I’m not sure if Mexico should be congratulated or not for being Oxford University’s “Place of the Year“, which highlights “the places that have inspired, shaped, and challenged history in that year”. It’s chosen by popular online vote.
Anyway, I thought this brief video reviewing some of the big Mexico news stories of the year was interesting – so here you are.
Oh sorry – you didn’t realize that? I didn’t mean to be the one to tell you. Actually, I didn’t realize it either – wow!
I just thought I’d stop by and let you know what we’re up as we hurtle towards the holidays.
Our Sunday services are continuing, of course. We’re doing a series on the book of Hebrews, and are in chapter 5 right now. I’m also doing the Where did the Bible come from? seminar during our Sunday School time. For those who have taken the seminar, you’ll know what I mean when I tell you that Javier the Louse will be making an appearance this Sunday, so I’m very excited about that. 🙂
We’re been greatly encouraged by the church lately – people’s involvement and interest in the Word. Thanks for your prayers!
Shari continues to keep the kids’ ministry running smoothly. Or, as smoothly as is possible with kids! They’re doing a Christmas themed series in Sunday school right now, and on Friday nights they’ve been going through the Creation story – very slowly, but they’re addressing a lot of important questions!
The adult Bible study continues too – we’re in Genesis, but going a little faster than the kids. 🙂
On Christmas Eve Eve we’ll be having a Christmas themed service – and a special year-end service the week after that.
Yesterday we had the opportunity to get together with some of our team of missionaries (the Frys and Chalo are in the States right now, and various children of said missionaries are in various places, including Hannah in Canada!). We would appreciate your prayers as we prepare for this upcoming change and as every missionary decides whether or not they will continue with Avant after the two missions join (if you missed that, check out Camino Global, Avant – What has changed, what has not…)
Of course both Hannah and Nathanael are busy with school, trying to get everything done so that they can enjoy some time off during the holidays. Hannah arrives in Mexico in 1 week, 6 days and under 4 hours!
So yes, we’re hoping to get some rest over the holidays, even though ministry will continue. There seems to be a seasonal bug going around our house right now, so we’re hoping that will go away soon (and that I’ll have a voice on Sunday!). 🤧
So that’s a little of what we’re up to! I hope you’re doing well, and able to catch some time to breath and to meditate on the miracle of the Incarnation.
This post is the fifth in a series about “the greatest Christmas song”. If you’ve missed the previous posts, here’s the introduction, the reveal, and then verse 1 and verse 2.
Today I’m going to cheat, and include three verses. The first one is probably the most familiar to you:
These verses point us to the examples that we see in Scripture from the story of Christ’s birth.
Some Christians are skittish about celebrating Christmas. I see nowhere in Scripture where our modern Christmas celebration is mandated (or prohibited). But I do see Scripture calling us to look at the colourful, majestic, mysterious events that surrounded the incarnation, and calling us to worship. And so I think that there is a proper celebration. (By the way, on the topic of Christmas history, if you really want to dig deep, check out the series from 2016 – When Was Jesus Born?)
Although we know that the Bible never exactly says that the angels “sang” (check it for yourself), they did rejoice in a very poetic way! So in this verse, we call on them to sing in praise, and to give God the glory. Psalm 148 is a glorious example of this – calling on all creation to praise God. You can read it for yourself, but here’s the first bit:
Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
Praise him, all his angels;
Praise him, all his hosts!
… and so they did! And we call on them to continue!
Then the example of the shepherds – summoned by the angels – they leave their flocks, and gaze at the Baby. So do we make an intentional effort to focus on this story in Scripture at this time of year, and gaze in wonder.
Then come the Magi. Now, if there’s anything that might make me a little uncomfortable here, it’s that the focus is so much on the “Child” that we might forget – we do not somehow worship a “Christ Child” as some kind of separate entity or image. We recognize that the Child is now the God-Man who rules in Heaven. We do gaze and worship as we see Him in the Scripture – but we never separate that from who He is in eternity, and who He is today.
That being said, we do worship. “Oblations” refers to a worshipful gift, or offering. We present much more than riches – we offer sacrifices of praise and worship from our hearts (and so we offer all our riches as well!).
In both the Old and New Testament, “sacrifices” were symbols for something more than just literal burnt offerings:
Our sacrifices are very “Christmassy” things – giving thanks, humility and repentance, singing to Him with joy, and giving to others. So come, let us adore Him!
(To be continued next week)
As I mentioned back in March, I’ve been trying to read more books this year. And will probably continue trying next year. 🙂 So I figure it’s time for a bit of an update on some that I thought were the best.
I would still put the two I mentioned in March at or near the top of the list – so check those out in Reading in 2018 (so far).
So, some other favourites…
When I think of O Come All Ye Faithful, I think especially of of verse 2. But when I looked up the verse online in the Cyber Hymnal, the words were a little different from what I am familiar with.
So I started pulling out hymnbooks from my shelf (yes, I have a collection of hymnbooks. Deal with it.). And surprisingly, I only found one hymnal that even had this verse! And it had the wording I knew. So, I’ll go with that (the meaning is the same in both versions I saw, so don’t get too hung up on the details).
Yes, certainly a verse we’ll need to take line-by-line!
But first, a summary. This verse is basically taken from the Nicene Creed. The Nicene Creed was based on the Council of Nicea, a church council which discussed the nature of Christ and His relationship to God.
Why did a council need to be called? The two famous protagonists were Athanasius and Arius. Athanasius, the little Egyptian, was called the “Black Dwarf” by his enemies. He taught that the Son of God was eternal – uncreated. (The story of Athanasius is incredible – you might want to check out this book for the whole family.)
On the other side was tall, charming, Arius. He was from what is today Libya, but was now in Egypt as well. His tagline was,“There was a time when the Son of God was not”. In other words, the Son was created. (Jehovah’s Witnesses are one example of the modern heirs of Arius’ teaching.)
If the Son was “begotten” (argued Arius), then he must have had a beginning.
The council by no means “decided” the matter – the controversy continued long after. But various versions of the Nicene Creed have endured.
If you read what Athanasius himself wrote, you’ll see something a lot of people don’t understand. The argument wasn’t about what was most “expedient” for the church, or what the church leaders (or others) “preferred”. The question was, what does the Scripture say?
God of God / Very God: That is to say, the Son really is God. That much is clear from Scripture, constantly affirmed in different ways. The Son is Yahweh, the Creator (Hebrews 1). He already existed when the world began, as God (John 1:1). He is the Mighty God at His birth (Isaiah 9:6). (Here’s more – part 1, part 2)
Light of Light: Also from the Nicene Creed. Jesus said,”I came from the Father and have come into the world” (John 16:28). John confirmed this – “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
So the Son (Light) came from the Father (Light). But the Son isn’t something different – He’s not a lesser god, or 50% of God. He is God.
So the first part focuses on the simple who-is-He of the Son – He is God. The second part point us to God’s glorious nature. The Son is the glorious, majestic, sovereign, eternal, Creator God. God is shown to us by the Son. God’s light shines on us in the Son.
Lo! – an exclamation of surprise – Look!
He abhors not the Virgin’s womb: (or, He shuns not the Virgin’s womb) The eternal Spirit, the Mighty God, the Creator of time and space – you mean to say He became a fetus in the womb of a poor Middle Eastern woman? Nothing against the Middle East, or women, but He became a vulnerable tiny baby?
The contrast between the first part of the stanza to the second – in only a few words – is astounding. It would be hard to encapsulate it any better for Twitter.
(As far as I can tell, the original Latin here doesn’t use the word “abhors”, it simply says that this God of God Light of Light is now in the womb of the Virgin).
Begotten, not created: How is it that the Son is begotten, not created?
After a long post, I’m not going to get into all the details here. In English, “begotten” is used to translate various words in Greek, each with its own context. So, in my opinion, it doesn’t always refer to the same thing.
But what I do agree with is that Jesus was in some sense (actually, in more than one sense) “begotten”, but He was never created, because He’s eternally God. In other words, “begotten” never means that He started to exist. The Scripture teaches that the Son has always been.
So in summary – we are coming to the Word to hear about this birth. He was born already the King of Angels. But here’s the truly mind-blowing part – God Himself became man – He became a small, vulnerable human baby. You don’t need to know anything else to be amazed.
Five posts, in chronological order, from the past three months. And what a three months it has been! I don’t imagine the pace of change is scheduled to slow at all…
Anyway, as usual, these are the posts that have been most viewed from the last three months. The most popular overall is in bold.
