What's the message of Christmas? Back when our kids were still kids, we used to ring the Salvation Army bell together. I remember one Christmas down at the Corner Room, just watching the people go by...teenagers with shaved heads and nose rings...a yuppieand his significant other...college students of every shape, size and color...a jogger...a few young men going into to get an early start...a younger guy who was obviously homeless... a family going in to have supper at the corner room.  And I just thought, does God really know all those people by  name?  By heart? Do they really matter to him?  Yes. They do. People matter to God. You matter  to God. That's why God is with us. That's the promise of Christmas. I can summarize it in four words.People matter to God.

I wonder sometimes, if a lot of us like Christmas Jesus, more than we love grown-up Jesus? And so Christmas might be our once a year opportunity to think about this sweet cuddly baby Jesus who isn't old enough  to know our minds, or strong enough to change our ways, or holy enough to convict our hearts. But I believe that we miss the true story of Christmas, if we don't let the baby grow up!In Psalm 23, David describes the grown-up Jesus as a Shepherd. And he declares this truth, "If the Lord is my shepherd, I will lack nothing." Now that's a counter-cultural Christmas message, but if it's true, then all I want, really want for Christmas...is Jesus.

Isaiah 64 is a lament. A lament is a prayer that cries out to God in desperation for His presence. It is a prayer that pounds on the locked gates of heaven. It is a prayer of deep pain, intense frustration and confusion about the absence of God.  And yet a lament is not just the hopeless cry of a discouraged people, or a frustrated venting. A lament is a profound statement of faith in God. A lament hurls it's hurt to God with the conviction of faith and the expectancy of hope that God can do something. That because God is God, all is not lost; so we need not give up.     In fact a lament is less like the surrender of hope and more like a fight with God, for more God. And, if you think about it, perhaps more than any other type ofprayer that could be associated with Christmas, a lament is a Christmas prayer!

Christmas is a global, timeless, eternal story, but for a moment, I want to step back from that big overarching story being written through all time and space, that includes all of humanity and I want to talk about your story. Let's talk about your personal story. That's one thing I love about Christmas. When Christ was born, God got personal. And Christmas is a good time to ponder our place in God’s Christmas story.But to do that, we have to recognize the stories we tell ourselves; that little running narrative that goes on in your mind as you go through your day. Like sometimes we look at chapters of our lives (especially the hard ones) and we begin to think,  "That’s my whole story. That’s the story of my life." And we rehearse a narrative.  In this episode, I want to talk about the stories we tell ourselves in light of the most true story of Christmas.

It was the birth of a baby. Don't get me wrong. I love babies. But if you are going to change the world, don't send a baby. Right? Until we take into account the ripple effect. It's almost easier to watch it than it is to explain it. We’ve all done it. You’ve taken a rock and thrown it into the water and you watched the circles rippling outward from the point of impact. Long after the stone is gone from sight, the effect of its presence ripples beyond it's source. Christmas is a grand illustration of the ripple effect. Such a small beginning, but oh, what a ripple. The ripples of Christmas have continued for thousands of years. Just imagine; what if Jesus never came? But He did. And the ripples of heaven dropping into the ocean of earth, changed the world forever. Changed my world forever!

Jesus the light of the world, the light of life has come! Isn't that the story of Christmas? But here's the most amazing part of the Christmas story of light. He invites us to join him. As I was studying Isaiah 9 this week, I had this thought. Here it is. When I think of the Isaiah's Christmas vision of Jesus. I'm reminded that Jesus is the Mighty God, and I am not. Jesus is our Prince of Peace, and you are not. Jesus is Immanuel, "God with us, we are not." Jesus is the Savior of the World, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, you, me? Nope, we are not. We're none of that.But light of the world? Jesus is and we are. We are the light of the world. Perhaps we never get closer to Christmas than when we live as a light in the darkness. That's why I love Paul's declaration in Philippians 2 as he calls us to shine like stars in the sky!

The ultimate goal of this podcast is that we would grow to love the one who is called the WORD of God and that as God covers us in His love, we would become a bit more like Jesus. If we keep going to scripture to listen and learn but we never lean into it. We never apply it. We never let it change us, then it’s been a colossal waste of my time and yours. But if you’re looking for some Words from God that will challenge you to change and be a bit more like Jesus, Philippians 2 is not a bad place to start. But be warned, being like Jesus requires surrender!

This episode is a hard one. No ifs, ands, or butts, it’s a hard one. In this episode we are going to talk about the unmistakable and often necessary connection between suffering and joy. We’ll start with the last part of chapter 1 in Paul’s epistle of joy but we might roam a bit farther afield in God’s word also, because this is a good topic to get a broad sense of God’s heart on the subject. And remember this connection comes right after Paul declares, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain."

What is your dream?  You have probably heard the phrase, "The great American dream..." It's all about gaining what we (think we) need for happiness, joy, comfort, success etc.  Isn't that we often live? Gain all we can now. We live to gain. I want to win now. I want the job now, security now, the most recognition now. I want to be the one. Maybe you know what I’m talking about, maybe have even experienced it. Even if I'm a Christian, let's gain all we can gain now and then we get Jesus after we die.For me to live is gain and to die is Christ. But Paul reverses the dream. He says, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." My living now is all about Jesus and when I die, that's when I gain. Can I say, "for me to live is Christ and to die is gain?" Or do I need a reversal? That's the question of this episode.

The gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ...is all about the way in which the weakest, most despised, most difficult people in the world, can become through the power of God, the most beautiful, most radiant, people in the world. The gospel is all about how God finds gold in the garbage; how God does good things in bad times.  Or as Leonard Sweet puts it, "...whatever is buried trash in your life, God can turn into buried treasure.  Whatever you think are the trash cans of your existence, God can turn them into treasure chests." Some of you are going through garbage dump times and in this episode, as we look at the next part of Paul's letter to his friends in Philippi, I want to give you three good things about hard times.

We are in Paul’s letter from prison to his friends at Philippi. You know as I’ve been studying through Paul’s letter, thinking about his context and mine, I find myself in the last chapter of my life. I’m hoping it’s a long chapter, but if there are three acts to my life, I’m in act 3. So I think even more about finishing well than I have before.Paul’s words in Acts 20:24 were a life-challenge for him to finish well. I can just see him writing this in his journal. He writes, "But none of these things (troubles) move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy." He wanted to finish well, and finishing well meant finishing his race with joy. So in this episode, we’re going to take some time to ponder finishing well and in fact finishing well with joy.

Paul's letter to the church at Philippi has power because his words of joy are the words of someone who has experienced unexpected barriers to joy.  His life was full of the kind of circumstances that tend to discourage and depress us.  Paul left a mark on others, at least in part because of his joy. He calls us to joy from the unexpected prison and circumstantial barriers to joy. This episode is a reminder that in the hardest of times, an amazing, overflowing joy is still available!

There is a simple story in Luke 17 about 10 men who were healed of leprosy by Jesus. Not immediately in His presence, but on their way as they went to the Priest. They were healed on the way, and when they were healed, one returned to Jesus to say thank you. One returned and 9 did not. And my simple challenge in this episode is to "be the one."Paul begins his letter from prison to his friends in Philippi with a word of a gratitude. "I thank my God every time I remember you, because of our partnership in the gospel. Every time I pray for you, I pray with joy! Paul was determined to be the one.So be the one who comes back.Be the one who lives by an internal gps of gratitude.Be the one who is never too busy to say thank you.Be the one!

Perhaps few things are more essential for the life we long to live than the essential of joy.  Unexplainable, uncontainable, contagious and outrageous, extreme joy.  I'm not sure if I should try to distinguish between happiness and joy.  But I'm not talking about a pain-free existence. And I'm not talking about getting everything I want, when I want it. I'm talking about something deeper than circumstantial happiness. In Phil. 4:4 he takes this whole joy thing to the extreme. Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again rejoice!  And so he puts joy in the non-optional category.  If we value the Bible, then joy is a command and joylessness is a sin.  Here's what I'm thinking...  If joy is a command, than it must also mean that joy is a choice. What if…regardless of your prison, regardless of your hard season, what if you can choose joy? Would that change your life?

As we look around us and even look within us, is it so crazy to believe that Paul might be right? A battle between God and evil rages around us. If so, how do we fight a battle we can't see, against forces we don't know, with weapons we aren't even sure we are trained for? I've experienced some battle, in fact more battle in the last few years than I can ever remember, and in the midst of this I was reminded of one of God's crazy battle plans.Be a sheep and follow your shepherd. As we recap spiritual battle, we are looking at God's crazy battle plan. Be a sheep.

If we are going to stand up rather than give up we need to get connected, to Christ and each other. One of the best ways to connect to both Christ and each other...at the same time, is by praying together. That’s Paul’s concluding challenge. Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. Keep alert with all perseverance, praying for all the saints...and also for me. Pray at all times, with all types of prayer, with all perseverance, for all people. This is a call to all-in prayer. Sometimes I feel that the best I can do is to pray sometimes, with some types of prayer, for some people with some measure of perseverance.I hope this episode stirs up our souls to pray a bit more.

I used to think that God was kind of arbitrary in choosing who He was going to use; who He was going to empower for great things. "I'm going to use you and you, but not you.   That's not what the Bible says. I love the Words of 2 Chronicles 16:9, "The eyes of the Lord search back and forth across the whole earth looking for people whose hearts are fully committed to Him, so He can show his great power in helping them. "God is looking for people to empower, people whom He can use, people He can  trust.  Nothing can ultimately keep you from living the destiny that God has planned for you; if you will commit your heart fully to Him.In this episode we'll take a look at 5 heart-commitments we can make to stand in the battle!

Life is a battle, you can't win alone. We need to be connected to Christ. There's no authority in the battle without intimacy with Christ, but it's also vital for us to be connected to each other.  Paul's whole letter to his friends at Ephesus is a passionate call to be connected. We are the family of God. We are the body of Christ. We are the dwelling place of the Spirit. AND we cannot win if we fight alone.Paul's not talking to spies on their own behind enemy lines. It's the unity, the battalion, the team that will win the battle. Be strong as a church, all of you together put on the armor of God. Stand together. You cannot do it alone. At the heart of this episode is a call to together!

Here's the bottom line when it comes to spiritual battle. It's hard to get a breakthrough if we can't find a way to stand strong.  In fact, the goal of those dark, evil forces, as much as anything, their goal is simply to see you fall. According to Paul, there's someone out there who is waiting to take us down. So Paul calls us to stand in the power of God. Stand firmly, withstand, do everything you can to remain standing.  Have you ever been in a crisis situation?  Anybody ever say to you, "Don't just stand there...do something!" It's almost like Paul is saying, "Don't just do something, stand there!" God wants to strengthen you so that you can stand, withstand and take a stand!

The gospel is an epic story, all the more epic, because it is real.  But every epic story involves a battle, and every battle has an adversary. Because at it's heart, every epic story has a battle between good and evil. I think one of the great problems for our movement today is that for the last few decades the invitation to follow Jesus has readmore like a travel agency brochure than an enlistment campaign.  We often hear some form of "Come follow Jesus he will  lead you to the live of your dreams." Rarely do we hear "Come follow Jesus and enlist in the battle against evil for good. Come fight for the heart of your King or die trying!"We have an adversary. There is a battle. So pray always. That's my challenge in this episode.