What follows is my text from the sermon I preached at my church on Christmas Eve...

I am not aware of another night in the calendar year that is packed with more anticipation than this one. Christmas Eve, in my mind, has to be the most exciting night of the year. In many ways we all feel this way; and for a number of reasons, I think that it is right to feel this way.

Most of us can’t wait for tomorrow. We can’t wait for tomorrow because so much awaits us. Family awaits us, friends await us, presents await us, food awaits us, laughter awaits us, and still more – depending on the size of your family tradition – awaits us, hopefully.

While Christmas Eve can be overflowing with all of this anticipation and joy, I think we all recognize some of the difficulties that may come with this time of year. Some family members do not await us tomorrow, for one reason or another. Some friends have grown distant. The gift that we really wanted might not be there. Christmas can be a disappointment.

Friends, what I want to tell you this evening is that Christmas isn’t really about the people that we might enjoy tomorrow, it’s not about the food, it’s not about the laughter, it’s not
about the joy that we will experience tomorrow. It’s also not about the disappointment that we might experience tomorrow, and honestly it’s not even about the gifts that we’ll exchange. Christmas is about a much bigger gift. It is about the gift of salvation, and that gift is a gift of peace.

We have been spending our time this evening hearing about this gift from God’s Word. We’ve even been singing about it in the carols that we have sung together, and now I want us to turn together to look briefly at one verse from the Bible which holds the message of why Christmas is about more than tomorrow. It is about enjoying a thousand tomorrows because of the gift that God has given to this world, his Son Jesus Christ.

The verse that I want us to look at is found in the first chapter of Matthew, and it is verse 21. If you are not used to looking at a Bible, the chapters are marked out by the large numbers and the verses are the smaller numbers on the page. In Matthew 1:21 we find these words, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

As I said, this verse summarizes the message of Christmas. This message is about more than a miraculous virgin birth, though that is one thing that we discover in the verses that
follow. This verse is about why there was a miraculous virgin birth. It is about what God is doing in human history. The message of Christmas is about God taking on human flesh and being born a man. But why? Why would God do this; why would God want to interact with humanity in this way?

We find the answer to this question in the name that is given to this miraculous child, and also very plainly in the verse itself. The name given to this child is Jesus, and Jesus means, ‘The Lord saves.’ And what does the second half of the verse say? What does it say he will do? It says, “He will save his people from their sins.”

The message of Christmas, friends, is a message of salvation. I wonder if you find that odd. I mean, it’s probably not what you imagine yourself to be thinking about tomorrow morning, is it? But this is exactly what Christmas is about, it’s about Jesus coming to earth in order to save his people from their sins. The message of Christmas is salvation.

Do you know that you need to be saved? Have you thought about that before? You need to be saved. But saved from what? From your sins. You see, we were all created by God, and we all owe our lives to him, but we have also all turned against him. We have all wanted to be our own rulers, and instead of following his ways, we have created our own ways, living our lives as if we don’t owe ourselves to Him. Because of this, He is angered, and rightly so. Because of our rebellion, God looks upon us all in judgment – we will forever face his wrath and be separated from him because of the way we have chosen to live. The Bible calls our rebellion sin, and it says that the wages – that is, the cost – of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus (Romans 6:23). Friends, we need to be saved from our sins and from what they have done to our relationship with God.

Do you see why the message of Christmas is a message of salvation? The message of Christmas is salvation because God sent Jesus to earth to live the life that we could not live. Jesus didn’t rebel against God; he didn’t determine to live a life that only made him happy. He determined to live the life that pleased God. He lived a perfect sinless life before God. The Bible says that Jesus knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus is able to save his people from their sins because he lived this sinless life before God and because he died on the cross taking upon himself the sins – and the punishment for the sins – of all those who would repent and believe. Not only did Jesus bear his people’s sins in his death, but three days after his death, he rose from the grave. He got up from the dead. Jesus conquered sin and death, and now he calls upon us all to repent of our sins, that is, to turn from living for ourselves to living for God. He calls us to trust that Jesus’ life and death paid for our sins.

If you repent from your sins and believe in Jesus, you will be reconciled to God for all eternity. You will enjoy a thousand tomorrows with Him. If you repent and believe you will have peace with God forever; you will no longer be at war with him. If you repent and believe, you will be saved. Salvation is the true meaning of Christmas.

So friends, how does this understanding of Christmas intersect with what you will experience tomorrow? The joy that you experience tomorrow, I think, is meant to be but a taste of the joy that Christians will experience for all eternity because they have been saved. What if you experience disappointment and sorrow tomorrow? If you’re a Christian, then you know that your sorrow will end as you move from this life to the next. For God has promised to those who have been saved that in heaven there will be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain (Rev 21:4). The disappointment that we experience in this life is real, and still the disappointment that Christians experience in this life will only last as long as this life lasts. Your experience of today and tomorrow are meant to point you to the reality and joy of heaven. Your experience of today and tomorrow are meant to build within you that anticipation for that everlasting tomorrow. That’s why I think it is right for this night to be packed with anticipation and joy.
Do you want to give a really meaningful gift this Christmas? Do you want to give a gift that shows you understand the meaning and message of Christmas? Then give your life to Jesus. The greatest gift that you can give this Christmas is your life. It will cost you all you have, and it will be worth it. Friend, give it to Jesus, the one who gave his life as a gift. Give him your sins, give him your trust, and in doing so you will give the gift that shows you know and live the meaning and message of Christmas. Jesus came to save his people from their sins.

History and the need for a better legacy

“Nothing has more characterized the human race in history than war. One scholar observed that war is ‘man’s chief legacy,’ meaning that it is the chief thing one generation passes to the next. Each of the treaties of history has been hailed by someone at sometime as the road to a just and lasting disarmament – politicians are doing it today – but the ink had scarcely dried on most of these treaties when the guns had began to sound for the next encounter” (James Montgomery Boice, Psalms: Volume 3, p.1071).

How did you learn history? In your education, what things were marked out as major events in history? The more I thought about the history of my own education in history, I realized that, for the most part, what I learned in world history was often connected with war. There are a few exceptions here and there with different eras, but I think that it is safe to say that most of the major markers of history were wars or issues related to wars. With that said, I do not want to say that all war is wrong or evil for that matter. I think that there are good and right reasons to go to war, namely for love. If that is confusing to you, I would encourage you to listen to Dr. D.A. Carson's lecture on Just War Theory.

That caveat aside, what about our era? What would you say are the major headlines of the first 6 years of this current decade? Does war play a large or a dominant role in the first half of this decade? Does it in part drive the way our society functions? I think so, and I wonder, what will mark out the last half of this decade?

I think those questions are the easier questions. Here's the harder question -- why is every generation indelibly marked by war? What is the root cause? Every generation is bound to be marked by war because of the profoundly deep war that exists in the heart of every man and woman. The wars we see -- whether globally, civilly, locally, or in your own home -- are just simptoms of the more fundamental problem. Man is fundamentally at war with God, and has been from the garden. We all have the innate desire to proceed with our own ways of life rather than God's. We rebel against his rule and each create for ourselves our own way of life. There truly are only two ways to live.

I would love to leave a better legacy, a better history, than what has been left by previous generations -- but honestly, I am not that hopeful. The reason I am not that hopeful is that I don't think man's fundamental state has changed. What will change is one day the Lord Jesus Christ will bring the war to an end. He will come as conquering judge and king.

So the question that we must all ask ourselves is this: will we continue to fight the Lord Jesus or will we give our lives to him in humble submission? It is my prayer that you and I would humbly submit to the Lord Jesus Christ, and that our lives would reflect a warless peace.

Why I Want To Be A Distinctively Christian Father

How important or significant was your father in your life? It is my guess that who your father was shaped much of who you are. I am grateful because my father has been incredibly kind, patience, merciful, good, and gracious to me. The truth is that any father can do good or ill in our lives, and if this is the case then it shows us all how especially careful fathers should be in bringing up their children. With that said, I also want to make clear a biblical truth of human responsibility; though our fathers can shape much of our personalities and way of thought, this does not remove our responsibility before the Lord for our own thoughts and actions. We alone are responsible for either rejecting or following the Lord Jesus Christ.

What follows in this post is a single reason why I want to be a distinctively Christian father, and please know that I have chosen the title and topic very deliberately. In saying this, please know that I am not saying that simply because I want this to be the case that it is the case. For I know that in fact I know that I am a poorer father than most. I don't know all the answers and I never will.

I can think of two fathers that will always stand before me in the line of godly parenting -- my father and Lisa's father. I say this not necessarily to honor them alone, though much of it would be deserved, but I say this to honor the Lord, for it is he who makes good and godly fathers. I don't think that we can underestimate the impact that fathers have on the lives of their children. Fathering shows something of what we believe about God.

The great puritan, Samuel Davies, reflecting on 1 Timothy 5:8, said this, "If, then, he that does not provide for his domestics a competency of the necessities of life has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel, what shall we say of him that neglects their souls, and takes no pains to form them for a happy imorrtality?" If I neglect my family, my child or maybe one day children, in the way of spiritual and physical care, then I am showing that I care nothing of the person made in the image of God, and therefore I care nothing about the one who created, I care nothing about Jesus. For Paul in Colossians 1:15-16 speaking of Jesus writes, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created..."

Jesus created every person walking this earth, and how a father cares for his children is an indication of how a father views the Savior.

I want to care for Kathryn, and any other children that the Lord might be pleased to give Lisa and me, because I want to reflect a love and esteem for Jesus. I want my life to show that Jesus, not my wife or my children, are the center of my life, or my motivation for care. In doing this, they will be more benefitted than if they were the center of my life and motivation. What my wife and children need most is for me to love Jesus more. Pray that would be the case in my life. I pray that would be the case in yours.

Do you remember what Isaiah's prophecy said about Jesus? It is so often quoted around Christmas time, and perhaps we skip over it a little too quickly, but consider these words from Isaiah 9:6, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Perhaps we also forget what Jesus himself said when he was trying to explain to those standing before him who he was. Jesus said in John 10:30, "I and the Father are one."

If fathers today would pursue loving Jesus more, do you know what they would do? By God's grace, they would ever increasingly reflect the very character of God. Is that what you want? It is my prayer that my life and yours would so reflect that desire.

The Arrogance of Pluralism

Religious pluralism (rel. comparative religion) is a loosely defined term concerning peaceful relations between different religions (Wikipedia).

What follows in this post is a brief explanation of why religious pluralism and inclusivism/ecumenism is actually costly, exclusive, and intolerant. Some have argued that a unity of religions exists, that this unity is easily understood and recognized, and finally, that it should be accepted.

While I understand this pull towards unity is attractive, I don't actually think that it is true. I understand the desire and attractiveness for unity. Unity allows for so many perceived benefits. Cooperation, toleration, and interaction free from conflict. It allows for the individual to move freely back and forth between differing beliefs without any consequences. One must admit that this is attractive, at least from a perspective that has a concern for this world.

While it is attractive and while one of the goals of pluralism is to provide an inclusion, there is a cost to that inclusion. As a Christian, I must lose my belief in the exclusivity of Christ, that believing Jesus Christ's death and resurrection is the only way to escape the punishment of God for our sins, in order to be included as a friendly player in the pluralistic worldview. Why not join the pluralistic worldview; what do you have to lose? Your faith for starters...

While the inclusiveness of pluralism is attractive, so is its logic, at least its surface logic. One can even argue for the logic of perceived unity of world religions with relative ease. One only has to turn to John Godfrey Saxe's version of the famous Indian legend of The Blind Men and the Elephant for a seemingly logical argument.

So, the logic runs something like this...The blind men are the various religions of the world, and though they do not know it, they are all grasping at the same thing. It's ironic really. The seer of this situation is the one who wants to propagate a pluralistic worldview.

There is a problem with this old legend and the use of it for a logical argument for pluralism though. The legend concludes with a moral stating,

"So, oft in theologic wars

The disputants, I ween,

Rail on in utter ignorance,

Of what each other mean;

And prate about an Elephant,

Not one of them has seen!"

Ok...so where is the problem? The problem is that the one seeing this vision knows that the object in question, is in fact an elephant. Where does he get this knowledge? How does he have a perfect vision of such a situation? The pluralistic mindset has quite an arrogant view, really. The mindset claims to have perfect knowledge of the "problem" that all exclusive religions find themselves in. Pluralism fails because in the end the individual becomes the all-knowing 'god.'

Religious pluralism is simply a synonym for atheism. In the end, that is what it must equate to, because the person purporting a pluralistic worldview is finally passing judgment, and that person is not a supreme being. Religious pluralism is arrogant at best, and atheistic at worst.

Let me explain what I mean by using another analogy that pluralist proponents put forth. Many pluralist use a mountain analogy. They say that the various religions of the world are simply different paths leading up the same mountain. They all reach the top, just in different ways. Where is the arrogance in this analogy? The problem comes again with the seer. How do you know that they all reach the top unless you are above them and can see all paths converging. You must have the position which resides over the mountain, you must be 'god,' the one who has perfect knowledge of the situation.

We all know that being our own 'god' is utterly worthless, for religion by man fails that man. What can we really do for ourselves to secure eternity? Nothing. This is just one of the reasons why we need exclusivity, and why we need our lives to reflect the humble admission of an exclusive belief in the Lord Jesus Christ.