Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Read the Bible in 2010
I find it very important to spend time in God's Word every year. I know I am not alone in this and I also know that sometimes we begin the year well, but we do not finish as strong. This is true for many of us. However, I want to be a good pastor who is in the Word and challenges my church to be in the Word as well. For my newsletter article to our church for January I challenged our people to be in the Word in 2010. Here are 2 of the reasons I gave:
My first reason is an important reason. In the Scriptures God has spoken. What I mean by that is that when you and I come to the Scriptures, we realize that God has spoken through various authors, but it is still God’s Word. This is foundational for your Christian life. It is how you answer the question, “how do I hear from God?” In our world of all kinds of answers the only sure answer that I can give you is that you hear from God by going to the Word of God. Since the Bible is the Word of God it is vitally important for us to know God through His spoken Word.
My second reason is because Scripture is about Jesus. This is perhaps as important as the first. In Luke 24:13-35 a conversation is recorded for us between Jesus and two of His disciples. In the midst of their conversation Jesus reveals Himself to them and began explaining who He was to them from the Scriptures. In fact, it says in Luke 24:27, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Just after this Jesus appears to many of His disciples and He says in verse 44, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” So as you open up the Bible and begin to read it you are actually constantly pointed to Jesus. That is a great reason to read your Bible.
Would you consider reading the Bible in 2010? If so, find a good Bible reading plan and use it. This year FBC is using one of these from the Discipleship Journal.
My first reason is an important reason. In the Scriptures God has spoken. What I mean by that is that when you and I come to the Scriptures, we realize that God has spoken through various authors, but it is still God’s Word. This is foundational for your Christian life. It is how you answer the question, “how do I hear from God?” In our world of all kinds of answers the only sure answer that I can give you is that you hear from God by going to the Word of God. Since the Bible is the Word of God it is vitally important for us to know God through His spoken Word.
My second reason is because Scripture is about Jesus. This is perhaps as important as the first. In Luke 24:13-35 a conversation is recorded for us between Jesus and two of His disciples. In the midst of their conversation Jesus reveals Himself to them and began explaining who He was to them from the Scriptures. In fact, it says in Luke 24:27, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Just after this Jesus appears to many of His disciples and He says in verse 44, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” So as you open up the Bible and begin to read it you are actually constantly pointed to Jesus. That is a great reason to read your Bible.
Would you consider reading the Bible in 2010? If so, find a good Bible reading plan and use it. This year FBC is using one of these from the Discipleship Journal.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
The Birth of Jesus
I cannot tell it any better:
1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. 8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” 15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. 21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Luke 2:1-21
1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. 8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” 15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. 21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Luke 2:1-21
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Our Traditions
As I posted yesterday, I will try to give a few of our family traditions. Some of these are clearly that we would focus completely on Christ while others are simply traditions that we have developed as a family. They actually begin before Christmas day because we want to anticipate and lead up to that day when we celebrate the birth of the Savior, Christ Jesus. Let me also say that new traditions seem to start yearly and we have many more that we've thought about already that have not been put into practice yet.
Advent - As a family we take time during our family devotions leading up to Christmas to focus on the events around and leading up to the birth of Christ. We also do this as a church family, but I think it's important for us and our children to realize that we are consistent in how we focus on Christmas. So we read the Bible, discuss advent, and sing songs that point us to the birth of Christ.
Christmas Eve Morning - Several years ago we moved away from both sides of our families. My family and Shannon's family both live close to one another so we decided we wanted to see them all at Christmas. However, we also wanted to make sure that we celebrated as a family (Shannon, Abigail, Owen, and myself) so we decided to celebrate on Christmas Eve before going to see family.
The first thing we do is wake up and spend some time reflecting on the birth of Jesus. We do not do Santa in our home so that is not an issue. We talk about the greatest gift ever given as the birth of the Son of God. We read Scripture and sing songs about Christ. Then we open gifts. This is a way for us to display grace to one another and show how gift giving can honor Christ on His birthday.
After this we have breakfast together. It has become a tradition in our house for Shannon to prepare (the night before) and cook (that morning) a breakfast casserole. I love it! I'm not sure how this came to be, but we now look forward to eating this every Christmas Eve morning as a family.
After breakfast, as Shannon and I clean the kitchen, Abigail (and this year Owen) spend time playing with their gifts and having a great time (usually). However, our morning isn't over yet. We have one more thing that we want to do as a family before packing up and heading out of town for a couple of days. It has become a tradition for Shannon and Abigail to go into the kitchen and prepare a birthday cake. After the cake is finished we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and enjoy the cake for His honor.
We are always looking for more ways to celebrate with the family and to honor Christ. Each year we add something new and each year we wish we had added something then.
Advent - As a family we take time during our family devotions leading up to Christmas to focus on the events around and leading up to the birth of Christ. We also do this as a church family, but I think it's important for us and our children to realize that we are consistent in how we focus on Christmas. So we read the Bible, discuss advent, and sing songs that point us to the birth of Christ.
Christmas Eve Morning - Several years ago we moved away from both sides of our families. My family and Shannon's family both live close to one another so we decided we wanted to see them all at Christmas. However, we also wanted to make sure that we celebrated as a family (Shannon, Abigail, Owen, and myself) so we decided to celebrate on Christmas Eve before going to see family.
The first thing we do is wake up and spend some time reflecting on the birth of Jesus. We do not do Santa in our home so that is not an issue. We talk about the greatest gift ever given as the birth of the Son of God. We read Scripture and sing songs about Christ. Then we open gifts. This is a way for us to display grace to one another and show how gift giving can honor Christ on His birthday.
After this we have breakfast together. It has become a tradition in our house for Shannon to prepare (the night before) and cook (that morning) a breakfast casserole. I love it! I'm not sure how this came to be, but we now look forward to eating this every Christmas Eve morning as a family.
After breakfast, as Shannon and I clean the kitchen, Abigail (and this year Owen) spend time playing with their gifts and having a great time (usually). However, our morning isn't over yet. We have one more thing that we want to do as a family before packing up and heading out of town for a couple of days. It has become a tradition for Shannon and Abigail to go into the kitchen and prepare a birthday cake. After the cake is finished we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and enjoy the cake for His honor.
We are always looking for more ways to celebrate with the family and to honor Christ. Each year we add something new and each year we wish we had added something then.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Christmas Traditions
This is a repost from last year. Tomorrow I'll try to post some of our traditions. At this time, however, I'd like to hear from you.
Noel Piper's book Treasuring God in our Traditions causes Shannon and I to think through what we do to establish traditions for our family in our home. We've learned from several others throughout the years as well. If you don't have that book, I recommend you get it and read it. I hope you will be challenged and think through how to better celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ this Christmas.
If you've already began thinking through this, what are the traditions that you have/will establish for Christmas?
Noel Piper's book Treasuring God in our Traditions causes Shannon and I to think through what we do to establish traditions for our family in our home. We've learned from several others throughout the years as well. If you don't have that book, I recommend you get it and read it. I hope you will be challenged and think through how to better celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ this Christmas.
If you've already began thinking through this, what are the traditions that you have/will establish for Christmas?
Sunday, December 20, 2009
But I Deserve More
Yesterday morning when Abigail woke up she saw a few presents that were wrapped for her under the Christmas tree. However, as she saw the presents her first response was, "I only have two?" I point this out not to pick on my child, but rather to display the heart of most of us in that statement. The underlining thought of such a statement is that we deserve the gifts that we're given.
On a much larger scale is the thought that we all "deserve" the greatest gift in the world: the gift of Jesus Christ. That is the mindset of the culture we live in (church and secular culture). In fact, I think this is one reason the world can celebrate Christmas as the birth of Jesus (which many people culturally believe). There is something in our DNA that says we deserve this great gift. There is a thought process that actually believes we are good enough to receive these gifts.
So what does Scripture say? Scripture teaches that we do not deserve this great gift. Scripture teaches that we are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). The very definition of grace proves that it is undeserved. In fact, James 1:16-18 says, "Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." By his own will he saved us. Jesus was born for an ultimate purpose. Matthew 1:21 says that Jesus will save His people from their sins. Jesus was born to die on a cross to redeem those who would believe. That is the greatest Gift there ever has or ever will be. And that gift is solely by the grace of God.
But it's not only for Christians that God gives good gifts. He sends sun and rain on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). On the cross Jesus also purchased a common grace for all people. Everything good in this life comes from God. For those who are believers and those who are not, God is a gracious God here and now. So we do not "deserve" the gifts in our lives, but rather through the birth of Christ, which led to the death of Christ on behalf of sinners, we receive amazing gifts with the most important being the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Beloved, this Christmas season as you celebrate the gift of Jesus with your families and friends, do not forget that He is a gift. You and I do not deserve it. The mentality that many of us have that says, "But I deserve more," is the result of a fallen, sinful nature. We have done nothing to deserve the good that is in our lives. God has been gracious and has gifted us with many things. The only reason there is good in our lives is because of an almighty, all loving, all sufficient God. Let us fight against our fleshly nature everyday that we might learn to value the precious gifts in our lives.
On a much larger scale is the thought that we all "deserve" the greatest gift in the world: the gift of Jesus Christ. That is the mindset of the culture we live in (church and secular culture). In fact, I think this is one reason the world can celebrate Christmas as the birth of Jesus (which many people culturally believe). There is something in our DNA that says we deserve this great gift. There is a thought process that actually believes we are good enough to receive these gifts.
So what does Scripture say? Scripture teaches that we do not deserve this great gift. Scripture teaches that we are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). The very definition of grace proves that it is undeserved. In fact, James 1:16-18 says, "Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." By his own will he saved us. Jesus was born for an ultimate purpose. Matthew 1:21 says that Jesus will save His people from their sins. Jesus was born to die on a cross to redeem those who would believe. That is the greatest Gift there ever has or ever will be. And that gift is solely by the grace of God.
But it's not only for Christians that God gives good gifts. He sends sun and rain on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). On the cross Jesus also purchased a common grace for all people. Everything good in this life comes from God. For those who are believers and those who are not, God is a gracious God here and now. So we do not "deserve" the gifts in our lives, but rather through the birth of Christ, which led to the death of Christ on behalf of sinners, we receive amazing gifts with the most important being the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Beloved, this Christmas season as you celebrate the gift of Jesus with your families and friends, do not forget that He is a gift. You and I do not deserve it. The mentality that many of us have that says, "But I deserve more," is the result of a fallen, sinful nature. We have done nothing to deserve the good that is in our lives. God has been gracious and has gifted us with many things. The only reason there is good in our lives is because of an almighty, all loving, all sufficient God. Let us fight against our fleshly nature everyday that we might learn to value the precious gifts in our lives.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Running
Today I started week 2. It was an interesting day. We had about 12-14 inches of snow last night and when I left for my run it began snowing again. It actually felt good, however. During one of the trips around the block (it's a short block and I didn't go too far because it was slick) I noticed an elderly lady sitting in the snow by the road. I looked closer and realized she had fallen in the snow. I asked her if she needed help getting up and she did. She had a bad ankle and apparently shouldn't have been out in the snow. Anyway, she was fine. I helped her up. She went back in the house and I finished my run. All in all it was a good run. Thanks for the support.
Friday, December 18, 2009
What if Jesus was not Born?
As I prepare for this Christmas I have been thinking a lot lately about all that has taken place since the birth of Christ. From there I began to ask myself, "What if Jesus had never been born?" I feel this is a question many of us overlook or take for granted since He was born. But let's take some time to meditate on that question. What if He wasn't born? What would be different today? I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
One implication (major implication) is that if He had never been born, then we would still look for a Savior and not trust in the Lamb of God who bore the sins of the world.
I hope this leads you into worship and adoration of Christ. He was born, and named Jesus, because He would save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). May we all worship Him!
One implication (major implication) is that if He had never been born, then we would still look for a Savior and not trust in the Lamb of God who bore the sins of the world.
I hope this leads you into worship and adoration of Christ. He was born, and named Jesus, because He would save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). May we all worship Him!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Lectures on John Owen
I came across this post by Tony Reinke. It is Derek Thomas giving lectures on the Pastoral Theology of John Owen. Since I want to learn about and from Owen, it is very helpful for me. I hope you enjoy it.
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