"Conspiracy of Hope"

Scripture: Isaiah 2:1-4

Yesterday, I said something in my sermon that might have sounded strange to some people. I said that Christmas is about a miraculous and amazing thing that God did in the world (that's not the strange part, I am pretty sure that most Christians agree on that one). Then I went on to say that it is not about “the children,” not about “being nice to your neighbor,” it is not even “about giving”. It is about God. That is not to say that celebrating children at Christmas is not good - it is very good. That is not to say that being nice to your neighbor at Christmas is not good - it is very good. And it is not to say that giving at Christmas is not good - it is (say it with me) very good. All of these things are very good. In fact, celebrating children, loving our neighbor and giving to others are so good that God calls us to do them all of the time, not just at Christmas. That is why during Advent, we focus on something deeper, even more meaningful, the birth of Christ. It is downright conspiratorial, but it is what God calls us to do. It is not always easy. I have already found myself thinking about all of the things that I have to do in the next month. And that list, I have found, has a lot of "clutter." That is why the season of Advent is so important, to be a constant reminder of why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. This first week of Advent, we are participating in a "conspiracy of hope." That means that we are focusing our hope for this season on the things of God, and not so much clutter.

"Join the Conspiracy"

The conspiracy is on! Are you in?

"The Season of Reason"

I am not kidding about this; this is absolutely real. Acura has a new ad campaign called the "season of reason." I could not find a commercial online, but watch your TV for them. The ads show people buying absolutely ridiculous things simply because they can. The ads make fun of the idea that gift-giving at Christmas has run amok (I agree with them on this point) and become silly. However, the solution that they offer is to buy an Acura! And they call this the "season of reason," i.e. let's be reasonable and not buy silly gifts, let's buy cars instead. Because that's a reasonable way to celebrate the birth of Christ! I don't know if the advertisers that developed the campaign consciously meant to play on the adage that Jesus is the "reason for the season." I am cynical enough to believe that they did. But, that's just me. Let's just be clear. The birth of Jesus is the reason for the season, and if you want this to be a season of reason, don't buy a car, make a donation to International Child Care, International Justice Mission, Yele Haiti, Living Water International, or some other worthy cause.

"Ad Watch 2010 - #1"

Well, it's that time of year again. Actually, it has been that time of year for almost a month. That's right, I am talking about the onslaught of Christmas advertisements designed to provide us with the perfect holiday. First of all, I want to thank all of the advertisers that give of themselves so much to insure that our holiday experience is just like a Hallmark card or a Rockwell painting. Our first entry this year comes from K-Mart. I first started seeing this little gem a couple of weeks before Halloween. Thanks K-mart for reminding us that what makes this holiday memorable is what is hiding under that tree.

Enquiring Minds Want to Know

I have a question for you. What are your dreams for 2011? I don't mean what are your resolutions. What are your dreams? What are your goals? What would you like to accomplish in 2011? I would really love to know. Your reponses will help me prepare for a sermon series in January entitled "Taking Flight: Charting a New Course in 2011." Please post a comment on my blog, or send me an e-mail at jon@lotc.org. Nothing you share will be used in sermons, but it will help me prepare. Let me hear from you. God bless.

Building Up

Yesterday, in worship, we talked about how God calls us to build and not to tear down. Often times, Christians are guilty of tearing people down rather than building them up. We do this by our attitudes and by our actions. Recently, a member of my church sent me the following e-mail. He found the quotes on the internet. I think that it is appropriate to what we talked about yesterday. "Four things you can't recover - The stone after the throw, the word after it's said, the occasion after it's missed and the time after it's gone. 'Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of Battle,' attributed to James Matthew Barrie. 'Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.' - John Wesley." I have nothing to add.

"In God's Hands"

Today, we read from Haggai 2:1-9. I have been in ministry in one form or another for another almost 20 years, and yesterday was a first for me. I have never preacher, nor have I heard anyone preach, from the book of Haggai. That is too bad, because Haggai has a lot to say to us. In fact, I encourage you to read the book of Haggai. It is very short, consisting of just two chapters. But, it is all about building. The call of God through the prophet Haggai is an audacious one – build. The people of Israel have been gone for several generations. They are defeated. They are lost. Most people would want to simply “lick their wounds,” to just sit back and see what happens. That is not the way of the God that we worship (Hallelujah!)  We worship a God with his sleeves rolled up (and his arms outstretched) and ready for action. That sounds simple, nothing too radical. But, here’s the thing, the God we worship calls us to the work of building his kingdom at the most unlikely times. As I mentioned earlier, the Christian church is America is a church is exile. Despite that, despite the fact that most of the culture considers Christianity to be irrelevant or insignificant, God calls us to build – to work. We have a lot of opportunities at LOTC to be builders of God’s kingdom. Check out our web site. Also, open your eyes as they are all around us. We can invite someone to worship; we can pray for people, we can participate in Compassion Ministries. The question is not if we will become builders of God’s kingdom. The question is what will we do to become builders of God’s kingdom.  Pick up your tools and join me. Let’s get to work. God bless.