DECEMBER 20, 2020 SUNDAY MESSAGE
JOIN US LIVE AT 10 AM ON SUNDAYS!
COMMUNION:
(1 COR. 11:23B-26)
“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
SAVE THE DATE: The 2020 Marriage Retreat is scheduled to be Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and November 8!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
We are hosting prayer team meetings for both the congregation at large and individuals to sign up for individual prayer.
SUGGESTIONS FOR WORSHIP:
Coty Miller’s own “Praise & Worship” Spotify playlist and “Praise & Worship” YouTube playlist (slightly different from each other), both of diverse music that are being constantly updated!
Bethel Music :
Bethel Music’s hours of live music YouTube Playlist, also being constantly updated
Bethel provides chords to most (if not all) of their songs here (just have to register email, but free!)
Live worship moments from the Upper Room YouTube Playlist
Journal writing! (I’m a writer too, so sometimes creative writing and writing my thoughts to God is my form of worship.)
Declare and worship with truth by singing and praying scriptures.
WORSHIP NIGHT! Dedicate a night to worship with friends and family, your house church or neighbors, those who need prayer, love worship, or just enjoy music through a video chat platform like Zoom. You can have one person leading at a time (switching off to whoever else wants to lead) while others sing along, pray, or prophesy, etc.
Serving your community, both online, in person, or both, is a great way to worship God, from spreading encouragement and God’s Word online to physically serving food to others. If you are able to go out and serve, click here for opportunities.
SERMON TRANSCRIPTION:
I was talking to one of our elders and they mentioned a story of their granddaughter who, during this season, keeps picking up the baby figurine from their nativity set. She holds the baby delicately, gazes upon him in precious delight, and says “Jesus you’re so sweet.”
I love that little moment. There is a sense of childlike wonder as she held and cherished her understanding of Jesus...and she had the words to accompany it!
There are times, though, that we behold something incredible, beautiful, and awe-inspiring and we DON’T have the words to describe it!
It reminded me of a film I saw when I was a kid called “CONTACT”
SciFi Film from the late 90’s where Jody Foster plays a character that is able to quickly travel through long distances in space.
The moment that sticks out though - and possibly the most famous line of the movie - is when she realizes she has a direct up-close view of a massive “COSMIC EVENT.” Think about the hubble images but up-close-and-personal!
She is trying to describe it - to stay composed - and make scientific observations for those who have sent her and for historic records BUT SHE IS JUST OVERWHELMED BY THE SIGHT AND CAN’T DO IT!!
She says, “No...no words. No words to describe it. Poetry! They should have sent a poet. So beautiful. So beautiful...I had no idea!”
What I love about this creative moment in the film is that it captures the inadequacy of our ability to describe Creation let alone the fullness of the Creator!!
Sometimes silence is the only adequate response because what you are experiencing is too large for your vocabulary or words to adequately provide a description!
This is EXACTLY what we see in our final week of ADVENT. Treasured moments of awe, wonder, silence, consideration, and, at times, poetry to describe the events.
Just like the character in film, Luke is a historian who INTENDS to record the events of Christ, AND, make no mistake, the birth of Christ IS A COSMIC EVENT...but God, in His divine wisdom, gives us the perspective of critical observers, shepherds, POETS...and the mother of the one being born. Turn to Luke 2:15
Over and over, in today’s text, you are going to see the author point’s out expressions of amazement!
Keep in mind, the Shepherds were just on the hills when “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly hosts appeared praising God and singing:
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Luke 2:15-40
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
The shepherds respond by telling everyone they know!!
Once again, their encounter with God, turns into amazement that OVERFLOWS into the community around them.
They are ASTONISHED and the level of excitement they have about the birth of Jesus is so wild, it isn’t possible for it to stay internalized and they EVANGELIZE TO THE COMMUNITY AROUND THEM!!
Maybe some of the problem with our evangelism that we have LOST OUR ASTONISHMENT with God!
Next we get Mary’s response as the mother of Jesus!!
19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
I want to spend a little time with this because her response is unique. This is our moment of silence: in the quiet of her mind, she is contemplating all that has taken place.
When it says she:
TREASURED these things, the greek word means “to hold something close”
PONDERED these things, the greek word means “to put things together”
SO, Mary is THINKING about everything that has happened, holding it close and putting the pieces together!
The way the events have unfolded:
She has received angelic messages!
Mary has gone through Public Ridicule and persevered in faith,
She has gone through Childbirth - from a miraculous conception...
And given birth to a baby prophetically foretold to be THE MESSIAH!!
She is turning these ideas over in her mind and seeing how they are connected, considering their causes and their implications!
Consider the OPPOSITE:
When you appreciate something superficially, you have a surface-level understanding of something, it may value it BUT it is NOT TREASURED!
You can’t appreciate the complications which exist behind the obvious
and you quickly get bored with it.
BUT WHEN YOU TREASURE something...no matter what it is (from shakespeare, sports, music, art....even Pokemon), When you treasure something, you take it in on a different level!
You consider the structures around it,
the intricate systems within it,
You even begin to think about the hypothetical possibilities - and implications of those possibilities! Get someone talking about fantasy football if you don’t believe me! The word “FANTASY” is in the name and the “what if” possibilities are ENDLESS!!
The same drive applies to your relationship with Jesus, the events that unfold around His life, and Mary is our example:
When you TREASURE something, it becomes inexhaustible as you contemplate it!
There is a cycle: You love it and you learn more about it which causes you to love it even more!
It speaks to you over and over again in different ways as you get older and have more experiences
When you treasure something... you experience it anew over and over, and you find more appreciation in it!
…and MARY does so because Emmanuel - GOD WITH US - is born!
Is it possible to cultivate a Theology of TREASURING that drives us to understand and engage with the inexhaustible depths of Jesus the King during this season?
Verse 21 says
21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”
This is a normal requirement for a normal, law-abiding, Jewish family and the offering description is the alternative option for a poor family (a pair of doves or pigeons). Even in their lack, Mary and Joseph are obedient to the commands of their Jewish heritage.
Next in the story, we see two more people who encounter Jesus and are MOVED to respond! VERSE 25:
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. (and listen to this) He was WAITING for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would NOT die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying (HERE IS OUR POET with a song!!):
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”
33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
Simeon is faithfully waiting and he is SO MOVED by this encounter that he writes a song which says he is just ready for his life to be done. It’s like he is saying,
“You said I wouldn’t die before seeing the Messiah and everything you said is complete God and, you know what, this is my high point. Ain’t nothing going to top this so let’s just end it at the top of my game. I’m good now, go ahead and dismiss me whenever God!”
While Simeons BUCKET LIST getting completed, we see that he has reached a level of peace that only comes from Christ. Kent Hughes writes,
“True peace comes only when we, like Simeon, understand that salvation is Jesus Christ plus nothing—and rest our souls in him alone.”
Also hidden within Simeon’s song, he defines “all nations/peoples” as being made of TWO parts:
• Israel and Gentiles
• So it’s the Jewish people and everyone else.
...and each is given a different application for the coming of this “child of salvation:”
The first is “Glory to your people Israel”
It had already been revealed to them as a promise and now, in the form of Jesus, the realization of that promise has come.
The second is “A light for revelation” to the Gentiles
What was once kept hidden is now being REVEALED to the rest of the world outside of God’s people.
...At all of this Jesus’ own parents and in awe again and MARVEL!
Simeon finishes by giving them a list of descriptions about Jesus which include power and difficulty for the future of this child.
There’s one more person we want to note as we finish up with VERSE 36
There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.
Anna is a Prophetess - both a watcher and the second witness of the birth/dedication of the Messiah. Like Simeon, she is FAITHFULLY waiting as well.
Notice that Luke broadens the testimony of his witnesses.
She is an older woman (one is male and one is female),
who is recognized as having Prophetic authority, and…
She has devoted the remainder of her life, worshipping night and day, fasting and praying and holding onto - putting actions to - her faith!
BOTH Simeon and Anna teach us something:
On a pretty TYPICAL temple day
during a pretty TYPICAL moment in the life of a Jewish boy,
...were two unique people packed full of Holy Expectation
Both uniquely brought to the temple courts for different reasons
THERE they encounter an ATYPICAL CHILD…the person they had been waiting to see their entire life:
To one, the CONSOLATION of Israel AND…
To the other, the REDEMPTION of Jerusalem
They were both waiting faithfully - not with passive hope alone but with actionable ANTICIPATION!
They were so stirred in their affections for the Messiah that everything else faded into the background because they BELIEVED God:
Was working in the waiting and
that God would fulfill the things he has spoken!
Eventually, they are rewarded and get to see their hope realized.
So, whatever else you might be looking forward to in this world, should come second to this. I want you to hear this...Jesus is better!
Whatever fills you with expectation and anticipation in your life? Jesus is Better.
So, if you’re looking forward to:
A awesome gift this christmas?
Looking forward to the weekend when the week is difficult.
A new season to the last show you binge watched?
A new vehicle? A fun vacation?
A new device with the latest apps and features?
You say: “Come on Erik, we all kind of know ‘Jesus is better’” but stop and think about what occupies your heart, mind, and what your ACTIONS point to as the central focus of your life.
Jesus is better than:
Meeting or beating professional and personal goals?
Your favorite team winning a championship?
Whatever you set your sights on that
get you excited or
help you get through days, weeks, and seasons that are rough...JESUS IS BETTER
We are all hoping for better days in the midst of COVID but if Jesus isn’t a part of what builds and sustains you, then it’s a temporary solution and it is incapable of ultimately fulfilling you!
Advent is a SEASON of Holy Anticipation where we focus on Jesus who is our treasure...Simeon and Anna are our example of Holy Anticipation in receiving that treasure!
What actions can we take to put our anticipation in God this season? When we consider Advent in a season of COVID, when so much of our normal plans are taken from us...
Perhaps it is time for fasting and prayer
perhaps it is a timer for preparation to emerge with more zeal than before!
Perhaps it is a time for planning how to reach our neighbors so when the weather changes and restrictions lift, we are poised for evangelism that starts a wildfire of good news in your area and house church movement in your neighborhood
May we treasure our savior to such an extent that we wait with the faithfulness of Simeon and Anna in greater anticipation for the things of God than the things of the world.
Set your sights on Jesus AND, determine what actions should match that and DO IT...the future of our world depends on it!
COMMISSIONING:
As Jesus said in John 20:21,
"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
Go, be the Church!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.