Some of us will be back at the old grindstone, perhaps others have a few more days. This will be the last edition of Happy Monday of the year, but we’ll see you in 2014. (In other words, next week as usual.)
Re-gifting
Christmas was yesterday. The birth of Jesus is the greatest gift the world has ever known. The wise men brought valuable treasures to be sure, but the most precious gift was rocked to sleep by Mary. The first odd thought I had today, the day after Christmas, was about gift exchange. Although some gifts can and should be returned, the gift of God’s love is often swapped for things of lesser value. Exchanging God’s gift would be tragic. For those of us that have accepted, we are called to re-gift! Continue reading
Exchange Day
We (collective we, as a nation/society we) have been Christmas shopping since October. We went out Thanksgiving Day, got up early on Black Friday and/or hit the Christmas Eve specials for one last hurrah. And now here we are: December 26th, the day after. It’s time to make those left-over ham sandwiches and take it all back. The Walmarts of the land will have an aisle or two handling nothing but returns. It’s a tradition as old gift giving itself; returning what you got in order to get what you really wanted.
I had a funny thought this morning; this may be a stretch, but hang in there. On Christmas Day we celebrate the greatest gift the world has ever known. Continue reading
Merry Christmas
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Whether you unwrap gifts or light the Christ candle, let’s all thank God for his precious gift. Merry Christmas friends. -The Master’s Table
Happy Monday
Even if you will not be at work all week, shopping, travel, cooking and gifting could end up being more stressful than a regular week. Whatever you will be doing try to focus on the most important thing. Let’s start things off with a Happy Monday!
Advent, Fourth Sunday
4th Sunday Advent lesson, originally published December of 2011.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
In Luke 2 the sky was filled with the heavenly host proclaiming the gospel of peace to a few lowly shepherds. Last week, Joy, was about the shepherds. They found the baby as the angels had said, and went out of Bethlehem rejoicing and praising God. This week we celebrate Peace and light the Angels’ Candle.
Continue reading
Phil Robertson, A&E, and the Beliefs of True Christians
A&E has suspended Phil Robertson from the reality series Duck Dynasty, and the Internet is blowing up. It has nothing to do with anything said or done on the show, but remarks he made in an interview with GQ magazine. Here is part of what Phil said:
“Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers—they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”
Christmas Scriptures
There are many well-known passages of scripture that make their way onto Christmas cards and into sermons this time of year. Prophesies of Isaiah and Micah foretelling the Messiah are common, and the birth of Jesus is recorded in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. While Christmas celebrates the birth of the Christ child, there’s a lot more going on than just a birthday. The incarnation is about God robing himself in flesh. Emanuel is God with us, and the New Testament has much more to say about the incarnation than it does the night it happened.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:15-20, ESV)
Here with Us
If you want to know how much God loves us, look in the manger. If you want to see how much God hates sin, look at the cross.
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Joy Williams is a celebrated Christian singer/songwriter. She released Here with Us in 2005. Some how, some way, I had never heard it until last year. The video above combines her song with images from The Nativity and the mini-series Jesus of Nazareth. Christ coming into the world is cause for celebration, but don’t loose sight of the fact that… he came to die. Continue reading
Social Media Christmas
Happy Monday was long enough already and I didn’t want to just stick this in at the bottom. Here is an imaginative take on what the incarnation might have looked like on the pages of social media (i.e. Facebook). Props to the brilliant folks at Igniter Media.
The Master's Table 