Pyromaniacs weekly posts an excerpt from Spurgeon and this week they highlighted a sermon from December 30th, 1877 from the text John 12:28, “Father, glorify thy name.”  Make sure you read the entire excerpt lest you walk away discouraged at what the next year might bring.

ow, brethren, concerning this next year upon which we are entering, I hope it will be a year of happiness to you,—I very emphatically wish you all a Happy New Year,—but nobody can be confident that it will be a year free from trouble.On the contrary, you may be pretty confident that it will not be so, for man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.

We have each, beloved friends, some dear faces in which we rejoice, may they long smile upon us: but remember each one of these may be an occasion of sorrow during the next year, for we have neither an immortal child, nor an immortal husband, nor an immortal wife, nor an immortal friend, and therefore some of these may die within the year.

Moreover the comforts with which we are surrounded may take to themselves wings before another year shall fulfill its months. Earthly joys are as if they were all made of snow, they melt even as the hoar frost, and are gone before we conclude our thanksgiving for their coming. It may be you will have a year of drought and shortness of bread; years lean and ill-favored may be your portion.

Ay, and yet more, perhaps during the year which has almost dawned you may have to gather up your feet in the bed and die, to meet your father’s God.

Well now, concerning this approaching year and its mournful possibilities, shall we grow gloomy and desponding? Shall we wish we had never been born or ask that we may die? By no means. Shall we on the other hand grow frivolous and laugh at all things? No, that were ill-becoming in heirs of God.

What shall we do? We will breathe this prayer, “Father, glorify thy name.” That is to say, if I must lose my property, glorify thy name by my poverty; if I must be bereaved, glorify thy name in my sorrows; if I must die, glorify thy name in my departure.

Now, when you pray in that fashion, your conflict is over, no outward fright nor inward fear remains if that prayer rises from the heart, you have now cast aside all gloomy forebodings, and you can thoughtfully and placidly pursue your way into the unknown to-morrow.

Sex.  Yes, it is important and healthy for us as parents to talk with our kids about sex.  Certainly there is a wise and appropriate way to do this and yet it cannot be neglected.  If you don’t someone, including their own sinful nature, will.  A blog entitled, “The Family Room,” has recently posted what is currently a three part series on how to wisely do this.  They don’t give all the answers or lay down the law but hopefully it will get us thinking about how to proactively approach this subject in a way that will help our children see sex as a way to glorify God when practiced according to His plan.  I have pasted the entire posts below. (more…)

Josh Winans preaches on the account of the disciples’ journey on the road to Emmaus.

 

 Luke 24:13-32 [30:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Bob Kauflin at Worship Matters posted the following article this week.  It provides more food for thought regarding Christmas that will hopefully steer us towards a more Christ-centered celebration.  I have posted the entirety below.

During my private worship this morning I was reading Mark Dever’s commentary on the New Testament, Promises Kept, transcribed from messages he’s given at his church. This morning I happened to be reading his sermon on 1 Timothy. Providentially, it was a message he first gave on Dec. 19, 1999, so it contains numerous references to Christmas. I wanted to share some of his comments with you, along with my thoughts.

1. Christmas isn’t about who’s been “naughty or nice.”

“The news we have to declare as Christians is not fundamentally about our law-keeping or our obedience. The glad tidings we bear are not for ‘good people.’ It is ‘for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly, and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers, and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers’ (1 Tim. 1:9b-10a NIV). I doubt you have received many Christmas cards like that. Yet have you realized this is who the Christmas message is for? The Christmas message is not for a bunch of well-dressed, respectable people who attend church to celebrate a cultural holiday. The Christmas message is a message that brings joy to people like father-killers and slave-traders!” (p. 345-346)

To truly find joy in Christmas, I have to acknowledge that Jesus didn’t become a baby because I’m so good. He came because I’m so evil and needed a Savior. He didn’t come to reward us for what we’ve done, but to save us from what we’ve done.

2. Christmas isn’t merely about good feelings.

“A Christmas card theology of ‘holiday cheer’ or of angels with trumpets singing ‘Peace on earth, good will toward men’ is simply not good enough in a world that includes real tragedies like the Columbine High School shootings, the terrorist threat of nuclear weapons, or, truly, the contents of your heart and mine. If you regard evil only as what those ‘bad people out there’ do, you will not understand Jesus at all. You must understand this truth first: there is far more to the Christian gospel than celebrating the mean remnants of goodness that may remain in us” (p. 348).

The expressions of “Merry Christmas!” and “Happy Holidays!” that I’ve heard so often recently are in one sense a sign of common grace. Many people tend to be kinder and more thoughtful at Christmas time. However, to think that’s all Christmas is about is to miss the point. We need more than a temporary respite from the real tragedies, problems, and fears that plague our lives. We need more than good feelings. We need a Savior. And Christmas tells us that he’s come.

3. Christmas is only one part of a greater story.

“To think that Christmas is more about the stable in Bethlehem than about the cross in Jerusalem is to regard the acorn as more important than the oak…The Christmas message is not merely the fact that God became man by being born of the virgin Mary; the Christmas message is the reason for the Incarnation: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’” (p. 353-354).

Jesus held by the wood.
Delivered and delivering,
Jesus held by the wood.

Witnesses on either side.
Mary silhouetted,
quietly gazing
with great feeling
on her son,
the sky dark above.
As at the beginning,
so at the end.

Jesus held by the wood.
Delivered and delivering,
Jesus held by the wood.

The scene of Christmas
and of Calvary,
of the cradle
and the cross.
(Mark Dever, p. 354-355)

While the mystery of God becoming man stretches the boundaries of our comprehension, his coming can’t be separated from the reason he came. May the two stories - the cradle and the cross - always remain inseparable in our meetings, our relationships, and our hearts.

I would recommend reading this article by Jim Elliff discussing the connection between happiness, joy, and Christmas.  He comes at it from an evangelistic slant and I think might be helpful both for our own souls and as a something to share with unbelievers we know.  Here are a couple of highlights.

Can tinsel and presents, carols and candy really bring happiness? Not often, and not much. And if our happiness is based on circumstance, is it a true happiness? Isn’t it just a playful escape, a temporary delusion? Does a little thin paint on the outside eradicate the rust beneath? Do cosmetics on a corpse make the death go away?

I think the diversion is worth something, mind you, But when the reality is so strong, do we have the right to call even Christmas a source of true happiness?

This “reality” is much more troubling than the list mentioned above-the depression, sickness, sulkiness, and aggravations. The reality for a person without Christ is a permanent state of non-forgiveness, alienation from God, separation from the true people of God forever, and hell. Those are the matters that make happiness hard to come by and what makes laughter so fugitive for the thinking person.

 and

If a person is related to God through His Son Jesus Christ, then joy, that deeper happiness that is more than a facial characteristic, is a birthright blessing. The true Christian should be joyful because his sins are forgiven, his place in heaven is secure, his life is in-dwelt by God’s Spirit, and he has an open door to God’s throne room. No matter what happens, he always has reason to rejoice because the big things are taken care of, and the Spirit in him promises to help him through all the rest. In a word, his joy is not based on circumstance, but on huge unchanging facts and an even bigger God behind the facts.

The church is looking to acquire a cargo trailer in order to transport and store various equipment and supplies from week to week.  If you or someone you know has one they would like to donate or sell please let us know.  You may also help out by contributing a portion of the funds needed to purchase a trailer.  Here is what we are looking for:

 6×12 ft.

 Excellent condition (important in light of proposed contents)

 Preferably ramp door (rather than barn doors)

Something like this-

Thanks,

Tim Challies has just finished a two part series entitled “Why I Do Not Homeschool.”  While it may sound hostile towards homeschooling what he is really doing is describing his own thought process in making a decision regarding his children.  He is calling for parents to think carefully about their decisions and to be faithful as parents.  The series is helpful in guiding us in how to think about those who make different choices than us and it is certainly provokes thought on the subject.  The following is a taken from his concluding thoughts. 

I think it is important to note that, in any educational choice, work remains to be done. Homeschoolers have to be deliberate about building bridges to the community and neighborhood. They have to deliberately seek ways of inviting unbelieving children into their homes and finding ways into the homes of unbelieving families. They have to seek ways of building credibility with those who live around them, of building community with them and of finding ways for their children to learn to witness to others. With those of us who choose to send our children to public school, we must be deliberate about understanding what our children are learning, interpreting it for them, and ensuring that they have a Christian worldview that allows them to filter these things themselves. We must ensure that they understand their sin and see that it is only the Holy Spirit that makes them any different from the other children in the school. In either case, academic education is only the starting-point for building a life that honors God and fulfills His commandments and commission.

You can read them here- Part 1,  Part 2

While meeting the needs of those in our community is always a priority for the believer, the Christmas season often provides more opportunities and creates more awareness of such opportunities. 

I have pasted an article below that was recently posted in the Auburn Journal on various non-profit agencies that are helping the needy.  Consider choosing one of these and getting involved yourself or as a family.  This might also be a good opportunity to encourage your Grace Group to serve in this way.  (more…)

Christianaudio.com has one audio book per month available for free download.  This month’s offering is The Pilgrim’s Progress: for Young Adults. 

This classic by John Bunyan is second only to the Bible as the most published book of all time and is full of the great truths of Christianity. This version is abridged but is well done and would be profitable for us all. This might be a great way to spend time on long commutes or trips to visit family over the holidays.