In Isaiah 35, the prophet foretells a time when the redeemed of the Lord will walk along the pathway of holiness. This time will be marked by profound joy and gladness. Is this just a pipe dream for the people of God? How does the birth of Jesus signal a tremendous change in the work of the kingdom of God? And how can we sing for joy in our darkest hours? Click here to listen in to Pastor David’s sermon on this third Sunday of Advent:
Successful Worship
Today, I read an article posted on the Church of God Ministries news website. This article is entitled “Turning Hearts and Minds Toward God in Worship,” and it explains the approach to worship taken by one large Church of God congregation in Scottsdale, Arizona. There are some incredible stories coming from that congregation: many people being baptized as believers, many people engaging in mission projects in that community, worship attendance doubling over the past four years.
But what I find fascinating in this article is how they describe their approach to worship.
The Tangible Peace of Advent
This week we studied Isaiah 11:1-10 together and found something unusual: that a plant was growing where nothing could be expected to grow! This prophecy foretells the coming of Jesus the Messiah, the one filled with God’s Spirit, God’s justice, and God’s peace. How can this transform our lives as we journey through this Advent season and beyond? Listen in to Pastor David’s sermon on this passage.
Church of God Convention Moves to OKC
This past June, I wrote about the new movement in our identity as Church of God people: our new General Director, Rev. Jim Lyon, is using the phrase “Jesus is the subject” as the primary rallying cry for the Church of God in this present time. In that article, I called this phrase a “wonderful starting point.” I still believe that to be true: that “Jesus is the subject” is a wonderful theological truth, and that it is just the beginning of the reflections we can make on our identity as the Church of God.
In the past few weeks, many important changes have been unveiled by Church of God Ministries, our movement’s central offices in Anderson, Indiana. I would like to discuss one of them in particular with you, the Mt. Haley Church of God family, in this article.
Incarnation
One of the most profound truths of the Christian faith is easily overlooked at this time of year. We are in the season of Christmas, of course. (More technically, we are in the season of Advent; in the church year, the season of Christmas doesn’t begin until Christmas Day. But guess how long Christmas lasts? From December 25 until Epiphany, January 6, which is a total of – you guessed it – twelve days!) During this season, our thoughts turn toward the birth of a baby in Bethlehem, a small town outside Jerusalem, over two thousand years ago. We remember that birth because of what that child would do later in his life. He grew up to transform lives through his teachings, miracles, compassion, death, and resurrection. Jesus Christ changed the world as an adult, so we joyfully remember his birth. Otherwise, there would have been no reason for the gospel writers to make note of a child born to an unwed mother in a town far from her home. Right? Continue reading
See the Hope of Advent
On this first Sunday of Advent, Pastor David preaches from Isaiah 2:1-5, a prophecy about a time when all nations will stream to Jerusalem to worship God in his temple. How does this passage point back in time to Jesus’s birth? And how does it point forward to his return at the end of the age? Click here to listen in, and let’s see the hope of Advent together!
What God Suffered For
On this final Sunday of the church year, “Christ the King Sunday,” we focus in on the kingship of our Savior by looking at a well-known passage, Luke 23:32-43, dealing with Jesus’s crucifixion. Listen in as Pastor David explains the unique structure of that passage and what it means for our understanding of Jesus today. What did God really suffer for? For us or something bigger than us?
(Coming soon: images of the visual aids used in this sermon.)
What God Hears
We often take comfort in the truth that God hears his people when they call out to him. Yet this truth is a little more complicated than that. As Malachi 3:13-4:3 teaches us, the Lord hears all that his people say to him – both words of adoration and words of complaint. Malachi’s vision of the coming “day of the Lord” was intended to cause people to live differently in the present. How do all these thoughts tie together? Click here to listen to Pastor David’s sermon on this passage.
A Three-Hour Nap
My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (Psalm 62:1-2 NIV)
Everyone needs rest. Whether it takes the form of a weekend getaway, a vacation to a distant location, or simply a weeknight at home with no responsibilities, everyone needs rest. Often, we work so hard that we overlook one of the most important responsibilities we have: to take care of ourselves.
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (Genesis 2:2-3 NIV)
The creation story is a wonderful narrative describing God’s relationship to his creation. Many people will emphasize different parts of the story (or, really, the stories – there are two different creation stories in Genesis 1 and 2!). You may remember that God rested on the seventh day, thus setting the example for us that we should rest from our work as well. As Jesus said in Mark 2:23-28, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (NIV). In other words, we do not rest in order to please God by our obedience, but we rest in order to take care of ourselves – because God desires to take care of us in this way.
Earlier this week, I did something rather unusual for me: I took a three-hour nap. In the afternoon, after a full morning, I came home and slept. And I slept hard. You have to understand, I am not a napper; normally, even on Sunday afternoons, I am awake all through the daytime. The last period of my life when I regularly took naps was kindergarten! So when I laid down to take a nap and woke up three hours later – with a pretty foggy post-nap brain – I realized I had needed that rest.
We spend a lot of time and energy in the church on serving other people, donating goods and resources, running errands for people, loving, caring, giving, befriending, helping, … on and on and on. And this is all worthwhile, because our call as the church is to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything [Jesus] has commanded [us]” (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV). Christian faith is not idle faith. We are interested in seeing the kingdom of God grow in our midst, and sharing Christ with others – in a multitude of ways – is crucial to that work.
Yet we must take care of our bodies and souls, as well. It is just as important for us to allow the kingdom of God to grow within ourselves as it is to introduce other people to Jesus. For through our personal transformation, others will see the power of God to change lives – namely, our own. When we are healthy, then we can communicate the message of Christ clearly and appropriately. My three-hour nap enabled me to function well through the rest of the week – not just physically but spiritually as well.
Friends, remember to care for your own selves in the coming weeks and months. Find regular opportunities for Sabbath rest. And then, once you have rested up, resume the outward work of the kingdom of God.
Pastor David
What God Remembers
We know that God remembers the past – specifically, the covenant he has made with us – and that is reason enough to rejoice. What else does God remember? And how can that transform our lives in the present? Click here to listen to Pastor David’s sermon on Haggai 2:1-9, a passage from a short but important Old Testament book of prophecy.