Christmas Devotional

I'm posting the notes of the devotional I shared at our Christmas concert on December 11. I hope they help you draw nearer to the God who came for us at Christmas...

The Christmas season of 1979 had an element of intrigue in Lawton, Oklahoma. Police and local media were getting numerous calls from concerned citizens who said there was a dead man in a department store in town. The stories varied in some details, but the consensus was that he had fallen and died in the middle of the Christmas rush, and the oblivious shoppers had unknowingly nudged his boy with their feet under a counter, where he lay abandoned. Every department store was checked, and no body was found. Finally, after some serious investigative work, the police found the source of the story. It was Rev. Forrest Siler, a local Baptist preacher (he would have to be Baptist, wouldn’t he?). Apparently, in a recent sermon, Rev. Siler had told a modern day parable about a man standing in the gift wrapping aisle of a department store with no gift in his hands to wrap. The people pushing toward the counter eventually knocked him over and nudged him under the counter, where he died of neglect. Mysteriously, the dead man was found to have holes in his hands and feet. Apparently, the people of the First Baptist Church of Lawton had heard the story and forgotten it was a parable. As Rev. Siler told a local newspaper, “It was just a parable about Christ being crowded out of Christmas by commercialism. I evidently oversold it a bit.”

We often seem to get Christmas wrong, don’t we? My dad and I were talking recently about this, and he pointed out an ironic fact: We’ve taken Christmas, a holiday that recalls that God came to Earth to save us with no strings attached—the ultimate sign of grace—and turned it into a day when you’d better watch out, you’d better not cry, you’d better not pout, I’m telling you why…and most of all, you’d better be good for goodness sakes; all of which is the OPPOSITE of grace. Why do we do this? At our Christmas concert, the choir sang, O friendless world, to you is the song! All heaven’s joy to you may belong! You who are lonely, laden, forlorn: O fallen, O fearful, O friendless world to you a Savior is born! That’s what Christmas is about. That is what is worth celebrating. But for some reason, we can’t seem to accept the fact that God loves us just the way we are and longs to help us become all He created us to be through the incarnation, death, and resurrection of His Son. If we did accept that fact, more people would become believers in Jesus at Christmastime. We would have to make our worship services two or three hours long to accommodate all the baptisms. I’d wear out a pair of waders once a month. If we did get it, people who call themselves Christians would demonstrate more joy than we do. I’m reminded of the Christian woman who got onto a packed elevator at a mall. A stranger asked, “How are you?” She grumpily replied, “I’d be a lot better if I knew who was going to pay for Christmas this year!” And the stranger said softly, “Someone already has.”

Maybe it’s because we don’t like to think of ourselves as fallen, fearful and friendless. My son, before he really knew how to read, took a nametag one Sunday and wrote, “I am awesome” on it. Only, he spelled it, “I am OSUM.” That’s a pretty good metaphor for us. We want everyone to think we’re awesome. But all our attempts to show ourselves powerful and successful and self-sufficient just make us look more foolish. John 1:14 reminds us that at Christmas, The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. If you really want to receive the greatest gift of all, if you really want the amazing generosity of God to become yours at Christmas, you have to willingly rip off that tag that says, “I am awesome.” You have to come before your God in humility, freely confessing your brokenness, your loneliness, your inability to do it yourself, and call on Him for salvation and renewal. Then you will experience the Joy of Christmas.

The Radical Experiment

In 2012, Westbury Baptist Church is taking THE RADICAL EXPERIMENT

For one year, we will commit to:

1. Read through the Entire Word.

We will read through the Bible chronologically. Each week, an insert in your bulletin will give you the passages to be read for each day. Devotionals written by WBC members will be used in Bible Study classes, and a sermon each Sunday will get us ready for the next week’s readings.

2. Pray for the Entire World.

That same weekly bulletin insert will give you a nation to pray for each day. More information on each country can be found on the Operation World website.

3. Commit Our Lives to Multiplying Community.

In 2012, we will help all of our members find a small group Bible study that will become their spiritual family.

4. Sacrifice Our Money for a Specific Purpose.

For those who don’t give financially, we’re challenging them to start. For those who give occasionally, we’re challenging them to begin giving on a percentage basis. For those who tithe, we’re challenging them to make sacrifices to give over and above 10%.

5. Give Our Time Ministering in Another Context.

We will spend at least 2% of our year (one week) ministering to people outside our normal path—locally, domestically or internationally.

For more information, see www.radicalexperiment.org

Our hope and prayer is that as we seek to know God and serve His Kingdom like never before, we will ourselves be transformed! Pray about taking the Radical Experiment with us. Call the church office or email a staff member to commit to these five challenges for 2012.

Sermon preview--Jesus our Prophet

I read an article recently about Christmas customs around the world. Here some of the more bizarre ones: In the Ukraine it’s traditional to have a spiderweb as an ornament on your tree. In Germany, a Christmas pickle is supposed to be hidden on the tree, and the kid who finds it gets good luck. In Caracas, Venezuela, churchgoers are supposed to come to Christmas mass on roller skates. In Japan, a traditional Christmas dinner is Kentucky Fried Chicken. In fact, if you celebrate Christmas in Japan, you need to make reservations at KFC because that’s where everyone wants to eat. A couple of the traditions can’t actually be shared from the pulpit. But for my money, the most bizarre custom comes from Austria, where December 6 is Krampus Night. Krampus is Santa’s evil twin whose job is to beat all the children who’ve misbehaved. On December 6th men dress up in some of the scariest devil-like costumes you can imagine and drunkenly run around towns hitting people with sticks and switches.

You might find such traditions hilarious or offensive or somewhere in between, but keep this in mind: The Bible never tells us how to celebrate the birth of Jesus. In fact, the Bible never even says we SHOULD celebrate His birth. Whether you eat turkey or ham or grill steaks and baked potatoes, like a friend of mine does; whether you open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, whether you watch “It’s A Wonderful Life” or you’re more of a “White Christmas” kind of guy, it’s up to you. I wouldn’t suggest getting drunk, dressing as the Devil and beating people with sticks unless you want to spend Christmas in a lovely cell with a charming gentleman named something like "Switchblade," but otherwise, the external trappings of how you celebrate Christmas are a matter of personal preference, in my opinion. But since the original purpose was to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, there should be a distinctly Christian way to observe this day. For centuries, many Christians have called this distinctive way Advent. The idea of Advent is that we celebrate Jesus’ birth by remembering what it was like before He came; feeling along with those long-ago people the anxious expectation of a Messiah, a Deliverer.

Although Jesus’ birth and life are in the New Testament, celebrating Advent means thinking from an Old Testament perspective. So what I’ve decided to do for my Advent series of sermons is to think about what Jesus came to be for us. In the Old Testament, God gave the people prophets, priests and kings to help them know Him, stay right with Him, and live the life He wanted for them. Those offices were fulfilled in Jesus. So this Sunday, we’ll talk about what it means for Jesus to be our prophet. On the 18^th, we’ll see how Jesus is our priest. And on Christmas morning, we’ll examine what it means for Jesus to be our King. Christmas traditions are typically superficial things. But my goal and prayer is that this Christmas season, we would come to know Jesus in a new, more intimate and transforming way than ever before.

Sermon preview--The Dishonest Manager

This week, we'll be looking at a story Jesus told that is so weird, so seemingly out of character for Him, you might think--if you're reading it for the first time--that some cynic has pasted it into your Bible when you weren't looking. In the story (found in Luke 16:1-9), Jesus seems to hold up a crook as an example for Christians to follow (?). Then He seems to say that people who know how to work the system in this world are smarter than righteous folks (??). Then He tops it off by saying--literally--"use your filthy money to make friends for yourself so they'll help you out when you need it later" (???).

Have you ever heard someone you knew well say something completely unexpected and out of character? The sweet older woman who seemingly never had an unkind thought put her finger in your face and told you in no uncertain terms what would happen if you ever treated her that way again. Or the friend who was constantly joking around suddenly broke down in tears describing his heartache over his rebellious teenage son. When such things happen, we pay attention. We remember what they said. It has an impact on us, precisely because it was so unexpected. I think that's what Jesus is up to in this parable. But with that said, what was He trying to teach us through this unusual parable?

This is the last of our yearlong study on the parables of Jesus. The following Sunday is the beginning of Advent, believe it or not. You might find it an odd choice for me to end this long study with such a strange story. But I think you'll find if you hear the sermon that this story sums up the entirety of Jesus' message quite neatly. I hope you will be with us Sunday.

We Are...Penn St.

Even if you're not a football fan, you've probably heard the news about Penn St football. A beloved former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, will face trial on 40 counts of sexual abuse of young boys. The legendary head coach, Joe Paterno, was fired Wednesday, along with the University president, for not reporting Sandusky's actions to the authorities. Two more school administrators face criminal charges for lying to cover up these crimes. Another assistant coach, Mike McQueary, is under heavy public criticism because he witnessed one of the incidents, but simply told his head coach, and did not go to the authorities either. As of this writing, he is still employed by Penn St, and is expected to coach in their game this Saturday against Nebraska.

There are many more details that I will not share here, because I frankly wish I did not know them myself. The irony of all of this is that Penn St has long been seen as a bastion of all that is right with college sports. With their trim navy-and-white uniforms and helmets with no logos, they look like a team from the 1950s, not the flashy, video-game obsessed modern day. And Paterno, with his bryll-cream hairdo, thick black glasses, and nasally Brooklyn accent, always seemed like a throw-back to an earlier time as well. There's a reason for that: He started at Penn St. as a player in 1950, then served as an assistant coach before becoming head coach in 1966. Now 84, he has always been seen as a coach who did it the right way. His players graduated at a high rate. There were no stories of boosters paying recruits, no reports of Penn St players being arrested. And, of course, he won. A lot. This season, on a snowy day in October, he won his 409th game, making him number one in wins for a division I head coach. I suppose the university was capitalizing on this timing when they rolled out their new advertising campaign for the fall. All universities advertise themselves during their own football games, but Penn St this season has been running ads during nearly every televised game on every network. In the ads, a series of attractive young people are shown studying, accomplishing great things, while in the background, we hear the chant often heard at Nittany Lion football games: "WE ARE...PENN STATE!"

And now these stories come out. Now we are treated to the sight of Penn State students rioting in protest over their coach's firing, and countless articles written by journalists who once fawned over Paterno and Penn St, now seething with righteous indignation; now we witness a former Penn St player, Matt Millen, a tough, imposing man, break down on live television trying to explain how this could have happened at the program he loves.

We debate the issues among ourselves in personal conversations and on the internet: Was Paterno culpable? Did he deserve to be fired? I don't know the answer to those questions, although I have my opinions. Here is what I do know: A sexual predator was allowed free reign at a public university. He used his position in the athletic department and his charity to at-risk boys to enable him to continue his awful crimes. He was caught on at least two occasions. But never was he arrested until last week, 12 years after his retirement. He was allowed continual access to the Penn St athletic facilities--the incident witnessed by McQueary took place three years after Sandusky's retirement. And as far as we know, nothing was ever done to help the victims in this case. So for Paterno and everyone else in this sad affair, it's a matter of the sin of omission. It wasn't what they did, it's what they didn't do. Just one person of action--an assistant coach, a president, an athletic director, the head coach himself--could have stopped this long ago, but no one did. Paterno himself seemed to understand this yesterday, as he told reporters, "It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more."

I wonder how many of us will feel that way at the end of our lives? This Sunday, we will be exploring the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, found in Matthew 25:31-45. According to that parable, a great many people who live otherwise morally upright lives will face their own sins of omission on the Day of Judgment. It is a powerful reminder that God expects His people not to simply be religious and abstain from a few vices, but to be proactive, compassionate agents of His love. How often do we fail? How often do we fly right by the least of God's children because we are focused on other things? How often do we see pain and tragedy, but choose to do nothing? Jesus doesn't want us to be surprised at the Day of our Judgment. He wants us to be ready. This Sunday, we will talk about what we need to know.

There are so many lessons to be learned from the Penn State scandal. For me, the biggest one is this: The sin of omission is all around us. It is a part of our lifestyle, and we must deal with it. We must rouse ourselves from our self-centeredness and self-righteousness. We must stop confusing pity for compassion and charity for action. We must pray for God's eyes to see the least around us. Because right now, we all are culpable. We are Penn State.

Sermon preview--The Talents and the Minas

Not many Americans know the name William Wilberforce, but he changed the world in ways that still affect our lives today. Wilberforce was a British politician during the era when our own nation was being born. Wilberforce was elected to parliament at the age most of us are still living with our parents. He was independently wealthy, was a dazzling speaker, and was friends with all the right people. He could easily have been Prime Minister. But when he was 24, he gave his life to Jesus Christ. He became convinced that God put him on the earth for a purpose, what he called his “one great object,” the abolition of slavery. He gave his life to this cause, fighting for decades. That made Wilberforce a very unpopular person among some very powerful people. Terrible things were written about him in the press. His life was constantly in danger. And year after year, his proposals to abolish slavery were voted down. Late in his life, he succeeded in banning the sale of slaves, but it didn’t really help those who were already in slavery. Finally, just days before his own death, Wilberforce heard the good news: Parliament had voted for the emancipation of the slaves. You may think to yourself, “I wish I knew why God place me on this Earth.” I think that you can.

In fact, I think that you and I MUST know why God has us here on this Earth, and we must devote ourselves to that purpose. Jesus told two very similar parables: The parable of the talents (Mt. 25:14-30) and the parable of the minas (Luke 19:11-27) to let us know that life is a precious gift, far too brief...and that one day we all will have to give an account to our Creator for the way we spent that gift. How can we know what God will expect of us on that Day? What do need to do in order to be ready? That's what we will talk about this Sunday.

Stuff on my prayer list this week

Here are some things on the top of my prayer list--along with others too personal to mention, of course. If the Lord leads to you join me in praying for some of these, I'd appreciate it.

1. Our church's Fall Carnival tonight (Oct. 31, 6-8). That God would bring lots of unchurched people, that everyone would be safe and have a great time, and that during and after the Carnival, He would use that good time to draw them to Himself and to our church.

2. My opportunity to speak to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at University of Houston this Wednesday at 8 PM. Several football players are being baptized, and UH Chaplain Mikado Hinson has asked me to speak on the purpose and meaning of baptism. I am always refreshed and inspired in the presence of these young men and women. Pray that I would be God's instrument.

3. The all-church prayer meeting at WBC this coming Sunday at 5. We'll be preparing our hearts for 2012, and specifically the Radical Experiment. Click here for more details.

4. That the Holy Spirit would fill my children, Kayleigh and Will, with a hunger to know Him better and a yearning to fulfill His purpose for them in the world.

5. That God would provide a buyer for our house.

6. That I would live this day--and every day--in hope of Christ's return, living each day in a way that positively impacts eternity.