Each day during the Advent season we will post the day's reading. Be sure to check back daily and interact by posting your thoughts on this blog. Today's reading also includes the introduction.
Introduction::
Thousands of years ago, during the time the Old Testament was written, God spoke to his people through prophets. Prophets were people chosen by God to communicate truth about God, revealing His character and His love to His people. When Jesus was born, these prophets had been silent for more than 400 years.
God’s people had no autonomy and were being ruled by Rome. The people were lost, oppressed and lacked hope. But God’s plan was to send his son to redeem the world. His plan was to bring hope, joy, peace and love to the world. His plan was to demonstrate His love by sending His son to the world as a baby.
This booklet is a study that is written to experience the Christmas season in a deeper way. It is designed to help you connect with THE COMING of Jesus. We will center our study on four concepts that Jesus’ coming brought to the world: hope, joy, peace and love.
This booklet is meant to help you celebrate THE COMING.
Monday Hope::
Hope- The New Testament was written in Greek. The Greek word that appears in the New Testament that we translate as “hope” is defined as:: confident expectation. Hope is a general term that is more a sense that you have than it is a tangible feeling.
We use the word “hope” in a totally different context. We say things like, “I hope my team wins this game” or “I hope I pass my math test.” There is uncertainty involved in that sort of hope. The hope that Jesus has brought to the world is confident expectation.
Tim Keller wrote,
When September 11th happened and New Yorkers started to suffer, you heard two voices. You heard the conventional moralistic voices saying, “When I see you suffer, it tells me about a judging God. You must not be living right, and so God is judging you.” When they see suffering they see a judgmental God.
The secular voice said, “When I see people suffering, I see God missing.” When they see suffering, they see an absent, indifferent God.
But when we see Jesus Christ dying and suffering on the cross through an act of violence and injustice, what kind of God do we see then? A condemning God? No, we see a God of love paying for sin. Do we see a missing God? Absolutely not! We see a God who is not remote but involved.
You and I live in a world where there is darkness, suffering, pain and confusion. Much of the time God gets the blame for these things. But God sent Jesus into the world to bring hope in the middle of a dark world filled with suffering, pain and confusion. This week we will look at hope and how God sent the gift of hope into the world with this one life.
Tuesday Link of the Week
This comes from some friends of North Church who started an oprhanage in the Sudan, called His Voice for Sudan. His Voice for Sudan is a ministry that we are connecting with during the Advent season and with the Advent Conspiracy. You can go back and look at the last link of the week to see about the Advent Conspiracy. Each week during Advent (Nove 29-December 25) you will have the opportunity to give to His Voice for Sudan. Consider what you can and will give.
His Voice For Sudan Advent Conspiracy Video from Amber Burger on Vimeo.
Advent is Coming
The Advent season is coming. Advent is about Hope, Joy, Peace and Love coming to the world in Jesus. I have written a short book about this season to be read daily. We will be giving these away starting this week at North Church. I can also Email you a digital version. This is an excerpt from that book...
I have a friend named Denny. Denny had a son named Jon who died in a tragic accident just after his junior year of high school. The days and weeks following his death were very difficult on Denny and the rest of his family. I do not remember a father and son closer than Denny and Jon. They were best friends. As time went by, Denny began to talk about how grateful he was that God gave him the 17 years with Jon and the great memories that would never be lost. He was grateful for the fact they were best friends. There is a lot that Denny likes to talk about in regards to Jon, but this is the most profound for me.
Denny doesn’t simply mourn the loss of his son. Denny celebrates his son. Denny celebrates the God who allowed him to spend 17 great years with Jon. Denny’s joy was not and is not bound by his circumstances. In John 14:6, Jesus calls himself the truth. The definition of the type of truth Jesus uses here is a truth that is unaffected by circumstances. Think of a concrete pillar holding up a great bridge. The waves and boats that pass by do not affect the pillar. This is Jesus. This is the kind of joy THE COMING brought.
If the joy in your life is bound to the circumstances in your life, I invite you to investigate this Jesus that came to bring you real joy that is unaffected by circumstances. Think on that joy – the joy brought by THE COMING of Jesus.
I have a friend named Denny. Denny had a son named Jon who died in a tragic accident just after his junior year of high school. The days and weeks following his death were very difficult on Denny and the rest of his family. I do not remember a father and son closer than Denny and Jon. They were best friends. As time went by, Denny began to talk about how grateful he was that God gave him the 17 years with Jon and the great memories that would never be lost. He was grateful for the fact they were best friends. There is a lot that Denny likes to talk about in regards to Jon, but this is the most profound for me.
Denny doesn’t simply mourn the loss of his son. Denny celebrates his son. Denny celebrates the God who allowed him to spend 17 great years with Jon. Denny’s joy was not and is not bound by his circumstances. In John 14:6, Jesus calls himself the truth. The definition of the type of truth Jesus uses here is a truth that is unaffected by circumstances. Think of a concrete pillar holding up a great bridge. The waves and boats that pass by do not affect the pillar. This is Jesus. This is the kind of joy THE COMING brought.
If the joy in your life is bound to the circumstances in your life, I invite you to investigate this Jesus that came to bring you real joy that is unaffected by circumstances. Think on that joy – the joy brought by THE COMING of Jesus.
Tuesday Link of the Week
Today's link is from the Advent Conspiracy. If you come to North Church or listen to the podcast, you will find our more about what Advent Conspiracy is. For now, you will just get a taste of it from this link.
Advent Conspiracy
Advent Conspiracy
Advent 2009
Advent is coming. At North Church we will be studying the themes of Advent (Hope, Joy, Peace, Love) starting Novemeber 29 and running through Christmas.
As we move toward the season of Christmas and all the materialism that comes along with it, I want to encourage you to connect with a church that is paying attention to the Advent season. Find a place that will guide you to cherishing Jesus during this season.
We have developed a booklet that we will giving out for Advent. It is called Adevent, THE COMING. It is a book of devotional thoughts to read daily to connect our hearts with the meaning of Advent and what came into the world when Jesus came into the world.
The following is the introduction to that booklet::
The Coming.
Thousands of years ago, during the time the Old Testament was written, God spoke to his people through prophets. Prophets were people chosen by God to communicate truth about God, revealing His character and His love to His people. When Jesus was born, these prophets had been silent for more than 400 years.
God’s people had no autonomy and were being ruled by Rome. The people were lost, oppressed and lacked hope. But God’s plan was to send his son to redeem the world. His plan was to bring hope, joy, peace and love to the world. His plan was to demonstrate His love by sending His son to the world as a baby.
This booklet is a study that is written to experience the Christmas season in a deeper way. It is designed to help you connect with THE COMING of Jesus. We will center our study on four concepts that Jesus’ coming brought to the world: hope, joy, peace and love.
As we move toward the season of Christmas and all the materialism that comes along with it, I want to encourage you to connect with a church that is paying attention to the Advent season. Find a place that will guide you to cherishing Jesus during this season.
We have developed a booklet that we will giving out for Advent. It is called Adevent, THE COMING. It is a book of devotional thoughts to read daily to connect our hearts with the meaning of Advent and what came into the world when Jesus came into the world.
The following is the introduction to that booklet::
The Coming.
Thousands of years ago, during the time the Old Testament was written, God spoke to his people through prophets. Prophets were people chosen by God to communicate truth about God, revealing His character and His love to His people. When Jesus was born, these prophets had been silent for more than 400 years.
God’s people had no autonomy and were being ruled by Rome. The people were lost, oppressed and lacked hope. But God’s plan was to send his son to redeem the world. His plan was to bring hope, joy, peace and love to the world. His plan was to demonstrate His love by sending His son to the world as a baby.
This booklet is a study that is written to experience the Christmas season in a deeper way. It is designed to help you connect with THE COMING of Jesus. We will center our study on four concepts that Jesus’ coming brought to the world: hope, joy, peace and love.
Tuesday Link of the Week
This one is for everyone who is tired and really busy. I am guessing it is for a lot of you. It is from Josh Patterson. He is a pastor at The Village Church in Dallas.
Josh Patterson on Rest
Josh Patterson on Rest
An Exposition of Romans 5; Part 5
Rom 5:7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die--
Rom 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
These two verses go together. The message of 7 is leading to verse 8. By the way, verse 8 is the best verse in the Bible. It is the gospel in one verse. We will center the discussion today on this one verse.
To see this verse rightly we have to come grips with a key word. The word that is translated here as “shows” is the Greek word sunistao. It means to set in the same place, to set one with another. Other English translations for the word are proves, demonstrates and commendeth. None of these English words do it justice.
Study of the Greek brings to mind that God has placed his love within the reach of us. Look around the room where you are right now and find an object. Imagine that you can not move. The only way for you get that object is for an outside force to somehow move that object within your reach. This is the concept that is being conveyed here with this language. The love of God is being placed within your reach.
I was visiting an Air Force buddy one weekend on his base and he had to work early in the morning so I took a walk down by the runway. I sat under a tree reading and watching planes take off. Most of them were large transport planes that were not any bigger or faster than a commercial jet. Then there was a very small plane that came along. It slowly rolled down the runway and stopped at the place where the other planes had stopped. I presumed they were making last minute checks and getting cleared for take off. This little plane moved very slowly to its position, the same speed as the other large planes. Then there was a growing roar that came from this small plane. It started small and worked into a fierce, high pitched scream. Just then, the plane sped down the runway with furious speed. In a fraction of the time and distance of the large planes, this little was in the air and completely out of sight.
Sitting there in its ready position waiting for clearance, the plane appeared to have nothing special that set it apart from the others. In an instant, the power of the plane was shown, demonstrated and proved for all around to see.
God shows his love in the same way.
There is more here in this verse. Scripture tells us that God is Holy and cannot be in the presence of sin. Before Jesus, we are filled with sin and literally repelling to God. It also says that as sinners our mouths are as open graves, filled with disease and what comes out of us is disease spreading and putrid. It is this fact that brings out the wonder and awe to the rest of this verse. God demonstrated his love while we were still repulsive to him. He did this by sending his Jesus to die for us.
We were all dead and wasting away in pool of disease when Jesus, in all His perfection came within our reach and brought us to life and pulled us from the disease swamp.
There is a song that some of the leadership of North Church wrote a while ago that talks about this concept of the love of God and it being in the reach of sinners. The message is clear that God’s love remains steadfast without regard to our behavior. Listen to the song and enjoy the steadfast love of our God, bask in it today, worship Him!
Steadfast love
Rom 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
These two verses go together. The message of 7 is leading to verse 8. By the way, verse 8 is the best verse in the Bible. It is the gospel in one verse. We will center the discussion today on this one verse.
To see this verse rightly we have to come grips with a key word. The word that is translated here as “shows” is the Greek word sunistao. It means to set in the same place, to set one with another. Other English translations for the word are proves, demonstrates and commendeth. None of these English words do it justice.
Study of the Greek brings to mind that God has placed his love within the reach of us. Look around the room where you are right now and find an object. Imagine that you can not move. The only way for you get that object is for an outside force to somehow move that object within your reach. This is the concept that is being conveyed here with this language. The love of God is being placed within your reach.
I was visiting an Air Force buddy one weekend on his base and he had to work early in the morning so I took a walk down by the runway. I sat under a tree reading and watching planes take off. Most of them were large transport planes that were not any bigger or faster than a commercial jet. Then there was a very small plane that came along. It slowly rolled down the runway and stopped at the place where the other planes had stopped. I presumed they were making last minute checks and getting cleared for take off. This little plane moved very slowly to its position, the same speed as the other large planes. Then there was a growing roar that came from this small plane. It started small and worked into a fierce, high pitched scream. Just then, the plane sped down the runway with furious speed. In a fraction of the time and distance of the large planes, this little was in the air and completely out of sight.
Sitting there in its ready position waiting for clearance, the plane appeared to have nothing special that set it apart from the others. In an instant, the power of the plane was shown, demonstrated and proved for all around to see.
God shows his love in the same way.
There is more here in this verse. Scripture tells us that God is Holy and cannot be in the presence of sin. Before Jesus, we are filled with sin and literally repelling to God. It also says that as sinners our mouths are as open graves, filled with disease and what comes out of us is disease spreading and putrid. It is this fact that brings out the wonder and awe to the rest of this verse. God demonstrated his love while we were still repulsive to him. He did this by sending his Jesus to die for us.
We were all dead and wasting away in pool of disease when Jesus, in all His perfection came within our reach and brought us to life and pulled us from the disease swamp.
There is a song that some of the leadership of North Church wrote a while ago that talks about this concept of the love of God and it being in the reach of sinners. The message is clear that God’s love remains steadfast without regard to our behavior. Listen to the song and enjoy the steadfast love of our God, bask in it today, worship Him!
Steadfast love
Tuesday Link of the Week
This week's link is to a daily devotional from A W Tozer. Tozer was a pastor and author who died in 1863. Tozer is the author of 40 books including The Pursuit of God , which happens to be #1 on my list.
You can book mark this link, each day this link will take you to that day's thought for the day. They are quick and simple, but tend to stay with you if you engage them.
Tozer's Daily Devotional
You can book mark this link, each day this link will take you to that day's thought for the day. They are quick and simple, but tend to stay with you if you engage them.
Tozer's Daily Devotional
