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Category: Incarnation (Page 4 of 9)

The Heart of Christmas

December 12, 2017 / / 0 Comments

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” ~Isaiah 9:2

This is a very well-known Christmas text, a famous Christmas text that speaks to the coming of the Christ. And it describes the condition the Christ is coming into as darkness. People are walking in darkness. People are living in the land of darkness. We read this a lot at Christmas, but we don’t ever read the verses right before it. The end of the previous chapter actually tells us why the world is so plunged in darkness:

“When people tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God?… If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn… They will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.” ~Isaiah 8:19-22

People are looking toward the earth for help. Men and women are looking toward themselves for wisdom and salvation.

Yes, we’re living in darkness; yes, things are really messed up; but we can fix it ourselves! There’s poverty and hunger, greed and lust; but if we’ll just all look out for each other and learn how to give more, we can change it! There’s broken lives, broken hearts, and broken relationships; there’s twisted bodies and warped minds and institutional vileness and moral evil all around us; but if we just vote for the right people, if we just pass the right laws, if we just use the right technology, if we just invest in the right companies, we can overcome it!

Listen, the message from the Hallmark holiday movies and the holiday music and the Coke commercials and emails and billboards is that we have it within us. The love and goodwill that exists in each of us is enough to create a world of unity and peace. In other words, we have the light inside us. And if we just work together, we can eradicate the darkness of the world. If we’ll all come together, we can overcome poverty and injustice, violence and evil. With what’s inside us, we can build a world of love and joy and peace.

Really? Can we?

We can’t save ourselves. Have you noticed?

We’ve been trying for centuries. We are completely unable to save ourselves. In fact, believing that we can save ourselves — that education or politics or hard work or some system or ideology  can save us — has only led to more darkness!

See, the Christmas message gives us a very realistic way of looking at life. At it’s core, Christmas is very unsentimental. It’s not mushy or fantasy. Christmas is not, “Cheer up! If we all pull together, we can make the world a better place!” Christmas is not optimistic thinking like, “We can fix the whole world if we try really hard.” And Christmas is not pessimistic doom, either, like, “Things are awful and they’re getting worse and nothing’s ever going to change.”

The heart of Christmas is this: Things really are terrible and we cannot heal or save ourselves. Things really are this dark. Everywhere. But, there is great hope.

On those living in deep darkness, a light has dawned.

It’s not, “A great light has sprung up from the world” or “The light has come from the people.” It’s ON the people, a light has dawned. ON the world, a light has come. The light has come from outside us. The hope has come to us from outside the world. Christ Jesus is that salvation light. That light is the Holy Son of God.

“In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not conquered it… The true light that gives life to all people was coming into the world.” ~John 1:4-9

The true light was coming. The eternal light that gives life to all people has come. The one light that shines in the darkness and overcomes the darkness — the light from above, the light from outside us has come!

And we celebrate that light at Christmas. But that’s not really the right word. We stare at it dumbstruck. We’re lost in wonder at it. We fall down on our knees in awe of it. God himself comes to us in the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ to provide for us what we simply do not possess, to do for us what we could never do ourselves. He brings to us from outside of us holiness and righteousness and peace.

Peace,

Allan

Why Christmas?

December 9, 2017 / / 0 Comments

 

Christmas is a unique holiday. What separates Christmas from all the other holidays is that Christmas is the only Christian holiday that’s also a major secular holiday at the same time. It’s the culture’s biggest holiday, but it’s also religious. So we’ve got millions and millions of people celebrating Christmas, but in two different ways. It’s strange. And it brings a little bit of discomfort.

Christians are noticing that more and more of the public expressions of Christmas are avoiding any mention of the Christ. It’s a Winter Festival and a Happy Holiday, but it’s not a Merry Christmas. It’s a time for family, it’s a time for giving and joy and peace, but not worship. Christians notice that. The background music in the stores is less Joy to the World and more Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer. The Culture and Media Institute claim that 98.7% of all Christmas stories on network TV do not mention Jesus. They talk about holiday shopping trends and holiday travel alerts and the economy, the weather, and the food. But only 1.3% of the news stories about Christmas mention Christ. That bothers some Christians.

On the flip side, the non-religious among us complain that the Church is intruding on the season, forcing its beliefs and practices on people who don’t care. A column in last Sunday’s Amarillo Globe News pointed this out. An increasing number of non-Christians are saying that religious expressions during the holidays are offensive and oppressive. They want the songs without the baby in the manger. They want the joy and peace without the religious symbolism.

It can be a little confusing. It can lead to lots of questions. And those questions are all good questions.

Why Christmas? Why is it such a big deal, why is it so emotionally charged? Where did it come from? Why do we spend so much time and energy hanging up lights right after Thanksgiving? What’s the connection? Why do we spend so much money on so many presents? Who started that? Why do we think about the needy more during Christmas? Why do people feel more charitable during December?

Is Christmas a religious holiday or not? And does it really matter?

Can’t we just have Christmas without religion?

Well, I mean, you could. But it doesn’t really work. All those ancient connections are there. It’s the foundation of the holiday. And, yeah, we believe it matters. And we believe it’s all actually really good news!

We’re beginning a three-part series tomorrow morning at Central: “Why Christmas?” If you’re in Amarillo, why not join us at 10:15 Sunday mornings. If you’re not in the greater Amarillo area, I’ll be posting a lot of what we’re preaching in this space in the coming days.

Peace,

Allan

God Has Spoken

August 22, 2017 / / 0 Comments

“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” ~Hebrews 1:1-2

We live in a confused world. Our culture is bowing down to the relativism of postmodernism. There is no ultimate truth. Whatever works for you is great for you. Discover your own truth. Whatever is working for them or for that part of the world is fine for them. There can’t be just one truth.

Christians are buying into this, too. It’s everywhere. Truth is whatever you need it to be, depending on when it is and where you are and what’s going on. We’re more bewildered and unsure and trapped than we’ve ever been. And the answer to all that chaos and uncertainty is this:

God has spoken!

He has spoken through the exalted Jesus. Jesus is the only one who can purify us from our sins. He is the only way to draw near to God. Only Jesus can give us help in our time of need. He alone can deliver us from death and lead us to ultimate glory. Only Christ Jesus! He who has ears, let him hear!

But we are so tied to the practical. We want pragmatic. We want real and immediate benefits from our Bibles and our faith. If the Bible study doesn’t address “real life” issues, we’re bored. If the devotional time doesn’t have immediate implications, we neglect it. If the sermon doesn’t help me with a problem I’m having right now, we ignore it.

Listen, God is speaking to us! God is revealing himself and speaking to us in Jesus! That’s the most exciting thing that’s ever staggered the human imagination! It’s everything!

In Jesus, God’s only Son, we have the ultimate solution to all the world’s problems. God has acted and spoken once for all in Jesus. And it changes everything. Without Jesus, yes, we should all sleep in on Sundays. But with Jesus, we never miss a gathering of his holy people. Without Jesus, yes, we should despair. But with Jesus, we persevere. We keep going. We keep running. Because God has spoken to us by his Son.

That’s why I preach. That’s the reason I pray all week and I read and I study and I prepare so hard. That’s the reason I climb those four steps every Sunday morning and read the Word of God out loud in the Central worship center and proclaim the words of God to all those ears — I really believe those words can change lives. I really believe the words of God have transformative power. They can change your life. They can change our city. And they can change the whole world. That’s why I preach. I believe it.

God has spoken to us by his Son. Jesus Christ is not just the first word and the final word; he’s also every word in between — and the dictionary that defines all the words! He is the ultimate Word of God. And nowhere does the Word say this is easy or painless. Nowhere does the Word tell us this is going to be socially acceptable or quick. But everywhere the Word tells us this is real and it is true and it is certain.

Peace,

Allan

The Light is Dawning

December 24, 2016 / / 0 Comments

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.”
~Isaiah 9:2

candleoneI hope this is not a ‘newsflash’ for you, but we are living in a very dark place. It’s dark in Amarillo, Texas.

The homeless rate across the country is going down, but in Amarillo it’s actually going up. Today there are more than 1,200 homeless people in our city. A lot of them are young children, which explains why the average age of a homeless person in Amarillo is eleven.

Sixty-eight-percent of the students in the Amarillo I.S.D. are classified as economically disadvantaged. That number is 71% down the street from our church building at Bivins Elementary — almost three out of four.

Teen pregnancy rates are going down across the U.S., but they’re going up in Amarillo. Texas ranks fourth in the nation in teenage pregnancies and the panhandle has the highest rates in the state, much higher than the national average.

And last year a record number of women were killed in domestic violence incidents in Texas, with Randall and Potter Counties clocking in with the highest rate per capita in the state.

It’s dark in Amarillo.

But our Father in heaven, our God, the eternal Creator of Heaven and Earth, looks down with compassion on his children and says “I will not leave them in this darkness!” God says a light will dawn and his people will rejoice. The yoke will be shattered. The burden will be lifted. The enemy’s tools will be destroyed. Light will shine in the darkness. Victory will come from defeat. Life will spring from death.

“For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given.”
~Isaiah 9:6

As followers and imitators of the incarnate God who saves us, we are charged with proclaiming that life-giving light of Christ — to preach it and live it, to embody it and share it. God through Christ is defeating the Evil Empire, and we shout that from the rooftops!

And we pay better attention to exactly where our Lord is shining his light around us. We look for it. We anticipate it.

Just in this past year — just in 2016 — Downtown Women’s Center has opened up a transitional housing complex one-and-a-half blocks north of our church building. CareNet has relocated its regional headquarters five blocks east of our building. And two miles west, the brand new principal at Bivins Elementary is giving our church unprecedented — and maybe even questionable — access to the hurting families there.

candleglow

God with us is good news of great joy for all people! And I feel like his light is shining right here, like it’s really concentrated right here in our church neighborhood and there’s this giant star right on top of our building and people in Amarillo can see that this is a place where their yoke can be shattered and the rod of their oppression can be broken forever by this light that gives life to all people!

The people of Amarillo and the people of Texas and the people of the United States don’t need a new president or a new form of government. We don’t need more security or more jobs programs or more creative ways to wage war. What people need is Jesus. People need his light.

“Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”
~Isaiah 9:7

May the joy and peace of the season by yours today and forever.

Allan

Heaven and Nature Sing

December 24, 2015 / / 0 Comments

“Praise the Lord from the heavens… praise the Lord from the earth.” ~Psalm 148

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Scripture tells us clearly that our God is one and that God created with his Word everything that is and he calls it good. God loves his creation. He delights in nature. And in response to that love and delight, all of creation sings praise to God. Heaven and nature sing.

Psalm 148 — the title to the song is “Praise the Lord” — is the most obvious example of this. The psalm is divided into two parts. The first half begins with “Praise the Lord from the heavens” and mentions heavenly bodies and creatures that worship God in song: angels, heavenly hosts, sun, moon, and stars. The second half of the psalm begins “Praise the Lord from the earth” and lists the things of nature that sing to God: great sea creatures, lightning, hail, snow, clouds, winds, mountains, hills, fruit trees, cedars, wild animals, cattle, small creatures, flying birds, kings, all nations, princes, young men, maidens, old men, and children.

Psalm 65 says the meadows and valleys shout for joy and sing. Psalm 98 tells us the rivers clap their hands and the mountains sing together for joy. Isaiah writes that the mountains burst into song, the forests and the trees sing for joy, the hills sing, and the trees of the field clap their hands.

“Let the heavens rejoice, the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. The trees of the forest sing for joy; they sing before the Lord, for he comes.” ~Psalm 96:11-13

All of creation recognizes the Creator and responds with joyful praise and worship. In other words, heaven and nature sing. So when we praise and worship God, we join all of creation in praising and worshiping God together.

The foundational first act of the Story of God is that the Father created the world and everything in it. He loves his creation. God blesses his creation. And at the very center of the Story is the Incarnation. This is our bedrock Christian belief: God so loves the world that he becomes part of it. God Almighty puts on our flesh and blood and comes to his world to bless the world and redeem the world. Incarnation is a confirmation of the world. God comes to this earth in the form of a human baby. And that says something important about the sacredness of creation, how important the world is to God, how valuable to God is the human life into which he came. God is not too good to join us right here. He is not too high and mighty, God is not too holy or proud to come to us on our level and to participate in this earthly human life.

And it really happened.

In this baby Jesus we have God With Us. Immanuel. He came to us. God came here to his creation. And it’s not just a beautiful idea or an abstract theological truth. When we consider God coming to us in the baby Jesus, we’re not talking about a “feeling” of God’s presence or something in our hearts. It really happened. It’s history.

We’re talking about a particular time. The Gospels say it happened in the days of Herod, when he was the king of Judea. When Quirinius was governor of Syria. We’re talking about real geography: in Bethlehem, in Palestine. We’re talking about real politics: a census was being taken, there was the threat of revolution in the air. We’re talking about real economics: his family was poor, Jesus was born in a barn. It really happened.

And when it happened…

“A great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to all people!” ~Luke 2:13-14

And…

“The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard.” ~Luke 2:20

God comes to his creation, he comes here to bless his creation and to live among and redeem his creation. And both heaven and nature sing. Both mighty angels and lowly shepherds sing.

Joy to the world, the Lord is come, let earth receive her King.
Let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing!

Peace,

Allan

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