This is the message for Christmas Day. I don’t really have a title for this message. I talked about Joseph on Christmas Eve. This message focuses in on Mary. Mary was given a difficult burden to bear. But ultimately it was God’s burden. And God help her to bear it. In the end it was a beautiful burden to bear.
The text for this message is Luke 1:26-38.
This is the last message in our summer series. However, it may be the most important message of them all. Our mission as a church is to make an eternal impact. If we are only impacting the here and now and do not make a dent on eternity, then we have done nothing. For many people, their eternity hangs in the balance. You may be the only person to stand in the gap. Are you ready to go to answer the call?
In this message Bob and Sandi Kessler share an inspiring story from a summer camping trip they had recently taken. The Scripture reading is from Acts 8:26-40.
This week we kick of the last part of our summer message series. In June we focused on Celebrate. In July we focused on Cultivate. Now during the month of August we will focus on Care. These are the three parts of Lord of Life’s vision.
The text for this first message on Care comes from Ephesians 3:7-21. During this message I go verse by verse to show how God has given us the special privilege to be his servants to carry out his mission in this world. During the next few weeks we will talk about what exactly that mission is.
Our special guest speaker next week will be Curt Berg who serves as the director of Care Ministries at Lord of Life.
Jesus is clear about the purpose of the church when he gives his disciples the Great Commission. He tells them to make disciples of all nations. This is what the church is to do. If we are not making disciples then we are simply not doing what Jesus has told us to do.
The church in America does many things well. We are good at building buildings. We spend billions of dollars constructing places of worship.
We are good at putting on performances. Each Sunday people come to sit in their pews or chairs to hear and sing along with the band or organ. To go along the pastor will add an inspirational message. The people go home after the Sunday show is over to come back the next week for another performance.
We are good at putting on programs. We have programs for men, women, children, and youth. We have Bible programs, music programs, missions programs, worship programs, recovery programs, and almost any other type of program you can imagine.
We are good at promoting professional church workers. We lift up leaders with charisma. We buy their best-selling books and share them with our friends. We might follow them on Facebook or Twitter waiting for the next pithy words of wisdom to be uttered from their social media account.
But how well are we doing at making disciples? Are we effective in the most important task Jesus gave us? Are disciples being reproduced among all nations through our efforts? Again, there is no task which is more important.
The task of making disciples is one which is intentional. It does not happen by accident. It does not happen by letting the chips fall where they may. Jesus intentionally chose his disciples to apprentice them as his followers so that they might apprentice others to follow him.
I use the word apprentice here because I fear the word discipleship is often misunderstood. When we talk about discipleship many of us default to thinking about an academic endeavor. We equate discipleship with participating in a Bible Study or reading our Bibles. But it is more than that. Jesus did not gather his disciples at the local synagogue to study the book of Isaiah. No, he brought his disciples with him to heal the sick, cast out demons, feed the 5000, and more. As he lived life with them he taught them how the Scriptures applied to what he was doing. He was apprenticing them as Christ-followers so that they could apprentice other Christ-followers.
It ought to be the goal of every Christian to be leading others to follow Jesus. Discipleship is done one on one. It is not a building that is going to make it happen. It is not the Sunday morning performance that is going to do it. It is not a program or an inspirational charismatic leader that is going to achieve the goal. All of those things can help the process along. But in the end, making disciples is done through people living life and serving together looking at how the Scriptures apply to what they are doing.
At Lord of Life we are in the process of developing the 3C Community for Missional Leadership Development. It is our goal this community would provide an opportunity for you to be apprenticed as a Christ-follower and then to be challenged, equipped, and encouraged to go and apprentice other Christ-followers. To learn how to become part of this community visit Lord of Life’s website at lolchurch.net/3com.
I leave you with Jesus words from Luke 1:17 where he says, “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”
It is the Thursday after Easter, but Jesus is still risen. Jesus is alive. The hope of Easter is not a truth to be lived out on one day of the year, but everyday!
On Easter Sunday I shared that for a resurrection to take place there must first be a death. Without Good Friday there is no Easter Sunday. If we are going to live the new life that Jesus has called us to live we must first die to self. Jesus says, “whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” Matthew 16:25 The path to the resurrection goes through the cross.
I fear at the end of our lives, many of us may regret the things we are striving for today. We are not going to wish we had spent more time at work, on the golf course, or watching tv. We are not going to wish we had a bigger house, a nicer car, or took more extravagant vacations. In the end we will not wish we had got more, but we will wish we had given more.
There are so many people in life going through the motions. They are not living a fulfilled life. They live one paycheck to next and one crisis to the next. The exclamation point at the end of their life will be that they lived and died and not much else. Maybe that is where you are today.
If that is the case you need to know that the resurrection is not limited to an event that took place some 2000 years ago. The resurrection is not just something for you when you die and leave this world. The miracle of the resurrection is for us to take hold of today. It is that we might live a new life. That we might do more than just get by, but that we would live for Jesus. I pray this will be the exclamation point at the end of my life – not that I lived and died, but that I lived for Jesus.
Jesus calls us to follow him. Unfortunately, too many of us are chasing after our dreams and desires that we don’t have the time or the energy to follow Jesus. We are doing what we think is best. However, Proverbs 14:12 says: “There is a a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” Our dreams and desires are not going to take us very far. It is not until we can give up our dreams and desires for Jesus’ dreams and desires that we will take hold of the full and abundant life to which Jesus has called us to (see John 10:10). This is what it means to die to self. It is stepping aside to put Jesus in charge.
I am naive enough to believe with the help of the Holy Spirit that trading my life for the mission of Jesus will change the world. Are you naive enough to believe that with me? If so, I want to invite you to join me at Lord of Life on the five Sundays during month of May as we take a deeper look at what it means to follow Jesus. I can say that these are some of the most challenging messages I have ever prepared. It will be a message series to challenge our status quo. It may make us uncomfortable and stretch us. Following Jesus is never easy. The cost is great. We may give up everything, but we will gain everything.
The Church season of Lent is just around the corner. Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, is March 9. Lord of Life will host a special worship service on that night at 7pm. On that night we practice the imposition of ashes when the sign of the cross is made upon the forehead of the worshippers in ashes. The significance of this action goes back to the Old Testament when God’s people would put on sackcloth and ashes when they were confronted with the significance of their sins. It was a symbolic act of repentance and sorrow. On this night we also come humbly before our Lord asking for forgiveness for our sins and that he would change our hearts.
Lent is a tradition that has been observed from the earliest times of the church. It is a season of reflection and repentance. It is a time to contemplate the tremendous sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross. Many churches will avoid using the word Hallelujah during this time, until the celebration of the resurrection on Easter Sunday. Music in general tends to be more reflective and less celebratory. The color purple is often used which is a color of royalty. Jesus comes as our king, but he does not wear a crown of gold, rather a crown of thorns.
It is also a practice of many Christians to give something up during Lent. This practice is derived from the spiritual discipline of fasting. Fasting is not a discipline that is often practiced in our American culture. The thought of depriving ourselves of anything is not something that many find attractive. The message we hear is that you can have it all. You deserve it. Don’t miss out. Don’t settle for anything less than the best.
However, if truth be told, fasting is not as much about depriving ourselves of anything as much as it is about discovering true riches. It is making a choice to set aside earthly treasure for heavenly treasure. Fasting is not about giving up food for the sake of giving up food, but that you might concentrate more on feasting upon God’s daily bread, the Word of God.
We must guard against making fasting to be a self-serving and gratifying practice. It is not about showing myself or others how spiritual I am. Jesus warns against this in the Sermon on the Mount. The main purpose is not that I better understand or appreciate the sacrifice of Jesus. Giving up chocolate or television for 40 days is not going to help us to begin to come even close to grasping the cost he paid.
So why should I fast then?
To remove any distraction that might get in the way of my relationship with Jesus. Jesus says, “if your hand causes you to sin, then cut it off.” Of course we know that Jesus is using hyperbole to make a point here, but the point is well received. What in your life is interfering with your intimacy with God? Is there anything that is potentially becoming your God and that you rely upon and trust more than him. Then you need to purge it from your life. By removing the distractions in your life, you are then able to hear him better.
To cultivate generosity. The more you trust and rely upon him over and above the things of this world, the more room you will have for generosity. The reason we are not a more generous people is that we have convinced ourselves that we need our food, our money, and our time. We are convinced we “need” these things and cannot do without them. The tighter we hold on to them the harder it is for us to let go. Fasting works to challenge us not hold on too tightly to the things of this world. It challenges us to let them go, and hold tightly on the one from whom all those blessings flow.
Personally, during the season of Lent, it is my plan to fast on Wednesdays. I plan on taking the extra time during lunch to use it for prayer and study of the Bible. I can also take the money that I would have spent on lunch and contribute that to the work of God’s kingdom. If you also plan to give something up during Lent, I would encourage you to also consider how you can use that effort to better hear from God and to advance his kingdom. It’s not really about what you give up, but what you give away.
As I prepare for the next New Member Orientation on March 13 I have been thinking about what it means to be a member of Lord of Life, or of any church for that matter. Over the next couple of weeks I would like to share with you some of these thoughts as you potentially consider participating in the New Member Orientation or give consideration to the covenant you have already made when you became a member of the church.
One thing I must start of by making clear, the purpose of the church is not to make members. When Jesus gave the great commission he did not say go make members of every nation. He said go and make disciples.
With that said, membership plays an important role in the process of making disciples. Membership is a covenant that individuals enter into together with each other. It is a commitment to work together, to support one another, and to suffer for the sake of Jesus’ kingdom side by side. It is much like a marriage commitment. The church is not perfect in the same way you are not perfect. Each has its faults and blemishes, but we are called to practice grace.
Membership is about being part of the body as described in 1 Corinthians 12. There is no one part of the body that is more important than the other. The hand cannot say to the foot, “I don’t need you.” The foot cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” All are equal in importance. Some parts do more of the thinking. Other parts do more of the lifting. But each part is needed if the body is to function effectively. When one part of the body hurts, all parts suffer. When one part celebrates, all parts are filled with joy.
Part of the implication in this is that when I fail, we fail. When we fail, I fail. When I win, we win. When we win, I win. We are in this together. I am part of the church, so when I am critical towards the church or another member in the church, I am critical towards myself. In much the same way that when the “me” becomes “we” in marriage, the “me” becomes “we” when I become part of the church.
The church in America (Lord of Life included) has too much of an us and them mentality. It is sad we see so much divorce in regards to church membership. Often the same problems that affect our marriages are the same problems that affect the commitments we made when we entered into the covenant relationship with the church. There is too much “me” and not enough “we.” In much the same way we move from spouse to spouse, we move church to church, and we see a shift away from “commitment” to what makes us happy.
It is not the way God intended it to be. He did not intend for us to go to church, but to be the church. He has called us to be the church in action. We share the burden and the responsibility of bringing God’s kingdom to earth. This is God’s church. This is our church. Being a member is not about the church making me a better Christian, but about me helping the church better fulfill the great commission and the great commandment. It is not an easy thing to do. There are days when it is difficult to bear with one another in love. There will be times we feel let down and disappointed. There may be times when we are hurt and our hearts are broken. That’s where trust and faith come in to know that God is bigger than anything we face. That’s when we practice forgiveness following the example Jesus gave on the cross. More than anything else, that is when God gives me the opportunity to step forward to stand in the gap and show what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
The big news around here is the big blizzard. Everyone is talking about it. It is going to snow and snow a lot. Everything is cancelled. Schools are closed and events have been called off at Lord of Life. It will be a day to snuggle around the fire place and sip hot chocolate. And don’t forget the shoveling. There will be plenty of that, unless of course you have a broken foot.
It got me to thinking, “what would Jesus do in blizzard?” Of course Jesus lived in an environment that was almost tropical. There were no blizzards in Galilee. But nevertheless, it is fun to speculate.
I seem to remember Jesus said something about loving your neighbor. It is times like these when we can practice that love. There are plenty of opportunities to serve others when the snow begins to fly. Seek to be that blessing we are called to be. There are driveways and sidewalks to be shoveled, cars to be dug out and pushed. In times when we often live in isolation of our neighbors, this is one of those opportune times to build those bridges and to connect with them. There are no doubt neighbors in your neighborhood with special needs and would appreciate the extra bit of help with all this snow.
Along with connecting with our neighbors, it is an opportunity to connect with our families. Many of us will have a day at home tomorrow with the kids. Families are often running here and there and everywhere. I know at Lord of Life we had a whole bunch of activities scheduled. But for many of us we will be at home with no place to go. What a great opportunity to spend time with our spouses and our children and to build those relationships. As inconvenient as the snowstorm may be, there can be some hidden blessings. Make sure to give God thanks for the downtime along with the extra time to spend with family. Use this storm as an opportunity to create some memories that will last for years to come.
In the end we don’t need to speculate what Jesus would do in a blizzard. We get to see what he does. We recognize that we are his hands and we are his feet. As the church we get to be Jesus for others. We represent him as his people. The church building may be closed tomorrow, but the church will scattered all over the Fox Valley. Let’s be the blessing and represent the Savior wherever we may be in a way that would make him proud.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? Luke 14:28
The year of 2010 is about to come to a close. It has been some year. No doubt it has been a year filled with both joys and sorrows along with setbacks and breakthroughs.
The end of the year is an opportune time to sit back and to review the past year and to plan for the year ahead. It is good opportunity to ask yourself some tough questions about where you have been, where you are going, and where the Lord might be leading you. I would encourage to take some time to do this during your daily devotions sometime in the next week for a year end wrap up and a new year ramp up. Here are some questions you might consider asking yourself. This list is by no means a comprehensive list.
Ask yourself about your relationship with the Lord. Have I grown closer or further away from the Lord during this past year? Why? What spiritual discipline are I going to seek to grow in this year? Prayer? Scripture memorization? Journaling? Worship? Serving? And what is my specific plan to grow in that discipline?
Ask yourself about your finances. Are there any debts I am carrying? Do I have a plan to pay that debt off in the next year? Are there any unnecessary expenses I can trim from my budget to simply my life and give me opportunity better serve my Lord?
Ask yourself about your relationships. Is there anyone I need to ask forgiveness from? Is there anyone I need to forgive? How is my marriage? Is there more I can do to better encourage my spouse? Do I have a plan to help enrich my marriage? Have I scheduled vacation time away from work to focus on my family?
Ask yourself about your physical fitness. How much do I weigh? Am I ok with that? What can I do to get where I need to be? Am I getting adequate exercise? How can I make my physical fitness more of a priority?
Ask what is in your hand. When Moses encountered the Lord at the burning bush, Moses doubted his ability and his calling. God then asked Moses a question. The question was: “what is that in your hand?” It was a shepherds staff. God would use that staff to accomplish great things through Moses. You also have special gifts which God has put in your life. Ask what has God given me as a special skill or talent? How might I better use that gift for his glory and kingdom purposes? Is there some new ability I might strive to learn or master in the next year? Maybe it is playing a musical instrument. Maybe it is sewing. Maybe it is photography. Maybe it is writing. Maybe it is wood-working.
Then set your goals and write out our plan. Winston Churchill is credited with saying: Failing to plan is planning to fail. Many of us have our bucket list of “someday” items. But if we never plan, that someday will never come.
I do want to offer you a word of caution. Don’t try to do it all at once. Many of us over-estimate what we can do in the short term, but under-estimate what we can do over a longer period of time. We will often bite off more than we can chew and give up in frustration after a short time. You might have several different areas in your life in which you are hoping to be a better steward. Don’t try to take them all at once. Focus on one or two. Maybe this year you want to focus on finances and spiritual disciplines. Work on mastering those two areas of your life before you move on to focusing in other areas.
Finally, recognize that unless the Lord builds the house, it builders labor in vain. (Psalm 127:1) It is important we do it God’s way and not our way. If we do it our way, our plans are destined to fail. But if we do it God’s way and trust in his supply we cannot go wrong. So let’s make 2011 to be a year all for Him!