Sermons

Living New - The way unearned is not a way unchanged. Chapter 5 verse 15 says we are to “look carefully how we walk” and in verse 16 it says making the best use of time. This n the context that we have been made Alive by God and that He has prepared “good works” for us for us to “walk in them”. This include pursuing wisdom over foolishness and being stewards over the life we have been given. Joy and patience are to plays itself out in relationship and in responsibilities where we are engaging with each other making a (joyful harmony with God and people) with attitudes that are not entitled but are grateful to God all leading to dispositions humility rather than pride where we don’t seek to dominate one another but rather submit to one another. This is possible when we are empowered by the Holy Spirit in us not in our ability to change ourselves. Those are big important assumptions that have to proceed any discussion of the instructions from God. When we skip identity and go right to instructions, we will think our identity comes from our ability respond to direction rather than in receiving the grace and mercy of God. There are few ways we screw up our sense of identity and purpose than when it comes to the concept of work. We are Alive for a purpose. The way unearned is not a way without work. Before there was sin in the world there was purposeful God-given work to cultivate a culture of flourishing. Work was meant to be fruitful and good; we know this when we are enjoying our work. Sin has turned what should be productive into painful toil so we should not be surprised when our work is difficult or discouraging. We are all made to work. Since most of us spend ½ or more of our waking hours involved with work, if we’ve been made ALIVE by Christ then it will have an impact on our work. We are going to be looking at this from a variety of angles both practical and theological.

We are created for relationships- The way unearned is not intended to be walked alone. We have relationships with friends, family, neighbors, etc. which are important and edifying. We are all part of a family. Our families have great influence over how we learn about and practice relationships. As adults we are not neutral blank slates, but individuals formed over two decades (or more) of shaping, intentionally or accidentally by the families we grew up in. We take the various joys, victories, as well as the traumas and the wounds with us as our personalities and ways of being are established. Our generations who proceeded us went through the same process of transferring and forming before we arrived on the scene, so they start the process with us being impacted by their parents and family. We cannot minimize the impact our families of origin have in who are today and how we hope to change, grow, or engage in the future. This will overflow into how we interact with one another as a society as we navigate being people with distinct roles and responsibilities as members of different generations. So, as much as any area of our lives, if we want to see change in our world, our society, our communities, even in our churches, we have to start with individuals, with marriages, and families. Children led and loved by parents who are loved and led.

We are created for relationships. The way unearned is not intended to be walked alone. We have relationships with friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, etc. Each of these can be important and edifying. However, God has created one earthly relationship that is unique and distinct from all others both in its nature and in what it represents. Marriage has been given by God to men and women to reflect the exclusive, faithful, and pure relationship Christ has with the church. It is not a human invention, but a God given gift. So why do we need these verses on how marriage relationship are to functions, who has what roles and what the purpose of it is? Because our marriages are broken and have sin and selfishness in marriages. Why? Because our marriages are two imperfect people apart from the work of God who are broken and selfish and so when a husband and wife come together sin and selfishness isn’t masked it’s multiplied. At the same time, it is a relationship that is intended to bring great joy and flourishing for the individuals in the marriage, as a couple and the other people around the marriage impacted by a flourish union. So, as much as any area of our lives or any other earthly relationship, if we want to see change in our world, our society, our communities, even in our churches, we have to start with our homes and marriages.

Living New - The way unearned is not a way unchanged. Sin needs to be turned from. We are not made alive by repentance, but we are made alive to practice repentance. In Christ, we have been gifted with soft hearts that illuminate our understanding of this new life. Like wore out clothes, our old life does not suit our new life. Parts of our old life will have to be taken off and new ways of being will have to put on. This includes our sexuality

We plan accordingly to what we desire and long for in hopes that they will be fulfilled, but what often happens is when the new year/new decade comes the expectations that we set up are often met with disappointment, wether they are fulfilled or not. And we need to ask our selves the question why that is. Why are we met not with satisfaction but rather disappointment or left unsatisfied or empty when what we desire is fulfilled or not? This is a problem; this is something the whole world struggles with, and this is something the bible specifically has an answer to.

We start to ask a lot of questions about our life. How did the year go? What about next year? How is my health? Where do I stand with my job situation? What about this family or friend relationship? How is my parenting? What are the questions you’re asking? Behind all these questions are bigger questions, what we’re really asking is “Where do I stand with myself, other, and really God?” Am I significant? Is God near? What is my purpose? God seems distant there is a gap. I feel insignificant in the scope of the world or history. This impacts our sense of purpose. It can lead us toward a downward spiral. Then we see Mary, a young woman, in a forgotten rural town, pledged to be married to a local carpenter who has an angelic visit and gives birth to Jesus. When we think of Mary, we often think of nativity scenes or Christmas carols. We either saint her and for some even worship her or make too little of her. She is significant and in her story we find a picture of God’s grace needed, given, received, spread, and responded to, that is for us too!

It’s easy to read past these verses to get on to the good stuff, you know shepherds, angels, and kings. But let’s for a second imagine what it is like to be Joseph. Joseph is probably no more that 18. It used to be thought that Jospeh was a bit older, but recent scholars now say that Joseph was probably still in his teen. Ok, so think about what it is like to be 18. Young, good-looking, full of life, excited for his future. He probably had big dreams about getting married, getting his own house and starting his own business. Life was going just about as well as he hoped. And that is when the first Christmas meltdown happened.

We started are Christmas series, titled “Unexpected” last week, which will go all the way up to Christmas eve, highlighting characters from the Christmas story, and the idea behind “unexpected” is that the Christmas story we celebrate of God incarnate, Jesus, the Son of God taking on flesh and entering into human history, is unexpected. Israel was expecting a Messiah at this time, who would come and liberate them from the Roman Government, and this Messiah would come in great strength, but Jesus rather came in great vulnerability as a baby. This Messiah was expected to come and overthrow the nations with the sword, and yet Jesus came and was pierced with the sword for the nations. Along with the Christmas story being unexpected, there was a period of time from the last book in the Old Testament to the beginning of the gospels, where God is silent for 400 years. No prophet arises to speak for God to the people in that time frame. And some of you this morning are in a season of life that seems that way. Where there is a hard season in life right now, perhaps the Holiday season brings up old wounds and hurts and it seems as though God is absent because of His silence. And what I am here to preach on today is not only what we all need but what the people of Israel in that time needed as well, and that is hope!

The story of Christmas found in the gospel is unexpected. For the people of God, God had been silent for 400 years. Many of them felt forgotten and yet, in the quiet, dark countryside, God remembered and came to them. But not how they expected. He came in the form of a baby, not to the king or powerful leaders, but to the lowly, the poor, the young and the old. The 2 gospels capture each person’s response when they encountered the angel or Jesus and those emotions capture our emotions at Christmas. In the same way, we will look at the Christmas story and see the many emotions we feel at Christmas and see that God is with us in all those places. How God shows up to unexpected people in unexpected ways. Christmas is often remembered by a miraculous birth, yet before the “silent night” when baby Jesus was born to a virgin outside an inn and laid in a manger there was another birth as unlikely as it was necessary. Before the arrival of the Savior King, God tells the OT prophet Malachi He will send a messenger who will preach to the people and prepare the way for the Kings arrival. In Luke 1we begin to see this prophecy fulfilled. It is here we meet an aged, faithful, childless couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth.

We exist to be unified and to build one another up! That’s the idealistic desire and direction, but there is a realistic disposition that can sometimes cause destruction. We’re trying to live out this new life but then there are other people…..who might punch us in the mouth. We also cannot forget our roll and contribution to a culture of conflict. For others, we’re the other people making it difficult. How are you, me, we going to address this? We have responses that are similar to the world. The world and the church do love, relationship, and conflict the same ways… not healthy. Division, retaliation, bitterness and destruction rule the day. When we are loved, pursued, spiritually alive people, in relationship with God, how we do love, do relationship, and yes even how we do conflict needs to be distinct from the world. Jesus said we’ll be known in the world by what? Our love for one another. If gospel unity is going to be experienced as a community then gospel purity needs to be pursed as individuals in community. Our life with God is tied to our life with God’s people. We cannot believe that the vertical relationship we have with God, if it is vital and active won’t impact our horizontal relationships. We don’t live dead, we live as ones who have been made alive. So there is a transformation that changes what it means to be alive and how we now live.