

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God in Flesh, Dwelling With Us

When we look at peaceful nativity scenes and hear beautiful Christmas music, it's easy to forget that Jesus was not born into an idealic world. He was born into a world like ours, and he faced this world as we face it. He identified with us in our limitations and our suffering. And in doing so, he answered once and for all the question, "Does God really care?"

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Incarnation: God Revealed

God is beyond our understanding. He is God--completely limitless in all things. We are not God. We cannot hope to grasp the limitless. To make matters worse, although we are created in God's image and have knowledge of the soul within us that senses eternity, we have rebelled against our Creator. The result is darkness that we cannot escape, unless God takes mercy on us.

 

We needed God to stoop down while we were still sinners and rebels and shine light into our darkness. That's what Christmas really means. God could have left on our own to destroy ourselves and one another. But He came near us instead. As a result, now, through Jesus, we can know God and discover who we are created to be.

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Do You See What I See?

“Do you see what I see?”

a musical presentation for Christmas

“How does this look to your eyes?”

       “Now all will call me Blessed” — Mary

“You come to my door and I can’t care no more, unless…” — Innkeepers

“This is all I have to give.  You can share my home and bear my name” — Joseph

        “God has come and you must prepare the way” — Elizabeth

“We came to seek a king, but how do you prepare to meet the Lord?” — Magi

Sunday, Dec. 16th, 5 p.m. - Meal to follow

223 W. Ruby St, Stephens — For more info call (870) 947-0084

Admission and meal are free.

 

Free Audiobook by Dietrich Bonhoeffer: God is in the Manger

Christianaudio has a free audiobook download every month. This month's offering is from one of my favorite theologians, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and is approriate as we think about the Incarnation. It's free! Check it out.
 

Incarnation: Extravagant and Mysterious

The Christmas season is upon us with all the advertisers telling us how we can wow the people on our lists. Simple solution: spend more!! But there is something appropriate (if ultimately misguided) about wanting to give extravagantly at ...

Christmas: the gift of the Incarnation--God becoming the man Jesus Christ--that we celebrate at Christmas is the most extravagant gift ever conceived. This week we pause in wonder to look into the greatest mystery in all of history: when "the Word became flesh."

 

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Worship, Unity and Mission

We finished up our short series "Growing Up" this week, which was based on 2 Peter 1:5-7.  Last week was about self-control and perseverance.  We persevere because we have hope, and that hope is that as we grow into maturity, the deep longings of our souls are fulfilled as we are made whole in Christ.  Adding to perseverance godliness and to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love speaks to the deepest desires of our human hearts for transcendance, belonging, and purpose.

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Growing Up: Self-Control and Perseverance

"Self-Control" is probably not the most popular topic on Thanksgiving week. But that's where we find ourselves this week.

 

 If we are ever to get past "first base" spiritually, we must intentionally implement self-control into our lives through self-discipline and the patient endurance of God's discipline.

 

Kidding about Thanksgiving aside, it's not a one-day feast that does damage to our lives: it is the everyday gluttony of self-indulgence in where we place our minds and energy that leaves us directionless and makes our knowledge and best intentions useless.

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Faith, Virtue and Knowledge

Our nation will not be changed for the better through politicians and legislation. It will come when people's hearts and minds are won for Jesus, and the only way people will be won to Jesus is if those who claim to know Him grow to be like Him. The road to spiritual maturity starts with faith. This week's lesson shows how we build on our initial faith and begin growing in Christ.

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Growing Up: Make Every Effort

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3). So we as believers are not lacking anything we need to be like Jesus and to fulfill our calling. The reason we are not mature and fruitful is not that we are waiting to be equipped by God but rather because of our lack of effort. In this week's message, we examine why Peter urges us to "make every effort" to acquire spiritual maturity.
 

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"Heroes Unmasked" on October 31st

We had a great night on October 31st as we gathered at the church for "Heroes Unmasked." Our adults and youth came together to host a great time of games, candy, and Bible discovery for the kids. They learned about several Bible heroes, including Noah, Moses, Samson, David, Jonah, and Daniel - and our ultimate Hero, Jesus Christ!

Thanks to all of our volunteers!

If you weren't able to be there or just want to relive the experience, here is a slideshow from the event:

ABSC Says 'No' to 'Medical Marijuana'

In a resolution at the annual convention, messengers at the Arkansas Baptist State Convention urged Arkansas Baptists to vote 'No' on issue 5 on the ballot on Tuesday, a law which would would permit the use, sale and growth of marijuana for "medical" purposes.

Larry Page of the Arkansas Faith and Ethics council says that the law is not a grassroots effort to provide "compassionate care" but is instead a calculated effort to pave the way for the full legalization of marijuana funded by a national lobby group.

Read more to find out why Page says it is a "BAD LAW" based on "BAD SCIENCE" for "BAD MOTIVES."

Fall Back Saturday Night

Set your clocks back Saturday night before bed.  Enjoy tour extra hour of sleep and join us Sunday morning!

Pastor's Blog: Election Thoughts

What could be the consequences of Christians lining up to support a Mormon presidential candidate?  This blog is an attempt to get an eternal perspective on the presidential election.

http://thepreachingproject.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-presidential-election-attempt-at.html

Hezekiah: Trusting God

Finished up the Hezekiah series Sunday with the question, "What does it really mean to trust God?" Hezekiah was said to have trusted God like no other man. What does his life tell us about what it looks like to trust God?
 
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Confronting Fear

George

This Sunday I told two stories about confronting fear: one was the biblical story of Hezekiah as the powerful Assyrian army threatened to flatten Jerusalem and carry its people into exile.  The other was the story of my nephew George.  It is the story of how my brother and his wife stood with courage when the doctors said there was no hope.  But there is always hope when you choose to trust God.

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Assaulted by Fear

One of our enemy's favorite weapons is fear.  It is an ancient weapon that is still effective and in full force against us today.  With the strongest army the world had ever known surrounding his city, building siege ramps and making threats, King Hezekiah's trust in God went toe-to-toe with fear.  When we look at the tactics the Assyrians used to try to intimidate Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem into abandoning their trust in God, we can recognize how those same tactics are deployed against us today.

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Meanwhile, Back in the North...

One lady told me when she was leaving this morning, "Well, you really preached your heart out today." She was right. This was a very personal message for me. When I say, "We are not taking sin seriously enough," I'm not using the "pastor 'we'" when I really mean "you." God has been showing me a lot about myself, and I shared some of that this week.

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Fighting "Spiritual Gravity"

So how is your week going?  Are you carrying out all that you hoped to carry out during that moment of clarity on Sunday morning (or the last time you listened to God)?

Despite all of our efforts to hear from God and our best intentions to conform our lives to His way, we are always fighting what I'm calling "spiritual gravity"; physical gravity constantly pulls you toward the earth, but spiritual gravity pulls you back into the world.  Gravity isn't an issue when you're falling--it can even be fun.  The problem is the landing.

Hezekiah struggled with spiritual gravity in his life after the "high point" of his healing and the miraculous sign given to him.  We can learn from his life why it is so important to learn to fight spiritual gravity every day of our lives.

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Interceding for Yourself

The beginning of this week's sermon was not recorded.  After the jump is a summary of the content before the recording began.

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Becoming a Chain-Breaker, Part 2

We see the world through the lens of our own experiences.  We cannot truly break away from our heritage and our past (or lead others to do so) without creating new traditions and new experiences based on new biblically-based priorities and definitions.  Today we looked at how Hezekiah established a new tradition of worship in his nation and what that work of chain-breaking would look like in our own stories.

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Becoming a Chain-Breaker: Part 1

“A chain-breaker is a fork in his family tree. He’s the one God uses to end the legacy of rebellion against God that he may have learned from his parents and grandparents. Instead he passes on a legacy of faith, faithfulness, and blessing to his children and grandchildren, giving them a new model of obedience to follow.”

- Alex and Stephen Kiendrick in The Resolution

 This week we look at King Hezekiah's example to discover the first phase in becoming a chain-breaker in your family.

 

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King Ahaz: Adding Disaster to Discipline

We remember that various forms of discipline and punishments were part of our relationship with our parents, but we don't like to think of the difficulties and frustrations in our lives as part of God's discipline. It is a cliche that peop le run to the Lord in times of trouble, but that's not a common a reaction as we like to think. This week, we looked at Judah's King Ahaz, of whom the bible says: "In his time of trouble King Ahaz become even more unfaithful to the Lord." There are a lot more "King Ahazes" out there than "prodigal sons." Which will you be?

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Hezekiah: Inheriting a Mixed Legacy

The Old Testament dedicates a large portion of its pages to recording the history of the Jewish people.  Why did God and the writers of the Hebrew Scripture think it was so important to record these stories and other facts? 
 
I think the answer starts with the fact that history is simply the aggregate story of lives lived.  Biblical history is the story of life lived in relation to God.  In biblical history, we see God revealing Himself to humanity--some respond in faith and submission, most rebel or wander or otherwise prove unfaithful.  We see in Scripture the real-life ways people grapple with God's revealed path, the blessings of walking in His ways, the reasons and ways people fall, and the dire consequences of veering from God's will for our lives. 
 
These next couple of months, we as a church are going to zoom in on one figure in history.  Hezekiah may not be the most well-known of the Jewish kings, but he was among the best.  The Bible says of him, "Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him" (2 Kings 18:5).  To understand Hezekiah's remarkable achievements and character as the political and spiritual leader in Judah, we have to understand the legacy he inherited from his forefathers.  He was 13 generations from David, and during that time, the kingdom of Israel had split into two kingdoms, nearly lost everything to Baal worship, and had gone through some half-hearted reforms, all while the political and material strength of the nation decayed.

What happened to make God's people fall so far?  The story can be told through its kings.  God had given a blueprint for kings to be successful spiritual leaders through Moses (Deuteronomy 17), and the kings' collective failure to keep those guidelines resulted in disaster.

Each of us has a place of spiritual leadership and influence, whether it is at home, church, work, or among a group of friends.  As you listen to the story of Israel's kings, ask God to reveal to you how to fulfill your responsibility as a spiritual leader in your life.

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Love Never Fails

Most of us know the verse "Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:8).  It's something that is used in Christian wall art and whatnots, it's the heart of fairy tales about "true love"... it's a phrase that warms the heart.  But our experience tells us that love DOES fail us at times.  People who are supposed to love you hurt you instead, even sometimes when they are trying their best to love.  So what does the Bible mean when it says "Love never fails"?  As we wrap up the Love Pledge series, let us consider how we can experience and practice the unfailing love of God.

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Love Always Protects, Always Trusts

Some things are fundamental to love.  One of these foundations is the exchange of the promise to protect and the offer of trust.  Without this exchange, love cannot exist.  That's why Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:7 writes, "Love always protects, always trusts..."  Listen this week as we explored our pledge to protect and love one another.  (And 10 minutes shorter than last week!)

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Love Does Not Delight in Evil

With our team coming back from Alaska and our youth recently back from camp, we asked the question, "How do you keep a good thing going?" Part of the answer is in 1 Corinthians 13:6-"Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth."

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Love Forgives

If you are going to love someone, you have to prevent the relationship from being broken or being rotted away by bitterness. This week we talked about conflict, forgiveness, and finding healing from past hurts.

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Religious Liberty

One of the ways to take action against the threats to our religious liberty that we spoke about Sunday is to sign the Manhattan Declaration here: www.manhattandeclaration.org. Also, read this article about how in Canada, Christians are already losing the freedom to make choices according to their convictions.

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Guest Speaker Larry Page

On July 1st, guest speaker Larry Page from the Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council presented a message titled "Understanding Devotion and Commitment to a Higher Purpose."  We were privileged to have Larry with us Sunday.  You will enjoy his timely message mixed with good humor.

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Love Is Not Rude or Self-Seeking

"[Love] is not rude..."

I will be gentle in my words and actions

I will ask before I take and take notice of your cares and concerns

"It is not self-seeking"

I will put your needs before mine.

I will consider my way subordinate to God's way and your way.


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Love Does Not Boast; It Is Not Proud

Love Does Not Boast

I will refuse to out myself above you with my words

I will remember that all I have comes from God and wait for Him to exalt me

Love Is Not Proud

I will seek a broken spirit and lift you up

I will have a servant's heart: I am your servant because I am God's servant.
The message started with this video (I know, a rotten thing to do on Fathers Day):




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Love Does Not Envy

"Love... does not envy..."

I will take joy in what God gives you and accept what God gives me with joy

I will take pride in your accomplishments

How is envy antithetical to love?  Why does God command us not to envy (or "covet")?

This week we explored the truth that "love...does not envy" (1 Corinthians 13:4).  Before you listen, you might want to take the "Envy Test" (after the jump) to test where you are in your battle against envy in your life.

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Love Is Kind

“Love is kind…”

I will look for needs you have that I can meet.

I will show concern for you and help you when you need me.

 

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New Free Audiobook: Hearing God

Hearing God is one of my favorite books I've ever read.  It gives a lot of great insight into what it means to listen to and hear God and follow his direction.  And now it's free to download in audiobook form from ChristianAudio.com.

Dallas Willard is one of my favorite authors.  I've really liked everything I've read from him.  This is a really good opportunity to get a book that will impact your life for free.  Check it out!

Love Is Patient

We have started exploring our "Love Pledge" to one another this week. We start with "Love Is Patient":

I will keep in mind that you will not change overnight... and neither will I.

I will love and respect you through all things, modeling the unconditional love of Jesus.

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Passing It On

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, he passed his ministry on to the church. You know the Great Commission, but what about the commission Jesus gave in Mark? Each Gospel writer records a time when Jesus passed his ministry on to his followers, and each commissioning gives a different aspect of what the mission of the church is in the world. Listen to this episode

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A Parent's Joy

Mothers' Day is over. How do we continue to honor our parents even after the presents are opened and the meal is done? How about even after a parent has passed away? This week we looked at how a parent receives honor, what we can do to honor our parents, and how we can raise our children in ways that will bring us honor as parents. Listen to this episode

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When We Fall

We all "fall" in life. Sometimes it's that big mistake. Sometimes we get into a bad habit we can't shake. Sometimes it's the everyday stumbles that become all too familiar. What is Jesus' reaction when we fall? We look at the story of a disciple who fell hard but who experienced Jesus' restoring touch.

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When Jesus Opens Your Eyes

What is it like when Jesus speaks reveals truth to your heart? How do you know when it's Him? Today's story looks at how Jesus meets two believers in the midst of their broken hearts and leads them to the truth. 

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Risen... Just As He Said

God has revealed the miraculous to us, but we don't recognize God's work around us all the time. I wonder if we are too quick to give coincidence and other "alternate explanations" too much credit for the work of God. Because of that, when we consider the unmistakably miraculous promises of God, we have trouble receiving what God has revealed to us... just like the disciples who had lost hope after the cross.

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