As followers of Jesus, we have a responsibility not only to love God and love our neighbors. We also have the responsibility to share this love of Christ with those where we live, work, and play. Listen this week as we learn about this calling and how we deal with those in opposition to our faith.
Page 139 of 152
The news has undoubtedly reached nearly every corner of the earth by this point. The attacks on nations around the world by militant extremist groups has people in an uproar. Nerves are shot. People are scared. But there’s a question that’s been floating around that needs our attention. Why do these things happen? Where is God in the midst of these types of terror attacks? From where does our hope come?
We all have a story to tell. What’s yours? With the news hitting recently about all of the devastation and destruction and evil hitting our world, it’s probably a good time to focus on the story that makes us who we are. Continue reading
Perhaps you’ve seen the news that Christians are in an uproar over the lack of Christmas decorations on the new Starbucks coffee cups. Perhaps you’re one who was offended that they chose to lose the symbolic Christmas icons on their cups. But I have to say, sometimes a cup is just a cup.
Let’s think about this for a minute. Some well-meaning Christians are upset that a secular business is not acting like a Christian business. Why is it that this upsets us? Should we expect any different? Why is this cup so important? Sure the Magi in the New Testament followed a star to find Jesus. Sure it was a cup that Jesus passed around at his last supper with his disciples but why are we combining the star and the cup? Why is this cup so important?
To be totally honest…it’s not! This cup has no significance at all. This cup holds coffee. It holds strong, dark, potent coffee! Christians, no matter how well-meaning, should not be angered over this decision. It’s a simple marketing ploy and some of you have fallen right into it. In the New Testament, Jesus promises that his presence is found not in a red holiday cup, but in a cup at the Sacrament of Communion.
It’s here, in this cup that we find the presence of Christ. It’s in the cup of wine and the loaf of bread that we see the blood and body of our risen Lord Jesus.
So why are we so confounded critical of a business that doesn’t want to use a tree on their cup? It wasn’t an evergreen tree that held our Savior on Good Friday. It was a tree in the form of a cross. The tree wasn’t green and filled with life. Rather it was dead, cut, and splintered. It was a tree that was hard. The tree was ugly. It was used for torture not joy. This is the tree that defines our lives as followers of Jesus.
Whether Starbucks wants to use a solid red cup or one covered with Christmas trees shouldn’t matter much at all. As Christians, our lives should demonstrate the meaning of Christmas regardless of what’s on our coffee cups. As followers of Jesus who carry the presence of Christ where we live, work and play, people should look to our words and actions to see the real meaning of this holy-day season. So perhaps we can be more concerned with how our lives reflect the tree of the cross than an evergreen on a red cup. Perhaps we should focus on living the called life everywhere we go instead of criticizing someone for a decision to change their method of distribution.
This Christmas wear the meaning of the season in your words and actions. Let others see the true light of Christmas not on your tree but in how Christ’s tree has illuminated your life. This Christmas may you know the meaning of the season is found in Jesus’ cup of righteousness poured out for all who believe. It’s not about a cup of coffee. Sometimes a cup is just a cup.
Jesus interacts with his disciples in the temple area. In one particular instance, he sees people giving offerings to the temple. The story of the widow’s mite teaches the importance of the life of the giver over the size of the gift. Listen as Pastor Derrick describes a truly priceless gift.
What voices do you listen to in this world? Is it the news? What about your friends? Or is it your spouse or significant other? Do you listen the voices of the pop culture superstars? Or the self-help gurus?
If you’re listening to any of these, then you’re probably not finding a lot of comfort in your self-worth. I remember growing up, my parents would always tell me Remember who and whose you are. Those words echo in my mind constantly even 20 years later. Continue reading
Generally we refer to All Saints Sunday as a day to remember those who have gone before us in the faith. We remember loved ones who have died, but this morning we look at it from a different perspective. It’s a reunion of sorts, and all because of the love of the Father.
Pretty sure we’ve all been there. You know one of those – my life just flat stinks kind of days. You wake up and think it would have been better if you’d have just stayed in bed kind of days. This week’s song is Glow in the Dark by Jason Gray. Continue reading
The Kingdom of God is a pretty key topic in the New Testament. The gospels contain many references to the coming of the God’s kingdom. But there’s an interesting fact about the times Jesus refers to his kingdom. Whenever Jesus references his kingdom, he does it in the present tense? That’s a pretty important reality for you and me today as followers of Jesus. Continue reading
If there were three pillars that hold up the life of a follower of Jesus, they’d be grace, faith and Christ. These were the three things that marked the new beginning of the church in the early 1500s. An event called the Reformation was a time when several men sought to bring the church back to the place it all started.
