South Run Baptist Church episodes:

• December 22, 2019Immanuel

  Frederick Buechner writes, “Until we have taken the idea of the God-man

  seriously enough to be scandalized by it, we have not taken it as seriously

  as it demands to be taken.” The incarnation—that is, the coming of God in

  the flesh—confronts us with a scandal that we too often fail to see. To put

  it simply, and perhaps crudely: God. Wore. Diapers. Let that sink in. The

  God who created all things and sustains all things entered into creation,

  became part of creation, and took on human flesh as a baby that was just as

  weak and needy as any baby you have ever held. If this is not a window into

  God that you have ever considered, let’s do so together today.

  ...more

  

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• December 15, 2019Do You See What I See?

  The word providence, simply put, means “God’s working in the world.” While

  the vast majority of Christians believe that God indeed works in the world,

  if you were to ask for everyday examples of God’s movement, you might be

  met with silence and a difficulty at naming such a thing. The problem isn’t

  that God is inactive, it’s that we often do not have the vision to see

  God’s action. We have failed to open our eyes to the movements of God in

  the world around us. Similarly, John the Baptist asks Jesus whether he is

  the “one to come” or if he should keep looking. Jesus’ response is

  essentially: open your eyes! Look at what God is doing right in front of

  you! Let us today open our eyes and see what God is doing right in front of

  us.

  ...more

  

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• December 08, 2019O Little Town

  The town of Bethlehem was a one-stop-light kind of town where not much

  happened. Where the sheep grazed upon its hillsides, and the shepherds

  dreamt of the city life in nearby Jerusalem. From atop Bethlehem's tall,

  rolling hills, one could see Jerusalem, the city of kings, rising in the

  distance. And yet, despite the litany of kings that were born within the

  walls of Jerusalem—king after king after king—it is Bethlehem that hosted

  the two most notable figures of history. Upon entering the city, you might

  find a well-worn sign that reads: “Birthplace of King David.” And just

  below it, “Birthplace of Christ the King.” O little town of Bethlehem, your

  significance in the course of human history is not lost on us.

  ...more

  

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• December 01, 2019Ready or Not, Here I Come

  Today is the first day of Advent, which is a season of preparation. This

  time of year feels like a season of preparation, so perhaps that is

  appropriate. We are busy preparing for out of town visitors. We are

  preparing for large meals. We are preparing to give gifts to our children

  or family members. These, however, are not the sort of preparations we are

  talking about today—in fact, they often compete with the preparations to

  which we should be attending. In this season of Advent, we are invited to

  prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ. On this first day of Advent,

  we are drawn into the preparations required for Christ’s first coming as

  the Christ child that we might also be prepared for Christ’s second coming

  as the reigning king of the Kingdom of God.

  ...more

  

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• November 25, 2019God's Image

  History is the long story of a quest for the knowledge of the invisible

  God. God self-reveals in a variety of ways, especially through scripture

  and nature. But there is no clearer revelation than the person of Jesus. As

  Immanuel, “God with us,” Jesus is the “image of the invisible God”

  (Colossians 1:15). Jesus is God in the flesh. Jesus is God revealed in His

  fulness. But Jesus is not the only one said to carry God’s image. According

  to Genesis 1, all humanity was created in God’s image. And though this

  image has been misshapen by sin and death, when we see each other rightly,

  we see the very image of God staring at us.

  ...more

  

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• November 17, 2019The Artist

  The opening line of the Bible, “In the beginning, God created,” is echoed

  as a future promise in Isaiah 65:17: “For I am about to create.” In both

  cases, God is a creative type—an artist—who makes something genuinely new

  out of something that never before existed. Borne out of God’s abundant

  power and creativity is the world that was Eden, the world that is in the

  here and now, and the world that is yet to come. To say that God is an

  artist is to say too little. But to deny that God is an artist is to

  misunderstand a distinct part of God’s nature. Out of God’s artistic flare

  springs new realities that you and I could never begin to imagine. In our

  darkest days, we should never underestimate the potential for hope

  expressed in the opening words of Isaiah 65:17: “For I am about to create .

  . .”

  ...more

  

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• November 10, 2019Picking Up the Pieces

  In Haggai 2, our passage for today, the prophet is speaking to a group who

  has spent much of their lives in exile in Babylon only to return to a

  Jerusalem that is in tatters. Their houses are torn down. The temple is a

  heap of rubble. And they must begin the rebuilding process. One can only

  imagine the difficulty of such an endeavor. Surely it is a mixture of joy

  and anguish. Joy at their return, and anguish at the loss of what once was.

  What must be going through their minds? What will it take to pick up the

  pieces of an old life and create something new. In the midst of this God

  says, “Fear not”, for he has all the world’s resources at his disposal.

  Peace will reign again, but first we must rebuild.

  ...more

  

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• October 27, 2019Role Models

  In Jesus’ parable from Luke 18, we are introduced to two figures, and it

  appears that we must choose the better option. But neither is really a role

  model. The Pharisee seems to be; he fasts, tithes regularly, prays and goes

  to the house of God. But he shows contempt for others. The tax collector

  seems not to be because of his despised profession, and he praised for his

  repentance and humility. So what are we to do when Jesus puts two morally

  deficient examples before us and says: choose.

  ...more

  

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• October 06, 2019God, Where Are You?

  The book of Habakkuk begins with the prophet addressing God directly, “How

  long?” How long must he cry for help before God answers? How long must the

  violence go on before God does something? Before God saves? You can sense

  frustration in the prophet, as if God weren’t acting fast enough. It’s an

  honest moment that some readers might find odd, odd that our Scriptures

  contain such challenges to God. Others might find it comforting. While

  still others might be unsettled by it. Wherever you fall probably says more

  about you than the Bible or God, because it’s clear from the whole of

  Scripture that God is not afraid of our questions. He often invites them.

  And He typically answers them, even if the answer is not what we expect.

  ...more

  

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• September 29, 2019Standing on the Promises

  Jeremiah writes as one who has seen the worst tragedy one could possibly

  imagine. For you such a tragedy might be the death of a loved one, the loss

  of a job, or ... what? What is your tragedy? For Jeremiah it was the

  Babylonian army tearing down the temple of Jerusalem, demolishing the walls

  of the city, and leaving the "city of God" in rubble. But in the midst of

  such darkness a light shone through. The voice of God came to Jeremiah and

  told him to purchase a piece of property. God promised that a day would

  come when the darkness would fade and noonday would shine again. And

  Jeremiah, standing on God's promise, trusted that God's word would not

  return void.

  ...more

  

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