Thursday Hope::
If you watch the television show 24, you know who Jack Bauer is. For those who don’t, Jack works for the U.S. government, and his job is basically to be awesome and kill bad guys. He finds himself in situations where death is certain and the safety of his family and country is in peril.
In one particular season, Jack volunteered to fly an airplane filled with nuclear devices that had to be destroyed. The plan was to crash the plane and detonate the devices in a secluded desert where no one would be hurt – that is, no one but Jack. So Jack takes off in the plane and is prepared for this suicide mission. How will Jack make it? There was no one else on the plane, and the plane had to go down or millions of people would die. Maybe Jack was going to die.
However, I had just read on some entertainment website that Kiefer Sutherland (the actor who plays Jack) had just signed on for three more seasons. So Jack could not die. He had to be around for three more seasons. So while I did not know how this subplot would end, I did know that it would end with Jack being alive.
This is the sort of hope that Jesus came to bring to this earth. There is death all around, and at times all looks hopeless. Jesus is a tiny baby in a dirty barn with poor teenage parents who are in a strange town. But, even as that tiny baby, Jesus is destined to live and teach about truth and be killed and then rise from the dead. This is hope.
Advent 2009:: The Coming HOPE Wednesday
Wednesday Hope::
Read Romans 4:13-21 and connect with the hope that was in the heart of Abraham (God made a promise to Abraham that he would have many children and that they would be the foundation of God’s people). Pray that God would allow you to push this hope to the front of your brain this week.
Pay special attention to the last verse in this reading. Abraham was fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Let those words ring in your head today and this week. God is able to do what He has promised.
Read Romans 4:13-21 and connect with the hope that was in the heart of Abraham (God made a promise to Abraham that he would have many children and that they would be the foundation of God’s people). Pray that God would allow you to push this hope to the front of your brain this week.
Pay special attention to the last verse in this reading. Abraham was fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Let those words ring in your head today and this week. God is able to do what He has promised.
Advent 2009:: The Coming HOPE Tuesday
Tuesday Hope::
Read Luke 2:1-21. It is the traditional Christmas story. It may be very familiar to you. If it is, read it several times today. Pay special attention to verse 11. The titles for Jesus are profound. Do not miss them.
In this verse, Jesus is called “Savior” and “Christ the Lord.” Today we will look at the word “Savior.” This word means “the one who rescues from danger.” There are difficulties in this world. We live in a world of broken relationships and physical and spiritual pain. We live in a world where evil is present and prominent. But it is not God’s ultimate plan.
God created us to live in deeply intimate relationships with Himself, with each other and with nature. But there was a fracture that broke the rhythm of those relationships. That fracture is sin. That fracture leaves us in this world of brokenness. But it does not leave us without hope, because Jesus has come as the savior of this world. This season, we celebrate THE COMING of that hope.
Read Luke 2:1-21. It is the traditional Christmas story. It may be very familiar to you. If it is, read it several times today. Pay special attention to verse 11. The titles for Jesus are profound. Do not miss them.
In this verse, Jesus is called “Savior” and “Christ the Lord.” Today we will look at the word “Savior.” This word means “the one who rescues from danger.” There are difficulties in this world. We live in a world of broken relationships and physical and spiritual pain. We live in a world where evil is present and prominent. But it is not God’s ultimate plan.
God created us to live in deeply intimate relationships with Himself, with each other and with nature. But there was a fracture that broke the rhythm of those relationships. That fracture is sin. That fracture leaves us in this world of brokenness. But it does not leave us without hope, because Jesus has come as the savior of this world. This season, we celebrate THE COMING of that hope.
Advent 2009:: The Coming HOPE
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.
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
