e-Soundings

Are you making any headway against the Christmas shopping onslaught?

  This used to mean that by now you’d have all your Christmas shopping done, your family events were planned or underway, and you were getting down to wrapping.

    However, new thinking is challenging all of that. 

     The “Advent Conspiracy” is a web page that helps us think of ways to keep our focus on the birth of Christ.  http://www.adventconspiracy.org/

     It has lots of links and other resources to help us think about what we are really doing by consuming so much, rushing about so much, worrying so much.

     It’s part of a trend over the last 10 to 20 years to return our celebrations to their spiritual roots rather then simply give up and “go with the flow.”

     The problem comes when you mess with some sacred and cherished

Why Dec. 25th? - Isn't that a mistake?

   It’s true, we don't know the actual birthday of Jesus.

   One of the reasons that Dec. 25^th was chosen was that it gave the faithful Christians of the Roman Empire an alternative to celebrating the extravagant pagan Feast of Saturnalia, the major yearly celebration of Rome focused on the god Saturn.  It was linked to the Winter Solstice as days became longer and people looked forward to Spring.

   With the advent of Jesus Christ, a new, more personal meaning was offered in the midst of the dark midwinter of the northern hemisphere.

   Simply said, Christmas proclaimed that God was with us in real and tangible ways even in the darkest days of the year, even in

Are you getting the most out of Christmas?

Christmas has begun. The merchandise has been out for over a month. Christmas TV specials and office parties will all begin soon.

As people filled with the Christian faith, we know that there is another “Reason for the Season.” We know that it’s more than parties and gift exchanges.

We know that beneath all the festivities is a profound and sometimes astounding truth:
God loves us so much that He came into our world to show us just what God’s heart is really all about.

As much as we might like to ignore that truth with bright lights, tasty food and decorative packages, it’s still right there, waiting for us to pause and think about what it means for our soul.

Before Christmas gets into full swing around your home, can you take time to pause and think about what the birth of Christ means for you?

We celebrate his birthday on Dec. 25, (even though we don’t know the actual date.) as a sign that the darkest part of the year has no sway over us.

And we proclaim that God is not only a loving God but an up close and personal God.
We also share that God is not a reward we get for being good, (like many Christmas presents seem to be) and that God is 

And now a word about our future….

    2008 will be our “hinge year”. 

     That simply means that all the foundational work of the this year, all the work to address our struggles & hopes, all the dreams we’ve had in the past, will “hinge” on this next year of 2008.

    Once a church consultant asked this question: “Are the best years of your church behind you?  …or in front of you?”  To ask that question and to discover the answer is what “hinge-year” means.

     Now be careful in answering that question.  It would be easy to say: “Of course, they’re in front of us!”  But be honest.  We have to ask ourselves:

Time to Walk the Walk...

     In the previous post I spoke of our “Core Values.”  Now we get to practice some of them.

      Over the next month we’ll have the opportunity to celebrate the birth of Christ into our lives.

     It’s also an opportunity to consider and deepen the core values of: “A joyful sharing of Jesus Christ,” providing “Engaging Worship” and “Radical Hospitality”

     Christmas is the time of year when we will have the opportunity to see many new worshippers and make some new friends.
     We want to take this opportunity to think about what it means to authentically but gracefully share what Jesus means to us.
     We also want to provide a worship experience that is

A Meditation on Tithing

"And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land,

or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy unto the LORD."

Leviticus 27:30*

The “tithe” is that biblical tenth of our income that we give to God and it ties us to the numerous accounts in the Bible of people tithing. 

 

It’s our response to a graceful, giving God, who is the creator of everything that exists.

God owns everything and we are simply stewards, managers of what we have been entrusted with.

The tithe principle is this; "He gives unto us, we give back to Him one-tenth of all that He has blessed us with."

Abraham tithed to Melchizedek, Isaac tithed, His son Jacob and many others also even before the law was given.

Many Christians tithe with an “Attitude of Gratitude.” It's an act of grace that matches the grace of God in Jesus Christ and no longer a legal obligation. It's a faith discipline.

Simply considering a tithe and the sacrifice it entails, is to struggle with God.

Perhaps you may decide on 5% or 7% with a prayerful promise to move toward tithing next year. Or you may decide that 10% is really not enough and you want to

A surefire way to follow through...

One of the hardest things to do is to keep a new habit strong and effective in our lives.

Over the centuries, one way has been discovered and re-discovered over and over again. It’s the power of fellowship around a common purpose and vision.

Business has learned this. Schools, non-profits and even governments have learned of its strength and taken advantage of its truth.

Churches would seem to have a single purpose: Jesus Christ. And we would appear to have lots of regular "meetings." But too often we do not pay that much attention to what we are doing. We easily lose our sense of common unity and power of being the body of Christ.

In our current season of terrorism, natural disasters and a general feeling that our society is drifting in the wrong direction, it becomes all the more important to seek out the bed rock ideals and understandings that we hold.

When we have a strong sense of who we are before God, it becomes easier to accept others, not be threatened by them or by new ideas. We are able to listen better, prayerfully evaluate and seek God’s holy will together.

We become a strong and healthy body of believers, willing to follow the Lordship of Christ.

Our time of “stewardship” is an important time for this process to happen. (See the previous article on stewardship.)

We pause in our church schedule to consider all the blessings that God has provided us, even in the midst of trial and struggle.

We then look seriously at what it means to live together, to provide a place of worship, education for our children, inspiring music, important mission and outreach activities.

And then we commit to each other for another year. We place our gifts and blessing on the altar-table before God and we ask God to guide us in all our actions and decisions (especially as a gathered church.)

And so we take another step together on the spiritual journey that God challenged us with. We surround each other with support and encouragement and Christian fellowship.

The journey with Christ is the most exciting and challenging journey you will ever take. It will push you to your limits and then take you beyond. You will meet people you never would have sought out. You will change not only your own life, but also the lives of many people around you.

Open up your heart to God’s challenge. Join a group, become part of a study. Plan to be regular in worship.

Let Christ not only heal and strengthen you, but lead you into a new way of living, a new adventure of life.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Terry Van Hook