• January 22nd, 2012
Last week we left the captain of this Phoenician ship begging Jonah to wake up and pray so they wouldn’t die. The storm is still raging and the expert sailors are scared to death. The one person on the ship that had the answers had to be woken up to take action.
Jonah 1:7-10 says, “Each man said to his mate, “Come, let us cast lots so we may learn on whose account this calamity has struck us.” So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Tell us, now! On whose account has this calamity struck us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” He said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men became extremely frightened and they said to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them."
So what’s the next step? Let's find out together.
You can follow along on my blog here.
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• January 8th, 2012
We move to the Old Testament for our next study. I want you to forget everything you think you know about Jonah. I want to approach his story with an open mind, with a fresh perspective free from our preconceived ideas about this prophet. Jonah was a runner. Most people know he ran from God, but do we know why? We would never run from anything God told us to do would we? This is much more than a fish story.
I hope you’ll take your Bible and read Jonah 1:1-3.
You can follow along on my blog here.
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• January 1st, 2012
2011 is in the past and we enter 2012. What can we learn from the top stories of 2011? What does 2012 hold in store for us? What are we looking forward to? Join us for a look at Romans 10:13-15 and "Good News for 2012."
You can follow along on my blog here.
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• December 18th, 2011
Several years ago a fad in Christmas decorations swept across America. It is an artificial tree that is upside down. Hammecher Schlemmer offered a 7 foot prelit tree for 599.95. If you didn’t get one, it’s too late, they no longer offer the tree. Who wouldn’t want one? In their ad, the company says there is more room for presents than a traditional tree. You can still find these trees ranging from $200-400. Most people don’t need a tree to be turned upside down at Christmas.
Left unchecked, Christmas can be turned upside down in a hurry. Our gift buying can leave months of extra debt to pay off, our holiday schedules can leave us exhausted, and our materialism can leave someone searching for Christmas blind to the true meaning and spirit of the holiday. Americans will spend almost $22 billion this Christmas on toys alone. We used to talk about cars being upside down and now we’re upside down on our houses. So here’s the question, “Wouldn’t you like to trade your upside down Christmas for something better?” From Nazareth to Bethlehem, there were countless opportunities to celebrate Christmas, but few people managed to do so. In the case of Nazareth, missing Christmas led to something far more troubling because this community managed to miss life-changing faith, even with Jesus living in their midst. As it turns out, in the 12th Century, Christians hung fir trees upside down in their homes at Christmas to remind them of the Trinity. Back to Nazareth. The story started there, when Mary got the word that she would carry the long-awaited Christ child.
Take a look at the familiar passage in Luke 1:26-38 and let's see how Nazareth missed Christmas.
You can follow along on my blog here.
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• December 11th, 2011
It’s possible to miss Christmas even as it happens all around you. The stress of finding the right gifts, wrapping them, and paying for them can mask Christmas so well it might just disappear altogether. It happened to a lot of people that very first Christmas and nowhere was it more obvious than in the little town of Bethlehem that slept right through the most important birth in history. Christmas came to Bethlehem, but almost everyone there missed it. Bethlehem, however, had a good excuse. The people there were overwhelmed with life. An unexpected census caused that little village to be packed with people. The town was not prepared for the extra people. The demands for food, water, and lodging must have stretched the townspeople to the max. To make it worse, many of the people there probably had to be somewhere else to be counted for the census. It looked like a golden financial opportunity, but before it was all over, Bethlehem was overwhelmed with grief.
Take a look at Matthew 2:13-18.
The loss of a child is particularly painful. In America when a child is abducted, an Amber Alert is posted. Signs across highways light up to let people know that a child is missing. The truth is that a lot of things can keep you from Christmas, a lot of really normal life-things. Just as it did in Bethlehem, grief can steal the joy of Christmas faster than any other enemy.
Let's see how Bethlehem missed Christmas.
You can follow along on my blog here.
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• December 4th, 2011
The first Grinch wasn’t the one Dr. Seuss created. The first Grinch that tried to destroy Christmas was Herod the Great. This is the King that Missed Christmas. The fictional Grinch stood on a mountain overlooking the small village of Whoville where Christmas still happened no matter what he did. There really was a king who stood on his own mountain over the original Christmas village. Just like the Grinch, the king missed Christmas despite his best effort to kill it.
Let me give you some background on Herod and of the times in which he lived. When Jesus was born Herod had reigned thirty-four years. He was called Herod the Great because he had distinguished himself in the wars with Antigonus and other enemies, and because he had demonstrated great talents, as well as great cruelties and crimes, in governing and defending his country; in repairing the temple; and in building the cities of his kingdom. Herod built a palace three miles from Bethlehem known as the Herodium. It was huge. It was built to house 1,000 soldiers and the royal family for a full year. It had huge storage bins for food and plenty of fresh water brought in by aqueducts from Jerusalem 8 miles away. There was a giant swimming pool, twice as big as an Olympic-sized pool that had gardens around and in the middle of it. It had beautiful artwork, mosaic floors, steam baths, and cold baths. The palace bedrooms were open to the breezes coming from the Mediterranean; as close as you can come to air conditioning. You can still see the ruins of the Herodium from Bethlehem of Judea. At this time Augustus was emperor of Rome. The world was at peace. All the known nations of the earth were united under the Roman emperor. What a perfect time to introduce the gospel.
Matthew gives us some insight into Herod’s Christmas. I hope you have you Bible and will read Matthew 2:1-23.
We did have a technical glitch that prevented the first part of the message from being recorded. I think you'll quickly pick up where we are. You can follow along on my blog to help you find your place.
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• November 27th, 2011
Here we are in the Christmas season again. I wonder how many will miss the reason we celebrate Christmas? Even Christians who are pressed to the max with school parties, work parties, church parties, neighborhood parties, decorating, baking, and shopping for presents are prone to miss Christmas. In the classic movie A Christmas Carol, we find the tyrannical and unlovable business owner Scrooge complaining every step of the way because poor Bob Cratchet wants half a day off on Christmas. If the story was written toady, the roles would likely be reversed. We would see Scrooge looking forward to Christmas because as a business owner, he would see profits rise. He’d begin advertising before Halloween and offer ridiculous store hours on Black Friday maybe even opening at midnight. Maybe the story would follow how Bob Cratchet developed his complex shopping plan camped out hoping to find those trendy, state of the art gifts for his kids. He probably scanned the 102 million results found on Google by searching Black Friday 2011. Bob would come to despise the Christmas music that begins just after Halloween. Scrooge would love Christmas, Bob Cratchet? Not so much. In the ever increasing commercialism and materialism that is Christmas, can we change the pattern? Do you want to?
Let's check out Luke 2:21-38.
You can follow along on my blog.
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• November 20th, 2011
Thanksgiving is upon us. This holiday will be filled with turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce, yams, green beans, and pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving sometimes is reduced to just another opportunity to pig out – to indulge ourselves in food. Like many things, we’ve gotten distracted from the real meaning of Thanksgiving. It was late November in 1620 when the Pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts. Unprepared for the harsh winter in the northeast, nearly half the settlers died before spring. The remaining ones persevered through prayer. With the help of some native Americas, they were able to reap a bountiful harvest that summer. The grateful Pilgrims then declared a three-day feast, starting on December 13, 1621, to thank God and to celebrate with their Indian friends. While this was not the first Thanksgiving in America (thanksgiving services were held in Virginia as early as 1607), it was America’s first Thanksgiving Festival. As we approach thanksgiving this year, let’s get back to the root of thanksgiving and that is giving thanks.
So when is it appropriate to thank God? Let's find out together. I hope you have your Bible.
You can follow along on my blog here.
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• November 13th, 2011
Today we observe the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Over 100 million of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world suffer persecution on a routine basis. For them it is a part of their walk of faith – a part of life. How are we to respond to them as we live in America, as we sit here in the safety and comfort of C4?
In John 13:34-35 Jesus gave His disciples something new. He said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.35 "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." We are to love with a specific kind of love. Jesus is clear that people who are followers of Him must love the way He loves. Jesus loves us so much that He was willing to die for us that we might live. That love knows no boundaries. It’s not dependent upon what you or I do – it is unconditional. We have been called to, challenged to, commanded to love one another the way Jesus loves us. This command though, is not limited to just the people here at C4, not just here in St. Marys, not just here in the United States. We are called to love one another – brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world because we are united by faith, united by the blood of Jesus Christ. What does that mean practically speaking? Is love just a feeling? Or does it mean action? How do we obey this command today? I’m glad you asked. Today we are going to look at 3 ways to obey this command as they relate to the persecuted church.
Today I want to give you three things you can do to demonstrate this gret love for our brothers and sister in the Persecuted Church.
You can follow along on my blog here.
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• November 6th, 2011
Once again, thanks to Skip Heitzig for the heart of this message.
Last week we began to look at how God tested Abraham’s faith. If you want biblical faith, it must be tested and Abraham’s faith was tested. God told him to sacrifice his one and only son, but Abraham knew that the promises of God hinged on Isaac being alive and that presented a problem for him. Are you willing to give up what is most precious to you for God if He requires it? That’s how you know if your faith is real.
Take a look at the exciting story of Abraham and Isaac in Gen. 22:1-19.
You can follow along on my blog here.
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