The First Christmas Carols

^{Luke 8:2-80-20
8} And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
 ¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
 ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
 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. 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.

"They gained the highest notes, on the divine scale of praise" for the highest act of His Godhead.

Angels
They said of this salvation:
            a) It gave glory to God
            b) It gave peace to man
            c) It was a token of God's good will toward the human race

1. The worth of salvation is God's highest glory.
       a) "The angels in heaven rejoice over one sinner who repents"
       b) There is more melody in 'Jesus in the manger' than in anything else we have     
            experienced on earth.
       c) Power is at it's strength when it can conceal power - the power of a divine God as a
            helpless infant.
       d) When angels sing they glorify God, not man.
            The Gospel never glorifies man or his effort to get to God, it glorifies God's effort to 
            touch mankind (and it glorifies the Message, not the proclaimer). Put the glory wholly and
           solely  upon Christ, not man.
        e) A new song is heard - "On earth peace".
            The manger represented a new peace treaty between man and God, between our
            conscience and us.
            The sacred peace between the pardoned soul and God the pardoner.
            We need "the peace which surpasses all understanding and guards over our hearts
            and minds in Jesus Christ".

2. Christianity was never designed to make our pleasure less, or rip off our joy.
          It teaches us to seek some pleasures differently or to replace some base pleasures with
          Godly ones, but it than makes up for anything that gets taken away.
          Love, joy, peace, kindness, contentment instead of selfishness, striving, judging, hating,
          hurting.
       a) One of the first things the Holy Spirit teaches or delivers to you is a cheerful disposition 
          - don't be ashamed to feel gladness and joy.
          We sing in church because we enjoy God and He enjoys us.
       b) When we sang today, we kept Christmas as the Angels did - "Peace on earth and glory to
          God". Peace in your heart, peace with yourself, peace with each other AND peace with
          God". 
          When God has become your peace good will to all men flows out.
          Have peace with the giver and their gift to you will be acceptable, it's not about the gift but
          the connection.
          No goodwill equals a lousy Christmas.

Wishing you a merry Christmas, it's there to be found.

God's Love Letter

Pastor Mark Zaia has begun teaching a 10 part series called “GOD’S LOVE LETTER”.

1 or 2 messages will be preached from each of the 10 categories in the chart below, which breaks down all the books of the bible into different groupings.

Part One in the series: “The Gospel in Genesis”

                This has 2 messages:      A. Your reasoning versus God’s revelation

                                                                B. Hiding behind trees versus life as God’s friend.

Part One A – Your reasoning versus God’s revelation

The first five books of the bible are under the category of “the law”.

The purpose of the law, according to Romans 3:20, is to show us that we are sinners so that we understand our need for God. It is not to be used for the purpose of condemning other people – Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…”

The book of Genesis declares God as creator of the world and the human race. It shows that man in his free will is a sinner. Even after the destruction of the world by flood God gives us a fresh start but man still ends back in a sinful place by ignoring God’s command to scatter and populate the earth. Instead men want to establish their own fame by building a tower that reaches to the heavens, (see Genesis Chapter 11).

In the book of Exodus, meaning departure, Israel demonstrates to us that to leave the slavery of our lives we need to go on a journey of faith where we learn to trust God by leaving our past bondages behind.

The book of Leviticus provides regulations for worshipping God and introduces the concept of “loving thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18 “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”)

The book of Numbers shows us that in their unbelief Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness instead of the 4 weeks that the journey could have taken.

The book of Deuteronomy prepares Israel for the Promised Land and the coming battles of getting established in a new land. It also demonstrates the importance if reviewing your commitment to God before taking on a battle.

Pause and think on this

Christianity has a valid case; it is intellectually dishonest to not study the Bible and its claims. When studying, focus on looking for grounds to believe God and not for grounds to disbelieve. There is redemptive life in every person that Christ wants to touch to draw out of them who He created them to be.

The bible gives us reasons why…

Life is difficult, marriages break up, children get abused and people suffer, but the bible tells us how we can have beauty, enjoyment and fulfillment in the midst of our difficult lives and in a world that is going the wrong way. It doesn’t promise us we will avoid suffering but, if we believe, it does promise the presence of Christ in our trials with us.

The issue: Man uses his own reasoning and exalts it above believing what God has said.

We listen to a person’s voices rather than listening to God’s; Adam did, Eve did, Cain did, we undervalue God’s voice. Even Noah, a righteous man, got drunk; Esau undervalued what He had in God and sold it to Jacob for much less than it was worth.

You and I regularly do the same. That’s why we need short accounts with God in daily prayer to keep us on track.

Saint Augustine said, “God isn’t on trial, you are.” Let Jesus be your lawyer. The devil challenges God’s morality, God challenges your morality “God, you have made us for yourself and our souls are restless, until we find rest in you.”

Picking fruit is better than earning bread

The law fixes and establishes sin so that we can be forgiven not condemned. I asked God, “why do you do this?” – “Because Mark, I want to lead you back to paradise. It’s the garden in reverse, the first Adam led you away from Paradise, and Christ wants to lead you back.”

Untie The Donkey - By Lotty

Luke 19:28-40 (NLT)
Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of his disciples. ²⁹ As he came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead. ³⁰ “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹ If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
³² So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said. ³³ And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?”
³⁴ And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs it.” ³⁵ So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for him to ride on.
³⁶ As he rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him. ³⁷ When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.
³⁸ “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”
³⁹ But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”
⁴⁰ He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”

-         In history this event is known as Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter, the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem before his crucifixion, it’s a significant day

-         But what about the donkey?

-         I believe God would say to all of us “untie the donkey”

-         How many of you own a donkey? No one?

-         That’s ok, our donkey is our gifts, talents, abilities and/or our resources

-         We all have a donkey and it’s time we untied them

-         It’s interesting, the phrase that Jesus instructs the disciples to use,
“The Lord needs it.”

-         Does the God of heaven really need our donkey?

-         The original language (the Greek) translation of that phrase is,
“The Lord of it has need.”

-         In other words, the Lord of the donkey needs his donkey

-         In other words, it’s God’s donkey not yours

-         Great quote…

“Jesus doesn’t need what we have, in the sense that he cannot exist without that something, rather, he chooses to work alongside His creatures, using them for His glory.”

-         So, like I said before,  “untie the donkey”

-         It’s God’s anyway

-         That donkey is no good to anyone tied up

-         Donkey’s are not the animal you own for show purposes (no show pony)

-         They are a working animal

-         All a tied up donkey will do is eat, rest, make a mess and smell

-         But untie that donkey and it can get to work

-         In this case, the work it was doing was carrying Jesus into the city of Jerusalem

-         Your donkey, your gifts/talent/resource is no good to anyone tied up

-         But untie it, give it to God and it can be put to great use, for his purposes

-         In this story, Jesus challenges the ownership of the donkey

-         Do you see the donkey as yours or God’s?

-         Are they your talents, gifts and resources? Or are they God’s?

-         Everything I have is from God

-         Some of us need to make an adjustment in our head, remove the concept of, “It’s mine!”

-         And replace it with, “It’s His.”

-         Our natural response is to hold onto it, keep it to ourselves

-         We won’t untie the donkey because we think we need it more than God

-         Sometimes I will withhold my money because I don’t want to go without the thing I was planning to spend that money on

-         But that sort of thinking puts limits on God

-         And he cannot be limited

-         I have found that the more I untie the donkey’s in my life, the more donkey’s he gives me

-         Sometimes I go without for a season (it’s not always an instant thing)

-         But in the long run, there is always more donkey’s

-         The owner of the donkey could have held onto his donkey

-         The bible says that the donkey had never been ridden before

-         The owner was obviously saving it for something, had an intention for how it was to be used

-         By letting the donkey go, he was actually letting go of what he intended to use the donkey for, the future plans he had for it

-         The goals and dreams that were tied up with that donkey

-         All of us have a plan on how we are going to use our donkey

-         We’ve got it tied up waiting for the day we can put it into action

-         Whether it be our resources, our talents and abilities

-         But God’s plans and intentions are always above and beyond ours

-         You can trust your donkey to God (after all, it is His donkey)

-         And he has a magnificent plan for it

-         No matter what your donkey looks like, God has a plan for it

-         Sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking our donkey isn’t good enough to be used by God

-         After all, it’s just a smelly donkey

-         What could God do with that?

-         In this story, the fact that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey was very significant

-         In bible times if a king rode into a city on a horse it meant war,  but if a king rode in on a donkey it symbolized peace

-         The donkey was the perfect choice for the reason why Jesus came

-         Also, by riding into Jerusalem on a donkey Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 (NLT)Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey.

-         So it was no accident that Jesus chose a smelly old donkey to make his grand entry

-         The donkey was exactly what Jesus needed

-         Don’t ever under estimate the value of your donkey

-         Whatever it looks like, God has need of it

-         What donkey have you got tied up that God wants you to untie?

-         There is too much at stake to leave your donkey tied up

-         God has need of it

-         A donkey untied and used by God results in God being praised

-         In this story, it says as Jesus rode in on the donkey, crowds gathered and began to praise him, began to declare the goodness of God

-         God is glorified when we untie our donkeys and let him have control over them, over our talents, over our gifts, over our resources, over our lives

-         His purposes are achieved through us as we give him control

-         There is no greater feeling than to be used by God

-         To see God at work

-         When this happens, always remember its God who is to be praised

-         The people didn’t come out that day to cheer the donkey

-         They came to cheer and praise Jesus

-         Always praise Jesus not the donkey

-         Give God the glory not the talent, not the gift, not the resource

-         God at work in us

-         That’s the thing to celebrate and give the glory too

-         Don’t fall into the trap of chasing the praise and accolades for your donkey

-         That praise belongs to God

-         It’s important to know that the same crowd that were praising Jesus that day were only a few days later shouting out that he put be put to death

-         We also see that although most were praising God that day, there were some that were negative and criticized Jesus

-         I think that whenever you step out for God and make a stand, whenever you untie your donkey and let God have control of your life, there will be some that criticize

-         That’s OK, God is big enough to handle the criticism

-         Not sure if you’ve noticed but God hasn’t stopped being God just because a few people  have criticized him or said stuff about him

-         He’s continued to be God

-         He continues to be at work on the earth and in people’s lives

-         And He continues to do that work through you and I

-         His word for you today is, “Untie the donkey.”

-         Your donkey may be the very thing that takes Jesus into your school, your family, your work place, your world

-         Your donkey may be the very thing that God uses
 

-         For the owners of this donkey, their donkey was the vessel that carried Jesus into Jerusalem

-         Their donkey played a role in the single greatest event of all time

-         And that is the moment when Jesus gave up his life for us

-         Because of what Jesus did in those next few days, died on the cross and then rose from the grave to be lifted up to heaven

-         Because of what Jesus did, our lives can be dramatically different

-         Jesus died so that we can have life, he died so we can spend eternity in heaven

-         The way we can receive this eternal life is by entering into a relationship with Jesus

-         We invite Jesus into our world and start living for him

-         For us to do this, we have to surrender control over our lives, and let God be in control

-         The donkey in this case is our life

-         We have to untie it, and give it to God

-         Give our life to a higher purpose than just ourselves

-         Maybe you’ve already given your life to Jesus…

-         Examine your life, what donkeys have you got that are tied up?

-         That donkey had never been ridden before Jesus rode it that day

-         I believe there are donkeys in our world that are untested, never ridden before, never been given to God before

-         Up until now we’ve kept them tied up

-         Now is the time to “untie the donkey”

Father's Day

Visibility is Credibility

Genesis 3:9

1.  God didn't ask the woman where she was, but the man.

• Your presence is powerful.
• There is a position that God created the man to take up and remain in through difficulty.
• "Adam, you are out of position when you hide" - even if it's to own up to a mistake.
• Are you out of position?  Working in the wrong field?  Fighting the wrong battle?  Looking for love and intimacy in the wrong places?
• Good dads sustain, encourage, nurture, protect.
• God's sustenence of us does not depend on our behaviour or how we receive the provision - He sustains what He creates because of His goodness as a father.

2.  Don't withhold your heart from your children - be authentic, vulnerable and reassuring.

• Your kids don't want perfection - they want reality, so they can adjust to life as it really is.
• Malachi 4:6 - "He will turn the hearts of the Fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers."
• Spiritual fathering is one of the greatest needs of today's generation - probably, Gen X is over entertained and under fathered.
• A rebel doesn't have a father's heart to nurture him and doesn't have a son's heart either.
• Christ and the church is your hope.
• Boys, the way to manhood is to follow Jesus Christ.
• Four wrong images the world shoves at you - gender benders, wimps, macho males, pretenders.  Jesus wants you to initiate love, commit to a girl, unify your family, make some sacrifices, set an example, be authentic.
• The curse of fathers and children not understanding each other is broken through tears.
• Don't train leaders;  raise up sons and daughters.

Conclusion:

• Men, we are all "prodigal sons" who need to "come to our senses" and stop hanging out in the pig pen and eating slops and left overs.  Return home to your heavenly Father.  Live in His grace, forgiveness, acceptance and provision.
• When a man returns to Christ and accepts His redemption, he returns to his rightful position in creation, living as a Son of God first, which releases him to be a father to others.  Healing the brokeness of mankind and sustaining marriages, families, churches, communities and nations.