In January, at The Rescue Church, we started to investigate a book of the Bible-Luke. I can relate to Luke and how the book was written. Luke does all his fact checking, detective work only after Jesus has left the earth. He has already died, resurrected, and ascended back into heaven. And so Luke has his work cut out for him. To write his book he needed to sit down with eye witnesses, read previous accounts of Jesus' life and simply listen to people's stories. One of the stories that has stuck out to me has been the story of Mary. Luke lays out an amazing beginning as an angel, Gabriel, comes to Mary to tell her that she will be with child. The challenge? She's a virgin. She's betrothed, or engaged, to this great guy Joseph. And so let the tension begin! Gabriel tells Mary that 'nothing is impossible with God', and I'm sure Mary was thinking-YEAH! No kidding Gabriel because this is impossible! But she simply says, 'I am the Lord's servant.'
God takes a middle school aged young woman from a small, insignificant town and says the savior of the world will come from your womb. I'm not sure about you, but that encourages me. Every time I feel insignificant, or useless, under qualified, I realize that this is only a chance for God to show HIS mighty strength through me. I just need to say yes.
At this time in Mary's story something impossible has already happened-her relative Elizabeth, who was barren, is now with child at a very old age! So Mary makes the journey to see her and talk to her. While on her journey Mary does something amazing that I've missed many times-she simply worships. In some Bible translations, they've coined this passage as 'Mary's Song.'
It turns out what I had missed from this passage was exactly what I needed. I needed God. I needed to realize what my God is capable of doing. Mary, the middle school girl, about to be disgraced by her family, her religious community and fearing that Joseph might walk out on her, starts worshipping. In my eyes this would have been a great time to worry, right? How is all of this going to work out?? Yes, God I know you said all that stuff awhile ago, but I need to be practical, I need to figure out a plan, I need to find an escape route so they don't tie me up in the town square, abuse me, spit on me, make me out to be the town prostitute...
But Mary worships. And what we find is that Mary lays out some attributes of God. I studied 12 that she laid out, there's probably more, but I just focused on 12. God is: Lord, Savior, Omniscient, Mighty, Personal, Holy, Merciful, Powerful, Sovereign, Gracious, Generous, and Faithful.
No doubt out of those 12 there's 1 or 2 that you hang onto continuously because you need them. Or maybe you're like me sometimes and you need all 12 at once!! I think that's where Mary was at this point. She simply reminded herself that God was God. He would protect her, guide her, and bless her.
What do you need to be reminded of today? One of these 12 or maybe another attribute of God? Whatever it may be, instead of worrying-worship. Give God the glory-don't give it to your circumstance. Rest in knowing that He holds your future in His hands and that He loves you.
-PC
pastorcory@rescuesumner.org
www.rescuesumner.org
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Having a Servant's Heart
What's the craziest thing God has ever asked you to do?
Think about it; was it about sharing your faith, was it about $$$, was it about starting a ministry? Has He ever asked you to do something that completely boggled your mind? Maybe because you were like, 'God, so you know me right? Why in the world would you ask me to do this? You know I'm not qualified, you know that this isn't possible...right?'
When you're married, you get to have conversations. Wife: Hey Dear, can you mow the yard? Husband: Well Dear, it is football season...so...how about after the game?
This begins an eloquent exchange of pleasantries that show the absolute love that they have for one another. HA. But it's true, as a married man I've done my fair share of bargaining, or what I like to call 'enlightening' with my wife about the proper time for chores to be done or if they need to be done at all. What am I really doing? Being lazy. And plus I have a wife who defines awesome so she deals with me. And so if we have this 'relationship' with God doesn't that mean it's a 2 way street too? Can't we have a conversation about what the other one is saying? He gets to question me, and I get to question Him, right?
Well, we need to understand something very important. God wants the best for us. Well isn't my best different from your best? How do I really know that His best is what I want??
Recently in my life I've begun to step back and look at the whole picture of life. We really aren't going to be here long. We are going to be somewhere else for a really long time. But in the meantime, while we are in this life God says there is work to be done, He will protect us, He wants us to live life to 'the fullest'. I believe this means that when I'm old and crotcthedy (I think that's a word), I'm going to look at all the 'yes's' I said to God and smile. Why? Because there will be a lot to smile about. Seeing people come to Christ, revival in your own household, blessing upon blessing upon blessing. But it all starts with a choice. And it all starts with our knowledge of what is possible and impossible.
Remember Mary? Yeah, that Mary. Jesus' mom Mary. She was a junior high girl who gave birth to her savior. The angel Gabriel comes to here, spells everything out and Mary responds, without blinking, 'I am the Lord's servant.'
What made Mary agree to this mission that could endanger her whole life?? You only have to go one verse prior. 'For with God nothing shall be impossible.' Luke 1:37 (KJV). Being a virgin and having a baby, and oh yeah-this baby will save the world? Possible or impossible? At this moment Mary only needed to say yes. And she did. As we go back and forth with God about what He's asking us to do, debating the possible and impossible, maybe we just need to say yes and let God be God.
I'm only 30 years old but I've already seen God be who He is in my life when I just say yes. This challenges and propels me to say yes even more in the next 30 years so I can be that old man who gets to recline and just smile at how amazing God is.
-PC
pastorcory@rescuesumner.org
www.rescuesumner.org
Think about it; was it about sharing your faith, was it about $$$, was it about starting a ministry? Has He ever asked you to do something that completely boggled your mind? Maybe because you were like, 'God, so you know me right? Why in the world would you ask me to do this? You know I'm not qualified, you know that this isn't possible...right?'
When you're married, you get to have conversations. Wife: Hey Dear, can you mow the yard? Husband: Well Dear, it is football season...so...how about after the game?
This begins an eloquent exchange of pleasantries that show the absolute love that they have for one another. HA. But it's true, as a married man I've done my fair share of bargaining, or what I like to call 'enlightening' with my wife about the proper time for chores to be done or if they need to be done at all. What am I really doing? Being lazy. And plus I have a wife who defines awesome so she deals with me. And so if we have this 'relationship' with God doesn't that mean it's a 2 way street too? Can't we have a conversation about what the other one is saying? He gets to question me, and I get to question Him, right?
Well, we need to understand something very important. God wants the best for us. Well isn't my best different from your best? How do I really know that His best is what I want??
Recently in my life I've begun to step back and look at the whole picture of life. We really aren't going to be here long. We are going to be somewhere else for a really long time. But in the meantime, while we are in this life God says there is work to be done, He will protect us, He wants us to live life to 'the fullest'. I believe this means that when I'm old and crotcthedy (I think that's a word), I'm going to look at all the 'yes's' I said to God and smile. Why? Because there will be a lot to smile about. Seeing people come to Christ, revival in your own household, blessing upon blessing upon blessing. But it all starts with a choice. And it all starts with our knowledge of what is possible and impossible.
Remember Mary? Yeah, that Mary. Jesus' mom Mary. She was a junior high girl who gave birth to her savior. The angel Gabriel comes to here, spells everything out and Mary responds, without blinking, 'I am the Lord's servant.'
What made Mary agree to this mission that could endanger her whole life?? You only have to go one verse prior. 'For with God nothing shall be impossible.' Luke 1:37 (KJV). Being a virgin and having a baby, and oh yeah-this baby will save the world? Possible or impossible? At this moment Mary only needed to say yes. And she did. As we go back and forth with God about what He's asking us to do, debating the possible and impossible, maybe we just need to say yes and let God be God.
I'm only 30 years old but I've already seen God be who He is in my life when I just say yes. This challenges and propels me to say yes even more in the next 30 years so I can be that old man who gets to recline and just smile at how amazing God is.
-PC
pastorcory@rescuesumner.org
www.rescuesumner.org
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
8 Minute Abs
The year is 1999. I'm a sophmore in high school. I have the metabolism of a 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona Hemi. Simply meaning I could burn a 12-pack of Pepsi, eat a whole box of Hot Pockets and still hang around the 175 lb. arena. I miss those days immensely.
I had completed junior high football and was ready for the challenge of high school. I showed up at the weight room at 6:00AM the first day of school for something dreadful called the 'Zero Hour Team'. Simply a group of jocks who were obsessed with lifting weights but had no time after school since they were on 3 different sports teams. I can't tell you how many weights I lifted while completely asleep.
Past all the squat racks and bench presses was a room with a wrestling mat and a tv. This was called the 'Ab Room'. Aww yes. I can still smell it. Looking back I'm not to sure if our PE teachers were certified because they simply popped in a VHS tape called 8 Minute Abs and said, 'Get to work!' If we weren't tired enough at the end they would say, 'Rewind it. And get to work!'
Now the concept of 8 Minute Abs was great-I get to see circles on my stomach if I just do this short video and that's it!! The problem is-it's not just about 8 minutes. That metabolism I mentioned. Yeah it was in order for an oil change and quickly turned from that Charger into a Pinto. Why? Because it was about much more than just 8 minutes.
I fear sometimes we view our faith the same way. And by we-I mean you and me. I mean Christians in America. We get so excited at the beginning of our walk with the Lord because we love the challenge-we love the work. But then we find ways to just get what we 'need'. As we get older we trick our minds into thinking we are spiritually mature and stop trying near as hard. We retire. I'm reminded of a passage in Luke 18:17, 'Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.'
Does this mean we become childish? No. It means we are consumed with who God is! When I played football, I couldn't wait for practice to get over so I could go home, watch football on tv, I would read my playbook before bed-I ate it up! What if we had that same drive for our knowledge of God?! Download a Bible app on your phone so that whenever you had a spare moment you could whip out your phone and read a chapter of the Bible. You start a small group with your neighbors and get truly excited about opening the Bible with them. Every time you see a co-worker you started praying for them by name! At lunch you take time to text someone an uplifting message because you know they need it! You map out Bible verses for your children to start memorizing at home!!
Am I going into spiritual overload for you yet?? Why?...
And I know all of you are expecting me to mention church. Well-honestly-and this is coming from a pastor-church for many people has turned into 8 Minute Abs. Just pop it in-destroy your body for a few minutes, and when you're done-you're done!
Now hear me-corporate worship is important!! It is of utmost importance for a person of faith. We need to be in church!!!! But how many of your neighbors were there this past Sunday...one? None? We need to start living Christian lives all day, every day. Only then will we become spiritually fit. Only then will we see complete cities coming to Christ on their knees.
So when will it begin?
-PC
pastorcory@rescuesumner.org
www.rescuesumner.org
I had completed junior high football and was ready for the challenge of high school. I showed up at the weight room at 6:00AM the first day of school for something dreadful called the 'Zero Hour Team'. Simply a group of jocks who were obsessed with lifting weights but had no time after school since they were on 3 different sports teams. I can't tell you how many weights I lifted while completely asleep.
Past all the squat racks and bench presses was a room with a wrestling mat and a tv. This was called the 'Ab Room'. Aww yes. I can still smell it. Looking back I'm not to sure if our PE teachers were certified because they simply popped in a VHS tape called 8 Minute Abs and said, 'Get to work!' If we weren't tired enough at the end they would say, 'Rewind it. And get to work!'
Now the concept of 8 Minute Abs was great-I get to see circles on my stomach if I just do this short video and that's it!! The problem is-it's not just about 8 minutes. That metabolism I mentioned. Yeah it was in order for an oil change and quickly turned from that Charger into a Pinto. Why? Because it was about much more than just 8 minutes.
I fear sometimes we view our faith the same way. And by we-I mean you and me. I mean Christians in America. We get so excited at the beginning of our walk with the Lord because we love the challenge-we love the work. But then we find ways to just get what we 'need'. As we get older we trick our minds into thinking we are spiritually mature and stop trying near as hard. We retire. I'm reminded of a passage in Luke 18:17, 'Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.'
Does this mean we become childish? No. It means we are consumed with who God is! When I played football, I couldn't wait for practice to get over so I could go home, watch football on tv, I would read my playbook before bed-I ate it up! What if we had that same drive for our knowledge of God?! Download a Bible app on your phone so that whenever you had a spare moment you could whip out your phone and read a chapter of the Bible. You start a small group with your neighbors and get truly excited about opening the Bible with them. Every time you see a co-worker you started praying for them by name! At lunch you take time to text someone an uplifting message because you know they need it! You map out Bible verses for your children to start memorizing at home!!
Am I going into spiritual overload for you yet?? Why?...
And I know all of you are expecting me to mention church. Well-honestly-and this is coming from a pastor-church for many people has turned into 8 Minute Abs. Just pop it in-destroy your body for a few minutes, and when you're done-you're done!
Now hear me-corporate worship is important!! It is of utmost importance for a person of faith. We need to be in church!!!! But how many of your neighbors were there this past Sunday...one? None? We need to start living Christian lives all day, every day. Only then will we become spiritually fit. Only then will we see complete cities coming to Christ on their knees.
So when will it begin?
-PC
pastorcory@rescuesumner.org
www.rescuesumner.org
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
The Future of Christmas
It's nearly impossible to miss Christmas. Which is interesting to think about now as we are starting to take down ornaments off the tree, and taking down our lights outside that took me forever to put up!! But think back to Thanksgiving-Christmas was already everywhere!!
Radio stations play non-stop carols, people put blow up snowmen in their yard, your weekly newspaper triples in size with all the Christmas sales going on and yes, people seem just a little bit happier.
But way, way back there was a time where most people around the world missed Christmas. They flat out missed Christmas. They didn't celebrate anything. And yes, I'm talking about the first Christmas. The Christmas Day where God came to be one of us. That starry night as shepherds and wisemen huddled most likely in the back of some cave to marvel at the sight of God in the form of a baby. But even with the utmost importance of Christ's birth-people missed it.
Even with the prophecies surrounding the Messiah explaining a virgin's birth and even the destination, people seemed distracted-even the highly religious. It was a spiritually dark time in Israel. People were more worried about pleasing an oppressive Roman government than pleasing God in waiting for the Messiah. I can't help but compare that time in history to our culture today.
We've obsessed ourselves so much with pleasing a government and pleasing others (hoping to be pleased by others) that God has been shoved to the backseat.
I think this is where things need to change. This dilemma that we face brought about a thought in my mind and I've given it the title-The Future of Christmas.
No, it's not in danger of simply going away or moving to December 26th. It made me think about why we celebrate Christmas and what we need to start emphasizing. I believe the Future of Christmas is that we need to complete the Message of Christmas. Jesus was not just born, He lived, He died, He rose, and He is coming again. Yes celebrate Christ's birth, yes-read the birth story to your kids, yes-spend time with friends and family, yes-go ahead and buy each other weird gifts. All well and good, but let's start to realize that Jesus didn't stay a baby, He didn't stay in the manger. He had work to do.
We need to be watching and working until our Lord comes again. We should be using the days and years of our lives to serve the Lord-and to look for every opportunity to tell people about Jesus. The Future of Christmas for the church must mean we start taking advantage of opportunities.
Radio stations play non-stop carols, people put blow up snowmen in their yard, your weekly newspaper triples in size with all the Christmas sales going on and yes, people seem just a little bit happier.
But way, way back there was a time where most people around the world missed Christmas. They flat out missed Christmas. They didn't celebrate anything. And yes, I'm talking about the first Christmas. The Christmas Day where God came to be one of us. That starry night as shepherds and wisemen huddled most likely in the back of some cave to marvel at the sight of God in the form of a baby. But even with the utmost importance of Christ's birth-people missed it.
Even with the prophecies surrounding the Messiah explaining a virgin's birth and even the destination, people seemed distracted-even the highly religious. It was a spiritually dark time in Israel. People were more worried about pleasing an oppressive Roman government than pleasing God in waiting for the Messiah. I can't help but compare that time in history to our culture today.
We've obsessed ourselves so much with pleasing a government and pleasing others (hoping to be pleased by others) that God has been shoved to the backseat.
I think this is where things need to change. This dilemma that we face brought about a thought in my mind and I've given it the title-The Future of Christmas.
No, it's not in danger of simply going away or moving to December 26th. It made me think about why we celebrate Christmas and what we need to start emphasizing. I believe the Future of Christmas is that we need to complete the Message of Christmas. Jesus was not just born, He lived, He died, He rose, and He is coming again. Yes celebrate Christ's birth, yes-read the birth story to your kids, yes-spend time with friends and family, yes-go ahead and buy each other weird gifts. All well and good, but let's start to realize that Jesus didn't stay a baby, He didn't stay in the manger. He had work to do.
We need to be watching and working until our Lord comes again. We should be using the days and years of our lives to serve the Lord-and to look for every opportunity to tell people about Jesus. The Future of Christmas for the church must mean we start taking advantage of opportunities.
So yes, Christmas has come and gone for this year, but the
coming of Christ is happening again. We won’t remember the gifts we received on
Thursday.
People may have missed the first Christmas, but we don’t want to
miss His return.
The Future of Christmas? It’s simple. Don’t just be ready
for December 25, be ready for Christ himself.
-PC
pastorcory@rescuesumner.org
www.rescuesumner.org
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
This Christmas
Mary Did You Know? You will now be humming that song for the next week and it's all my fault! Usually around this time of year I always ponder just how much Mary and Joseph knew about Jesus. Yes, the angels came and told them some specifics:
But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end. Luke 1:30-33
But any Dad who has ever witnessed the birth of a child nows that once that kid is born, you forget everything!! Where you parked the car, what name you picked out, what day it is, etc. Everything is wrapped around holding a child!! I'm guessing in that moment the angel encounters went out the window, possibly even forgetting what was foretold about the Messiah's life in the book of Isaiah-'He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter...'
All of that was forgotten in this moment-everything was about holding baby Jesus in their arms! And in that moment, for that time, I think it was right that they celebrated this birth. It was right that for that moment Mary and Joseph couldn't have cared less about shepherds, wise men, animals, being in a cave. It was time for these new parents to hold their new baby. But as we know moments come and go.
But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end. Luke 1:30-33
But any Dad who has ever witnessed the birth of a child nows that once that kid is born, you forget everything!! Where you parked the car, what name you picked out, what day it is, etc. Everything is wrapped around holding a child!! I'm guessing in that moment the angel encounters went out the window, possibly even forgetting what was foretold about the Messiah's life in the book of Isaiah-'He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter...'
All of that was forgotten in this moment-everything was about holding baby Jesus in their arms! And in that moment, for that time, I think it was right that they celebrated this birth. It was right that for that moment Mary and Joseph couldn't have cared less about shepherds, wise men, animals, being in a cave. It was time for these new parents to hold their new baby. But as we know moments come and go.
So what should our mindset be for this Christmas? The birth has come and gone. There are those who believe they have found the cave where the Christ was born. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But there sure aren't any shepherds there. It's filled with tourists.
I believe celebrating this Christmas means we look at the total story. Why? Because we have it!! Yes our Messiah was born. The savior of the world! But we must team up that celebration with the understanding of why He came. He did not come to win baby picture contests! He came to grow as a man, to teach us how to live, to die on a cross for the penalty not of his sin but mine. And then to rise from death to show me that this life is not the end, but eternity awaits. Death has lost it's grip on me.
So for this Christmas...I will celebrate. The birth, the life, the death, the resurrection of my savior-Jesus Christ.
-PC
pastorcory@rescuesumner.org
www.rescuesumner.org
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
What's in a Name?
This is the time of the year where names matter.
We have joined the army of families that like to put together a mass mailer Christmas Card. Usually it contains a picture of my super cute family in the woods, or in the middle of snow. Or maybe even a picture with Santa but sadly this was the first year that Carlee wanted to have nothing to do with him. Maybe it was because we stood in line for over an hour to see a man in a red suit. I love being a dad.
My crafty wife takes these pictures and puts them together in a cute collage and then we send them out to family and friends that we aren't able to see often. To do that we need names (and addresses). Because I know how much they love getting Christmas cards. We tape ours all over our kitchen cabinets. And if you know me-I love clutter!! (That's called sarcasm.)
But names matter. My name matters because it represents who I am. Your name matters because it represents who you are. This time of year, every single person on the face of the planet is faced with one name-Jesus. Even today when Christ is being torn out of Christmas-we are faced with the name of Jesus. And yes I am that guy that when you say Happy Holidays-I will yell Merry Christmas back at you.
When you look at Isaiah 9:6 you see 5 titles for Jesus that I believe can be 5 gifts for you this year.
His Name is: Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Wonderful-Because Jesus is wonderful he takes away the dullness of your life. Is your life dull? Are you bored? Look at the name of Jesus.
Counselor-Jesus will take care of the decisions of your life! You still need to make them, but He will guide you in which way to go. Do you have any decisions to make right now? Look at the name of Jesus.
Mighty God-This will take care of the demands of your life. Have you felt powerless lately? Have you felt that there is too much weight on your shoulders? His power-not yours-is what you need. Look at the name of Jesus.
Everlasting Father-Jesus will take care of your future. Have you ever stressed about your future? Do you spend more time worrying about tomorrow than realizing the blessings of today? Do you want assurance? Jesus wants to assure you that he has you in his hands. Look at the name of Jesus.
Prince of Peace-Jesus wants to take care of the disturbances of your life. Is your life filled with friction, hardship and difficulty? No? Ummm-try answering again. We all have it! How about peace that surpasses all human understanding? Look at the name of Jesus.
Names are important. Jesus' name is the most important. In your time of need say the name of Jesus.
-PC
pastorcory@rescuesumner.org
www.rescuesumner.org
We have joined the army of families that like to put together a mass mailer Christmas Card. Usually it contains a picture of my super cute family in the woods, or in the middle of snow. Or maybe even a picture with Santa but sadly this was the first year that Carlee wanted to have nothing to do with him. Maybe it was because we stood in line for over an hour to see a man in a red suit. I love being a dad.
My crafty wife takes these pictures and puts them together in a cute collage and then we send them out to family and friends that we aren't able to see often. To do that we need names (and addresses). Because I know how much they love getting Christmas cards. We tape ours all over our kitchen cabinets. And if you know me-I love clutter!! (That's called sarcasm.)
But names matter. My name matters because it represents who I am. Your name matters because it represents who you are. This time of year, every single person on the face of the planet is faced with one name-Jesus. Even today when Christ is being torn out of Christmas-we are faced with the name of Jesus. And yes I am that guy that when you say Happy Holidays-I will yell Merry Christmas back at you.
When you look at Isaiah 9:6 you see 5 titles for Jesus that I believe can be 5 gifts for you this year.
His Name is: Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Wonderful-Because Jesus is wonderful he takes away the dullness of your life. Is your life dull? Are you bored? Look at the name of Jesus.
Counselor-Jesus will take care of the decisions of your life! You still need to make them, but He will guide you in which way to go. Do you have any decisions to make right now? Look at the name of Jesus.
Mighty God-This will take care of the demands of your life. Have you felt powerless lately? Have you felt that there is too much weight on your shoulders? His power-not yours-is what you need. Look at the name of Jesus.
Everlasting Father-Jesus will take care of your future. Have you ever stressed about your future? Do you spend more time worrying about tomorrow than realizing the blessings of today? Do you want assurance? Jesus wants to assure you that he has you in his hands. Look at the name of Jesus.
Prince of Peace-Jesus wants to take care of the disturbances of your life. Is your life filled with friction, hardship and difficulty? No? Ummm-try answering again. We all have it! How about peace that surpasses all human understanding? Look at the name of Jesus.
Names are important. Jesus' name is the most important. In your time of need say the name of Jesus.
-PC
pastorcory@rescuesumner.org
www.rescuesumner.org
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
The Season of Stress
What have we done with Christmas?
Most likely as you're reading this you are in the middle of about 10 emails, texts and phone calls trying to figure out how you will spend your days on Christmas and around Christmas. This is the time of year that we become abnormally stressed out!! Why?? Because our families are weird. Yes, your family is weird. My family is weird.
We watch tv and find these horrible commercials of a family waking up on Christmas morning, fire ablaze, mom and dad sipping on coffee, kids all smiles ripping paper off useless toys and they appear to have been in their pajamas all day. They continue to hug and kiss one another, sing a couple carols in perfect harmony, and then take a joyous walk in the snow. Yuck.
Sometimes we watch these Hallmark moments and wonder what is wrong with our families. Why can't we join around the dinner table and like all the food and tell jokes that people will actually laugh at...it's so funny...it almost brings us to tears.
If we are consumed with places to be, things to buy, people to see what are we really celebrating?
Sadly I believe we have turned the season of Christmas into a season of stress.
So what needs to be turned around? We need to realize that the greatest preparation for Christmas is already done!! It's not you with that great glazed ham recipe or finding the best gift for your uncle that you know will make him laugh so hard he pulls something!! No-the message, the gift, the reason for Christmas has ALREADY COME!! It didn't come early or late-it was right on time.
Jesus has come which means your Christmas plans are already made. The celebration has already been prepared.
Matthew 1:16, '...and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.'
If you go further back in this passage of Matthew you'll find liars, adulterers, prostitutes and even murderers. Jesus came from a family full of people who had made a mess of their lives, and yet the grace of God still worked through them. No matter the state of your family believe that God can work through them and you. Jesus came to die for you and for them. Why? Because we needed it. Because we have sinned and fallen short.
So if the green bean casserole doesn't turn out-don't worry.
If you can't find a gift for that teenage cousin-don't worry.
If you're late for dinner-don't worry.
If your kids make you crazy on Christmas morning-don't worry.
Your Christmas isn't ruined. Just know the Message of Christmas is about the Messiah that has already come-Jesus Christ.
-PC
pastorcory@rescuesumner.org
www.rescuesumner.org
Most likely as you're reading this you are in the middle of about 10 emails, texts and phone calls trying to figure out how you will spend your days on Christmas and around Christmas. This is the time of year that we become abnormally stressed out!! Why?? Because our families are weird. Yes, your family is weird. My family is weird.
We watch tv and find these horrible commercials of a family waking up on Christmas morning, fire ablaze, mom and dad sipping on coffee, kids all smiles ripping paper off useless toys and they appear to have been in their pajamas all day. They continue to hug and kiss one another, sing a couple carols in perfect harmony, and then take a joyous walk in the snow. Yuck.
Sometimes we watch these Hallmark moments and wonder what is wrong with our families. Why can't we join around the dinner table and like all the food and tell jokes that people will actually laugh at...it's so funny...it almost brings us to tears.
If we are consumed with places to be, things to buy, people to see what are we really celebrating?
Sadly I believe we have turned the season of Christmas into a season of stress.
So what needs to be turned around? We need to realize that the greatest preparation for Christmas is already done!! It's not you with that great glazed ham recipe or finding the best gift for your uncle that you know will make him laugh so hard he pulls something!! No-the message, the gift, the reason for Christmas has ALREADY COME!! It didn't come early or late-it was right on time.
Jesus has come which means your Christmas plans are already made. The celebration has already been prepared.
Matthew 1:16, '...and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.'
If you go further back in this passage of Matthew you'll find liars, adulterers, prostitutes and even murderers. Jesus came from a family full of people who had made a mess of their lives, and yet the grace of God still worked through them. No matter the state of your family believe that God can work through them and you. Jesus came to die for you and for them. Why? Because we needed it. Because we have sinned and fallen short.
So if the green bean casserole doesn't turn out-don't worry.
If you can't find a gift for that teenage cousin-don't worry.
If you're late for dinner-don't worry.
If your kids make you crazy on Christmas morning-don't worry.
Your Christmas isn't ruined. Just know the Message of Christmas is about the Messiah that has already come-Jesus Christ.
-PC
pastorcory@rescuesumner.org
www.rescuesumner.org
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