Living Savior Podcast

This weekend we saw how “off” the worldly concept of love is. Normally we think that the more you love someone, the more your life must revolve around them. You see that with spouses, children, and friends. But is that actually helpful for you? . . . for them? For the believer, there is more profound and beneficial love when God remains first. In fact, by properly ordering our loves, only then are we able to love others best.

This weekend, the sixth and final in our series entitled Quest, we see that God's great pursuit for us rests in the one authenticated as his Son. While everyone is after some kind of glory in life, the shining brilliance of Jesus provided in that glimpse of his divine power far supercedes what we could ever find or attain on our own. And as glorious as that was, he didn’t stay. That's what we see elsewhere in Scripture too, namely, that the glory of God is found in that God seeks and leads and takes his people all on the path to eternity. Thus, with such a Savior is this, it's always a glorious experience.

When we hear about mission work, we often think of bold evangelists trekking through the forest in South America or going village-to-village in the African wilderness. That's not the way the Bible describes mission work. First, consider the great pursuit that God has had to reach you. He has literally moved heaven and earth for you, so that you would know that death is not your demise and righteousness is yours. If he gave his Son for you... if this was the greatest quest of God for you, then it stands to reason that this should be our great endeavor in life; i.e. seeking out others. And it just so happens that the very love he showed to us is the very thing -- the only thing -- that can truly motivate us to reach the people around us.

In our worship this past weekend, we saw the importance of Christian community. We weren’t made to be alone. We weren’t made to grow in faith in isolation. Not only is it impossible to find one example in Scripture, but consider how the gospel works. God brought the good news into our hearts and lives to gather us together as a Christian community. He joined us with brothers and sisters locally, which we can see, and with all believers of all time in ways that we can’t see. He gathers us through his gospel, and he keeps us together by it too. It’s more than just our presence that encourages us, although it certainly does. It’s the gospel encouragement that we share which keeps us firm in the faith.

Guest preacher, Pastor Ben Zahn, from Myrtle Beach, SC, helps us explore that very profound truth.

How do you define yourself? Is it what you do for a living? ...where you come from? ...your race, gender, family, financial security, or faith? No surprise, everyone has a lot of advice on how you answer that. But God weighs in with an answer about what truly defines a believer. Instead of some job title or new location, this change brings heaven. Better than any title this identity changes our eternal status. Who are you really? How does God bring that to bear upon your heart and life now and forever? See how in this sermon based on Romans 6.

When we think of quests, we imagine ancient kings or explorers embarking on long, arduous journeys stretching the limits of their maps, all in search of something rare, prized, and worth the sacrifice. Although today we might not embark on quests like that, we are all in search of something that's hard to find... something that transcends time, supersedes success, and outlives life. And while we are all searching in many places (right or wrong), it just so happens that the one who provides everything we are looking for is the same one who has been after us.

Do people generally look at Christmas the same as they are older? It's not just the presents. It's the whole picture. The way we look at the lights, the decorations, the joy in others, the songs... everything. Most importantly, the truths that are central to Christmas itself. When you consider the glimmer in the eyes of others, do we still marvel the way we once did? It's not just because we have gotten too busy or that we have matured. Although that might be part of it, that's not all of it. Have we lost some of our Christmas wonder? Whatever is true for you, revisiting context of Christmas can and does renew our sense of God-inspired wonder.

If you were in the driver’s seat on a major, earth-shattering issue, that affects thousands, millions, or more, would you do things differently than the way people who are in charge do them? Of course, we consider this not because you or I would be in that spot or could do it, but simply to put ourselves objectively on the outside looking in. In this way we can consider the size of the issue and also the size solution needed. Thus, when you consider God's saving plan, especially as it reaches this eternally pivotal juncture—literally—not only is God’s solution something that none of us and no one ever could have possibly imagined… but it is the only thing that could have worked. In other words, God’s solutions are wildly unimaginable, radically impossible, and yet still entirely and eternally essential.

Conventional wisdom suggests that, in order to avoid disappointment, we ought to expect less out of Christmas. If we prepare less and expect less our overall experience will be more blessed. In this way, less is more, right? God suggests just the opposite. Less is more, unless, of course, more is better.

In the centuries leading up to the first Christmas, God revealed the truth about the coming Messiah and taught his people to raise their expectations for his work. Thus, if Christmas has disappointed you in the past, maybe it’s not because you’ve expected too much. Maybe it’s because you’ve expected too little and should expect more. Expect more from the one who came once and will come again. Expect more from your preparation centered in all of God’s promises. In this way, less isn’t more, because more is better.

Thanksgiving can easily look much the same for many. Yet, of all the things we are thankful for, there are some not-so-positive parts of this past year probably don't make the list. We usually don't think of being thankful for the pain and the problems, the diagnoses and disease, the loneliness and the loss. One might reasonably wonder, "How can anyone be thankful for/in moments like that?" But it is precisely such moments in which God shapes and hones us for whatever comes next and for our life forever with him. He does this because he is our loving God. He uses all of this to strengthen us so that we can look beyond the tough moments and sing praise to the Lord, thanking him for being our strength and our Savior.