Author Archives: reveds

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About reveds

Occupation: Pastor, Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Lennox, SD Education: BS - Christian Education, Sterling College; MDiv. - Princeton Theological Seminary Family: Married, with Four children. Hobbies: Running (will someday run a marathon), Sci-Fi (especially Doctor Who and Sherlock), Theater, and anything else my kids will let me do.

Good News?

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“I bring you good news of great joy…”
(Luke 2:10 ESV)

The Christmas displays have been in the stores since just before Halloween.  The Christmas music has played non-stop since Thanksgiving.  I noticed a strand of lights have gone out on my front porch last night, but I don’t know if I’m going to fix it.  People seem less willing to stop and talk, they’re too busy shopping, sending cards, preparing for Christmas.  I haven’t said it yet, but I know that a “bah-humbug” is working up inside of me.

This Christmas I’ve been preaching through the story from Luke 2:1-20, that very familiar story of Christ’s birth.  Even if you’ve never read the Bible, you know this passage, because heard it proclaimed every year at Christmas while watching Charlie Brown’s Christmas Special.  We’ve heard the message proclaimed, but do we buy it?

I heard a prayer of confession once which stated: “We confess to you that the good news of Christ no longer sounds new to us nor even so very good.  We confess we are a jaded people.  We have heard the old stories before.  We have heard the songs before.  We see the Christian life as a burden rather than as your gift to be celebrated.”

How many of us have come to that point?  We’ve done all this before, there’s nothing newsworthy here.  We’ve sung the songs, but nothing changes.  We’ve given the gifts, but people just seem to want more.  We get caught up in the busyness of celebrating the season that we forget the whole point.  We talk about celebrating Jesus’ birth, but treat each other like his life has no bearing on ours whatsoever.

Maybe part of the problem is that we really haven’t heard the Good News yet.  Yes, we’ve heard the words, but we haven’t really listened to what they mean.  This passage from Luke 2 ought to be earth-shattering, life-changing news.  God has chosen what the world would say is ridiculous and absurd, a poor Jewish family in an obscure, oppressed village, to enter into our lives and turn the world upside down.  God has sent His beloved Son to take away our sins, to be our Savior, and to bring us peace – and all because God loves us!

That’s right.  God loves you, in all your broken, muddled, confused, and doubting ways, and sent His Son to die for you, so that if you will only believe in Him, trusting in His righteousness for your salvation, you shall live with God forever!  There is nothing more newsworthy, nothing filled with more goodness, than that.

My prayer for you this week is one that may not sound very pleasant, but here it goes anyway:

God, upset our lives.  Shake us from the sleepy pious boredom and spiritual neglect that has lulled us away from your powerful, life-changing, good news of great joy.  May we never again be complacent when it comes to your good news.  May this Christmas be a time when we discover again the joy of the new life you have given in your Son.  Amen.

SDG

Three Chords and the Truth

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I am working on one of my “goals” in life.  Last September I actually went out and bought a guitar, and I am slowly teaching myself to play.  I am a long way from ever playing in front of anyone, even my family tires of it, but it’s coming along.  Thirty minutes a day, usually after everyone’s already gone to bed, I’ll pull out the six strings and strum my way through my priase and worship books.

It truly is amazing how the old “Three Chords and the Truth” saying applies.  Once I figured out the C, D, and G chords (with an occasional A, and Em), I realized I could play a lot of songs.  Not well, but I could at least recognize the basic structure of the song.  What a confidence booster.  (I wish someone would have warned me though about the calouses on the tips of my fingers.)

I write this, not to advertize my budding guitar abilities, but to comment on an exepected blessing.  When I was looking for chorded music to help me learn to play, I found in our music books for the praise team that the chords were written out above the music (sometimes even with a cute little picture of how to finger the chord).  So I took those home and started to play through them. 

Now I find myself spending 30 to 45 minutes every day singing priase and worship songs.  My heart is happier, I find myself humming songs of worship throughout the day, I long for the time to play and worship in the evenings. 

Maybe this whole guitar thing was God’s way of helping me make time for Him in my life.  However it came to pass, I am so thankful for the time in worship.

SDG