Call Him Everlasting (Isaiah 9:6, Colossians 1:15, 17)

Can you imagine eternity? It’s a hard thing for most of us to wrap our heads around. That’s because we start with time. We try to envision time stretching forever in both directions, past and future. But eternity is not forever time: it’s not time at all. Eternity is the absence of time. Confused? Let’s start at the beginning.

Both Genesis and John tell us that the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—were “in the beginning.” Dictionary.com defines beginning as “the point in time or space at which something starts,” so in the beginning, before the creation of anything, God already was. However, the word “before” is problematic: it means “during the period of time preceding” an event. Time began with the creation of the world, so before creation, there was no time. We need a different way to imagine the state before time. This is a job for eternity.

Dictionary.com defines eternity as “a state to which time has no application; timelessness.” When Isaiah prophesied an everlasting Father, he understood the eternal aspect of Jesus the Messiah. Jesus, who was in the beginning, who created the world and everything in it, who would leave his heavenly kingdom to establish his earthly one, a kingdom without end, and then return to his heavenly throne, where he would rule forever. Jesus who, with God and the Holy Spirit, exists in the eternal present.

How strange it must have felt to him, the awareness of an eternal self in a temporal human body. To be temporarily subject to time and its inevitable process of growth and decay. But we hold that in common with our Lord, for we also are an eternal self in a temporal human body. Our physical selves get sick, age, and die, but our eternal selves exist outside of time, where they are not subject to its ravages. And a peek ahead, to the resurrection of Jesus, shows us that our post-resurrection bodies will be material but also eternal, not subject to time or to the regular laws of nature.

To ancient philosophers and modern physicists, time is only an illusion. This should not be news to Christians. We follow and serve an everlasting God, an eternal savior, who is ever creating, ever sustaining, ever redeeming. The verb tense for all that he is accomplishing is the present continuous or present progressive, naming all that is presently happening and indefinitely ongoing. The everlasting Jesus calls to the eternal within us, and the eternal within us responds with a grateful hallelujah and an enthusiastic yes! For he has come and is coming to rescue us, to gather us back to him, and to make us whole and holy. All praise to the everlasting God!

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Call Him Mighty (Isaiah 9:6, Colossians 1:16)

Every season of the year offers its own special beauty. As winter finally creeps into Iowa, the plants that had continued to bloom through the long, slow autumn now begin their descent into sleep. Birds and butterflies have already taken wing, migrating to their winter havens. Other animals have stepped up their food gathering and storage, preparing for the scarcity that January brings. The writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us, “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.” The triune and mighty God—Father, Son, and Spirit—designed and made the world this way. When creation burst into existence at his command, every speck of matter was obedient to him. From the tiniest quark to the enormity of the universe itself, everything visible and invisible is under the authority of Jesus.

Creation is an ongoing process. Everything that lives is constantly growing and changing. Every moment, Jesus is recreating the universe and everything in it. Every morning we wake up to a new world. And the miracle of Advent is that those who love and follow Jesus experience a special renewal. We are his new creation, designed for the work he has planned for us. As the world prepares for its spring rebirth and summer abundance in the midst of the darkness of winter, so also our hearts prepare for beautiful renewal and fruitfulness in the midst of this dark and broken world. For our Hope is coming. The Light of the World is near. The Kingdom is among us. Immanuel.

Albert Camus wrote, “In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.” Jesus, the Mighty God, is alive in us, giving us the strength to persevere through this present darkness. Although the world in its current state might tempt us to despair, we must not lose hope. Our lives are not pointless, and our faith is not in vain. The Mighty God is coming, and he will bring salvation to all who believe in him. He will bring relief from suffering and death. He will bring hope and the assurance of his sovereignty over all. He will bring life, the kind of life that persists through the forlornness of winter, showing us anew that we who answer his call carry within us an invincible summer.

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Call Him Wonderful (Isaiah 9:6, Colossians 1:15, 18-19)

Fun fact: by some estimates, the vocabulary of the English language includes roughly a million words, give or take. Yet, most of us tend to use only a fraction of the huge variety available to us. That means some words get overused to the point that they become cliché. Some words that our grandparents considered extremely impolite and rarely if ever spoke have had their sharp edges worn off over time. Some words have had their original impact blunted through overuse. And some words have taken on new meanings altogether through misuse. English vocabulary is an ever evolving organism.

Take the word “wonderful,” for example. We use it all the time. You got a new job? Wonderful! How was your vacation? Wonderful! Baby on the way? Wonderful! But what if there was more to the meaning of “wonderful” than simply “great”? If we look back at Isaiah 9:6 in the original Hebrew, the word translated as “wonderful” means remarkable or incomprehensible; that which excites or causes wonder; a splendid or conspicuous work; a marvel; a miracle. Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary adds a modern touch: surprising; strange; astonishing. Does that give you goosebumps? So much more than just plain great, isn’t it?

What about “counselor”? When we read this we probably imagine an adviser, someone who offers perspective and wisdom, who can design a plan to help us through a dark or troubling time. But if we look at Micah 4:9, we see a counselor equated with a king. So Jesus, the Wonderful Counselor, will design and carry out a royal and marvelous plan, one that will help us through our present darkness. He will do a miraculous thing! And we know, because we know the entire story, that he does just that: a splendid and conspicuous work, incomprehensible to us mere humans. Remarkable and strange, surprising and astonishing. Wonderful!

We are starving for wonder. In our attempts to explain everything scientifically, we have scrubbed the mystery right out of the world. But in this season of Advent, this holy and wondrous season, mystery reenters our lives in the form of a God who took on flesh and came into the world as a newborn child, growing into a man in whom all the fullness of God would dwell. The perfect image bearer of the Almighty. Call him a marvel, a miracle. Call him the strange and astonishing God-King. Call him Wonderful. Come, let us adore him!

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Pastor Josh VanLeeuwen

Podcast 11-26-17

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Podcast 11-19-17

Pastor Jake Parks

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Podcast 11-12-17

Pastor Jake Parks

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Let Us Bring Glory to God (Psalm 115:1, Colossians 3:1-17) Pastor Josh VanLeeuwen

In the final seconds of the game, the quarterback puts on a burst of speed and rockets into the end zone for the winning touchdown. Elated, he spikes the ball and does his signature celebratory dance, and the crowd goes wild. He’s their hero, at least in this moment. As the rest of the team piles onto the field, perhaps fans recall that the quarterback didn’t win the game all by himself. It was a team effort, right? Sometimes we forget that a winning team isn’t just the players: it’s also the coaching staff, who mentored and trained the athletes, helping them to give their best effort; the players’ families, who supported their kids as they grew up, sometimes sacrificing their own needs to give their sons opportunities to learn and play; the players’ schools and their teachers and staff, who encouraged them and got them started in the sport; the fans, who stood by their team, even when they weren’t winning, because they believed that eventually everything would come together for a winning game and a winning season.

But what about the One who created that athlete’s body? The One who breathed life into his lungs? The One who instilled this young man with dedication and discipline and purpose? How often do we remember to praise the One without whom there would be no quarterback? No fans? No game? Sometimes we glorify the athlete and forget all about God, to whom all the glory really belongs. Of course, sometimes the player who scores that winning touchdown indicates with a forefinger pointing skyward that he’s aware of his Creator’s role in his achievement, and he offers credit to God. How often do we acknowledge our Maker in our own achievements? How often do we give God the credit and glory for what we’ve accomplished? “Not to us,” the psalmist wrote, “O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”

Colosse was once a leading city in Asia Minor, but by Paul’s time it had become greatly diminished in significance. Thanks to a man named Epaphras, who had been converted to the faith during Paul’s ministry in Ephesus, there was a church in Colosse. Unfortunately, the young church had been a target for heretical attack, and Epaphras journeyed to Rome to seek guidance from Paul, who then wrote this letter to the Colossians. In it he addressed a number of heresies, reminding the people that Jesus is Lord and head of the church and warning them against false teachers and other issues. He advised them to focus on “things above, not on earthly things.” He told them that, yes, they used to defer to their earthly habits and desires, but now, because they had been raised with Christ, they needed to rid themselves of things like anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language. Now, as the holy and dearly loved children of God, they should clothe themselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. They should forgive one another, as Christ forgave them. And above all, they should love one another in unity and peace.

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of unity and peace in our world today. Even in the church there is conflict and division. What would Paul advise us to do? No doubt he would remind us that we are the body of Christ, tasked with the mission of bringing the good news of salvation to the world. We are to be a light to those living in darkness. An example of wholeness to a very broken world. We should set aside our differences to come together in unity for the mission Jesus appointed us to do. And remember, he would say: “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Not to us, O Lord, but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness!

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Let Us Be Saved By Christ (Acts 4:1-22)

Soon we’ll be entering the season of Advent. We’ll be remembering how an angel visited a young woman named Mary and told her that she had been chosen to bear the son of God. She was to name this child Jesus, meaning “to rescue” or “to deliver.” Many people whose stories are told in the Bible have appropriately descriptive names: Adam (“red earth,” which describes the clay from which he was formed), Moses (“drawn from the water,” the name given to him by Pharaoh’s daughter), Ruth (“friend”), David (“beloved”), Peter (“stone”). Names are important. When our parents name us, how can they know who we will become? Mary knew exactly who her baby boy would be: the Son of the Most High.

During his earthly ministry, Jesus, the living Word, preached. He taught about his Father and about his mission on earth. He performed miracles of healing, even restoring the dead to life. And he promised his disciples, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:12-14). There is power in the name of Jesus, power to continue the work Jesus did until his ultimate mission: our salvation. Peter experienced this power personally when, calling on the name of Jesus, he healed a crippled beggar.

Naturally, the local religious authorities weren’t happy about this. They had assumed that crucifying Jesus would disband his disciples and put an end to his influence. They didn’t count on the Holy Spirit. When the rulers, elders, and teachers of the law, along with the high priest and his family, asked Peter and John by what power or name they had accomplished this miracle of healing, Peter, filled with and emboldened by the Holy Spirit, replied: “know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. . . . Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” The authorities couldn’t suppress the news about the miracle. The best they could come up with was warning Peter and John not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

Salvation is found only in Jesus Christ. Solus Christus. Stuart Townend wrote it beautifully in his modern hymn:

“In Christ alone my hope is found;

He is my light, my strength, my song;

This cornerstone, this solid ground,

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My comforter, my all in all—

Here in the love of Christ I stand.”

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Let Us Be Gifted With Grace (Ephesians 2:1-10)

Take a guess: how many religions would you say are in the world today? According to some estimates, around 4200! (Were you even close?) Religions, which have a public aspect, are distinguished from personal belief systems, worldviews, and cultural systems, so you can only imagine how many personal belief systems there are. Probably around 7.6 billion, which is the world’s current population. Every person views the world a bit differently, so every belief system is somewhat personalized by the believer. What about people who say they don’t believe in anything? That’s a belief system, too!

When we’re talking about major religions, most of us envision the “big five”: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Of these, only three feature a single God, and there’s quite a bit of discussion about whether the Christian God is the same as the Jewish God and the Muslim Allah. Although these three theistic religions have some commonalities, they also have some significant differences. The biggest and most important difference is that of the three, only one offers salvation through no effort by the believer but only as a gift from God: Christianity.

In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul reminded these early Christians that they were dead in their sins. Way back at the very beginning of mankind, God laid down the law: the penalty for sin was death. Eternal separation from the light and love that are God. And for generations, the Jewish people tried to remain in good standing with God by bringing the priests agricultural products and animals to sacrifice on the altar to atone for their sins. Unfortunately, because people, being human, kept on sinning, they had to keep on atoning through their sacrifices. It was an endless cycle. But God had a better plan in mind, and he even hinted at it to the first man and woman as they were being expelled from the garden after their sin: the offspring of the woman would crush the head of the offspring of the serpent. Jesus Christ would destroy Satan, and sin and death would be forever extinguished. So, Paul wrote to the Ephesians, these Christ followers were dead in their sin, but “because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”

The other theistic religions rely on the good works of their adherents to earn their salvation. But, as Paul says, “it is the gift of God—not by works” that we are saved, “so that no one can boast.” God’s favor, which rested on his son, Jesus, also rests on all who confess their sins, accept the free gift of grace through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and repent, or turn away from a life of sin and, in gratitude for this lifesaving gift, allow God through his Spirit to redeem and sanctify their lives. He has good works for us to do, but first comes salvation. Arrogance has no place in the Christian belief system because we are undeserving of salvation and incapable of saving ourselves. Only God, who loves us, pursues us, and reaches out to us, can save us. Our gratitude and humble obedience are the only appropriate response.

This grace is a mystery. Why would God, holiest of holies, even want a relationship with the likes of us sinners? Paul said it: God is rich in mercy, full of kindness, and generous in love. We are the work of his hands, the vessels for his Spirit. He formed us from flesh in his own image, and if we accept his gift of salvation through faith, he will remake us, reclaim us, redeem us. His grace is the only path to the restoration of full relationship with our creator and all of creation and to the life everlasting. Amazing grace, indeed.

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Let Us Be Guided by Scripture (2 Kings 22-23:25)

What is the Bible, exactly? Well, it’s a book, with a cover and lots of pages filled with words arranged in sentences, paragraphs, and chapters. There might be maps and charts. There might be extensive notes, in the case of a study Bible. There might be two translations side-by-side on each page. But physically, it’s still a book. Apparently, it’s a very popular book. According to Guinness World Records: “Although it is impossible to obtain exact figures, there is little doubt that the Bible is the world’s best-selling and most widely distributed book. A survey by the Bible Society concluded that around 2.5 billion copies were printed between 1815 and 1975, but more recent estimates put the number at more than 5 billion” (http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/…/best-selling-book-of…/).

John Wycliffe produced the first hand-written Bible in English in the 1380s, but the oldest known Bible in the world is the Codex Sinaiticus, inscribed in Greek on leaves of parchment in the fourth century A.D. (You can see the pages here:http://www.codexsinaiticus.org/en/manuscript.aspx.) Before the Codex were the Torah and other scrolls. The Bible has existed in some form or other for a very long time. Longevity aside, what is so special about this book? Might it be the scripture it contains and what that means for people who believe in God and follow his laws and precepts?

King Josiah was young, about twenty-six, when he decided to repair the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. Through his secretary he sent instructions and money, collected from the people by the temple’s doorkeepers, to the men who would supervise the work and pay the workers. During the renovation, the high priest reported to the king that he had found the Book of the Law in the temple. When Josiah heard the words of scripture, he was dismayed. “Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book,” he said. Once he had gotten confirmation that God intended to bring disaster to his disobedient people, Josiah took action. Before all the people in the temple, he renewed the covenant in God’s presence, promising to keep the commands, regulations, and decrees with all his heart and soul. The people also pledged themselves to the covenant. Then Josiah had all the idols and shrines and their pagan priests and mediums destroyed. All the kings before Josiah had had access to the same holy book, yet most of them had ignored the law and the covenants.

With more than five billion copies of the Bible in print, it stands to reason that everyone who wants this book owns at least one, and everybody has access to scripture through the local library or the internet. But having access to the book isn’t enough. Like King Josiah, we must read the scriptures and take them to heart, and then we must allow them to influence our lives and guide us. If we have placed other things before God—money, work, sports, hobbies, even family or the church—we might find ourselves convicted of idolatry. We might find our priorities challenged by the words of Jesus or the letters of Paul. All of scripture is important for us to read, even the Old Testament stories of the ancient Israelites. We can see ourselves in the accounts of the disobedient and stubborn people, whom God disciplines, rescues, and redeems. Our God is a god of justice and mercy, compassion and grace, power and love. If we want to know him, truly know him, we must read his story. After all, it’s our story, too.

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