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Weekend Recap – Love

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Today, the second week of Advent featured some great singing and reveling in God’s love for us through a very familiar place. The sermon, Love, from John 3:16 is now online. During one part of the sermon, I was pressing how many times our appreciation for the Gospel is much like our appreciation for “black socks”. We really do need them, but it really isn’t what we want. Similarly, most Christians know they need the Gospel but what they really want is for God to make them healthy, wealthy and blessed. Being passionate for those things over and against the Gospel is treating the amazing gift of love in Jesus like “black socks.”

It was a great morning. Just got out of Missions Committee meeting, much to be excited about there with potential opportunities for ministry soon. Anticipate rich fellowship tonight in small group as well. Hope you had a great Lord’s Day.

Christmas Traditions

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Here’s a great post from Life2gether on Our Christmas Traditions with lots of practical tips for families. I sent this to Meg last season and we plan on doing some of these things this season.

* Advent Calendar – This has been a fun way for our family to count down the days in anticipation of Christ’s coming. The kids take turns as we talk about the Christmas story. Be sure to choose a calendar that centers on the birth of Jesus!

* What God Wants for Christmas – This is a great interactive kid-friendly nativity – with seven gift boxes, a colorful pop-up, and an illustrated poem that we’ve used for the last couple years. It’s a fun way to talk about the Christmas story together. (available at FamilyLife.com)

* Christmas Devotion Jar – Looking for devotions to do with your kids? All you need to do is cut out red, green, and white little strips of paper and write Christmas verse(s) to read together, or craft/activity to do together, or creative ways to reach out to others. Put the slips of paper in a jar, decorate the outside, and set it on the dinner table to pick one out each night.

* Christmas Cookies – We take an evening and let our kids help us make cookies that they themselves deliver to teachers, neighborhood friends, special babysitters, people in need, etc.

* Scripture Memory – The best way we’ve found to memorize a passage of Scripture is by putting it to song. Thankfully the folks at SEEDS Family Worship have done just that. On the Seeds of Encouragement CD, the song Joy is taken right from Luke 2:8-14. Great song!

* Listen to Christ-Centered Christmas Music – As we travel, we try to have a few good CD’s that exalt Christ during this Christmas season. Our kids seem to like Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man by Sovereign Grace Ministries the best.

* Re-enact the Christmas story – Every year we have fun acting out the story from Luke 2. We actually do it with Jaime’ sister and family and video the whole thing. It’s pretty funny!

* Serving and Giving Together – Christmas is a time of giving. This year we made and delivered Thanksgiving baskets to needy people in our community and hope to deliver Christmas baskets as well. We also gather our old clothes and toys and give them to Goodwill. Our kids really enjoyed it.

What are some of your Christmas traditions? Feel free to share.

Ask for Correction – I Dare You!

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Saw this on the Peacemaker Ministries website: Asking for Correction. Ken Sande writes:

Since character growth is a lifelong challenge, I am going through this process again by asking my family and a few friends and coworkers for their loving correction. Realizing that lasting change comes only as God works in my heart, I am digging deeper this time. I am asking these people to help me identify the desires of my heart that give rise to ungodly behavior, and to pray for me as I seek God’s help for change.

I have developed two short letters that ask seven questions. The answers will help me see myself more clearly. One letter is for family and friends, and the other is for co-workers. The questions include the following:

* Please describe three character qualities, behaviors, or attitudes in me that have disappointed, annoyed, or offended you or others, or seemed to undermine my witness for Christ. Give specific examples, if possible.
* What things have you seen me make idols out of? (An idol is any desire—even for good things—that I have elevated to a demand, become excessively preoccupied with, looked to for security, had to have in order to be content, or allowed to control me.)
* If there were just one change God would bring about in me in the next six months, what would you pray it would be?

These are great thoughts for us as we pursue holiness. So…

pursue it!

Must Listens: Tullian & Chandler

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2 more amazing audio resources came available in recent days and, in God’s grace, they are available for free…

This past Lord’s Day, Tullian Tchividjian preached at Covenant Life Church on Jesus + Nothing = Everything from Colossians 1:9-14. There are amazing quotes and lines and truths from this that you simply must listen to. He discusses the 2 manners in which legalism tries to sink its tentacles into our lives, which was very enlightening. But take time and listen.

Also, 9Marks just released their leadership interview for the month. It is entitled Engaging Your Generation and features Matt Chandler. They summarize this interview as: “Matt Chandler discusses his past year, his approach to preaching, and what it takes to engage this generation with the gospel.”

Grab both of these and be edified and built up.

Manhood Stuff

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There were a couple of great resources on the web yesterday on manhood and issues related thereunto…

The DG Live Interview with Darrin Patrick, author of Church Planter, is now online (there is audio and video available). In this interview, Patrick talks about the “ban” epidemic (men who are neither boys nor men) among other amazing things. This is a very helpful interview in helping to understand many issues with what it means to be a man.

Also, the Art of Manliness have posted their holiday gift guide. Lots of fun stuff there.

Weekend Recap – Advent Week 1

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After the holiday week last week (which involved me traveling to Illinois), it was great to be back with the saints at Crestview yesterday. We started a series on Advent, focusing in on the word HOPE in a message from Malachi 4:4-6. In the sermon, I tried to show how God was working in these final words of the OT to prep us for Christ and His coming.

After the AM service, we had the 1st of 2 information meetings on the 2011 budget. These meetings allow the congregation to gather and discuss the budget with leadership. We did one yesterday, will have one December 5th and then will ask for congregational affirmation on the 12th. Big changes in this year’s budget are some monies to update our web page, monies to help us achieve our goal of a safe children’s area through background screenings on workers, and monies reallocated in our international missions line items.

In the PM, we gathered to serve one another by “decking the halls” or “hanging the greens” with lots of great fellowship.

This weekend was also busy for me serving the May family. Fred May passed away last Friday, November 26th. I was privileged to serve the family today, encouraging them from Jesus’ words in John 11:25-27.

It’s been a full weekend, but a great time to find hope in Christ.

The Rhythm of Gratitude

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Having preaching through Colossians in the past year, I was amazed at the number of times that book called us to be a grateful people. At one point in chapter 3, it seems like every verse was calling us to gratitude:

3:15 – Be thankful.
3:16 – …with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
3:17 – …giving thanks to God the Father through Him (the Lord Jesus).

What is the reason for this? Paul understands that if we are going to seek Jesus Christ above all things (3:1), put off the old self (3:5ff) and put on the new self (3:12ff) then the atmosphere in which this grows best is one of gratitude.

So, this thanksgiving, rather than putting on a one day show expressing thanks to God for all the creature comforts you have, why not go deep and express gratitude to God for what He has done to redeem you so that you can no longer live for yourself but for Him who died and rose again on your behalf. Give thanks to God.

Weekend Recap – Christ Alone/Be Thankful

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This weekend had numerous highlights. On Sun AM, I preached on Colossians 2:6-7. The sermon was titled Christ Alone. This overview of Colossians sought to plant us as a church firmly in the Gospel-Centered camp. We want to be defined by the Gospel and be Gospel people.

In the evening, we gathered for a church wide Thanksgiving meal. Good time. Always a highlight thinking of how God has blessed us as a church. Hope you have a great week abounding in thanksgiving because of the amazing truth of the Gospel.

Weekend Preview – Christ Alone! / Give Thanks

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As we prep for another Lord’s Day, tomorrow we plan to dive into the book of Colossians one more time. Colossians beats the drum pretty loudly of gratitude. This is because gratitude is closely tied to the Gospel. In Colossians 2:6-7, we hear a call that living a Gospel-centered life is the path to being thankful and, deeper, living a life that honors Jesus as Lord. In the AM sermon, I plan to overview the Gospel that comes through Christ alone.

In the PM, we will have a special time as a church at our Annual Church-Wide Thanksgiving Dinner. This is such a special time every year. I have many great memories of this. We will also be collecting a special offering to advance the Gospel in Australia. So, plan for a great, Christ-exalting Lord’s Day at Crestview.