We live in a disposable society where even high tech gadgets are no longer thought of as something to be repaired. If it breaks, we just throw it away and get another one. Unfortunately, this disposable mindset has transferred also toward people. That is, why put effort into maintaining a relationship when you can easily just replace them with someone new and supposedly flawless.

Broken cell phone? Replace it. Broken person? Replace them.

As a result, our network of friends and family is fragile and can break apart easily as problems arise in life. Yet we need a deep and healthy relational network to navigate through the storms of life. This is a tremendous benefit of the New Life. God knows that we are not designed to operate as individuals, but in community. And He provides spiritual bonds between His people to construct a powerful and effective relational network that helps us in both our worldly and spiritual storms.

Just as important, he gives us the instructions, strength, and tools that we need to repair relational divisions as they arise.

The United States is known to be a nation of consumers. It is highly encouraged and "normal" for us to consume as much as we can, and more than we can afford.

God, of course, intends for us to consume - that's part of life. And, I don't believe that God has a problem with us throwing a party from time to time and enjoying the healthy things of this world. I have no problem with going out for a night on the town ... or buying a new pair of shoes. But consumption can become unhealthy when it fills us with false hope and comfort, even perhaps to the point of addiction. When coveting becomes the catalyst of consumption rather than need, then there is a problem.

I am not anti-consumption, but I am pro-contentment. Contentment is the key aspect of the New Life that is covered in this message, and it overcomes coveting.

The Christmas holiday season is like juggling five packages. Each package represents a "meaning" of Christmas - that is, what people value at Christmas. We mostly appear to value consumerism, but we also value nostalgia, family & friends, and religious activity. All these "meanings" are packed into one day, each represents a way that one can become temporarily fulfilled, but the competition among these meanings can often confuse us as to the true meaning of Christmas.

There is a fifth package in Christmas, and it is a package that is apparent in Scripture. What is this meaning ... this significance? It is one of thanksgiving. That is, God has come into our lives and completely fulfilled us more so than things, nostalgia, religion, or family & friends could ever. For this, God's people are thankful!

Elijah had certainly experienced some spectacular fireworks from God: a child raised from the dead, the prophets of Baal embarrassed and destroyed, and an end to a 3-year drought. But, when all of this failed to convert his nemesis, Jezebel, Elijah ran for his life.

Elijah needed to learn that God is always working toward His agenda, but not always in the spectacular or perhaps in the ways that we expect. God also works powerfully in the silence.

Had you considered that the Ten Plagues brought upon Egypt were not merely meant to free Israel from their slavery to the Egyptians? There is a strong suggestion in the story of the Exodus that a second freedom was also in mind - that to false gods.

The festival of the Passover was commanded by God to be celebrated by Israel as a lasting ordinance. This festival would remind future generations not only of this event, but also the ever-present power of God over the gods of Egypt. If God is powerful, and false gods are not powerful, then the Passover can be an inspiration to abandon any false gods in our lives.

Moses and the Burning Bush is one of the more celebrated stories of the Old Testament for children, although typically the telling of this story is merely as a backdrop for the exodus (along with the stories of "baby Moses", "Moses kills the Egyptian", and "Moses in Midian").

The phrase that God uses in this story - I Am Who I Am - implies that He is not merely known, but more importantly that he is to be experienced. This characteristic contrasts with all the gods of Egypt (impersonal, inactive, and powerless) and all the gods of the new lands where they are headed.

This message challenges the Christians of today by reminding them that if God is not "experienced" - if we are not seeking and subsequently receiving experiences with Him - then all the religion that we might practice is like a false god of Egypt: empty, worthless, inactive, and powerless.