We have finished our observance of Advent which ends each year on Christmas Day as we celebrate the birth of Christ. But our little church out in Plainville, GA does not have a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day service so the Christ candle in our wreath has not been lit. I’m going to preach one more sermon, God is in the Manger, tomorrow morning and we are going to light the center tower/Christ candle. No one is going to complain about coming to church and hearing too much about Jesus, right? If so that’s a person I need to have a long talk with anyway.
Hey blog friends, I know it’s a been a while. December is always a busy month and this one has stretched me to the limit, if not slightly past it. Here is a Happy Monday post from 2015. I will drop some tech specs into the comments for my nerd friends.
Enjoy your week, celebrate in whatever way you see fit, do little things that are kind but also that no one knows about. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, God is in the manger.
This will be the last post before Christmas. Safe travels for those that drive or fly, stay warm and dry wherever you are. No matter how many people are in your house or how many hours you spend in the kitchen, take a moment, take a breath, say a prayer to the one who gives the best gifts. Someday in your memories these will be the good old days.
Here’s a Christmas card that I like. Some Christians struggle with the idea of sending secular cards with Santa Claus, snowmen or winter scenes on them. The religious cards may have a nativity scene or wisemen following the star to Bethlehem but are wildly inaccurate based on a careful study of the text. Christmas Card Theology is a post from all the way back in 2009. Rethinking the Angel Choir and Rethinking the Wise Men are better written with scripture references included. Those posts are ancient by internet standards but we’re talking about the Bible here.
When a multitude of the heavenly host appeared to a group of shepherds out in the field, they proclaimed “Peace on Earth, goodwill toward men.” Someone may take a critical look at the world today and ask “Where is it? I don’t see peace on Earth.” The first thing we need to do is examine what this group of messengers were really saying. The full text of Luke 2:14 is “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Your translation of choice may not include among those with whom he is pleased so let’s not even go there. These angels are worshipping. They proclaim Glory to God in the highest which we do not see everywhere in the world today. The creation points to God’s glory but the majority of people walking the face of the earth do not acknowledge God. The angels were announcing the birth of the Messiah/Christ so peace on earth could be similar to Jesus himself saying “The Kingdom of God is at hand.” He certainly was. So the angels did not prophesy in so many words “There is going to be peace on earth” or “from now on there will be peace on earth and goodwill everywhere you look.” But I still want to address these two questions: Is there or can there be peace on earth? Will there ever be peace over the whole earth?
The Master's Table 