​It’s December 30th and the much anticipated excitement of Christmas Day has come and gone.  It has been wonderful to join in at various social gatherings, celebrations, and enjoy family, friends, and a lot of tasty food!  But, when the last gift is unwrapped and the Christmas excitement slows down, many folks struggle to avoid the POST CHRISTMAS CRASH that can leave them feeling depressed or even a bit under the weather.
 
Even spiritually, we can find ourselves in a slump after all the extra time and attention given to worshipping God for the gift of His Son, particularly when we have to return to our regular routines.  But, what if ‘regular routines’ are not where we need to be this time of year?  What if we chose to respond to this season AFTER Christmas like the Shepherds did that first Christmas?  Maybe, we could avoid the Post Christmas Crash if we actively engage this precious gift (JESUS) rather than box Him away with all the other decorations this time of year….
 
The Shepherds in Luke 2:8-20 (The Shepherds and Angels):
 
1. WENT to see for themselves the thing the angels told them about. (v. 15)
~ they needed to ENCOUNTER God for themselves
 
2. WITNESSED to everyone about what they had heard and seen (v. 17)      
~ this gift was so great it HAD to be shared with others – the good news was for ALL people including these lowly shepherds
 
3. WORSHIPPED God with all their hearts even AFTER the sights and sounds of the birth of Christ were passed (v. 20)
~ upon returning to their ‘routine’ jobs as shepherds they conntinued to GLORIFY and PRAISE GOD for the unimaginable, glorious gift of God’s grace & mercy!
 
HAPPY NEW YEAR to us all !  Let’s SEEK HIM for ourselves, let’s WITNESS eagerly because of who we have encountered and let’s WORSHIP God all through this coming year… glorifying Him and praising Him for all He is and has done!!   


Blessings,
​    Pastor Sherry 

This is the last message in our fall series, the Church: the Body of Christ.  As the series wraps up we’ll look at two distinctive items: salt and light.  Michelle and I have been watching a cooking show called the Final Table on Netflix.  It’s a cooking competition for professional chefs.  In each round the chefs cooking the 3 dishes judged to be the least satisfying have to cook again for a second chance to stay in the competition.  In this round a famous chef selects one ingredient that the teams must feature in their dish.  The point is that the special ingredient must be distinctive.  Our passage for this morning talks about two things that are noticeable for their distinctiveness: salt and light.  “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.  “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matt 5:13-16)

Salt: Jesus says that his followers are to be the salt of the earth.  What does this mean?  If you put salt in food you know that it is there.  If disciples of Jesus are to be the salt of the world it means they are to be noticeable.  We must notice that if disciples of Jesus are to be the salt of the earth, it must mean that Jesus himself was salt first.  Just like salt in food Jesus was noticeable when he walked the earth.  Salt is also used as a preservative.  What would it mean for a disciple of Jesus to be a preservative?  Jesus is calling his disciples to make the world a better place.  On the other hand Jesus presents a warning.  If salt without saltiness is useless so a half-hearted faith is missing the point.  Someone who is in love with Jesus is so drawn to Him that they are not afraid to express their love for him no matter who might see and what other people might think. 

Light: In John 8:12 Jesus says ““…I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  I don’t know about you but I don’t like walking in the dark.  If Jesus is the light of the world the contrast is darkness.  The darkness in the world is the presence of sin and evil. Just as salt is distinctive, so is light. Just as people are drawn to light so are people drawn to Jesus.  One person who was drawn to Jesus was a man named Nicodemus. “Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”” (John 3:1-2).  The man was drawn to the light of Jesus but he came to him at night because he was afraid of what other people might think of him.  Interesting that Jesus, the light of the world, is approached at night by Nicodemus.  Was Nicodemus, a spiritual leader himself, in darkness?  Jesus says this to Nicodemus:  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-18).

Jesus is calling Nicodemus out of the darkness and into the light.  All of us are presented with the same choice.  A town built on a hill is noticeable.  One would not light a lamp and then hide it.  "…the Church is a community created by Christ for the world.”[1]  Light has come into the world.  The light is shining. 

P.S.  please join us over the next few weeks for some special Christmas events!  Next Sunday at 10AM is our Children’s Christmas program: guaranteed fun and cuteness.  The next Sunday we anticipate Christmas by looking at a message called: In the Waiting.  Then join us for a traditional Christmas Eve service at Crossroads with Christmas in the Park at 7pm on December 24th. 

Until next week,

Pastor Michael

[1] Horton, Stanley M. ed.  Systematic Theology.  Pg 543

What is the Mission of the Church and what is my role in the mission?  We’ll begin with the great command, move to the great commission, get empowered by the Spirit and then get out on mission!  Sermon audio is available here.

Great Command: Jesus sums up the whole law in a few words.   “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matt 22:37-40).  The way Jesus describes this command shows the totality of it.  We must love God.  We cannot hold anything back from God.  In the gospel of Luke the great command is immediately followed up with the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).  It goes like this.  A man is on a journey and he’s robbed, beaten and left for dead in a ditch.  A priest happens along the road.  In our culture it would be like saying “a pastor was coming down the road.”  As a spiritual leader of Israel presumably the priest would stop to help the man, but he moves right along.  Then a Levite comes down the road.  As a minister of the temple surely he would stop, but no he ignores the man and keeps going.  Then along comes a Samaritan, despised culturally by the Jews, surely this man will not stop.  However this Samaritan cares for the wounded man and pays for his recovery at a local inn.  Which man is the neighbour to the man who was beaten? 

Great Commission: Jesus is giving his final instructions to the disciples.  We realize instinctively that a person’s last words are usually important.  If you have just one last chance to share something with someone you love you wouldn’t tell them that iPhones are on sale at Walmart.  My grandfather passed away nine years ago now and I will always remember my last communication with him.  He was to the point where he could not speak, but he could still write so we wrote a couple notes back and forth the last time I saw him.  He told me that he was proud of me.  For a grandson I don’t think there’s anything more meaningful than that.  Just like this, Jesus’ last words are important and emotional.  “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt 28:18-20).  Jesus words to the disciples here tell us how we are to live as people who belong to the body of Christ.  In short followers of Jesus are to live as disciples who make other disciples.

Power:  In Jesus’ final recorded words on earth he gives the disciples the promise of the Holy Spirit.  “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8).  How is the church able to carry out the Great Command and the Great Commission?  Through the power of the Holy Spirit.  “The Holy Spirit came to energize the community of believers, to make the resurrected Christ available everywhere through Spirit-filled disciples.”[1]  The Holy Spirit quickly transformed the outlook of the disciples.  From sitting in an upper room to preaching in the streets, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit made all the difference (Acts 1-2).

Example: Jesus’ mission. We might be surprised to learn that Jesus had a mission statement (Luke 4:18-21).  This mission statement provided Jesus with clarity and guided every decision that he made.  As a practical step, I would encourage you to work on writing your own personal mission statement to guide your life.  Check out this link for a primer on writing your own mission statement. What is the mission of the church?  From great command and great commission through the power of the Holy Spirit we set out on mission with Jesus at our side.


[1] Horton, Stanley M. and William W. Menzies, Bible Doctrines: A Pentecostal Perspective.  Pg 159