Christian groups typically invest much effort trying to keep Christ in Christmas or to put him back there.
This is in view of the relentless squeeze from secularism on one side and commercialism on the other.
Why bother?
Why don’t we just walk away from the public festival and leave it to its pagan roots as a solstice festival? (Think Constantine and his reasons for dating the Christmas celebration as he did.)
We can then have a distinctly Christian festival to mark Jesus’ birth, if we so choose, at a time of our choosing.
Let the unbelievers have their ‘Xmas’ and debauch it as they will!
Can this principle be extended to marriage?
In several western countries the fundamental Christian character of marriage is being undermined by easy divorce on the one hand and permission of homosexual marriage on the other hand. Thus Christians may find themselves hand in hand on the marriage register with persons of multiple marriage partners and with same-sex partners.
Once again, Christian groups invest much energy trying to preserve or restore the basically Christian character of marriage. Is it worth it?
What would happen if Christians simply opted out from the legal marriage system? Why not start a register of Christian marriages which is kept by the churches (as in previous times) and then have Christian couples register a civil union with the government for the sake of orderly property etc matters?
Let the unbelievers have ‘marriage’ and debauch it as they will!
Let Christians be Christians and the world be the world!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
The Test
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realise that Christ Jesus is in you – unless of course you fail the test. (2 Cor 13:5)
Some in our congregation have the habit of a personal AGM to examine themselves before God. Here are some questions that can be used ….
Do I trust the mercies of God in Christ for my salvation or do I still try and impress God with my goodness?
Am I listening to God by regular deep reading of Scripture and meditation on it?
Am I talking to God in regular, deep and varied kinds of prayer?
Do I depend on God to meet my needs and bring them to him in prayer?
Am I turning my profession of faith into good works by doing what God says?
Do I act on the great commandment by loving God with all I am all the time and in all parts of life and do I love my neighbour, my enemy and strangers?
Do I play my part in the great commission by showing and sharing my faith on a personal level through involvement in some kind of outreach ministry?
Do I serve by giving generously of my time talents and treasure?
Do I allow others to serve me?
Am I transparent and accountable to at least one other person who is able and willing to ‘tell it like it is’?
Which of the above areas most needs my attention now and what will I do about it?
These questions useful in a year-end time with the Lord. They can also be used to track our progress or regress: ask if you are showing more or less of these qualities as time passes.
Let’s do as the Scripture says and examine ourselves as to how we are going with the Lord.
POSTSCRIPT: this is my last ministers message as senior minister of Orchard Rd Presbyterian Church Singapore.
Some in our congregation have the habit of a personal AGM to examine themselves before God. Here are some questions that can be used ….
Do I trust the mercies of God in Christ for my salvation or do I still try and impress God with my goodness?
Am I listening to God by regular deep reading of Scripture and meditation on it?
Am I talking to God in regular, deep and varied kinds of prayer?
Do I depend on God to meet my needs and bring them to him in prayer?
Am I turning my profession of faith into good works by doing what God says?
Do I act on the great commandment by loving God with all I am all the time and in all parts of life and do I love my neighbour, my enemy and strangers?
Do I play my part in the great commission by showing and sharing my faith on a personal level through involvement in some kind of outreach ministry?
Do I serve by giving generously of my time talents and treasure?
Do I allow others to serve me?
Am I transparent and accountable to at least one other person who is able and willing to ‘tell it like it is’?
Which of the above areas most needs my attention now and what will I do about it?
These questions useful in a year-end time with the Lord. They can also be used to track our progress or regress: ask if you are showing more or less of these qualities as time passes.
Let’s do as the Scripture says and examine ourselves as to how we are going with the Lord.
POSTSCRIPT: this is my last ministers message as senior minister of Orchard Rd Presbyterian Church Singapore.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
God’s Big People – Jesus
When it comes to God’s ‘big’ people there is none bigger than Jesus. And that is why the Bible is centred on him and why the western calendar measures time based on his life.
Jesus is …
• … the son of Adam who alone displayed true humanity and thus was enabled to break the first Adam’s deathly hold and make those who believe into children fit for heaven (Gen 3:15; Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:45-49) …
• … the son of Abraham, through whom the promise of a ‘great nation’ was actualised and through whom Jew and non-Jew are alike blessed (Gen 12;1-3; Rom 2;29; 4:12-17) )..
• … the son of David who sits on the long-promised eternal throne (2 Sam 7:12-16; Is 9:6-7; Matt 4:13-16)
• … the virgin’s child who is Immanuel, God with us (Is 7:14; Matt 1:23)
• … the one from little Bethlehem who is Israel’s ancient ruler (Mic 5:2; Mat 2;4-6)
The links roll on and on. In short Jesus is the one in whom all God’s promises are ‘yes’ (2 Cor 1:20). Thus he rightly taught his followers to get into the habit of reading the Old Testament with respect to himself, and especially with regard to his death and resurrection (Lke 24:27; 45-47; Jn 5:39-40).
The centrality of Jesus is why the two major Christian festivals of Christmas and Easter centre on him and on the key events of his incarnation, death and resurrection.
It is also why Jesus is the ground and object of Christian faith, hope and love. Our faith is in his redemptive life and death. Our hope is in his glorious return to usher in the fullness of the kingdom which he inaugurated. Our love arises from his love for us and is expressed to him before our neighbour.
Let’s be sure to keep an uncluttered faith, hope and love in Jesus and Jesus alone as he is the one whose name is given by God as the only means of salvation (Acts 4:12; 1 Tim 2:5).
Let’s use this Christmas to rekindle our focus on Jesus and to help others do the same.
Jesus is …
• … the son of Adam who alone displayed true humanity and thus was enabled to break the first Adam’s deathly hold and make those who believe into children fit for heaven (Gen 3:15; Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:45-49) …
• … the son of Abraham, through whom the promise of a ‘great nation’ was actualised and through whom Jew and non-Jew are alike blessed (Gen 12;1-3; Rom 2;29; 4:12-17) )..
• … the son of David who sits on the long-promised eternal throne (2 Sam 7:12-16; Is 9:6-7; Matt 4:13-16)
• … the virgin’s child who is Immanuel, God with us (Is 7:14; Matt 1:23)
• … the one from little Bethlehem who is Israel’s ancient ruler (Mic 5:2; Mat 2;4-6)
The links roll on and on. In short Jesus is the one in whom all God’s promises are ‘yes’ (2 Cor 1:20). Thus he rightly taught his followers to get into the habit of reading the Old Testament with respect to himself, and especially with regard to his death and resurrection (Lke 24:27; 45-47; Jn 5:39-40).
The centrality of Jesus is why the two major Christian festivals of Christmas and Easter centre on him and on the key events of his incarnation, death and resurrection.
It is also why Jesus is the ground and object of Christian faith, hope and love. Our faith is in his redemptive life and death. Our hope is in his glorious return to usher in the fullness of the kingdom which he inaugurated. Our love arises from his love for us and is expressed to him before our neighbour.
Let’s be sure to keep an uncluttered faith, hope and love in Jesus and Jesus alone as he is the one whose name is given by God as the only means of salvation (Acts 4:12; 1 Tim 2:5).
Let’s use this Christmas to rekindle our focus on Jesus and to help others do the same.
The Test
"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realise that Christ Jesus is in you – unless of course you fail the test." (2 Cor 13:5)
Some in our congregation have the habit of a personal AGM to examine themselves before God. Here are some questions that can be used ….
Do I trust the mercies of God in Christ for my salvation or do I still try and impress God with my goodness?
Am I listening to God by regular deep reading of Scripture and meditation on it?
Am I talking to God in regular, deep and varied kinds of prayer?
Do I depend on God to meet my needs and bring them to him in prayer?
Am I turning my profession of faith into good works by doing what God says?
Do I act on the great commandment by loving God with all I am all the time and in all parts oft life and do I love my neighbour, my enemy and strangers?
Do I play my part in the great commission by showing and sharing my faith on a personal level through involvement in some kind of outreach ministry?
Do I serve by giving generously of my time talents and treasure?
Do I allow others to serve me?
Am I transparent and accountable to at least one other person who is able and willing to ‘tell it like it is’?
Which of the above areas most needs my attention now and what will I do about it?
These questions useful in a year-end time with the Lord. They can also be used to track our progress or regress: ask if you are showing more or less of these qualities as time passes.
Let’s do as the Scripture says and examine ourselves as to how we are going with the Lord.
Some in our congregation have the habit of a personal AGM to examine themselves before God. Here are some questions that can be used ….
Do I trust the mercies of God in Christ for my salvation or do I still try and impress God with my goodness?
Am I listening to God by regular deep reading of Scripture and meditation on it?
Am I talking to God in regular, deep and varied kinds of prayer?
Do I depend on God to meet my needs and bring them to him in prayer?
Am I turning my profession of faith into good works by doing what God says?
Do I act on the great commandment by loving God with all I am all the time and in all parts oft life and do I love my neighbour, my enemy and strangers?
Do I play my part in the great commission by showing and sharing my faith on a personal level through involvement in some kind of outreach ministry?
Do I serve by giving generously of my time talents and treasure?
Do I allow others to serve me?
Am I transparent and accountable to at least one other person who is able and willing to ‘tell it like it is’?
Which of the above areas most needs my attention now and what will I do about it?
These questions useful in a year-end time with the Lord. They can also be used to track our progress or regress: ask if you are showing more or less of these qualities as time passes.
Let’s do as the Scripture says and examine ourselves as to how we are going with the Lord.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
God’s Big People - David
There are some people whose names keep getting mentioned in the press. They make the headlines and major events cannot be understood without them. They are key to their era or nation.
The Old Testament figure of David is one of these. His rise from shepherd to king fascinates us. Likewise with the rise and rise of his kingdom whose true dimensions are best seen in his son Solomon. His psalms provide a vehicle for our praise, pondering, confession and lament. His sins make us shake our heads as we ourselves in his mirror. The history of kingship in Israel is the story of David.
‘David’ is a big name in the Bible. This continued so 1,000 years after David’s death when Jesus walked our planet. Thus the New Testament has almost 60 references to David. These invariably centre on his kingship and this is what connects him to Jesus.
Let’s listen to a crowd that was hostile to Jesus (Jn 7:41-42). They thought that they where he came from (Nazareth in Galilee). They also knew that the Messiah would come from David’s family and Bethlehem (Mic 5:2). Their logic was simple – the gap between Nazareth and Bethlehem proved that Jesus was not the Messiah. We shake our heads as we read of this for we have Matthew and Luke’s accounts of his Davidic ancestry and Bethlehem birth.
Paul is explicit about Jesus: as to his human nature (he) was a descendant of David (Rom 1:3). The same is reflected in the common Gospel title Son of David.
Jesus’ links to David are significant for our understanding of Jesus and of what God was doing in his advent. Let’s listen to words that a prophet had said to David centuries before:
I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father and he will be my son (2 Sam 7:11b-14).
The coming of Jesus was according to promise and vindicates the faithfulness of God. As for Jesus, he is God’s ruler over God’s people in God’s place. When we submit to the gospel of Jesus we enter God’s kingdom and become heir to its blessings. Of course, we must then give our wholehearted loyalty to Jesus. Even more so than his earlier namesake, Jesus is the king whose worthiness deserves our full loyalty.
Let us celebrate and submit to Jesus who is David’s son and our good king.
The Old Testament figure of David is one of these. His rise from shepherd to king fascinates us. Likewise with the rise and rise of his kingdom whose true dimensions are best seen in his son Solomon. His psalms provide a vehicle for our praise, pondering, confession and lament. His sins make us shake our heads as we ourselves in his mirror. The history of kingship in Israel is the story of David.
‘David’ is a big name in the Bible. This continued so 1,000 years after David’s death when Jesus walked our planet. Thus the New Testament has almost 60 references to David. These invariably centre on his kingship and this is what connects him to Jesus.
Let’s listen to a crowd that was hostile to Jesus (Jn 7:41-42). They thought that they where he came from (Nazareth in Galilee). They also knew that the Messiah would come from David’s family and Bethlehem (Mic 5:2). Their logic was simple – the gap between Nazareth and Bethlehem proved that Jesus was not the Messiah. We shake our heads as we read of this for we have Matthew and Luke’s accounts of his Davidic ancestry and Bethlehem birth.
Paul is explicit about Jesus: as to his human nature (he) was a descendant of David (Rom 1:3). The same is reflected in the common Gospel title Son of David.
Jesus’ links to David are significant for our understanding of Jesus and of what God was doing in his advent. Let’s listen to words that a prophet had said to David centuries before:
I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father and he will be my son (2 Sam 7:11b-14).
The coming of Jesus was according to promise and vindicates the faithfulness of God. As for Jesus, he is God’s ruler over God’s people in God’s place. When we submit to the gospel of Jesus we enter God’s kingdom and become heir to its blessings. Of course, we must then give our wholehearted loyalty to Jesus. Even more so than his earlier namesake, Jesus is the king whose worthiness deserves our full loyalty.
Let us celebrate and submit to Jesus who is David’s son and our good king.
The pool of sin
Recently I read Cornelius Plantinga’s well-written chapter on the fall into sin (in ‘Engaging God’s World’).
He is vivid in tracing the dynamic destructiveness and infectiousness of sin.
It was an odd sensation as I read. I was sitting by a hotel swimming pool in the early morning by myself. The water was clear and just right for a swim. The gardens were lush green and well kept. The solitude prompted deep and welcome thoughts. Good friends would soon join me and we would go together for a choice breakfast buffet before returning to the pool.
In short, themes of God’s good creation abounded.
It was hard to square all that with the dark chapter on sin.
Or was it?
I felt compelled to bring my key valuables pool-side rather than leave them in the room unattended. I was careful not to display them to anyone but kept them covered at the pool. And then at breakfast, one of my companions was concerned lest a possession of little value was taken and thus kept it in view.
And thus the fall was in evidence.
He is vivid in tracing the dynamic destructiveness and infectiousness of sin.
It was an odd sensation as I read. I was sitting by a hotel swimming pool in the early morning by myself. The water was clear and just right for a swim. The gardens were lush green and well kept. The solitude prompted deep and welcome thoughts. Good friends would soon join me and we would go together for a choice breakfast buffet before returning to the pool.
In short, themes of God’s good creation abounded.
It was hard to square all that with the dark chapter on sin.
Or was it?
I felt compelled to bring my key valuables pool-side rather than leave them in the room unattended. I was careful not to display them to anyone but kept them covered at the pool. And then at breakfast, one of my companions was concerned lest a possession of little value was taken and thus kept it in view.
And thus the fall was in evidence.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
God’s Big People - Abraham
Every story line has a cast of characters. Many of them play important but smaller parts – they add ‘colour’ and detail and are a necessary part of the plot. There are also the larger characters whose actions ‘turn the hinge’.
This is equally true in the story that we call the ‘history of redemption’. This is ultimately the story of God’s eternal choice to save and how it worked out in Biblical history. God’s story is worked out through significant people as well as through the little people of his kingdom.
Matthew shows clearly in the introduction to his Gospel (Matt 1:1-17). He presents a family tree of Jesus which is summarised at both its beginning and its end in terms of the line of Abraham / David / Jesus Christ (Matt 1:1:17).
Let’s look at Abraham.
We first meet Abraham as an idol-worshipping man from Haran and then Ur in modern Iraq (Gen 11:27-31; Acts 7:2-3). Abraham became significant by God’s choice. God made covenant with Abraham with the promise of him becoming a great nation, occupying vast lands and being both blessed and a blessing (Gen 12:1-3; 13:14-17 etc). This was not only true for Abraham but also for his descendants, as symbolised by the old covenant sacrament of infant circumcision (Gen 17:1-14). Abraham’s part was to trust God sufficiently that he would leave the comforts of Ur and go to a yet-unseen and unknown land. That’s faith on the move!
Abraham’s significance is shown in the number and importance of his mentions in the Old and New Testaments. Consider, for example, the importance of claiming Abraham as ‘father’ in Jesus’ day (eg Lke 3:8; Jn 8:31-40). Paul takes this a dramatic step further when he asserts that all who believe in Jesus are Abraham’s children (Rom 4:16-17). The claim that Abraham was put right with God by his active faith and not his works is even more startling – Abraham was a gospel man who anticipated the era of Jesus (Rom 4:1-11).
All this reshapes the way we think about Jesus and ourselves.
Jesus was not an accidental hero who stumbled into his decisive role against the flow of history. Rather, Jesus was the intentional conclusion to the story that began when God chose Abraham.
As for us, we are the ingrafted and adopted children of Abraham (Rom 11:17-24; Gal 3:26 – 4:7). Let’s thank God for our father Abraham and for his descendant Jesus who makes this possible.
This is equally true in the story that we call the ‘history of redemption’. This is ultimately the story of God’s eternal choice to save and how it worked out in Biblical history. God’s story is worked out through significant people as well as through the little people of his kingdom.
Matthew shows clearly in the introduction to his Gospel (Matt 1:1-17). He presents a family tree of Jesus which is summarised at both its beginning and its end in terms of the line of Abraham / David / Jesus Christ (Matt 1:1:17).
Let’s look at Abraham.
We first meet Abraham as an idol-worshipping man from Haran and then Ur in modern Iraq (Gen 11:27-31; Acts 7:2-3). Abraham became significant by God’s choice. God made covenant with Abraham with the promise of him becoming a great nation, occupying vast lands and being both blessed and a blessing (Gen 12:1-3; 13:14-17 etc). This was not only true for Abraham but also for his descendants, as symbolised by the old covenant sacrament of infant circumcision (Gen 17:1-14). Abraham’s part was to trust God sufficiently that he would leave the comforts of Ur and go to a yet-unseen and unknown land. That’s faith on the move!
Abraham’s significance is shown in the number and importance of his mentions in the Old and New Testaments. Consider, for example, the importance of claiming Abraham as ‘father’ in Jesus’ day (eg Lke 3:8; Jn 8:31-40). Paul takes this a dramatic step further when he asserts that all who believe in Jesus are Abraham’s children (Rom 4:16-17). The claim that Abraham was put right with God by his active faith and not his works is even more startling – Abraham was a gospel man who anticipated the era of Jesus (Rom 4:1-11).
All this reshapes the way we think about Jesus and ourselves.
Jesus was not an accidental hero who stumbled into his decisive role against the flow of history. Rather, Jesus was the intentional conclusion to the story that began when God chose Abraham.
As for us, we are the ingrafted and adopted children of Abraham (Rom 11:17-24; Gal 3:26 – 4:7). Let’s thank God for our father Abraham and for his descendant Jesus who makes this possible.
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