Good morning,
Praise the Lord for the first day of December. Many of you know that I have been ill with shingles for about two weeks now. Thank you for praying for me. I praise the Lord for the many members of the church who are caring for the various ministry needs of the church family.
Our mid-week services will meet tonight, beginning at 6:00 PM with soup supper. Linda Geer will lead the Bible study. The choir will be practicing for the Christmas cantata at 7:30 PM.
Plan to attend the concert by the St. Petersburg Men's Ensemble on Saturday at 6:30 PM. The doors will open at 6:00 PM. Dave and Jane Hettinger, Lou and Terri Pasquale, Earle and Bonnie Cowden, and Shawn and Lynn Rosenbarker are the ministry team in charge of the service (and concert) this Saturday. For information, call (607)748-1358 or (607)748-6329. Come and be blessed.
Praise the Lord for the Advent season in the life of the church. One of the readings for last Sunday, the first Sunday in Advent, was taken from Isaiah 2. Isaiah 2:1-4 gives us a wonderful picture of God’s peace. Verse 4 poetically states that the weapons of war will be transformed into items that are constructive. Swords will beaten into plowshares. Spears will be beaten into pruning hooks. At that time, nations will no longer train their militaries for war any more. These weapons as instruments designed to kill are transformed into tools that are used in farming. They become instruments that support life, not death.
It is God who gives us the fruits of the field. It is also God who makes peace possible. German theologian Karl Barth once said that in Christ both creation and humanity are reconciled.
It is written so powerfully and beautifully, "the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains." This speaks of Mt. Moriah in northern Jerusalem, where the temple sat in Old Testament times. That mountain was the gathering place for God’s people. It was where the Israelites went to hear God’s word, to sing God’s praises and to bring him sacrifices. It became a symbol for the gathered people of God -- for what we know today as God’s Church.
Mt. Moriah is not very high, but it is really just a big hill. Even so Isaiah said that in the last days it will suddenly be raised up until it’s the highest mountain on earth. That’s a poetic way of saying that God’s Church--the gathering of God’s people--will be lifted up, glorified and exalted.
The Church’s ruler, Jesus, has ascended to God’s right hand. Jesus said, in the book of John, "If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me." Jesus is reigning over the Church with his love, his wisdom, and his power. The Church, that is, the people of God, is now as solid and immovable as a mountain, and as glorious and beautiful as a mountain is high.
The truly amazing thing about this mountain, the Church, is that rivers flow into it. Rivers normally flow down a mountain, but these flow up. The reason, of course, is that these aren’t rivers of water. They are, in fact, rivers of people. "All nations will stream to God’s mountain", Isaiah says. "The word of the LORD goes out" from the mountain. The good news about Jesus goes out from the Church to the far corners of the earth. People hear it, and they respond. "A Savior? Forgiveness for my sins? Sounds good to me!" They say to each other, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths."
The good news about Jesus pulls people in from every land, nation, tribe, and people under the sun. You can be sure this news shocked many of the Israelites at Isaiah’s time, but these people who are gathering on God’s mountain aren’t just Jews. They come from every race and color imaginable. They include the young and old, rich and poor. They come from different backgrounds and speak different languages. Yet, the same good news, the good news of a Savior, has brought in every one of them.
We who are Christians belong to a world that is really changed. We are citizens of the kingdom of God. We are part of it. It is part of us. When the king returns, it will be here for all to see.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO_bKR2Wzhk
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment