Archive for the ‘Suffering’ Tag
JESUS: The Most Important PERSON and TASK For Everyone! Part 3 (Jesus’ Suffering / The Biblical Worldview)
Filed under: Bible, By Pastor Timothy, By Tim Brassell, By Timothy Brassell, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Easter, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, identity in Christ, Inclusion, Jesus Christ, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, relationship with God, Sermons, The Church, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, Union with Christ, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Crucifixion of Jesus, death, Entrusting Ourselves To God, evil, God's goodness, God's Grace, God's Humility, God's Mercy, Gospel, healing, Human Nature Renewed, Incarnational Theology, Jesus, Jesus' Humility, Jesus' Suffering and Death, Living Again, Love, Punishment, redemption, Relationships, Renewal, Sin, Suffering, Suffering With Jesus, Sufferings of Christ, The Christian Hope, The Father's Love, The Forgiveness of Sin, The Incarnation, The Incarnation of the Son, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Trusting God, Trusting Jesus
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Part 3A:
Part 3B:
Full Message:
Bible Verses: Luke 4: 1-28
Introduction:
In this series we continue understanding the Person of Jesus and the Father’s Work in Him, and what the entire course of His Incarnate Human Life (God in Human Flesh) meant and means for us. We’re understanding more accurately and biblically what it means to place our trust in and say “Jesus Christ!”
Theological Theme:
We’re in the process of answering the question “Who are You Lord?” and Jesus’ own answer back to us as the revelation of God, in the Holy Spirit, is that He is, Himself, God, and therefore He is the human expression of God’s Love. It is Revealed in Jesus that because God is Love and God is a Relationship in His own Being, God stoops and draws near to His creation, to sustain it, and, when it falls into sin, He seizes and lifts it up again in His Son, renewed. He does not forsake His own or turn from what He has made, He fulfills that which He has purposed! He literally fulfills it in Himself! The story of Who God is and Who he has revealed Himself to be for us in Jesus is the Greatest Love Story there is!
Christ Connection:
As the One Who becomes human taking our place in the entire range of our human activity, Jesus is also the one who substitutes for us in our suffering, and our death. With Representation, Substitution and Renewal in mind, we can receive that the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus isn’t about the wrath of the Father against His Son, but the Father, Son and Holy Spirit against sin and for our complete and total salvation! The suffering of Jesus is not about God the Father needing to have a pound of flesh (or an eye for an eye, or a tooth for a tooth) so that he could be satisfied (the Lord does not take pleasure in the death of anyone – Ezekiel 18:23, 32, 33:11!) but because the Father is intent to absorb every drop of evil out of our nature and give us a renewed and healed nature in its place! The suffering and cross of Jesus is not about the Father punishing His Son because He hates us, but about us punishing His Son because we have hated him in the evil of sin! Jesus did take on the punishment we deserved but it was sinners who dealt it out!
God is not afraid of sin as if he is intimidated by it and can’t get near to or touch it. He can and must get near it (assume it by getting inside of it) to get rid of it. His goodness absorbs it completely because he is completely righteous and doesn’t sin at all, therefore “mopping up” the mess of sin – undoing it !
Missional Application:
Because of Jesus, sinners can draw near to God to be healed, reconciled and redeemed. God in Christ touched lepers! Sick people touched him! It was the sickness that was defeated and overcome when Jesus drew near, not Jesus! This is what we proclaim to the world of pre-believers that they might turn from their sin and put their trust in Jesus. This is also why St. Augustine wrote about the Spirit Jesus now sends in this way:
“There is nothing too subtle or dense for the Spirit to penetrate or too sinful for the Spirit to cleanse or too weary for the Spirit to refresh or too dead for the Spirit to breathe life into again. The Spirit strives with us, prays for us, groans with us (Rom. 8:18–27; Augustine, Hom. on 1 John 8).”
Photo Compliments: http://www.crosswalk.com
Jesus Demonstrates The Way Through Human Suffering!
Filed under: Bible, By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Faith, GCI Windsor Mill, Maryland, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, God's love, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, identity in Christ, Jesus Christ, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life Fellowship Of Windsor Mill, MD., On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Sermons, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, Union with Christ, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Accepting God's Will, Facing death, Facing False Accusations, Facing Lies, Facing Mockery, Facing Physical Abuse, Faith, Following God, God's Will, Grace, How to Embrace Suffering, How to Pray, Identity with Jesus, inspiration, Jesus in Gethsemane, Love, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, Obeying God, Obeying God's Will, Participation with Jesus, Pastor Tim of New Life Fellowship, Prayer, Resisting Temptation, Submitting to God's Will, Suffering, Suffering of God, Sufferings of Christ, Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship, Union with Christ
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Audio – Part 1a: 27 min
Audio – Part 1b: 26 min
Audio – Full Message:
Bible Verses: Matthew 26:31-68
Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of Man, chose to obey His Father and drink the full cup of suffering and wrath in order to purchase eternal life for believers. Even though He would be betrayed and endure false accusations, mockery, physical abuse, and death, Jesus accepted the foretold plan of His Father and fulfilled His identity as the promised Messiah sent as the Savior of the world.
Theological Theme:
Jesus is the Son of God and the Son of Man, sent by His Father to Be God for Man, and to be Man for God, being God’s Judgment on our sin.
Christ Connection:
In the garden of Eden, Adam failed to resist the serpent and chose instead to follow His way over God’s. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus, the second Adam, submitted fully to His Father’s purpose and plan. He willingly submitted to death upon the cross. Jesus demonstrated His identity as the Son of God through both His words and actions as He was betrayed, arrested, and put on trial.
“By saying then, ‘If it be possible, let it pass from me,’ he showed his true humanity. But by saying, ‘Nevertheless not as I will, but as you will,’ he showed his virtue and self-command. This too teaches us, even when nature pulls us back, to follow God.” –John Chrysostom (circa 347-407)
Missional Application:
God the Father calls us to embrace suffering willingly as we participate in the Life of His Son, our Savior, whose mission was to seek and save the lost, in the Spirit.
“All the oracles of God, all the scriptures both of the Old Testament and the New, describe so many scenes of divine providence…Those who bear this on their minds will easily perceive that the inspired writers never lose sight of it but preserve one unbroken, connected chain from the beginning to the end. All over that wonderful Book as life and immortality (immortal life) is gradually brought to light so is Immanuel, God with us, and His kingdom ruling over all.” 8 –John Wesley (1703-1791)
Photo Compliments: i1.wp.com
The Greater Miracle Of Forgiveness!
Filed under: Bible, By Richard Andrews, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Evangelism, Faith, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, identity in Christ, Love, Ministry, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Prayer, relationship with God, Relationships, Sermons, The Church, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, Uncategorized, Union with Christ, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Faith, Forgiveness, Forgiveness of Sin, God's Grace, God's love, Grace, healing, Love, Miracles, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, Pastor Tim of New Life Fellowship, Physical Healing, restoration, Spiritual Healing, Suffering, The Gospel of Jesus Christ, Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship, Wholeness and Healing
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Audio – Part 1: 30min
Audio – Part 2: 30min
Audio – Full Message:
Bible Verses: Mark 2:1-12
True faith seeks Jesus not only for physical healing but also spiritual healing. Jesus is not only able to heal the sick physically but, being fully God, He is also able to forgive us for our sins and heal us spiritually. The gospel of Jesus Christ is able to heal sinners completely and make them whole.
Theological Theme:
Humanity’s greatest need is forgiveness and spiritual restoration.
“Come, and see the victories of the cross… Christ’s wounds are thy healing, his agonies thy repose, his conflicts thy conquests, his groans thy songs, his pains thine ease, his shame thy glory, his death thy life, His sufferings thy salvation.” –Matthew Henry (1662-1714)
Christ Connection:
Through His healing of the paralyzed man, Jesus demonstrated His authority over human suffering and His authority to forgive sins. By claiming to forgive sins, Jesus was putting Himself on par with God—the only One who can command disease and wipe away our wickedness.
“Often we think we know what our greatest need is, but really we are only focusing on our circumstances. In reality the problem you are facing today is not your spouse, children, or parents. It is not your job, boss, or coworkers. It is not your lack of resources, shortage of time, or insufficient income. Just like this young man, your greatest need is for the Messiah Himself. Jesus saw everything clearly—far more clearly than we do. He used this teachable moment to make the point concerning our greatest need in this life or the life to come! Jesus forgives the sins of all who come to Him in faith.” –Daniel L. Akin
Missional Application:
God calls us to be active in bringing people to Jesus—the only One who has the power to heal our physical infirmities and forgive our sins.
“The announcement [of forgiveness] and presentation of radical healing to a man in his entire person was a sign of the Kingdom of God drawn near. The paralytic experienced the fulfillment of God’s promise that the lame would share in the joy of the coming salvation.” –William L. Lane
Photo Compliments: quotehd.com
The God Who Deserves Our Allegiance!
Filed under: Bible, by Tony Marra, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Faith, God, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, good news, Gospel, Grace Communion Baltimore, Grace Communion International, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Prayer, relationship with God, Sermons, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, The Gospel Project, Uncategorized, Witnessing to God, Witnessing to Jesus, Worship, Worshiping God, Worshipping Jesus | Tags: Abednego, Assistant Pastor Tony Marra, Daniel, Daniel 3, Faith, Faithfulness, Fiery Trials, God's Faithfulness, God's goodness, God's Grace, God's Guidance, God's Power, God's Protection, Goodness, Grace, Grace Communion Baltimore, Jesus Christ, Meshach, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, New Life in Christ, Obedience, Pastor Timothy Brassell, Power, Shadrach, Suffering, Trust, Trusting God, Trusting Jesus
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Part 1: 24 mins
Part 2: 23 mins
Full Message: 47 mins
Main Passage: Daniel 3
Theological Theme: God – Father, Son and Spirit alone deserves our ultimate allegiance.
Christ Connection: The same God who was faithful and present with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the flames will also deliver us through His Son, Jesus the Christ, who is with us in the fiery trial and who saves us from sin and its consequences.
Missional Application: God the Holy Spirit calls us to embrace a countercultural lifestyle with full confidence in His power, regardless of what the immediate outcome may be.
*Picture Courtesy of livingmyfaith.blogspot.com
Worthy Of Praise
Filed under: Bible, By Richard Andrews, Christian Living, Gospel, Love, Relationships, Sermons, Spiritual Warfare, Trinity, Uncategorized, Witness, Worship | Tags: Bible, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Faith, god the father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, God the Trinity, God's Judgment, good news, Gospel, Grace, Hope, Incarnation, Jesus, Love, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, Participation, Pastor Richard Andrews, Relationships, Salvation, Scriptures, Suffering, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Worship
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Theological Theme: God Father, Son and Spirit magnifies His glory through His faithfulness to lead and save His people while bringing judgment upon those who oppose Him.
Christ Connection: God the Trinity parted the Red Sea in order to make a way of salvation for His people. In a similar manner, God made a way of salvation for us by sending His Son.
Missional Application: The Relational and Triune God calls us to praise Him for His glory in salvation and judgment so that others will see and be compelled to join us in giving praise to Him.
*Photo courtesy of pinterest.com
How Should You Respond, Properly, To Today’s Troubling Times?
Filed under: Bible, By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Evangelism, Gospel, Love, Relationships, Timothy Brassell, Uncategorized, Witness, Worship | Tags: Christian Living, Christian Response, Faith, Forgiveness, god the father, God the Son, God the Trinity, God's good news, Grace, Holy Spirit, Hope, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Love, new life fellowship, Participation, Participation with Christ, Pastor Tim, Reconciliation, Relationships, Suffering, Timothy Brassell, Troubles
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And there is a proper response! It was proclaimed and lived by Jesus Christ as He stepped into the troubling events of this world in His day. And, through His Body, the Church, He continues to proclaim this same message:
“Re-Think-Act and Believe the Good News!” – Mark 1:15 (And for immediate clarity, Mark has already written in Mark 1:1 that the Good News is a Person or, in his words, the “beginning of the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God…”
Yes, that is still the message of Jesus and His people to you, and everyone, in our world, right in the middle of our current and troubling events! Jesus is God’s basic and fundamental response to the political lies and insanity, murder of innocent victims, bombings, and human trafficking – God’s response to everything! He is the proper response because He is GOD’s response shared with us in our humanity to all sin, evil and rebellion within creation! It is the response of Him Who created all things and of the One in Whom we all live and move and have our being. The One in, and through, and by, and for Whom all things are created and sustained (as my brother Baxter Kruger likes to say!)
If you’ve already misheard and think this sounds too simple, or too unrealistic, or too cognitive to address problems compared to the “hands-on solutions” needed in our complex world, then you’ve already misheard what’s been stated, so let me make it a little plainer!
How could it be too simple when it has something to do with trusting the Relational God Revealed in Jesus?:
Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It’s way over our heads. We’ll never figure it out.” – Romans 11:33 The Msg.
The Solution is simply stated, yes, but simple, NO! ONLY Jesus could, and can, and is, and will pull off helping you to trust Him that He really is your, OUR, only Good News in the face of all troubles!
How could this response be unrealistic when Jesus tells us that our response of peace and reconciliation with each other has been pulled off by and given to us by HIM, God Himself?! That HE has responded for us and acted in our place and on our behalf, in our fallen humanity, as our Good News????
How could this be too cognitive or something just “up in your head” when it clearly addresses the foremost way in which you receive and process troubling events – tossing, turning and dealing with them in your mind, right?! Isn’t it also addressing the problem behind most poor and evil events – NOT thinking along with Jesus about Who He is, and who He says our neighbors and we are in Him? He says we are all reconciled to Him and, in Him, to each other! Check it out:
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. –Ephesians 2
How could it be too cognitive when Jesus loved His Father, and commands us to do the same, with all of His heart, soul, MIND, and strength? A response from our whole humanity matters and is given to us from our Father, through Jesus and by the Spirit! Responding in Christ’s love to God and our neighbor:
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[c]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ – Luke 10:27
OF COURSE all of this means participating in some kind of real everyday, human action – to RE–THINK–ACT in relationship! RE-THINK-ACTING in the Light of Who Jesus is as our Good News in flesh, which means:
1.) Your first and primary response to today’s troubles is Jesus Himself, Who has responded properly to His Father in word and deed, on humanity’s behalf, in the Spirit, and Who has “overcame the world” (today’s troubles!) as He puts it! Yes, you are reading me right, JESUS HIMSELF is your proper response to trouble, coming to you and to me freely and graciously, as a pure gift! God is with us and for us IN FLESH! Whew! Wow!
It’s the next few things that become more COSTLY to you because Jesus also shares Himself with us as the One Who “became poor that we might become rich” and Who said “whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves, pick up their cross daily, and follow Me”. Starting to see the cost yet??? Haha
Here are other costly things you can participate in with Jesus as a proper response to today’s troubles:
2.) Place your single-minded faith and trust in Jesus Christ, given to you as a gracious gift, and relate with Him in union and fellowship! Ask Him, personally, how you might respond to any given situation! He knows exactly what to do – but be prepared for plenty of mysterious surprises because His variety of responses to people in situations is as varied as there are people and situations to respond to!
The high cost of trusting Jesus is that you can no longer trust anyone or anything else, including yourself, like you trust Him! In the Light of His Lordship, you understand yourself to be a dependent creature whose entire outlook and motives apart from Him are now called into question and found lacking! If you could have responded properly to your troubles then there was no need for Him to come and do it! You can’t trust what things look like, feel like, or sound like – you can trust ONLY Him despite those things or outcomes! You no longer trust in your own ideas of independence and freedom, your own pride, smarts, things, race, nation, guns, policies, votes, gender, economic status, good works or anything else! You trust ONLY IN JESUS and identify ONLY in and with Him!
This means that despite your daily troubles, and even in the middle of them, you can, and should, cast all of your care upon Jesus for He cares for you! It is the reason so many of us pray to Jesus, and read the bible, and congregate together as His Church (believers) regularly – to meet Jesus there and have Him remind us of Who He is, and who we are in Him, and what He has accomplished and made of the word despite our sin, and the kind of good works He does in the middle of everyday troubles in flesh till He returns!
To conclude, this is both encouragement and a warning because, as Karl Barth has rightly stated: “No neutrality with God is possible. We [YOU] must choose between the true God and idolatry.”
And because God has been Revealed in Jesus, what He gives us as a response will look more like God the Trinity in character. More like self-giving than selfishness. More like other-centeredness than self-centeredness. More like self-sacrificing and forgiveness than living at the expense of others. More like being social and relational than being totally closed and hiding from others. As my friend Rodeen Williams wrote recently “Made in their image, genuine freedom is best realized and enjoyed in the consciousness of our union with Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”
As the Holy Spirit encounters you, WILL YOU RESPOND PROPERLY by receiving Jesus and this God Revealed in Him – this God Who has already received you? Will you “Re-Think-Act and Believe the Good News!”? – Mark 1:15
The Redeemer Reveals His Glory
Filed under: Bible, by Tony Marra, Christian Living, Gospel, Love, Relationships, Sermons, Trinity, Uncategorized, Witness, Worship | Tags: Bible, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, comfort, Faith, god the father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, God the Trinity, good news, Gospel, Grace, Grace Communion International, Hope, Incarnation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Judgment, Love, new life fellowship, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, Participation, Pastor Tim, Relationships, Sin, Suffering, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity
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Theological Theme: God is God alone, and He demonstrates His glory by comforting His people and confronting those who oppose Him.
Christ Connection: Jesus Christ is the sovereign King who promises to return, rescue His people, and put an end to all suffering and oppression.
Missional Application: God calls us to war against the principalities and powers of this world that keep people in bondage to sin and suffering.
The Triune God Whose Plan Involves Suffering
Filed under: Bible, By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Church, Evangelism, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Humor, Love, Ministry, Prayer, Relationships, Sermons, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, Worship | Tags: Adoption, Bible, Christ in us, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, compassion, Discipleship, Evangelism, Faith, Forgiveness, God, God Likes You, god the father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, God the Trinity, God's good news, God's Mission, good news, Gospel, Grace, Grace Communion International, Holy Spirit, Hope, identity in Christ, Incarnation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Love, Ministry, Missions, new life fellowship, New Life Fellowship Of Baltimore Maryland, Participation, Participation with Christ, Pastor Tim, Pastor Tim of New Life Fellowship, Preaching, Relational God Revealed, Relationships, Salvation, Scriptures, Suffering, Theology, Timothy Brassell, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Worship
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Theological Theme: God is sovereign over our lives, and He uses suffering and injustice to accomplish His plans in and through us.
Christ Connection: Joseph suffered unjustly and was later exalted to a place of prominence. In a similar manner, Jesus suffered unjustly and was later raised from the dead and exalted as Lord of the world.
Missional Application: God calls us to trust Him to fulfill His promises because when obstacles appear to thwart His mission, God is faithful to use even the obstacles as part of His plan to bring glory to His Son.
Merry Chaotic and Disturbance-filled Christmas?!
Filed under: Bible, By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Christmas, Gospel, Humor, Love, Relationships, Trinity, Uncategorized | Tags: Chaos, Christian Living, Christmas, Followers of Jesus, god the father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, Gospel, Incarnation, Jesus, Love, Participation with Christ, Peace, Relational God Revealed, Suffering, Timothy Brassell, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity
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Matthew 2:1-3 New International Version (NIV)
2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod…[Herod] was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
I don’t know about you, but I want to run from Christmas chaos! I hate the thought of everything from the slowed up, jammed up traffic, to the packed out gas stations, highways, and stores of frenzied people pushing and shoving, literally, to get “deals” (or NOT because of getting punched by other people who snatch the “deals” right out of their greedy – oops – grubby little hands! HaHa!) Yikes!
But, as much as I hate all of that, I have to admit this atmosphere seems more true to the context in which Jesus was actually born 2000 years ago; only chaotic danger and disturbance when God enters the room in flesh, as one of us! I’m even thinking that maybe its sort of indictment against Christ’s Body, the Church, that there is not more chaos and crisis at Christmastime in our world at the proclamation of this Jesus Christ Who has entered it?
As I read Mathew’s story of Jesus’ birth, I am especially struck at how disturbing it is for the Son of God to come into the ordinariness and horrors of our broken world as man; how chaotic it really is (how disturbing it should be till everyone knows and trusts Him?! ) Everyone and everything disturbed at the entrance of the Son of God coming in flesh – “God With Us!” A marital engagement is disturbed by embarrassment and shame, and then met with the prospect of divorce before the wedding can happen! A king is disturbed enough about Jesus’ birth to lie, hunt for and cross regional lines to kill babies and toddlers hoping he killed Jesus! A family is on the run from an evil father and his ruthless ruling son!….hmmm…
Maybe Christmas isn’t really about encouraging a cute religious experience after all. Not about a nice teaching that will make people nicer and more peaceful. Maybe it’s not even about making people confident in going to heaven after “death by trampling” at the mall.
Maybe Christmas is about the Kingdom of the Father, Son and Spirit rumbling in like a jumbo jet and, through His Body the Church, fostering airwaves and noises of disturbance, prompting crises, as the Church excitedly and urgently encourages and warns its brothers and sisters of the need to get ready for the return of the Christ in “Christ”-mas???
As much as I’d like to know NOW the peace that is promised in Christ’s coming, I have to admit that because the God the Father sends His Son, in the Spirit, into the chaos of this world to be with it and see it saved, that’s the way he is still moving on earth in his Church Body till he returns bodily again! How could there not be chaos and crisis with God breaking into our world?; against evil and our broken human nature, to redeem what He has already redeemed in the glorified humanity of Jesus???
As N.T. Wright has written, for Jesus there is “No point in arriving in comfort, when the world is in misery; no point having an easy life, when the world suffers violence and injustice! If he is to be Emmanuel, God-with-us, he must be with us where the pain is.” Where the Head, Jesus, is, so must his Body, we, be, right?
Perhaps the real peace I long for, and you long for, at Christmas is where Dietrich Bonhoeffer said it was when he wrote, “There is no way to peace along the way of safety. For peace must be dared, it is itself the great venture, and can never be safe. Peace is the opposite of security… To look for guarantees is to want to protect oneself. Peace means giving oneself completely to God’s commandment, wanting no security, but in faith and obedience laying down the destiny of the nations in the hand of Almighty God, not trying to direct it for selfish purposes. Battles are won, not with weapons, but with God. They are won when the way leads to the cross.”
Merry Cross-mas to You as We Enter the Chaos and Participate with Christ in His Loving Disturbance,
– tjbrassell
Photo courtesy of: http://www.muchoburrito.com
Christmas: God’s Plan and Response For Man!
Filed under: Bible, By Tim Brassell, Children's Ministry, Christian Living, Christmas, Church, Easter, Evangelism, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Humor, Love, Ministry, Prayer, Relationships, Sermons, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Plan of Adoption, Trinity, Uncategorized, Worship | Tags: Adoption, Advent, Advent Season, Bible, Christian Living, Christianity, Christmas, Christmas message, Church, Co-suffering, disciples, Discipleship, Evangelism, evil, god the father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, good news, Gospel, Grace, Incarnation, Jesus, Love, new life fellowship, overcoming evil, Pastor Tim, Purpose, Relationships, Salvation, Satan, Spiritual Warfare, Suffering, Sufferings of Christ, The Suffering Servant, Timothy J. Brassell, Trinitarian Theology, Trinity, Worship
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“https://trinityandhumanity.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/15-12-20-christmas-gods-plan-and-response-for-man-matt-1-2-9-10-tah.mp3”
In this Message on the 4th week of Advent, and heading toward Christmas, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed to those gathered in worship at New Life Fellowship of Baltimore. The special emphasis of this message is that just as the Head, Jesus, was born into this world 2000 years ago as God’s Plan and Response for humanity, His Body, the Church, follows Him today, participating with Him in his ongoing work of redemption in this present world!
Check it out and be assured and unafraid as you GO with Jesus into our world, proclaiming Him in word and deed!
picture courtesy of ad-ne.org
Trinity and Humanity 
