Local Church Details, Part 11: Fellowship 101
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By Jon Buck & Jason Park
Perfect Timing
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by Jason Park
Do you tend to arrive early or late to appointments? Does the party start when the invitation says it’s supposed to start or when everyone arrives?
Each of us invariably falls into one of these camps. And we try to be on time. But it can be a challenge as schedules fill up. We are often hard-pressed to make time or be on time.
Thankfully, God has a different relationship with time. He created it; He stands over it. He is never rushed, never late, never making up for lost time, never trying to find time. His timing is always perfect, down to the second.
What seems late or early to us just seems that way. But with God, since He has planned every detail from eternity past, history unfolds with divinely exacting precision.
So, at the right time, Jesus Christ was born. Paul says in Galatians 4:4, “when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son.” The timing was just ripe. Not a minute too early or late, but when everything that needed to be fulfilled up to that point was fulfilled, God sent forth His long-awaited Son to give His people – us – the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of our sins (Luke 1:77).
Think about everyone who longed for His coming (1 Pet 1:10-12; Heb 11:39-40). Generations of saints waited for their Messiah to no avail. But only when God determined it was right, He sent His forth His Son into Mary’s womb through the Holy Spirit.
Just marvel at how all the moving pieces of Christ’s birth fell into place, not by accident, but by God’s power and grace. Worship the Lord that He executed His will so that we would be those “upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Cor 10:11). So, let’s rest in God’s timing. It’s always wisest and best – whether in the incarnation or in any area of our lives.
He knows what He’s doing.
The Beginning and the End
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by Jon Buck
"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago,
from the days of eternity.”
~ Micah 5:2
If you’re like most people, the tense of verbs is something that you use by rote, but don’t think too much about. Conversation rarely turns to grammar over the holiday meal.
But this passage in Micah has a marv!elous set of parallel statements that tell us something about the coming Messiah. Twice Micah uses the phrase ‘going forth’ (the root word in Hebrew is the same in both statements).
Micah tells us that someone ‘will go forth’ from Bethlehem who will one day be the king of Israel. A day is coming (in the future for Micah) when the promise would be fulfilled and the Messiah would come who would fulfill the Davidic covenant. Born in David’s home town of Bethlehem, this son of David would someday rule.
And, of course, we know who and when that was—the very first Christmas with the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Angels sang about the birth of the One who had come to the ‘city of David’—the Savior.
But remarkably, Micah uses the same word, but in the past tense. Prior to the days of Micah, this same One, this same Messiah, had already gone forth. In fact, Micah says that His goings forth are from eternity! This One who would come in the end is the One who has always been from the beginning—this is the Messiah, the Lord, Yahweh.
No wonder then, when Jesus identifies Himself to John at the end of the Revelation, He says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Rev. 22:13).
The prophet Micah looked forward and saw the coming of the One who had always been.
The angels sang of the One who had come who was the Lord.
Jesus Himself told John that He was the One who is the beginning and the end.
Jesus is not only the future tense, or the past tense. Jesus is all tenses in one great being. He is the eternal God, and He has taken on flesh in order to give His life as a ransom for the many. This, above all else, is the great message of Christmas.
The Cosmic Birth
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by Jason Park
In the middle of the book of Revelation (ch. 12), John sees a panoramic vision of Satan (as a red dragon), Israel (pictured as a pregnant woman), and Christ (as the child of that woman). It spans from the devil’s fall from heaven to the Great Tribulation, immediately prior to the second coming of our Lord.
The red dragon is hell-bent on doing one thing: devouring her male child (12:4). The dragon stands before the woman awaiting this birth. He is rapacious to destroy this woman, her child, and His people; this is what he lives for.
But this is a special woman and a special child…she is God’s chosen nation, and He is God’s anointed Son. God loves Israel; He’s made promises to her; and He will do everything in His sovereign power to keep her from ultimate harm. And we see His plans for her unfold in the 7-year Tribulation. Plans which started in eternity past and will culminate in the coming of His Son and on into the eternal Kingdom.
But square in the middle of that glorious timeline is the birth of this male child. A son of the woman, a son of David, a son of Judah, a son of Abraham, a son of Noah, a son of Adam and Eve. Into time and space, into our fallen history, came this male child, into an era with an evil Herod, who did everything in his power to kill Him. And into an era with a people-pleasing Pilate and a jealous, glory-hungry group of Jewish leaders who should have led their people into submission under Him, but instead, murdered Him.
He was born to die. But He was also born to be caught up to God and to His throne upon His resurrection. This male child is no ordinary son – He is the Son who is to rule all the nations. A human child but divine, of Joseph and Mary, but also of God. This is the Son we are waiting for, our blessed hope (Titus 2:13). The One who will shatter His enemies like earthenware (Psa 2:9).
The One who will bless “all who take refuge, who trust, in Him” (Psa 2:12).
And the devil has no hold on Him…whether He’s in a manger, on the cross, or physically absent from the earth. The Son will one day rule with a rod of iron. And we do well to worship Him with reverence and rejoice in Him all that His birth entails…with trembling.
God and Government at Christmas
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by Jon Buck
"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago,
from the days of eternity.”
~ Micah 5:2
It’s rare to find someone who is not frustrated by government actions. One of the biggest sources of news in our nation and around the world is politics. When the party we support is in power, they are never doing enough. When the party we support is out of the power seat, we are frustrated and angry with the other party.
What’s more, we find ourselves often frustrated and upset by the actions of the government. Particularly during these recent days of COVID-19, our lives have been filled with hassle, inconvenience, and government control. We might be tempted to think that these things aren’t from God’s hand!
However, consider the inconvenience in the lives of Joseph and Mary that made it possible for Jesus to be born in Bethlehem!
Remember - this little family lived in Nazareth. That would be fine, of course, and Jesus could have easily been born there. But if that had occurred, God’s promise through the prophet Micah would have been invalidated.
God had promised the city of Bethlehem that the ruler of Israel would be from that small town. But God also needed to have Jesus be from Nazareth! So how to accomplish both of these events in the same moment?
Simple: Have the ruler of the known world issue a decree that a census must be taken.
Every single person under the dominion of the Roman Empire (Luke says ‘all the inhabited earth’) had to return to their own city in order to register for the census.
And so, at great inconvenience for a woman who is 9 months pregnant, and at great cost for a poor carpenter, Joseph and Mary travel to Bethlehem. The promise is fulfilled.
Could God have moved this little family to Bethlehem without such massive political events? Of course! But, rest assured, when government forces inconvenience on us, these things are not by accident. God is accomplishing great things for His people!
Kindness and Love
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by Jason Park
Have you ever considered how we expect people to be kinder during Christmas? During Christmas, we expect the world to somehow automatically extend kindness and love in ways it isn’t moved to do so during the rest of the year.
But here’s the cold, hard truth: Christmas also brings out the worst in us. It brings out impatience, jealousy, grumbling, harshness, and all manner of selfishness. Non-profits make their biggest fundraising push during this season because, after all, it’s Christmas. But the season has no magic power to change us…decorations, lights, egg nog, gifts, etc., have no power to transform a world “enslaved to various lusts and pleasures” (Titus 3:3).
In fact, we should know better. Paul reminds Titus in the same verse that “we also once were foolish ourselves.” So, how can we “be ready for every good deed” out of peacable and gentle hearts (Titus 3:1)? How can we show “every consideration for all men” (Titus 3:2)? We can consistently and comprehensively show kindness and love because “the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared” when Jesus was born (Titus 3:4).
Spreading Christmas cheer only happens because Christmas cheer has graciously invaded our sin-cursed world and then our sin-cursed hearts. Because when God’s kindness and love appeared, God saved us not by our kindness but by His mercy (Titus 3:5). He saved us by washing us brand new by the Holy Spirit whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior (Titus 3:5-6).
Christmas confirms God’s kindness and love for all mankind, even for the whole rabble of rebels who did not see fit to love Him as He deserves and show kindness to each other. So, when we get together with our families, and tensions can run high (even though we’re supposed to be kind!), let’s remember His kindness and love toward each of us. Let’s consider that when those appeared in the birth of our Savior, it meant that we would be children of God (Titus 3:7). And let that reality seep into us till we exude kindness and love to each other, no matter what.
The Pain and the Purpose
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by Jon Buck
"Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.” ~ John 12:27
The verse above gives us a special insight into the mind of Christ as the day of His death drew near. Speaking to Himself before a crowd, Jesus expresses that His soul is troubled. The word expresses deep emotional distress.
His distress, we know, is that the cross is fast approaching. The moment when He would face all the accumulated wrath of His Almighty Father for every sin of every person who would ever believe in Him.
Jonathan Edwards pictures this moment, as Christ stares into this furnace of God’s wrath.
“He had then a near view of that furnace of wrath, into which he was to be cast; he was brought to the mouth of the furnace that he might look into it, and stand and view its raging flames, and see the glowings of its heat, that he might know where he was going and what he was about to suffer. This was the thing that filled his soul with sorrow and darkness, this terrible sight as it were overwhelmed him. For what was that human nature of Christ to such mighty wrath as this? It was in itself, without the supports of God, but a feeble worm of the dust, a thing that was crushed before the moth, none of God's children ever had such a cup set before them, as this first being of every creature had.”
No wonder then that, as the hour drew near for Christ to bear this weight, to drink this cup, He would be troubled in His soul.
In every other trial of His life, He had turned to His Father in heaven for relief, protection and care. The Father heard each request of the Son, and answered because of His submission to the Father’s will.
But in this most intense moment of His sufferings, Christ realized that when He turned for help to His Father, He would find the very wrath that troubled His soul. For the first time in the history of the universe, Christ would be under the wrath of His heavenly Father—this would be the great moment of His suffering.
He sees this reality, and asks a simple question—“What shall I say?” In other words, what can He do? Can He appeal to the Father to save Him from this hour? The answer, terribly and gloriously, is no. It was for this very purpose that He had come to the earth!
Christ’s entrance into the world, the Christmas that brings us such joy, was the start of a long road leading to this moment of intense pain. Each event, from His birth to this moment of suffering, had this as its single purpose—that He would drink the cup of the Father’s wrath.
No wonder that the prophet Isaiah tells us that Jesus bore our griefs and carried our sorrows, because the Lord ‘caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.’ From birth to death, our pain was His purpose.
Grace Has Appeared
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by Jason Park
After ten verses of instruction on “the things which are fitting for sound doctrine” (2:1), Paul explains to Titus the reason why our lives ought to accord with the gospel. It’s very simple: because God’s grace has appeared.
In the doctrine of God our Savior (2:9), grace has shone forth. The Light has come into the world. Where? How? In the birth of our Lord and Savior.
In Christ, God’s grace in salvation “was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Tim 1:9). But now, in history, God’s gracious purposes in saving darkened, sin-bound souls has been made gloriously visible in the appearing of our Christ.
By His appearance, He has abolished death – He died so that we would not perish eternally. Not only that, but by His death and resurrection, Jesus “brought life and immortality to light through His gospel” (2 Tim 1:10). So now in Him, we have eternal life, and we have the hope of an indestructible, incapable-of-sinning body, just like the one He has.
And the dawning of this sin-piercing grace is for “all men” – so that many, you and me, from every tribe and tongue and people and nation would be among those whom Christ has purchased for God with His precious blood (Rev 5:9).
The fruits of a life remade by this grace are inevitable and undeniably present in every believer. But in order to live such a life, we must always be attaching ourselves to this grace. We must be anchored by it (Heb 6:19), tasting it (1 Pet 2:3), seeing it (2 Cor 3;18), and letting it dwell in our hearts richly (Col 3:16).
And take heart, we didn’t make the first move in any of this…God did. His grace in His glorious Son appeared to us, with us, and for us. His grace always makes the first move, always pursues sinners, and always forgives and restores those who respond to it by humble faith.
That’s what Christmas reminds us – where sin abounds, grace super-abounds (Rom 5:20). And nowhere did it super-abound more brilliantly than in a lowly virgin’s womb and then nine months later, in a manger in Bethlehem. This is how God chose to have His grace come to us…let that fill us with wonder and with worship.
Hearts Revealed
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by Jon Buck
“And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed…to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” ~ Luke 2:34-35
We discover from Luke’s gospel that the old man Simeon had been waiting for a special day. As a righteous and devout man, God had revealed to him that He would not die until he had seen the coming Messiah. He must have been quite old, because when he sees Jesus and His parents, his first words expressed thankfulness to be able to die in peace!
He must have been waiting and watching daily, praying that the Lord would make it clear which of the many children coming to be dedicated was the true Messiah.
On that special day, however, Simeon entered the temple, found Jesus and His parents, and blessed God for the coming of the Messiah as he held the baby in his arms.
Interestingly, his words about the birth of Jesus Christ are as true today as they were that special day so many years ago.
The birth of Christ reveals the thoughts of the heart.
How we respond to the birth of the Son of God is perhaps the single greatest test of the thoughts of our hearts.
The one who knows and loves God will rejoice at the glory of the coming of the Son of God. Christmas becomes a season of joy, not for presents or for family or for other blessings primarily, but for the glory and wonder of the Gospel. We love the truth that our Savior has come—our Immanuel!
To others, however, the birth of Jesus Christ is something that is either unimportant or, even worse, repugnant.
God’s glory in the coming of the Messiah still pierces into the hearts of men and women. Jesus reveals who we really are. How we respond to Him, both in His life and His death, tells us all we need to know about ourselves.
Increase and Decrease
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by Jason Park
John the Baptist’s last testimony encapsulated his entire life and ministry: I am not the Christ. In John 3:27-36, he gives a stunning litany of truths about Jesus Christ in contrast to himself: Christ is the bridegroom, not John, Christ is from heaven, not John; Christ speaks the words of God directly from God, not John; Christ has been given all things by His loving Father, not John; Christ is the source of eternal life; not John.
From the very beginning of Christ’s ministry, John pointed away from Himself to declare the singular glory of Christ. In John 1:29, he declares that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Here in John 3:28, John reiterates that he is not the Christ. In fact, from the very beginning, John exalted Christ, not himself, as he leaped for joy in his mother’s womb when she came into contact with the pregnant Mary (Luke 1:44). And in being sent ahead of Christ and pointing to Him and then finally seeing Him, John’s pre-born joy “has been made full” (Jn 1:29).
The joy of Christmas is in proclaiming to our hearts and to each other the same message as John’s: The Son of God has come into the world to speak the very words of God, to give the Holy Spirit without measure, and to take away our sins. That joy leaps in our hearts because we know what these truths mean in our hearts. And so, we point others to Christ, calling them to believe in Him for eternal life.
Is Jesus my joy? Your joy? Or is life fundamentally about me? About my glory? About my desires? If so, Christmas will not be a time of joy because joy only comes through worshiping Christ. Joy, true and lasting joy, is not found here on the earth; it was never meant to be.
But as we realize the gifts we have been given through Christ, we cannot help but leap for joy at our Messiah. As the glory of Christ fills our hearts and takes up more and more of our field of vision, He increases, and we decrease. And as He increases, so too our joy.
Let Him in. Let more of Him in. Let more of His word dwell in your hearts this season. For His glory…and for your joy.
The True King
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by Jon Buck
“Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” ~ John 19:37
In the final days of His life, Jesus went back and forth between world leaders. From Pilate to Herod, and back to Pilate again, before being condemned to die by the demand of the Jews.
As He stood before these leaders, willingly submitting Himself to the governing authorities established by His Father, He spoke many words of truth. However, in His conversation with Pilate, He has a fascinating conversation.
Pilate asks Christ if He is a King, and Christ responds in the affirmative. Jesus is indeed a King. All the human authorities around Him—Pilate, Herod, Caesar, and the rest—were nothing. The true King was Jesus. He had the only true authority to rule over the nation of Israel, and indeed over the world.
And yet, He stands before Pilate, submitting Himself to questioning by the rulers of the world.
But why?
He tells us Himself. He was born, and has come into the world, for a single purpose. The purpose for His coming into the world was not to take His rightful place as King, but to testify to the truth of the Gospel. He hadn’t yet come to rule, to reign, or to judge, but had come to be a witness regarding the Gospel.
But had anyone heard? Had anyone ‘believed the message’ as the prophet Isaiah had asked (53:1)? Jesus says that they have indeed—everyone who is of the truth hears His message of the Gospel and believes.
This promise—the promise of forgiveness for sins through the death He is about to endure—when believed, brings the believer into the truth.
Hearing is believing. And believing is being part of the very truth of the Gospel.
The one who is of the truth is no longer subject to Pilate, Herod, Caesar or the others. Instead, he is subject to Christ. He is ‘of the truth.’
Jesus was born to lead a new group of people—a new nation—as their true King. This King and His people willingly submit to the earthly authorities and understand that this world is not their home and their King has led them into true freedom through the truth.
Christmas is the call of the Gospel to join with the true King who has come as a witness of the truth. Are you a part of His kingdom? Do you hear His voice?
God With Us
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by Jason Park
The second of two names given to our Lord is “Immanuel,” from the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14. This verse describes how a virgin will give birth to a son and that people will call his name “Immanuel.” Matthew inserts the translation of this Hebrew term – it means “God with us.”
Now, Jesus is never called “Immanuel” in any of the Gospels or in the rest of the New Testament. So, the name symbolizes the profound mystery of a man who is also God. And that mystery is at the heart of the incarnation, at the heart of the nature of Christ, and at the heart of His glorious ministry to bear our sins as our substitute on the cross.
Because Christ is “God with us,” we know God is for us and not against us (Rom 8:31). We know that He will never desert us nor forsake us (Heb 13:5). We know that we have a sympathetic great High Priest who passed through the heavens only after He became sin for us (Heb. 4:14-15; 2 Cor 5:21). We know He is able to come to aid of those who are tempted because He was tempted in His sufferings (Heb 2:18). We know He is our Advocate with the Father who is the propitiation for our sins (1 Jn 2:1-2). We know that He sits at the right hand of God interceding for us (Rom 8:34). We know that He abides in us and we in Him (1 Jn 4:13).
And yet, Christ ascended in a resurrected body and remains in that state forever fills our hearts with fear and wonder. How could the One through whom God made the universe be robed in flesh though He returned to His preincarnate glory? Why would He choose to remain in a body, even in a glorified one? Because Christ loves us. And He wants to be one of us, one with us, and to show just how much He wants to dwell with us and have us dwell with Him.
What will it be like to know God with us in the flesh, when our eyes finally lock with His and faith turns to sight? Christmas points us to that future hope. But in the meantime, though Christ be absent in the flesh, He is with us…God with us…and that makes all the difference in the world.
A Lifelong Rescue Mission
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by Jon Buck
“For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.” ~ Luke 19:10
We’ve all heard of rescue missions that have become the stuff of legend.
Think of the daring night flotilla at Dunkirk during WWII to rescue the British soldiers. Or read about the stunning rescue by the Israeli Defense Force of the hostages held by the PLO at Entebbe Airport. Or we can remember hearing stories of daring rescues of lost hikers and skiers during storms.
These stories grip our imaginations because we recognize the remarkable courage of the rescuers who sometimes must give their lives to save others.
But without question the greatest rescue mission in the history of the world happened on the very first Christmas when Jesus was born.
He didn’t come into the world with all the accoutrements of a rescuer—guns, ammo, camouflage, or mountaineering equipment. No - instead Jesus came into the world in the likeness of human flesh with a mission from His heavenly Father. He came to seek and save those who were lost because of their sin.
In fact, the entire course of Jesus’ life had this single-minded goal. He was born and lived and died for this single purpose. His weapon for saving the lost was His own life. He lived a life of perfect righteousness in order to satisfy God’s requirement for heaven. And, by offering Himself, His very body, on the cross as a sacrifice for sin, He atoned for the sins of His people.
But He also did something else remarkable, He sought out the lost. He pursued them in order to save them. And far better than the best rescue story, Jesus pursued those who were lost, and who hated their rescuer!
The story of Christmas is really a thrilling story of rescue and a willing Rescuer who has sought and saved sinners like us. How stunning to remember that the baby in the manger is the greatest Rescuer the world has ever known!
Light in Darkness
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by Jon Buck
“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.” ~ John 3:19
I’m sure at some point you’ve been startled in the night by a loud sound. You jump out of bed, wondering what’s happened. In that moment, with everything dark, your mind can wander to all sorts of things! An intruder. An animal. A sleepwalking child.
When things are dark, you need light. You stumble to the switch, turn on the light, and figure out what’s going on.
But imagine in that scenario hating the light. Imagine rejecting it. Choosing at that moment to close your eyes tightly in order to stay in the dark. How insane!
And yet, this is precisely what Jesus says happened when He came into the world.
He brought spiritual Light and life. He came as the shining God-man, glorious beyond all description in His character and work. And, stunningly, He came to offer righteousness and communion with God as a free gift! John says that 'the Light was the life of men' (John 1:4). Jesus came offering forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.
But Jesus says that the judgment on the world was not from Him, but that they loved the darkness instead of the Light. Jesus came, and they shut their eyes and denied that the light was on.
Why? Because their deeds were evil. They loved darkness because they wanted to sin. They squeezed their eyes shut because in the darkness, they could sin with impunity. But the Light showed them that they needed a Savior.
That’s still what Jesus is doing today—shining as a Light in the world, and offering Light and life to men who are in darkness. Christmas each year is the same event, in one sense. It is the reminder that Jesus has come with salvation and healing and mercy for sinners. I hope that you love the Light and worship Him for His great love for sinners like you!
“You shall call His name Jesus”
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by Jason Park
When the angel Gabriel informs Joseph of “the Child who has been conceived in her” by the Holy Spirit (Matt 1:20), he uses two names for this “Son” (v. 21).
The first name, the name by which we know Him best, is “Jesus.” And the angel tells Joseph why the Son’s name is to be “Jesus” – “for He will save His people from their sins” (v. 21). The name “Jesus” is the Greek form of “Joshua,” which means “the Lord saves.”
Now, this is no ordinary Child. He is the Messiah, the long-awaited Seed of Abraham and King of Israel who would restore righteousness and justice to the world (v. 17). He is conceived in his virgin mother by the Holy Spirit (vv. 18, 20), not by his human father. Fully God, yet fully Man, come into the world to do one thing: to save His people from their sins.
Names often have great significance in the Bible, but this name rules them all. The name that would one day be exalted above every other name (Phil 2:9-11) is the one we call on to save us from our sins and because He has saved us from our sins (1 Cor 1:2).
It is the sweetest and fairest name of all – the name by which we have been called by God to Himself as His people (Amos 9:12; James 2:7). This is “Jesus,” our Ruler, our Shepherd (Matt 2:6), the Light that has dawned on our spiritual darkness (Matt 2:16).
He was born to save us. Not from heaven, but on earth; not by the snap of his fingers, but by the sacrifice of His own life. The Lord saves like this. And this is why we particularly adore Him during Christmas.
So, reflect on what His name means. Respond to Christ in gratitude and joy. And reveal to others by your love, kindness, and goodness that the name of Jesus is more than a name to you – it is your soul’s very life.
Christmas is for Worship
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by Jon Buck
“Glory to God in the highest…” ~Luke 2:14
There are many things that our culture has put forward as the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas movies laud the importance of family, traditions, and being ‘home for the holidays’. Others suggest that Christmas is the season for altruism - a general kindness for all, since Christmas is the ‘most wonderful time of the year’.
Much of corporate America sees Christmas as the largest profit season. In the attempt to make the most of the present-buying frenzy, corporate America pushes Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas Specials, and the like.
However, a quick perusal of the beginning of Luke and Matthew (the two gospels that contain information about the birth of Jesus) reveals that the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ inspires worship.
Mary worships God for the blessing of the coming Savior. (Luke 1:46-55)
Elizabeth worships God for the privilege of knowing the time of Christ’s birth. (Luke 1:42-45)
Zechariah worships the Lord for sending the long-awaited and promised Messiah, and for the provision of John the Baptist who would announce His coming. (Luke 1:68-79)
The angels who announce the birth worship in song about the glory of God. (Luke 2:14)
The shepherds worship God when they see the Child. (Luke 2:20)
Simeon in the temple rejoices and worships God for sending the light for the Gentiles and the glory of Israel. (Luke 2:32)
Anna worships the Lord for the birth of the One who would redeem Israel. (Luke 2:38)
The wise men from the east worship the Child and present Him gifts. (Matt. 2:10-11)
The constant theme throughout the first few chapters of both Gospels is worship! In fact, every character in the first chapters worships something. Even Herod, when faced with the potential of a usurper to the throne, worships himself, and murders the children around Bethlehem.
Interestingly, like each of these characters, whatever we make the ‘meaning’ of Christmas eventually reveals what we worship. Whether family, kindness, or profits, our focus during this season is the thing we hold most dear, and therefore what we worship.
This year we’re going to be posting Advent readings throughout the month of December. Each one will contain a meditation on the birth of our Savior from various texts of Scripture.
The goal of these readings is to encourage you follow the biblical example of worshipping God through this season. The events surrounding the birth of Christ in the Gospels are filled with worship, and so our desire is to help each of you give glory to God in the highest each day as we remember the Advent of our Savior!
Local Church Details, Part 10: Finding Your Spiritual Gifts
/By Jon Buck & Jason Park
Thankful for the Body
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by Jon Buck
“But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.”
~ 1 Cor 12:18
Happy Thanksgiving!
I was reflecting this morning on how thankful I am for the body of Christ at FBC. As a pastor, there can sometimes be a temptation to think that everything is ‘on you’ when it comes to the spiritual care and unity of the body.
But there’s nothing that could be further from the truth!
God has placed each member of our little church in exactly the right place and the right time! What a blessing to see and hear that so clearly. Each one has a special gift, each has a special connection to others, each has a special way to serve and care for the others—and each is precisely where God wants them.
As I spent time considering this, I was so encouraged to see photos on social media, comments from others, and the general connectedness of the family here at FBC. Brothers and sisters carrying out their roles for the glory of God and the blessings and care of others. The Lord has built and will continue to build His body for His glory!
I pray that your Thanksgiving is a day filled with joy—joy in the love of God for you, joy in the blessings that surround you, and joy in your place in the body of Christ!
Reasons for Joy Today
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by Jon Buck
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” Phil. 4:4
To be completely honest….
This past week caused me some moments of struggle in my Christian walk. I have been thoroughly enjoying church over the past few weeks as we’ve been able to meet indoors. My heart has been full, hearing the saints sing, and enjoying fellowship with God’s people.
In many ways, this past Sunday was a highlight - to sit, listen to Jason preach such a glorious text, and to sing to the Lord for all His goodness.
And then Orange County moved to the purple tier.
Suddenly, shifting back outside, thinking about weather, sound, distractions, childcare, children’s ministry, health safety, masking, etc.
And then, seeing all that has been happening in our state on the news. Lockdowns, curfews, hypocrisy.
With all this, I’ve been sorely tempted to grumble and complain! But, I’ve been rebuked by the Lord this week as well - rebuked to rejoice. And so, Below are a list of ten things that I’m rejoicing for today. It’s not the least bit exhaustive, but it’s where my heart is at.
A group of like-minded elders who have helpfully challenged, rebuked, and forgiven me this week as I’ve wrestled through the changes.
Freedom to worship the Lord Jesus Christ without persecution. (Yes, outdoors, and yes, with restrictions, but I’m rejoicing that we can still freely gather and worship!)
A wonderful facility with a lovely parking lot in which to gather and worship.
An amazing worship/AV/Sunday team with incredibly talented folks who can put together a worship set inside AND outside (including live-stream) at the drop of a hat.
Folding chairs in a portable trailer.
EZ-ups.
72 degrees and sunny on Sunday (at least for now!).
A flexible church family, willing to pursue righteousness and God’s Word together at the expense of comfort, whether indoors, outdoors, or via Live-streaming.
Zoom (yes, yes, I know - we’re all ‘zoomed-out’, but praise God for such cool technology!)
Fellowship in groups of less than three households!
I hope and pray that your heart is rejoicing in the Lord today, and the many ways He is caring for us during this very strange season.
Local Church Details, Part 9: Membership at FBC
/By Jon Buck & Jason Park