New Hope @ Worship 28 Dec 2008

Yes, I am way late in posting this. Busy, busy week.

Since we didn't have worship team practice I decided to go with some songs I thought we knew really well. But I didn't count on all the stronger voices not being here over the weekend. :)

Our God Saves
All the Earth Will Sing Your Praises
How Can I Keep From Singing
(I cut Holy Is the Lord, which I originally had put here)

Just As I Am

The whole "Let It Be Christmas" series inspired this week's message as well "So This Is Christmas." I thought about using the Lennon song "War Is Over - So This Is Christmas", but I'm glad I didn't given what happened with songs we knew. :)

The idea was to take Simeon's experience and compare/contrast it with many our ours as we reflect on Christmas/The Incarnation.

New Hope @ Worship 12/21/2008

The last Sunday before Christmas began the day before with a very successful time of sharing with the families that Sharing and Caring pointed us to. We helped them through the holiday season and that culminated with the delivery of the Christmas presents and holiday foods. Tears and laughter, and a feeling that New Hope had walked with Jesus were the order of the day. Bunny and I were still in Macon, but I could feel the Holy Spirit's work when I talked to those who were on hand.

So we came to worship with worship already underway.

"How Many Kings" by Downhere - a new song for us, and a great one

"Joy to the World"

"Angels We Have hear On High"

"The First Noel"

and then... "Revolution" by the Beatles :) - the close of our "Let It Be Christmas" emphasis this Christmas season.

followed immediately with "Our God Saves"

The idea was to use the secular to enhance the understanding of the sacred. I really think it worked well. It really helped me explain why revolutions not enabled by the Holy Spirit do not achieve anything good or lasting.

This Sunday - You Say You Want A Revolution???

Great music, but that's not a Revolution.

This is:

20 Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said,

“God blesses you who are poor,

for the Kingdom of God is yours.
21 God blesses you who are hungry now,

for you will be satisfied.

God blesses you who weep now,

for in due time you will laugh.

22 What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man.23 When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.

24 “What sorrow awaits you who are rich,

for you have your only happiness now.
25 What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now,

for a time of awful hunger awaits you.

What sorrow awaits you who laugh now,

for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.
26 What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds,

for their ancestors also praised false prophets.

27 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also.30 Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back.31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you.
32 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them!33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much!34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.
35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

37 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. ”
39 Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch?40 Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.
41 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?42 How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

43 “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.44 A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs never grow on thornbushes, nor grapes on bramble bushes.45 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.

46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?47 I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it.48 It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against the house, it stands firm because it is well built.49 But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”
Luke 6:20-49 (NLT)

New Hope @ worship 121408

We continued our "Let It Be Christmas" series with "I Believe In Yesterday" this morning. I think after a couple of weeks of this series, our folks are beginning to get behind inviting their friends and neighbors. It was great to see all the visitors this morning.

This timr of year we try to mix the carols in with other music and today's set reflects that.

O Come O Come Emmanuel

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

Away In A Manger (sung by Kira and Emily)

Your Grace Is Enough

Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

Then Craig sang "Yesterday" right before the sermon.

We finished with "Just As I Am"

Seemed to work together well, and I thought the praise team did great.


The message was crafted to help people break the cycle of guilt, shame, and unforgiving spirits that sometimes surfaces this time of year. Christmas is one of those times we have a tendency to wax nostalgic, and yet not all those memories are good ones. Wish I could have recorded the message, but we were on our third string audio person and I didn't want to throw anything more at him.

But here's the powerpoint. And yes, that cute little boy on Santa's lap is yours truly.

New Hope @ Worship 30 November 2008

We began the "Let It Be Christmas" series today. It was kind of a drag that we couldn't do the song "Across the Universe".

Whole World In His Hands
Better Is One Day
Indescribable
Hosanna

Come Just As You Are

My idea for the message was to put the Christmas Story in context. To bring people to it through the whole scope of Scripture. I used a video from the IBS as a lead in and began with Genesis 1, moved to Malachi and from there to Luke 1 and the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth as an example of how a "Nothing's Going To Change My World" attitude affected them.

I deliberately did not put any Scripture on the powerpoints. This was as close as I have ever gotten to a totally narrative sermon. I read all of Genesis 1, several verses in Malachi, and most of Luke 1. And of course, the equipment failed so no recording. Aaarrrggghhh!

A Let It Be Christmas - "Nothing's Gonna Change My World"

It began so well.

God created it all, everything that there was, out of nothing. Everything was new - and it was good.

But then sin or rebellion if you prefer, crept in through the open door of selfishness. Mankind discovered that it could sin, and that they were good at it. So good they never even went to the trouble of rationalizing or making excuses. Nothing like we would do.

So the perfect couple, created in the image of God, created by Him, created in pure love, left the perfect world created for them and went into the hard places. Oh and they immediately began tearing it down.

It wasn't all that long then, when one brother, angry over God's refusal to accept his offering, killed his brother. For nothing, really.

From that point it just got increasingly worse - to the point that God decided a do over was the best for all concerned. We treat Noah and the Ark as a charming children's story - even doing our baby nurseries in the motif. But the fact is that the flood was needed to wipe out something that was going to consume the entire earth if it wasn't stopped.

Yet after a little while, it began again.

God, ever the faithful One, kept trying with a people no other God would have wanted. The Israelites would benefit from having God's Law, the Torah, and exhibitions of God's power - such exhibitions that the Jews still leave an empty chair when they celebrate the Passover - when God delivered them from slavery.

But they were a stubborn people, often refusing to obey.

Still God tried.

"Give us a King," they said, claiming God was just too complicated - too distant.

And their wish was granted, and that King, a man named Saul, succumbed to the siren call of sin too. He was followed by King David, a "man after God's own heart" who wrote beautiful songs of praise, and also committed adultery and murder.

It just kept getting worse.

God sent prophets - men who spoke for Him - to straighten out the Israelites. They killed some, ignored others. God used Israel's neighbors to punish them, sent the people into exile, scattered them - but to no avail.

So we pick up the story this morning in the last prophet's writings. A man named Malachi, who lived in the southern kingdom of Israel about 500-450 years before the birth of Jesus.

If you pick up the book and skim it, it resembles a pretty familiar occurance in most of our lives. Doesn't it seem to you like the conversation between an exasperated parent and immature teenager? The adult tries his best to get the teen to recognize the issue, and the teen refuses to admit there's any problem with him at all, and if one exists, it has to be with the adult.

- But you say
- But you ask
- But you say, "It's too hard..."

So God begins to close this chapter of His dealings with people. And notice, the final words contain an opportunity to be blessed, or the certainty of a curse.

5 “Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives.6 His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
Mal 4:5-6 (NLT)

And then, silence...............

450 years of silence.

No prophets came forth to speak the words of the Lord.
Neither did the God who freed them from slavery in Egypt remove the boot of Rome from off Israel's neck. The people were oppressed, they were taxed severely, and though a few remained faithful, the majority gave up on God.

Nothing was going to change their world.

We pick up the story again in a book written by a Greek convert to Judaism named Luke. He was a scientist of a sort, a physician, actually, and because this was a discipline still evolving, his main skills centered on observation and recording what he saw. Each case provided him with knowledge he could use again later. So his book opens the way you'd expect it to - with an introduction explaining his purpose and attesting to his trustworthiness.

Luke immediately introduces us to a couple named Zechariah and Elizabeth. In Malachi God referenced a list of His people who did right. These two would have been on any list like that. They were devout believers and faithful in all they did. Still, though they were universally appreciated, and even loved, people knew there must be some sort of curse in their past, or some hidden sin they were paying for - for you see they had no children.

Barrenness back then was thought to be a sign that a person was on the outs with God in some way. So though this older couple were as good as anyone they ever knew, the people who knew them quietly must have whispered their guesses about what their sin could be. It would have followed them everywhere. How many times did Elizabeth turn a corner and hear "there she comes, be quiet" or Zechariah find the men grow silent as he approached?

How heavy a load that must have been. And they carried it for 40, 50, maybe 60 years. People they grew up with had already had their kids - shoot, their kids had had kids, and maybe their kid's kids had too in that culture. But that couple, that old couple, never turned away from God, and never turned on each other.

Zechariah could have divorced her for cause. There's no doubt her barrenness hurt his career as a priest. Instead of the riches of Jerusalem, he was sentenced to the hard life of a small village priest.

You know, when you think about it, that whole "Nothing's gonna change my world" attitude - what they are really saying is that if anything is really going to be different - it is up to me - and that really, I'm not up to it. Right?

We are stuck in a rut and either unable, unwilling, or unmotivated to do whatever needs doing. What percentage of people do you think are living today right there? Right at that point in their life? Maybe 80%

We take a look at the problem and decide it has us licked. And so we just go on with putting one day in line after another. That's what seems to have happened with these two.

Because when Zechariah wins the lottery and gets to represent the nation in God's most Holy presence, he's surprised when God's messenger shows up, and down right insulting in his response to the greatest news he could have ever heard.

11 While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar.12 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him.13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John.14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. 16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God.17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”
18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”
Luke 1:11-18 (NLT)

In other words, if I can't do it, it's impossible.

19 Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news!20 But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”
Luke 1:19-20 (NLT)

Maybe Zechariah needs time to sort out his thoughts. In silence.

Maybe we do too.

Thinking and praying

It's a quiet Saturday morning here. Bunny's watching a movie, Henley's asleep on the floor, and both boys are on the road with Sean taking Adam back home to Georgia. Tomorrow our "Let It Be Christmas" series begins and I've been working and reworking the message and media off and on this week. And I'm praying now. Praying for God to bless us with His presence and more.

My hope in doing a series so out of sync with the traditional way we have approached Christmas has been that our folks would invite their friends and neighbors. That we as a church would reach out into the vast pool of people who have no relationship with God and invite them to draw closer. I have always loved Advent, and the traditions that predate my SBC upbringing. They've helped me appreciate the lives of the millions of the who followed Jesus before I was born.

But we have to find ways to communicate the greatest story ever lived to new ears.

Oh what a story it is.

My plan tomorrow is to bring people up to date with what God is doing by looking back and briefly explaining how we got to the point where we needed Christmas - unpacking the Big Story. Outlining the events - fall, exile, kings, prophets - silence... until one priest heard an amazing message.

It's not over.

There is still hope.

God can change EVERYTHING.

It is something I believe at the very core of my being - this hope.

Many many times it is where I have run to, when there was no where else to go. It was a place given to me, but not without a terrible cost. The gift of not just God's notice, but God's care. Given to me through the sacrifice of God's only son.

Undeserved.

No doubt. And yet cherished - clung to - relied on.

My heart's prayer is that someone else would receive that gift through Jesus' love tomorrow.