This Weekend's Message: Deliberate or Distracted?

Deliberate or Distracted?
Deck the Halls, Week Three
Last year while at the mall with his mom and grandpa, a little four-year-old boy watched as children lined up excitedly to see Santa Claus. Having been taught that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, the little guy asked his mom, “Where’s the line for Jesus?"
It’s pretty easy to get distracted and miss Christmas. Oh, we won’t miss the day of Christmas literally, but we might miss the meaning of Christmas. Distractions are all around and it is so easy to lose our focus. But if you think this is a new problem, you’re wrong. This week we will look at three particular people who on the very first Christmas became so distracted that they missed it. And as we see the reasons, we’ll learn some important ways we can be deliberate so that we don’t miss it.
If you want to get a head start, read both Matthew chapter 2 and Luke chapter 2.
Finally here we are at the last Sunday before Christmas (I hope to see you!); let’s not get distracted from the real meaning this year.
God Bless,
Gary

Reflections: December 12, 2010

This week’s “Reflection” by Gary Keith, Executive & Teaching Pastor
Godly or Gaudy?
Luke 1:26-56
In week two of our series I asked how we should adorn our life at Christmas – will we be godly or gaudy? I must tell you that even though I’m very familiar with the birth story of Jesus, I learned some important new things this week. For the first time I clearly saw the theme of humility in both Mary and Elizabeth. Humility is one of those familiar words that are difficult to live out. How do we know when we are being humble? Mary showed us three things about humility and I hope this week you will consider those as we prepare for Christmas.
During the message I quoted Thomas Merton. He was a 20^th century Catholic writer who said, “Give me humility, in which alone is rest and deliver me from pride which is the heaviest of burdens.” What do you think of this quote? Have you ever experienced rest in humility? If so, what kind of experience was that? How was rest achieved by being humble? How about pride, do you see it as a heavy burden? How has pride  been a burden in your life?
By the way it was brought to my attention that during the sermon I said that John the Baptist wrote the Gospel of John. I quoted John 3:30 when John the Baptist said, "He (Jesus) must increase and I (John the Baptist) must decrease." It is true that John the Baptist said that, but it was John the apostle (the son of Zebedee), not John the Baptist who wrote the Gospel of John. Thank you so much to the person who caught this misstatement.

This Weekend's Message: Godly or Gaudy?

Godly or Gaudy?
(Not associated with the Gaudy family in our church!!)
Luke 1:26-56
Whoa! Only 16 more days and Christmas will be upon us. This Christmas in our “Deck the Halls” series we are looking at how to adorn our life with what matters. How do you prepare yourself for Christmas? Will you be godly or gaudy? What is the difference? Is there someone we can look at to see the difference?
This week we will look at the life of a key figure in the Christmas story and see how they reveal the true spirit of Christmas. During our worship time we will have the privilege of enjoying a combined choir of adults and children. Hope to see you this Sunday to learn how to be godly and not gaudy.

Reflections: December 5, 2010

This week's "Reflection" by Jeff Taylor, Pastor of Teaching & Worship
I was speaking recently with a friend about how God speaks, and how He reveals Himself to us. We were talking about how so often it seems that if God is speaking it is in a soft whisper, and can sometimes be frustrating for us that He doesn't just SPEAK UP!! But as I reflected on the story of Jesus birth, I was reminded that God could not have spoken any louder than He did when He sent His son. And that loud message is for all of time, even in our moments when it seems like God isn't speaking. God has spoken clearly of His love and commitment to us, through His son Jesus Christ.
This season, as you maneuver through business, stress, and or even hurt, and it seems like God is not responding to your cries for help, be reminded that God responded loudly through the birth of Hid Son Jesus, who then promised us an advocate through the Holy Spirit who is with us and speaks to us today.
Have a great week,
Jeff

New Family Seeks Help With Christmas Traditions

By Heidi Rogers, Graphic Designer

Many of us grew up with traditions that our families performed religiously every holiday season. Perhaps your traditions revolved around church and the story of Jesus’ birth, or around the idea of Santa, and at least somewhat around family gatherings and food. Every year my mom would get my brother and I a new, personal ornament for the tree. And on Christmas morning, she’d arrange cinnamon rolls in the shape of a tree and bake them with maraschino cherries on top, to look like ornaments. It was these little things, among others, that I really looked forward to doing together as a family every December.

This year, my husband and I find ourselves spending a quiet Christmas without our extended family here in Utah, with our nine-month-old son. Having a child has caused us to think differently about a lot of things, including how our actions and choices affect the type of person he will become. It has renewed a desire in us to live for Jesus, because we don’t just want to set a good example, we want to emanate what it means to love God and others with all of our hearts.

So as I strive to follow the Holy Spirit more and more each day, in conjunction with the excitement I feel over creating our own, new, family Christmas traditions, I ponder how I can connect the two. What kind of fun memories can I create for my son? How can we enjoy some of our American cultural traditions at Christmas, while still focusing on the birth of Christ? How do we intentionally show him love through gifts, and at the same time maintain the spirit of giving and selflessness? How does God want our family to spend our time and energy during the holidays?

One day, as I was perusing some of my favorite blogs, I came across some how-to’s on Jesse Trees. A Jesse Tree is similar in concept to an advent calendar, but way cooler. You start with a tree of some sort, and each day leading up to Christmas you read a devotional as a family – a passage (through the Old Testament and into the New) that points to the coming of Christ. With each day’s devotional, you have an ornament that represents the story that you hang on the tree. I love this idea because I can make it myself, utilizing some of those crafty/artsy skills God gave me. And it builds anticipation for Christmas and teaches us stories from the Bible all at the same time!

Another thing I’ve been challenged to think about is how we handle gift-giving. I think as we become more connected via the Internet and more aware of suffering going on in the world and in our own neighborhoods, people are thinking more about how they spend their money. I know several people who have decided to forego giving gifts within their family, and instead give a gift as a family to someone in need. Other people I know are very specific about how much and what type of gifts they give their kids at Christmas. For example, giving one practical gift (new pajamas), one educational gift (a book), and one fun toy.

If you’re familiar with The Five Love Languages, then you’ll understand what I mean when I say my main love language is gifts. It means a lot to me when someone goes out of their way to think of something I’d like, no matter how small. So I don’t think cutting gift-giving altogether at Christmas for our family is the right answer. Not just for my sake, but in the event that my son also feels loved through thoughtful gifts. While we have yet to decide our approach to Christmas gift-giving, we know we want to be intentional and thoughtful about it.

So I’m still dwelling and pondering and praying, counting on the Lord’s guidance through this adventure called “parenting,” particularly through the holidays.
What are some of your favorite holiday traditions? Is there anything your family does to tie in the reason for our celebration? How do you handle Christmas gifts? Help Heidi out and leave a comment with some ideas!

This Weekend's Message: The Wrapping Matters

How much does the wrapping matter to you when you get a gift? Everyone says it's the thought that counts, but sometimes the wrapping sort of influences what we feel the value of the gift is going to be.

The wrapping was one of the obstacles that people struggled with when it came to the Messiah. He was supposed to be adorned with royalty and greatness, and instead came humbly in a manger. The wrapping was not what people expected. But the wonderful message of Christmas is that there was a design in the wrapping. There was intentionality in the way Jesus came.

Come this weekend to discover what lies beneath the wrapping of Jesus' birth.

See ya Sunday!
Jeff

Reflections: November 28, 2010

This week's "Reflection" by Jeff Taylor, Pastor of Teaching & Worship

Awkwardness... I think about the things that used to be so awkward for me in the past, but are now things that I see as great opportunity. A great example of a way that God has proven Himself faithful to me in the awkward things is in small groups. I have always been a large group kind of person. I like big churches, big parties, big malls, big Thanksgiving dinners, and other places where there is the opportunity to meet with lots of people and have casual interaction. Sitting with someone one-on-one and having a deep conversation and caring about them personally used to be something that was pretty awkward for me. I didn't hate it and it wasn't that I couldn't do it, it was just awkward and I preferred to be in a large group where there was less pressure to actually go deep. God has done a great work in my heart through a small group that I have been in for about 10 years. It has been a place where God has taken the awkwardness and helped me see the importance and even purpose that He has for me in personal situations. It is a place for me to invest in other people, as well as allow people to invest in me. I now look forward to having one-on-one conversations over coffee and being able to genuinely ask "how are you" and listening.

Awkwardness can be such a hindrance, but if we will allow God to change our thinking and allow Him to show us His faithfulness in the awkward things, I believe we are going to see God's move in our lives in new, exciting, and increasingly less awkward ways.