Life Here and There

Tomorrow, I’m beginning a new series of messages on the battle between David and Goliath. That’s where we are in our journey through the Word, right in the middle of 1 Samuel, and I’m going to slow down and dedicate the four Sundays of March to this wonderful story.

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This article is adapted from my sermon from 1 Samuel 2-3

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Above is the audio from a recent message I preached at Bethel from 1 Samuel chapter 2 – Hannah’s song of praise to God.

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This article is adapted from a sermon on 1 Samuel, chapter 1

I’ve read a lot this week about the earthquake and ensuing tragic situation in Haiti, the country we’ve forgotten about as long as possible. But the most powerful thing I’ve read was written by James MacDonald…

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This is based on my sermon for New Year’s, which comes from [youversion]2 Timothy 2:21[/youversion] and surrounding verses.

Is it even possible to really change? Millions of people must be asking that question, especially as we face another new year. You may already have a list of areas of your life you’re going to change. Whether they are “resolutions” or not, you’re hoping you can make it this year.

ONE GREAT TRUTH: Change is possible. In fact, it’s God’s plan for all of His children to change us into the image of Christ, but we have to be ready first – prepared for His use through repentance and renewal.

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Light has the amazing ability to pierce the darkness around it. It doesn’t take much. I read of a team of skiers who were lost in the Alps of Switzerland. They were rescued because a helicopter was able to spot the light coming from the display of an mp3 player.

ONE GREAT TRUTH: The whole world has been lost and condemned in sin, but Jesus came to pierce the darkness, to the the light of God’s salvation, leading us back into a saving relationship with our Creator.

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I’ve always been fascinated by this thought – Jesus is the Light of the world, and Jesus called US the light of the world. It’s a partnership. He’s the Light of the world in the sense that He brings salvation to the world. We’re the light of the world in the sense that we bring His salvation to the world around us.

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This article is adapted from my sermon from Luke 2:8-20 from a series on the light of Christmas.

I think most of us can relate to having a “once in a lifetime opportunity.” For me, traveling to Russia on a mission trip was that kind of an opportunity for me. When those moments come along, I wonder how I wound up there, and why it was me.

I think that’s how the shepherds felt the night Jesus was born and the angels showed up by myriads to announce Jesus’ birth to them. Why them? Why there, in the fields? But that was God’s choice. And I really don’t think we fully understand the amazing nature of what happened that night. We’ve heard the story told so many times with the emphasis on the manger scene itself that we don’t realize that the very windows of heaven itself were thrown open with a massive display of the awe-inspiring glory of God.

These ordinary, every day, down-to-earth shepherds were allowed the privilege of beholding the holiest thing anyone has ever seen – the glory of God. When that happens, our lives are changed and our appetites are whet forever!

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This article is based on a message from Matthew 2:1-12 from a series on the light of Christmas.

I’m beginning to preach a series of Christmas-oriented messages at Bethel on the theme of Light. It will consist of three messages…

1. The Light of the Knowledge of God. God wants for us to know Him, so He has revealed enough light that we might pursue a knowledge of Him.
2. The Light of the Glory of God. The shepherds beheld a myriad of angels and the glory of God and I think it dramatically changed their lives forever.
3. The Light of the Salvation of God. As Isaiah said, “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”

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I, like most men I know, enjoy movies with some action and movement. Fire… explosions… suspense… these are the elements that get us excited. None of those “chick flicks,” right? My wife will sit and cry over all the sad and happy parts and I’m there strictly for the comic relief. But I will honestly admit, I’m a sucker for a good romantic comedy – a love story with a happy ending. We all are – we’re suckers for it (whether we’ll admit it or not).

In a conversation the other day, I was telling my seven-year-old the story of Romeo and Juliet. I’m not sure how we got onto the subject, but she kept wanting to know more. About two thirds of the way through, I realized I was going to have to try to explain how it ended – they both die! For some reason, during the Elizabethan era, we thought that was romantic!

Romeo and Juliet was a romantic tragedy, but our culture is addicted to happy endings, so we will accept nothing other than a romantic comedy in which everyone lives “happily ever after.”

That’s the story of Ruth and Boaz. Here it is in short (based on Ruth 3-4): Ruth finds Boaz overseeing the threshing of his wheat crop and uses an ancient cultural tradition of the time to essentially propose marriage to him. He takes her up on the offer, protects her reputation, and goes out of his way to buy the land that she will forfeit without a husband. He further marries her and they have kids. And they live happily ever after.

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