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Jesus coming into this world followed over fifteen hundred years of preparation. In a sin-filled and dark world God was laying the foundation for this one event that would change everything. He had created a nation, Israel, that was designed to point to this one event. Their history was a living example of God’s salvation. Their worship rituals were full of practices that were designed to point to their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus. The priesthood in Israel pointed to Jesus as the ultimate high priest. The sacrifices pointed to Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice. The temple, that place where God connected with his people, pointed to Jesus – the ultimate temple where God is at home with us. And the list goes on… Read the rest of this entry »

Last week we talked about Christmas as found in Hebrews 2:14-18 and Philippians 2 – Jesus did not find equality with God something to be grasped.  Rather, he humbled himself and became like us (Christmas) so he could face the wrath of God in our place.  In his death for us our sin is forgiven and Satan is stripped of his power.  Through the forgiveness of our sin we are friends of God and can now move into the life we were created for. Read the rest of this entry »

Christmas is fast approaching so I’d like to move in that direction over the next three weeks. I’d like to connect this Christmas message to the series we’re in – moving from “Consumption to Compassion” – I think it’s a natural fit. Christmas is all about moving from comfort to mission, from consumption to compassion. This is a central call for those who have given themselves to Jesus. Remember what the apostle Paul said in another core Christmas passage: Read the rest of this entry »

CRAIG HENSEL

A couple weeks ago I spent the week in Chicago for a class titled becoming a missional church. It was a great week. I got to sit in classroom for a week. I’ve been 8 years removed from that setting. In many ways, I felt like a elementary school kid going into junior high. Here are some things that I was refreshed in and reminded of. Read the rest of this entry »

In December we are meeting on two Saturday evenings, here in this building. We are inviting people in this community to have a meal with us and to have family pictures taken. We are creating a venue through which we as a group can meet people, befriend people, expose them to who we are and hopefully, then or at some point, to Jesus. Read the rest of this entry »

Much of the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) is committed to two great things – watching and learning from Jesus’ actions, and listening to his teaching. Luke chapter twelve is an example of how and what Jesus taught in order to move his disciples into the call we all face – the call into the mission, the call to actually live for Jesus. Jesus’ primary goal here is seen in the second half of the chapter (starting in verse 35). He wants his servants to be AWAKE and ready, AWAKE and committed to the mission, AWAKE and working, AWAKE and living in the reality that he will be coming back to finalize this phase of history. Read the rest of this entry »

Second Timothy is a wonderful book that was probably written near the end of Paul’s life. As a result, it has deep and beautiful thoughts about what it means to live for Christ. In verse 1 Paul encourages Timothy to be firmly dependent on the kindness of Jesus, be full and resolute in your dependence on Jesus (be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus). This is the opposite of how the world would program us, right? Independence, self-sufficiency, dedication to the pursuit of pleasure, comfort and financial security first. Not so as we align with Jesus. Timothy’s call was to be dependent on God as he pursued disciple-making. Read the rest of this entry »

The gospel message is a message of compassion. John 3:17 says that God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save it. He humbled himself and became one of us and lived a perfect life so that when we tortured and killed him he could represent all those who would receive him – he would take their place. My sin would become his sin and his righteousness would become my righteousness. Jesus had compassion like no other.  As Luther said, “Lord, you are my righteousness and I am your sin.” Read the rest of this entry »