Our Perfect Brother

1st Sunday after Christmas

Our Perfect Brother

Text: Luke 2:41-52

It’s one of those perplexing stories of the Bible.  The more we study it, the more questions we have rather than answers.  The basics of the story are very simple:  Mary and Joseph obediently followed the Lord’s instructions to travel from their home in Nazareth to Jerusalem every year to celebrate the Passover festival.  One time when Jesus was 12, they made their annual trip to Jerusalem and when it was over they set out with their family and friends to return home.  However, about a day later, they realized Jesus wasn’t with them.  They returned to Jerusalem and searched for three days until they finally found him in the temple.  Then Jesus returned home with them.  Those details of the story are the easy part.  All the questions they lead to though—that is the challenge!

First some of the easier questions.  Why didn’t Mary and Joseph know Jesus wasn’t with them?  Did each assume the other was with Jesus?  (Parents do that sometimes.)  Did they assume he was with friends or other family in their traveling caravan?  Was Jesus such the perfect child that they trusted him implicitly?  

There Is No Denying Who Jesus Is

Christmas Day

There Is No Denying Who Jesus Is

Text: John 1:1-14

Jesus had disappeared into the clouds as he ascended into heaven only a few decades earlier, but already controversy was plaguing the Church.  A man named Cerinthus seems to have lived in the city of Ephesus and was teaching something radical.  Cerinthus claimed that Jesus was not truly God and man, but just a mere man alone.

Meanwhile, a Greek philosophy called Gnosticism was infiltrating the Church as well.  Gnostics believed that knowledge is supreme and rules over all.  The pursuit of knowledge and gaining knowledge are most important in life.  Knowledge is even more supreme than Jesus, gnosticism would say.

This could not continue.  People needed to know who Jesus really is.  So a man very near and dear to Jesus wrote about it.  His name was John.  John was one of the twelve disciples and one of the three (Peter, James, and John) that was closest to Jesus.  If any human knew anything about Jesus, the apostle John would be one of the few who knew the most—from firsthand experience even. 

In the Beginning . . . Was the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Trinity Sunday

In the Beginning . . . Was the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Text:  Genesis 1:1-2:3

Intro

There are a lot of conspiracy theories out there in the world.  There are especially a lot of conspiracy theories when it comes to Christianity.  Do a little googling and you will find endless amounts of information about supposed conspiracies and controversies.  The problem is that anyone can post anything on the internet these days, and most of these alleged Christian conspiracies aren’t true.

There are many of these conspiracy theories that attack the very core of our belief—who our God is.  One in particular is very popular.  This conspiracy theory states that the emperor Constantine, who lived in the 200s and 300s A.D., invented the concept of the Trinity.  Some say that Constantine wanted to end religious rift in his empire and so he forced and coerced his own beliefs onto the church and crushed those who stood for the truth.  They say that since Constantine imposed the teaching of the Trinity, the Church has never been the same.

Please don’t even waste your time googling that.  You will only be reading information from unbelievers who only know a few historical facts.  The reality is that the story starts with a man named Arius.  Arius was a priest in Alexandria, Egypt.  Arius staunchly denied the Trinity—that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equal.  Why would he deny it?  Because it had been around and taught for ages already before him but it didn’t make sense to him.  Constantine finally called a council of church leaders in 325 A.D. at the city of Nicea.  There those church leaders wrote a summary of the true Christian faith.  That short statement of faith is called the Nicene Creed.  For almost 1,700 years now Christians around the globe have continued to speak the words of the Nicene Creed and to confess their faith as they battle against Arianism (the denial of the Trinity) still today.

Of course, people will always debate about the facts of history.  They’ll interpret historical events in different ways.  Spin doctors will continue to spew countless conspiracy theories to attack the truth.  So when we aren’t sure about something and need to rediscover the truth, there is only one thing for Christians to do and one place for Christians to go.  We must go back to the Bible and see what it says.  Today we not only go back to Scripture, but we even go all the way back to the beginning.  There we see that even In the Beginning . . . Was the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Christ the King

Christ the King Sunday

Christ the King

1. Who he is

2. What he does

3. Who we are

4. What we do

Text: Colossians 1:13-20

Intro

Who is Jesus Christ?  “Uh.  Silly question, Pastor!  We are at church right now.  We’re at Christ the King Church right now.  Come on!”  But really.  Who is Jesus Christ?  We talk about him a lot.  As Christians we base our whole faith on Christ.  It’s kind of important to know who Jesus Christ is.

Most people in this world know about Jesus.  Many people in this world talk about Jesus.  There are cross earrings and necklaces all over the place.  There are Christian bookstores and publishing houses.  There are Christian magazines.  Even Time magazine has had Jesus on the cover.  Men roll up their sleeves to show a cross and/or crown of thorns tattoo on the arm.  Women show the little cross tattoo on their shoulder blades or ankles.  There are Jesus and cross bumper stickers.  There are “What Would Jesus Do?” bracelets.  There are “Jesus is my homeboy” tee shirts.  Jesus pictures and artwork.  Jesus coffee mugs.  There was even a Saturday Night Live skit with Tim Tebow having a conversation in the locker room with Jesus.

But who is Jesus Christ?  Muslims call Jesus a great prophet, but not as good as Mohammed.  Jews call Jesus a great teacher, but not the Messiah.  Many Americans use his name like a curse word, shouting it when something bad happens.  Some Christians think of Jesus like a lucky rabbit’s foot—they pull him out when they need him and hopefully he’ll make something good happen.  Similarly, other Christians view Jesus simply as a best friend or a guardian angel—if you commit your life to him enough he’ll make your life happy and easy.  And many, many others who don’t have an opinion about Jesus Christ might admit they simply aren’t sure—but they know he’s important.

If you want to know who Jesus Christ really is and what he has done, there is hardly a better or clearer place to look in all of the Bible than the book of Colossians.  The eight verses before us today from the first chapter of Colossians are a beautiful description of him on this glorious day to help us better understand Christ the King.

Daily Devotion on Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8

Text:  Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8

There is no god as great as our God

No other god made the heavens and the earth. No other god sent his son to save us from our sin. No other god listen to our prayers. No other god carefully watches over us and protects us. No other god works every moment of our lives for our good and for his purposes.

There is no god as great as our God. In fact, there is no other god that is even a real god. Our God is the only true God.

How can we possibly show him thanks? How can we show him the respect and honor that is due him? How can we worship him above all other things?

The answer is really quite simple: Obey him.

Moses reminds us this morning, as he did the people of Israel, that the greatest way to show love for God and proclaim him to other nations is to simply obey him. By our obedience we will show him love. By our obedience we will show him respect. By our obedience we will show to all other people how we know we have such a great and awesome God.

So Moses’ words are words to heed: Listen to the commands of the Lord! Do not add to them. Do not subject from them. Then obey the commands of the Lord!

God be with us in our acts of love and obedience for him!

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, we pray that you be with us each and every day as we strive to live and work for you in all we do. Help us to show love for you by obeying you. Let our works and our words be a testimony to others that you are the true God of all. I pray for your help in Jesus’ name. Amen.