Imagine

A blue 2003 Buick drives north on Eastman Avenue.  There are four people in the car, dad, mom, and a couple of friends.  They are on their way to Applebees for dinner.  They drive by the Midland Free Something-or-other building where the Church meets and all four of them do a quick glance at the sign without making it obvious.

"Do you have hope for 2011?"

One of them thinks, "it's about time they took the "Merry Christmas" down.  Another remembers last year when she saw her name on the sign.  A third hears his mind think, "no," before he can control it.  The forth is thinking about fajitas.

It's that third person that we work with, that we live next to, that we are friends with.  It's that third person that we need to talk to.  It's that third person that needs to know about the hope of knowing Christ.

I think about the church people that the third person knows.  I wonder if they are able to live hope in front of him.  I wonder if they know how important their life is to Him.  I wonder if they know that they don't have to preach.  I wonder if they know the third person doesn't need religious clichés or memorized answers to questions they aren't even asking.

It's that third person they we wanted to reach in 2010.  It's that third person that I have in my mind as we start the New Year.  Sometimes that third person comes to our church.  Sometimes that third person may be... you.

Imagine

The hope of love that won't leave you.

The hope of faith that won't give you easy answers.

The hope of a tomorrow that's deeper than what I get or what I lose.

The hope of a spirit that is confident that it will remain solid through any storm.

Imagine that for you.  Imagine that for your relatives.  Imagine that for the person you've given up on.  Imagine that for the 3rd person. If I can imagine it I can pray it.

I'm starting the New Year looking for the 3rd person.  "Do you have hope for 2011?"

Answering "Yes,"

Pastor Dave

Merry Christmas

This morning I thought about changing a Christmas tradition.  I know it's easier to steer a freighter with a spoon, but let's at least talk about it.  Some things that we do we don't think through why we do them.

 

Have you ever heard where the tradition of Christmas trees comes from? But, that's not the one.

 

Do you know that we really have no idea how many "magi" there were.  Just because there were three gifts doesn't mean there weren't 40 givers.  But, "we forty kings of Orient are..." doesn't role off the tongue as easy - but that's not the one.

 

Everyone has favorite songs to sing during Christmas, Why don't we sing "Ding Dong Merrily on High?" or, "Good King Wenceslas?" or, why don't we actually eat "figgy pudding."  That's not the one either.

 

My crosshairs are aiming at "Merry Christmas."  You can do the google search and see where and when it came up, and I'm not saying it's bad... it's just not enough.

 

Is that the best followers of Christ can do?  Is being "merry" what we are really longing for people?  In light of the full Christ event do we want to limit people to a "merry" day?

 

"May you have a true encounter with a repentant heart and an awareness of His forgiving grace Christmas," doesn't seem to be marketable even if it might be more theological.  That wouldn't fit on cards or in songs.

 

"Have a deep realization of the eternal ramifications of the incarnation." may not be the best replacement either.

 

"I hope the anointing of the Holy Spirit of God heals and makes you whole bringing His gift of salvation, His complete sanctifying work, and His seal for your eternal home with God." isn't going to cut it either.

 

Maybe asking for a change in the phrase isn't a good plan.  What about a change in heart?  What about believers saying, "Merry Christmas," and praying in their spirits, "I pray that you would know Jesus in a new way."  We could say what tradition has said and mean something much deeper.  Hidden in those two words there could be intercession, and longing, and passion, and blessing.  They could be said from a heart set on fire.  They could be said with eye contact when possible.  The same thing could be said in a new way.

 

I'll go first.

 

"Merry Christmas"

 

Pastor Dave