We’ve come now to the last week before the Advent season. That means that there are only a few weeks to complete your Christmas shopping, and less time than that to plan your holiday parties. Here at the doorstep of the new church year we celebrate the Lordship of Christ in our songs and sermons. This is the perfect time to consider just how we “live and move and have our being” in Christ.
It’s hard to talk of Jesus Christ as the King in our democratic system; our very roots are defined by rebellion against a foreign king in England. Singing songs about Jesus Christ being King of Kings and Lord of Lords is easy, but actually living with Him as King and Lord is something else entirely.
Jesus is not the president. He is not the governor, nor is he like any earthly king to which we might compare him. To celebrate Jesus as the Lord means to honor him in a personal and intimate way that is completely alien to our relationships to our political leaders. Jesus Christ is indeed King, even if that means little to us in the 21st century. Our Lord is the one on whom our spirit’s rest; he is the one whose Word informs our decisions and personal tastes. Jesus is the type of king who is owed our allegiance and honor not because of the army supporting him or because of his wealth and lands. Rather, we owe Jesus our heart-felt allegiance because of his victory over death, the great enemy of us all.
We’re about to enter into the season of shepherds, angels, and Jesus’ miraculous birth; before we make him out to be too soft and tender, let’s remember him as King and Lord of all creation.
Join us this week for worship at 11:00am as we celebrate Christ Jesus as King!
Monday, November 15, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Rustler Article for 11.11.10
Although it may be too early to do so, I’m quickly getting into the holiday spirit. Not necessarily the Christmas spirit, but I’m definitely ready for Advent to begin. I the weeks from Sunday, November 28th through Sunday, December 19th churches all around the world will be preparing their hearts and homes for the coming of the Christ-child. We’ll talk about how Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love form the relationship that God has with men and women.
Beginning on November 28th our church will combine all of our various Sunday School classes into one large group where we’ll talk about the meaning of Christmas and celebrate the Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love of God in our hearts. We’ll make Advent Wreathes and decorate Nativities as families, too! We’d love to have you and your family participate in this great season of expectation with us.
What has really gotten me excited about Advent is God’s word to the people of Israel who are suffering under the weight of the Exile in Babylon. Isaiah reminds the people that when God’s new work is revealed the old things will be remembered no more. So glorious is the coming of Jesus Christ that old glory, old shame, and even old suffering are remembered no more. We could use a serious dose of such hope in these days.
Come and join our community of faith for Sunday School and worship this week at 10:00 and 11:00am. We also host Sunday Night Bible Study in the Gospels at 6:00pm, and Bible 101 on Wednesday nights at 7:00. Everyone is welcome at any and all of our activities!
Beginning on November 28th our church will combine all of our various Sunday School classes into one large group where we’ll talk about the meaning of Christmas and celebrate the Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love of God in our hearts. We’ll make Advent Wreathes and decorate Nativities as families, too! We’d love to have you and your family participate in this great season of expectation with us.
What has really gotten me excited about Advent is God’s word to the people of Israel who are suffering under the weight of the Exile in Babylon. Isaiah reminds the people that when God’s new work is revealed the old things will be remembered no more. So glorious is the coming of Jesus Christ that old glory, old shame, and even old suffering are remembered no more. We could use a serious dose of such hope in these days.
Come and join our community of faith for Sunday School and worship this week at 10:00 and 11:00am. We also host Sunday Night Bible Study in the Gospels at 6:00pm, and Bible 101 on Wednesday nights at 7:00. Everyone is welcome at any and all of our activities!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Rustler article for October 28th, 2010
A radio station in Waco is having a pledge drive this week to raise money in support of their programming and operational budgets. They interrupt the normal programming (which I listen to every morning and evening on my commute) to beg, plead, guilt, and cajole the listeners to give money in support of their station.
While the interruptions can be quite annoying, the arguments the hosts and guests make in varied attempts to convince me of my obligation to give to their cause got me thinking. Is the church any different than a not-for-profit radio station when it asks for support in the various ways that it does? Does the church not plead, beg and cajole members to open their pocketbooks in the same way?
I see a lot of myself in the arguments the folks on the radio make. They are trying to maintain an organization that is funded entirely by the people who are willing to commit to the mission of that radio station. The church, on the other hand, is more than a radio station and provides more than news. The church is the community of Christ-followers who have committed their lives to the service, study, and worship of God. We believe that contributing to the church is more than “putting our money where our mouth is;” we believe in returning a portion of God’s blessing to us to our Lord so that the Gospel may be proclaimed in our community and around the world.
Yes, we do fundraisers. Yes, the church is an organization that depends on the faithful giving of its members. But what is more, the church is a place to develop that thankful spirit that should abide in all believers for the gift of Jesus Christ.
Be sure to join us this Sunday morning at 11:00am for worship!
While the interruptions can be quite annoying, the arguments the hosts and guests make in varied attempts to convince me of my obligation to give to their cause got me thinking. Is the church any different than a not-for-profit radio station when it asks for support in the various ways that it does? Does the church not plead, beg and cajole members to open their pocketbooks in the same way?
I see a lot of myself in the arguments the folks on the radio make. They are trying to maintain an organization that is funded entirely by the people who are willing to commit to the mission of that radio station. The church, on the other hand, is more than a radio station and provides more than news. The church is the community of Christ-followers who have committed their lives to the service, study, and worship of God. We believe that contributing to the church is more than “putting our money where our mouth is;” we believe in returning a portion of God’s blessing to us to our Lord so that the Gospel may be proclaimed in our community and around the world.
Yes, we do fundraisers. Yes, the church is an organization that depends on the faithful giving of its members. But what is more, the church is a place to develop that thankful spirit that should abide in all believers for the gift of Jesus Christ.
Be sure to join us this Sunday morning at 11:00am for worship!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Rustler Article for October 21, 2010
If forgiveness is the currency of the Kingdom of God, which I believe it is, then the ministry of every believer in their proclamation of the Gospel every day is to practice the forgiveness of the world. Forgiving the world is not excusing the world’s bad behavior, nor is it tolerating unjust action; rather to forgive the world is to boldly identify the fallen nature of our society and to lovingly engage that same culture regardless of its hostility toward the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To forgive the world is to love the world.
It is crucial to note Jesus’ instructions to his disciples shortly before the crucifixion: he plainly tells them that the world will hate them because the world hates Jesus Christ. We must realize that Jesus went into the world and sent his followers into the world in spite of the world’s antagonism and outright hostility toward God’s Kingdom. We are disciples sent into a world that cannot help itself but to be unmistakably evil. We are thrust with a confrontational Gospel that challenges and defies every power structure man has ever known. Forgiving the world for these things and for the depressing, hateful, exhausting lives it makes some of us lead is the beginning of the Gospel. Without forgiving the world we cannot preach, cannot teach, and cannot worship.
This Sunday we’ll host a church-wide brisket cook-off! Several people have volunteered to cook the meat for us to help us decide who the best brisketeer is at FBC Riesel! Come and share a meal with us and fellowship with a church that emphasizes community in all that we do. The meal will be immediately following Sunday School at 10:00am and worship at 11:00am. We’ll see you there!
It is crucial to note Jesus’ instructions to his disciples shortly before the crucifixion: he plainly tells them that the world will hate them because the world hates Jesus Christ. We must realize that Jesus went into the world and sent his followers into the world in spite of the world’s antagonism and outright hostility toward God’s Kingdom. We are disciples sent into a world that cannot help itself but to be unmistakably evil. We are thrust with a confrontational Gospel that challenges and defies every power structure man has ever known. Forgiving the world for these things and for the depressing, hateful, exhausting lives it makes some of us lead is the beginning of the Gospel. Without forgiving the world we cannot preach, cannot teach, and cannot worship.
This Sunday we’ll host a church-wide brisket cook-off! Several people have volunteered to cook the meat for us to help us decide who the best brisketeer is at FBC Riesel! Come and share a meal with us and fellowship with a church that emphasizes community in all that we do. The meal will be immediately following Sunday School at 10:00am and worship at 11:00am. We’ll see you there!
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