A Contextualized Christmas

The time for Christmas music has finally come. Yes, I'm one of those people who believes the tree should not go up and the smooth tones of Bing Crosby should not be heard until the holiday that has become just the last hurdle to Christmas is over. Well, whether you agree with me or not, it's time for some Christmas music.

Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God: The True Tale of the Coming of Christ is far and away my favorite Christmas album, and was one of the first that I have listened to this year. Besides the stunning talent evident in the album, what makes Behold the Lamb shine is the way that it tells the story of the coming of Jesus Christ.

You see, too often we function like the heretic Marcion did when it comes to the coming of Christ. He held that the Old Testament of the Bible was incompatible with the New Testament writings, and so he rejected the old in favor of the new and around 144 AD, posited that there must be two gods, the Yahweh of the Old Testament and the Jesus of the New Testament. Now, modern Christians today don't just toss out the Old Testament in favor of the new, never reading it or consulting it. But too often when someone asks "where's the important stuff in the Bible?" we point right past the Law and the Prophets (maybe pausing to stop at Psalms, Proverbs and some of the neat stories) and directly to the New Testament.

But the reality is that the Bible is one big story of God's redemptive history, the redeeming of his people. The story of God's working among his people does not begin in Matthew, but even Matthew points back to what has come before in his genealogy, reminding us that born of Abraham, from the line of David, came the one who would take upon himself the sins of this world. When the Israelites called for deliverance from the slavery and bondage they were enduring in Egypt, their waiting for a deliverer is ultimately fulfilled in the coming of Jesus Christ. The history of the kings of Israel beginning with Saul and then David is not just history, but a pointing forward to the coming of the King of Kings, the one who will rule and reign forever. The passover ritual, the sacrifice of an unblemished animal for sin and the callings forth of the many prophets like Isaiah all point forward to with great anticipation the coming of Jesus Christ.

Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb reminds us of the scriptural reality that Christmas did not start in Matthew, but God's plan to provide a way for the sins of the world to be forgiven began long ago, as he gathered together his people through Abraham. The King that we have, the King that has come, was anticipated with deep longing, pleading and prayer for many generations. The words of Simeon from Luke 2 should move us as we recognize the reality that we have something that many waited for a very long time to have:

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, ²⁸he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

²⁹ "Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;
³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation
³¹ that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel."

Behold the lamb of God, who takes away our sin...

Must Hear Preaching

My good friends George Bednar and Stephen Farrior have both posted some excellent sermons as of late. They both posted a recent message by a pastor named Matt Chandler, and George also posted a message preached by Dr. Chuck Lawless, a dean at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. These messages are some of the finest and most impactful preaching I have heard recently, and so instead of reposting, I will link to George's post because it has both messages. Take some time to listen and be challenged by the words of these faithful men of God. It will be well worth your time.

The Reality of Following Christ

This video, from The Voice of the Martyrs website, is an important reminder that we have brothers and sisters throughout the world who do not enjoy the freedom that we as Americans have to worship. An account from several of the church members follows.



Church members reported: On Sunday, August 23, 2009, we were still gathering together for service meeting since this is necessary spiritual need. At 3 p.m., many district security officers came into my house. At that time, we were having service meeting, they came and stopped and dismissed us. We stopped and explained to them we had made the application of permission already, but they still blustered. Several of them towed Brother --- out to the house and had him sit on their motorbike. They did the same way to ---. They oppressed him ruthlessly and towed him; they did not allow for him to speak a word. And other women were towed away also. They did take away one guitar but they did not make a report to taking away guitar. After arriving at the district police station, they made the report with the accusation: “They are gathering together illegally.” They used the abuse words and threatened Brother ---: “If you came back this place again; you will be beaten.” … and at 6:30 p.m. they released us.

Continue to pray that our Vietnamese family will not succumb to the pressure against them. Pray they will continue to meet together and encourage each other, so they can continue to share the good news of Jesus Christ.


Source: VOM November 2009 Newsletter

T - 7 and counting...

No, not T - 7 seconds, minutes or hours...days. Yeah, I know, it seems a little less exciting when I put it that way, but imagine that the rocket about to launch is twenty-two plus years in the making. It then seems a little more exciting, huh? Well, there's no rocket, sorry about that; I hope you didn't have your hopes up. Rather, I'm taking about T - 7 days of classroom instruction left in my long educational career.

When I was just a curly-headed ankle biter in Mrs. Metzger's preschool class, I wanted to be a train engineer. That's right, a man who drives trains. I liked the striped engineer's cap, although I don't think they wear them anymore. I suppose I could still wear one if I kept it to myself.

In second grade (I promise I am not going to go through all my classes and teachers) I took Miss McMellon. She was a lot of fun, and she was dating this guy at the time named Dr. Sellers. He would come to class from time to time and teach us Greek, as he was a professor of some type. They eventually married, and at the time my long-lasting concern was that I now had to call her Mrs. Sellers, which sounded like a lot less fun than Miss McMellon.

In sixth grade I looked funny, had acne and met Rich Gaus. If you've never met Rich, you don't know that he's really tall- and I'm really not. And he had a locker below me. We probably should have switched lockers, but instead we became the best of friends. I think I was probably selfish about the top locker and didn't want to give it up. He and his wife just had a baby last week, by the way...here is a picture of Isabella Florence Gaus. The other thing I remember about middle school was Mrs. Fagley's amazing Civics class; I'll never forget the day she rolled up the sleeve on Frankie Buzzo's shirt and started talking about the second ammendment.

In high school I didn't want to be a train engineer any more, but instead thought I wanted to be a fighter pilot. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I wanted to go into the Navy and fly F-14s. I was serious about it, but being Red/Green Color Deficient isn't very conducive with reading the red and green lights on the sides of ships and planes, so I was out. I had a good time acting in and directing theatre productions, and had the best teacher ever for Sophomore English and Drama 1...my mom.

College brought a change of scenery: the cramped concrete jungle of Ft. Lauderdale for the rolling hills of Kentucky. The leaves fell from the trees at the end of the summer and there was a little snow, so I was happy. I studied television production, but wasn't all about it; but what else was there? A summer at home working at my home church was all God needed to call me to ministry (and a change in my major); Digital Field Production was supplanted by Dr. VanArragon's Seminar on Moral Responsibility, et al. I loved working through Philosophy and challenging my mind (although I was at times distracted by this girl I met), but I knew there was more to come.

After visiting two seminaries, I chose the classroom that has been my home for the past 4 1/2 years. My time at Southern has brought me a deeper understanding of Scripture through classes like Hermeneutics and Greek (the Greek that Mr. Sellers taught me in second grade came in handy after all!), and the preaching and teaching of my professors has had a profound impact on me personally, as well as on my still developing call to ministry. Parables, Pastoral Ministry and Preaching have been some of my favorite classes not just for the content, but for the growth I have seen in my own life. God has used my time here in amazing ways.

There you have it...22 and a half years of educational history and all of it comes to a close next Thursday. At 2:15pm I'll walk out of class for the last time. Maybe not forever...perhaps one day I'll be crazy enough to get my PhD, but for now, classes will start in the Spring and I will not be there. It's exciting and sobering at the same time. As Kristen and I wait for God to reveal the next step in our lives, this one quickly passes. I suppose now it's time to use all that stuff I learned, huh?