From a Manger to the Cross

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the Sunday after Christmas day, the 27th of December, 2020, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

I just love the Christmas story as the Apostle Luke wrote it.  The Jews expected their Messiah to come as a conquering hero, but it didn’t happen that way.  Just the opposite; He came as an innocent, vulnerable baby, attended to by cows and sheep and shepherds.  Mary and Joseph couldn’t even find decent lodgings for her to give birth in, and had to seek shelter in a stable.  And there the little Baby Jesus was born and laid in a manger, a feeding trough, the King of all kings.

Sometime later, we don’t know exactly when, a small group of very learned men, following a heavenly sign, traveled a great distance to see this newborn King.  Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle Matthew recorded for us in the 2nd chapter of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 12, and I’ll be reading this from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;

For out of you shall come a Ruler

Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

--Matthew 2:1-12 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for giving us the very best Christmas gift ever!  Thank You for giving us Your own Son, who came humbly to live among us and teach us, and who died so that our sins might be washed away.  Thank You, Father, for loving us this much.  Please help us to better understand exactly what the birth and death of Jesus mean to all of mankind, and what His resurrection means for we who believe and follow Him.  And please, Father, protect us from all of the devil’s evil work in this world.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and worship, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this day.  May we learn from the humble life Jesus lived and model our own lives after His.  This we pray in the blessed name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

I may have told this before, and if so, please forgive me, but it doesn't hurt to hear it again.  There's a Spanish story of a father and son who had become estranged.  The son ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail.  Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper.  The ad read: "Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday.  All is forgiven.  I love you. Your Father."  On Saturday, 800 Pacos showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers.

I can’t help but wonder how many people today are looking for forgiveness and love from their Father, their heavenly Father.  We really don’t have to look very far.  We don’t have to go anywhere at any specific time on a given day.  All we have to do is open our hearts to God’s Holy Spirit and say, “Father, forgive me.”

Jesus has already paid the price for our forgiveness, for our eternal life.  We just need to fully accept Him as Lord to accept God’s wonderful gift of forgiveness and love.  What can we do to help people understand that?

It’s hard to imagine any more humble surroundings for the Son of God to be born into this world.  A stable complete with animals and, I’m sure, their smells.  Lowly shepherds, following the directions of an angel, came to visit and see the holy Infant.

And then, according to Matthew, wise men came to see for themselves the King that had been foretold.  They brought expensive gifts, befitting a king.  When they bowed before the Christ child, they did not see the lowliness of it all.  They saw only forgiveness and love.  I believe the Apostle John describes why they could see this in his 1st letter to the early church, in chapter 4 verses 9 and 10…

9 God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. 10 This is real love — not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 

--1 John 4:9-10 (NLT)

Jesus came to us because His Father sent Him, because His Father loves us this much.  He came as one of us so we could relate to Him.  He came humbly, lived humbly, so that we could learn to be humble, too.  And He went to the cross humbly, willingly, to carry out His Father’s plan of salvation for mankind.

A common question is why did Jesus have to suffer so much and die the way He died?  Couldn’t God have accomplished His plan some other less brutal way?  The answer can be found in the words of the author of the letter to the Hebrews, chapter 9 verses 19 through 28…

19 For after Moses had read each of God’s commandments to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God’s law and all the people, using hyssop branches and scarlet wool. 20 Then he said, “This blood confirms the covenant God has made with you.” 21 And in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the Tabernacle and on everything used for worship. 22 In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

23 That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.

24 For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. 25 And He did not enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. 26 If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, He has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by His own death as a sacrifice. 

27 And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, 28 so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for Him.

--Hebrews 9:19-28 (NLT)

God set the rules in place long ago: only the blood of an innocent, spotless lamb can redeem us of our sin.  Jesus remained humble, innocent, spotless, so that His sacrifice upon that cruel cross would cleanse us in the eyes of God.  One perfect sacrifice for all mankind – once, for all.

And all anyone has to do to benefit from God’s love and Jesus’ sacrifice is to accept Jesus as their Lord!  Yet so many refuse to do so, even after hearing the Gospel, the Good News.  Why?  Why, oh God, are they so stubborn?  Why can they not see what we see?

A humble manger served our Lord as His crib when He entered our world.  A humble, rugged cross carried His mortal body to death.  But we all know that was not the end of the story.  Our Lord’s journey from a manger to the cross tells of our forgiveness and redemption.  His resurrection tells of our being raised again once this life is finished, so that we will have eternal life in heaven.  But that’s our story for Easter.

For now, let’s remember how the journey began, there in a manger, in a stable.  Let’s join those wise men who held what we might call the very first Christian worship service.  Let’s follow the example Jesus set by living our lives humbly, in service to our Lord.  And let’s try to get others to listen and grasp just what Jesus did for them, and why He did it.

This is the love of God, the love of Jesus.  And this is the perfect time to share that love.  For Jesus went from a humble manger to the cross just for us, for all of us.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, our Savior, the one true Son of God, the world’s only hope.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, it is so hard for us to understand why You love us enough that You would send Your only Son to serve as our blood sacrifice so we can be forgiven of our sin.  Thank You, Father, for loving us this much, for so great a gift!  We know there are many people who just don’t believe themselves to be worthy of that love.  And truly, Father, none of us are worthy, which is why Your love is even more remarkable.  Please, Father, help us reach out to those who do not believe.  Help us show them Your love through our humble service.  May they see You in our hearts.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be better, more faithful servants, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, how wonderful it would have been to sit among the shepherds that night when God’s angel suddenly appeared before them, announcing Your birth!  But in spite of that grand proclamation, Your birthplace was so humble.  Indeed, Your entire life on earth was lived humbly, right up to the cross.  Please, Lord, help us learn from Your life.  Help us to follow Your example.  And help us explain to others why You did all this, and how little is truly required of us to benefit from Your sacrifice.  Forgive us, Jesus, when we are too timid, or shy, or afraid to share the Gospel with this non-believing world.  Help us show them Your love in our love and service.  Give us Your heart for loving them.  Let us be Your hands to reach out and help them.  Strengthen us, Jesus, through these very difficult times.  And Lord, please heal those hurts that separate and divide us, even within Your church family.  Help us remain true and obedient no matter what we go through.  May our focus be more on the needs of others rather than on what this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Joy to the World!

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the 4th Sunday in Advent, the 20th of December, 2020, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

This morning is the 4th Sunday in Advent.  Today we lit the candle of joy for the joy that Jesus brings to all believers, the joy declared for all the earth if people would only accept the Son of God.  But joy in this world is usually rather short-lived.  It takes so little to rob us of any joy we might feel.  Our joy can be stripped away with a simple careless word or thoughtless deed.  But the joy that comes from truly accepting Jesus, the joy of knowing that our salvation is secured by His blood, can never be taken from us.  This is the message proclaimed to us at Christ’s birth, a message of great joy.

Our scripture reading this morning is very familiar, and one you’ll hear again. But for this reading I chose a version that provides a slightly different, and perhaps more significant, spin on the message given to the world.  Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle Luke recorded for us in the 2nd chapter of his Gospel account, verses 8 through 14, and I’ll be reading this from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior — yes, the Messiah, the Lord — has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize Him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others — the armies of heaven — praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,

and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

--Luke 2:8-14 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for sending Your angel to bring us such wonderful news!  You sent Your Son to us, the Messiah, our Savior.  This is our joy - knowing Christ - and it can never be taken from us.  Thank You, Father, for offering us eternal life with You.  Thank You for Your peace and the joy and the assurance of our hope being in You and You alone.  Help us to be more pleasing in Your sight, Father.  And please protect us from all of Satan’s traps and his forces of evil at work in this world.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and worship, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us for this day.  May we spend this time together rejoicing in our love of You and our salvation.  This we pray under the blood and in the name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Did you know that “Joy to the World” was not written as a Christmas carol?  In its original form, it had nothing to do with Christmas.  It wasn’t even written to be a song.

Isaac Watts was one of the great hymn writers in church history, and perhaps nothing shows that better than the fact that he wrote one of his most famous hymns by accident.  In 1719, Watts published a book of poems in which each poem was based on a psalm.  But rather than just translate the original Old Testament texts, he adjusted them to refer more explicitly to the work of Jesus as it had been revealed in the New Testament.

One of those poems was an adaptation of Psalm 98.  Watts interpreted this psalm as a celebration of Jesus’s role as King of both his church and the whole world.  More than a century later, the second half of this poem was slightly adapted and set to music to give us what has become one of the most famous of all Christmas carols: "Joy to the World".  And the rest, as they say, is history.

I would normally read this morning’s passage of Luke’s Gospel from the King James or New King James Versions where it ends with the angels singing, “and on earth peace, goodwill toward men”.  But in the New Living Translation, the angels proclaim “peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased”.

Now we know that God wants peace on this earth.  He created the world to be peaceful and it was, until sin entered in.  He also wants the whole earth to accept His Son as Lord, but He knows too many will never do so.  However those who do accept Jesus will receive everlasting peace, and that is indeed pleasing to God.

And this is the message of great joy that the angel shared so long ago.  He appeared among the most lowly of people, the shepherds, out in the fields with their sheep.  He brought the best news ever given to mankind, there to the most humble.

The angel spoke of great joy to all men.  Some very wise men traveled a great distance to experience this joy first-hand.  But first they had to talk with King Herod, who wanted to eliminate any threat to his rule.  Listen to what the Apostle Matthew recorded in the 2nd chapter of his Gospel account, verses 7 through 11…

7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” 

9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

--Matthew 2:7-11 (NKJV)

The wise men first had to get past Herod, who tried to fool them into giving up the location where the Christ Child could be found, and slain.  When they left Herod, they once again saw the star that had guided them to this place, the star that now stood guard over the place where Jesus lay.  Just seeing the star filled them with great joy, and when they finally came into the house and into the presence of Jesus, they fell down and worshiped Him.

And their gifts…  Gold, a gift befitting an earthly king.  Frankincense, incense used frequently in meditation and in praying to God.  Myrrh, an embalming oil used most often for royalty.  Even at His birth, Jesus’ divinity was recognized and His sacrifice and death were foretold.

Now let’s fast forward to a time very close to the cross.  Jesus is in deep prayer with His Father in heaven, praying a little for Himself and a lot for His disciples and for all believers.  Listen to one part of our Lord’s prayer to our Father God, as recorded by the Apostle John in his Gospel account, chapter 17 verse 13…

13 “But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.”

--John 17:13 (NKJV)

God, through His angels, proclaimed peace on earth to those in whom He is pleased, who believe in His Son.  Jesus, while still alive in this world, knowing His time of sacrifice grew near, prayed that we might have His joy!  He knew His sacrifice would finish His business on earth, and thus complete His joy at serving the Father faithfully and fully.  And He wanted for us to be able to partake of that joy as well.  But that joy will only be granted to those who faithfully and fully serve our Lord.

This is how we please God.  And this is how we receive His joy and peace.  Believe in Jesus as the Son of God.  Accept Him as Lord.  Love Him with all our heart and soul and mind.  Love others and help them come to know Jesus, too.  For Jesus came to save us all.

This is the Gospel, the Good News of great joy!  Joy to the world, our Lord has come!  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, our Savior, the one true Son of God, the Joy of this world.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, Your word inspires us.  Just like when Isaac Watts took the 98th Psalm and made it into a poem praising Your Son, and it became one of our beloved songs to sing as we celebrate Your Son’s birth.  Thank You, Father, for Your word.  Thank You for our bible and all that it contains.  Please help us spend more time in it, learning from it, understanding from the examples it provides what You see as the most important things for us to do with our lives.  Thank You most of all for sending Your Son to offer us salvation.  Help us to show and to share Jesus and His love with those who do not know Him.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You straight from our hearts, promising to repent of our sinful ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You gave up Your throne in heaven and came to earth, not as a conquering hero but as one of us, as a tiny baby – humble, innocent, vulnerable.  You lived among us, teaching us by Your word and Your example how we should live in service to God.  Please help us to better follow Your example.  Help us to fully understand why You had to suffer and die upon that cruel cross, and just what Your death and resurrection mean to us personally, we who follow Your voice.  Forgive us, Jesus, when our faith falters because of the troubles of these days.  Help us to more faithfully serve You.  Give us Your heart for loving others.  Give us Your eyes for seeing their hearts.  Strengthen us, Jesus, through these very difficult times.  And Lord, please heal those hurts that separate and divide us, even within Your church family.  Help us remain true and obedient no matter what we go through.  May our focus be more on the needs of others rather than on what this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Sharing Peace

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the 3rd Sunday in Advent, the 13th of December, 2020, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

This morning, the 3rd Sunday in Advent, we lit the candle of peace, representing the peace of God, peace through God, a peace that surpasses all human understanding.

When Jesus was born, God proclaimed peace for all the earth, and by our biblical account, the night of His birth was indeed quiet and filled with peace.  But it doesn’t require much in-depth study of His ministry, His last three years on this earth, to see that Jesus did not enjoy much peace Himself.  Nonetheless, He did not let His own turmoil keep Him from offering peace to others.  Not even His death stopped Him from sharing peace.

And since His death was foretold at His birth, I’d like to look at an instance when Jesus appeared to His disciples after His execution, burial, and resurrection.  Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle John recorded in chapter 20 of his Gospel account, verses 19 through 23, and I’ll be reading this from the English Standard Version of our Holy Bible…

19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

--John 20:19-23 (ESV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for proclaiming peace for the world on the night when Your Son became flesh.  Sadly, mankind is incapable of maintaining peace for very long.  Any peace the world offers is fleeting, temporary, here one minute and gone the next.  But the peace we will know when we finally come to You is a peace of the spirit, a peace in our soul, a peace that will last forever.  Thank You for Your peace, Father.  Please help us share this gift of peace with others.  Help us reach out to them and show them Jesus so that they too may know true peace.  And Father, please protect us from the devil’s tricks and his forces of evil at work in this world.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and worship, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us for this day.  May Your peace settle upon us and still us while we share this time together.  This we pray under the blood and in the name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Duke University did a study on "peace of mind."  The factors they found to contribute greatly to emotional and mental stability are:  1) the absence of suspicion and resentment.  Nursing a grudge was a major factor in unhappiness.  2) Not living in the past.  An unwholesome preoccupation with old mistakes and failures leads to depression.  3) Not wasting time and energy fighting conditions you cannot change.  Cooperate with life, instead of trying to run away from it.  4) Force yourself to stay involved with the living world.  Resist the temptation to withdraw and become reclusive during periods of emotional stress.  5) Refuse to indulge in self-pity when life hands you a raw deal.  Accept the fact that nobody gets through life without some sorrow and misfortune.  6) Cultivate the old-fashioned virtues -- love, humor, compassion and loyalty.  7) Do not expect too much of yourself.  When there is too wide a gap between self-expectation and your ability to meet the goals you have set, feelings of inadequacy are inevitable.  8) Find something bigger than yourself to believe in.  Self-centered egotistical people score lowest in any test for measuring happiness.

Did you notice that most of those factors leading to personal peace were things not to do?  Don’t hold a grudge, don’t live in the past, don’t waste time on things you cannot change, don’t isolate yourself from others, don’t indulge in self-pity.  But the last factor is the best, and it’s a thing to do.  Do find something bigger than yourself to believe in.  And family, there is nothing bigger than God.  Believe in His Son Jesus, and enjoy everlasting peace.

Christmas is a time for sharing.  We share gifts and meals and time with our family and loved ones.  And many of us share those things with others, even complete strangers, and especially those with greater needs than our own.

God shared His own Son with us at Christmas.  The Prince of Peace came into our world.  An angel announced that birth and made a proclamation for God.  Listen to how the Apostle Luke described this in the 2nd chapter of his Gospel account, in verses 13 and 14…

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

14 “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

--Luke 2:13-14 (NKJV)

Not only did God desire that the earth be at peace, but that man enjoy goodwill, kindness, friendliness.  There’s actually two parts there, two pieces, two roles to be played.  Only God can set the world at peace, but it’s up to us to spread goodwill and kindness, to be friendly with one another.

God want us to share the peace He offers.  And that offer comes to us through His Son Jesus.  God tried to make peace with all mankind through Jesus.  Listen to what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians in chapter 1, verses 19 and 20 of that letter…

19 for God wanted all of Himself to be in His Son.
20 It was through what His Son did that God cleared a path for everything to come to Him — all things in heaven and on earth — for Christ’s death on the cross has made peace with God for all by His blood.

--Colossians 1:19-20 (TLB)

By His sacrifice upon the cross, Jesus cleared a path so that all things, all people, might easily come to God the Father.  By His blood, Jesus made peace with God for us all.

Peace.  Even those of us blessed with God’s peace in this life too often find that peace interrupted.  All the madness going on in the world around us - the diseases and violence and storms – all this can shatter the peace in our hearts.  But God’s love for us and our love for Jesus will replenish that peace.

And no matter what happens around us, it must not keep us from sharing God’s peace with others.  We need to remember what Jesus said during His Sermon on the Mount, in the Beatitudes.  The Apostle Matthew recorded Jesus’ words in chapter 5 verse 9 of his Gospel account…

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.”

--Matthew 5:9 (NKJV)

Peacemakers – those who make peace with others.  Right now in this old world, we seem to have enough troublemakers.  We need more peacemakers.  We need more people sharing the peace that God gives through Jesus.

And that means we need more people believing in something bigger than themselves.  We need them believing in Jesus.  And we need to help them come to that realization, by showing them how much He has done for us.

As believers, we enjoy God’s peace now, in this life, and will live in endless joy and peace when we join God in paradise.  Let’s share the peace that we have now and our hope for tomorrow with others.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, our Savior, the one true Son of God, the Prince of Peace.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, Your proclaimed peace to the world on the night Your Son was born as a man.  Through Him and His sacrifice, You open the way to Your home in heaven.  To those who believe, You offer eternal peace.  Thank You, Father, for Your great gift of peace.  Please help us share that peace with all others.  Help us to share Jesus and His love with those who do not know Him.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You straight from our hearts, promising to repent of our sinful ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help to do so… [* pause *]

Lord Jesus, You came to this earth to reconcile us with our Father God, to make peace between Him and us, to offer us His peace.  You came so that we might have a chance of everlasting peace in paradise, but only if we accept You as Lord.  Please help us to truly be Your humble servants, loving others and sharing Your love.  Help us be peacemakers.  Forgive us, Jesus, when we hesitate to step out of our comfort zone and tell someone just what You mean to us, what You have done for us.  Help us to carry Your peace into a world that so needs it right now.  Give us Your heart for loving others, just as You love us.  Strengthen us, Jesus, through these trying times.  And Lord, please heal those hurts that separate and divide us, even within Your church family.  Help us remain faithful and obedient no matter what we go through.  May our focus be more on the needs of others rather than on what this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

True Love

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the 2nd Sunday in Advent, the 6th of December, 2020, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

This morning is the 2nd Sunday in Advent and we lit the candle of love, representing the love that God and Jesus have for us, the love we should have for one another.  During our Lord’s walk and ministry on earth, love was a very important and frequently recurring theme.  Jesus told us to love God with all our heart and soul and mind, and to love each other as we love ourselves.  And indeed, the only way we can truly love God is to love others, to love those walking among us.  But what really is love, what did our Christ mean when He talked about love?

Please listen and follow along to what Jesus shared with His disciples and with us, as recorded by the Apostle John in chapter 15 of his Gospel account, verses 9 through 19, and I’ll be reading this from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved Me. Remain in My love. 10 When you obey My commandments, you remain in My love, just as I obey My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with My joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is My commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are My friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are My friends, since I have told you everything the Father told Me. 16 You didn’t choose Me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using My name. 17 This is My command: Love each other.

18 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated Me first. 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you."

--John 15:9-19 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for loving us when we in no way deserve Your love.  There is nothing we could ever do to repay Your love or come close to equaling Your love.  Thank You for so great a love, so great a gift.  Please help us share this gift with all others.  Help us to not only personally realize Your love but also to love others as we love ourselves.  Help us love as Jesus loves.  And Father, please protect us from all the forces of evil at work in this world.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and worship, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us for this day.  Let us feel Your love, and then go out and share that love with all we encounter.  This we pray under the blood and in the name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

During the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, sentenced a soldier to be executed for his crimes.  The order was to be carried out at the ringing of the evening curfew bell.  However, the bell did not sound.  The soldier's fiancé had climbed into the belfry and clung to the great clapper of the bell to prevent it from striking.  When she was summoned by Cromwell to account for her actions, she wept as she showed him her bruised and bleeding hands.  Cromwell's heart was touched and he said, "Your lover shall live because of your sacrifice.  Curfew shall not ring tonight!"

True love is sacrificial love, a love that is willing to give all, just as Jesus noted in our scripture reading.  Being of Irish heritage, I’m no big fan of Cromwell, but by all accounts, he was a very religious man.  Perhaps Jesus’ words came to his mind as he saw the young woman’s hands and tears.  He granted the soldier’s pardon because of her sacrifice, her true love.

Love.  We toss that word around rather freely and loosely.  We say, “I love a good home-cooked meal”, or “I love my new car”, or “I love just sitting in my easy chair watching an old movie on TV”.  Too often what we refer to as “loving” are merely things that have no real, eternal value.  We need to put our focus more on the things of heaven while loving our fellow man.  This is, after all, what Jesus commands us to do.

Do you remember the conversation Jesus had with Peter about love?  John recorded it in chapter 21 of his Gospel account.  Three times Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love Me?”.  Each time Peter replies, “Yes, Lord, You know I love You."  And Jesus responds, "Feed My lambs", "Tend My sheep", "Feed My Sheep".

This is how we show Jesus we love Him: by seeing to the needs of others.  And yes, feeding and tending are physical acts that fulfill the needs of the flesh.  But we also have spiritual needs that should be met.  Our spirit also needs to be “fed” and “tended” to.  We can only show Jesus our love by doing what He has commanded us to do, by seeing to both the physical and spiritual needs of others.

One night a Pharisee came to visit our Lord, admitting that Jesus must have been sent by God because no other man could do the things He did.  Jesus liked to make people think, so He replied that one must be born again to see the kingdom of God.  Of course this confused the Pharisee and a lesson from Jesus ensued.  The lesson also contains the most well-known verse in our Bible: John 3:16.

But Jesus left us with so much more in that conversation with the Pharisee Nicodemus, who soon became a faithful believer.  Listen to the words John recorded in chapter 3 of his Gospel account, verses 16 through 21…

16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

--John 3:16-21 (NKJV)

God loved us enough that He sent His own Son, His only begotten Child, with the promise that we can be saved if we only believe in Him.  Jesus didn’t come to condemn us, but to offer us salvation and redemption of our sins.

He brought us the light, the truth, but the world loves darkness and lies.  Those who reject Jesus are already condemned, by their own deeds and words.  They’ve turned down God’s greatest gift of love.

Love.  When Jesus used that word He meant true, sacrificial, unconditional love.  Love that sets no bounds or conditions, no “ifs” or “buts”.  Love that gives of itself, without regard for self.  This is the love that Jesus held for us.  This is the love He expects of us when He commands us to love others as we love ourselves.

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “You can’t take it with you when you die.”  “It” being, of course, any physical thing we might possess at that time.  But I firmly believe there is indeed one “thing” we can take with us, but it isn’t physical.  We can take love with us.

True love is eternal, because it comes from God, it is of God.  As believers, we will carry God’s love with us beyond the grave into the next life in paradise.  Jesus is God’s love in the flesh, and even though He died and was buried, He rose from the grave and walked among us again.  God’s love cannot be destroyed!

This is the love He gave us.  This is the love He wants us to share with the world, so that the world might still be saved.  So let us go and make disciples for our Lord, loving all others just as we love ourselves, as God loves us.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, our Savior, the one true Son of God, the perfect Love.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, Your love for us is so amazing, so astounding, so undeserved.  You still love us even when we disobey You and turn our backs on You.  Thank You, Father, for loving us enough to give us chance after chance to get things right.  Help us, please Father, to love and serve You and Jesus with all our heart and all our soul and all our mind.  Help us to be better servants to Your people.  Help us be more loving, Father, more trusting, more merciful, and more kindhearted toward everyone we encounter in our daily walk.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You straight from our hearts, promising to repent of our sinful ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You gave up Your heavenly throne to come to the earth as one of us, to suffer and die at our hands.  You came, just so we might have a chance of eternal life in paradise, but only if we accept You as Lord.  Please help us to truly be Your humble servants, obeying Your commands to love others and make disciples whenever we can.  Forgive us, Jesus, when we are too timid or too fearful of telling someone just what You mean to us, what You have done for us.  Help us to carry out the job You gave us.  Give us Your heart for loving others, just as You loved us all.  Strengthen us, Jesus, through these trying times.  And Lord, please heal those hurts that separate and divide us, even within Your church family.  Help us remain faithful and obedient no matter what we go through.  May our focus be more on the needs of others rather than on what this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.