"I like this time of year, I really do. It's a chance to look back, a chance to let go, a chance to celebrate, and a chance to look ahead. I just find it invigorating—as corny as it may be—to think about the close of one year and the prospect of beginning a new year. Henri Nouwen, in a book called Here and Now, said it this way: "We must learn to live each day, each hour, yes each minute, as a new beginning. As a unique opportunity to make everything new. Imagine that we could live each moment as a moment pregnant with new life. Imagine that we could live each day as a day full of promises. Imagine that we could walk through the new year always listening to the voice saying to us, 'I have a gift for you and can't wait for you to see it.' Imagine.""
"The Christmas story is a pivotal chapter in this big and beautiful story that God is writing and slowly unfolding because in Luke's gospel, when the angel announced, 'Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord,' he was announcing the arrival of the Prince of Peace. He was announcing the partial fulfillment of Isaiah's 700 year old prophecy.
"Now, just so we're clear, and we keep these people in these story being human, I don't believe any character in the Christmas story comprehended the full gravity of what was happening. Their reactions—the prime characters in the Christmas story—were all over the map, just like our reactions are all over the map. Doubt, disbelief, fear, astonishment, joy, hope, worship, disturbed, confused. The array of their reactions suggests at least they realized something profound was happening. And it seems to me we sit on the opposite side. We run the risk of tempering and taming the Christmas story so it fits nicely under a snow globe."
"In the Jewish community at that time, "Father" was a powerful idea that carried meaning for every aspect of your life. It was a term that referred to more than just your biological birth father. It was a term that you would refer to your ancesters. It was also a term that could refer to a ruler or a king or a governor of a city, that their role of governing the city or to of the community was similar to the role of a father over his household. And so it carried great significance.
"To refer to the Messiah as "Everlasting Father" —not as a reference that Jesus was "The Father" like in reference to His role in the Holy Trinity—but as a reference to His role in the lives of His people. One of the main roles ascribed to someone with the title "Father" was this idea of identity and belonging."
"When we think of "Mighty God," power probably comes to mind. The name, the title, "Mighty God" declares that the Messiah of Advent is powerful. So powerful that Isaiah 9 says that the running of the whole world is going to rest on His shoulders. In Isaiah 46:8-10, God is speaking of himself—with attitude:
"Remember this, keep it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels. Remember the former things, those of long ago; For I am God and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, 'my purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.'"
"It is wise and it is good to remember that God is great, and He is powerful, and He way is above us and infinitely far beyond us. And His ways, as Isaiah 55 says, are not our ways."
"When you hear the phrase, "Wonderful Counselor," what comes to mind? Hard to find? Expensive? Maybe a thoughtful listener. Maybe Doctor Phil comes to mind. The phrase in Isaiah —- and this is crucial —— is way beyond what we can conceive of as a good therapist. The word "wonderful" here in this context is closer to "supernatural" or "miraculous." And so it's not just "wonderful" as we use the term. "Wonderful" here refers to God's acts and ways that are far above and beyond what any human being can conceive of or imagine."
In this closing message, we invited the Oak Hills Community to share — open mic style — what they've been learning from our six-week series.
Due to the nature of the sharing, this podcast only includes the opening remarks by Pastor Mike Lueken, and not the actual sharing time from the congregation.
"These two disciples are walking behind Jesus, and the language used in the Bible is that they were "following" him in the sense that they were walking behind him (John 1:35-42). But not yet in the sense that we're talking about today. He turns around and asks, "What do you want"? And this question, Jesus asks, and keeps asking those who say they want to "follow" him. What do you want? What are you after? Why are you here? I think we can make a case that Jesus asks us this question every single day, and many times during the day, from the moment we awake and face all of life's situations, until we fall asleep. And when we wake up the next day, he asks it again. How to follow Jesus doesn't mean anything unless I want to follow Jesus."
"Go to the Oxford dictionary today, and look up the word "grace" and it will tell you that it is God's "unmerited favor." But while this is a widely accepted definition of God's grace, it is, like we were saying last week with the gospel, a rather truncated or reduced definition that actually robs it of the power ascribed to it by the authors of the New Testament. Because to define grace as merely God's unmerited favor...really boils it down to God's attitude towards us. Basically, it reduces grace down to the statement, "God likes us even though he has no reason to." Which is amazingly true. We humans are unmeritedly favored by God. But, that is not all that grace, as the New Testament writers use it, is about."
“The understanding of the Gospel that circulates in many religious—and even unreligious circles—can be described as gospels of sin management. Essentially, different ways of saying, ‘Jesus died for your sins. And if you accept him as your Savior, you can get your sins forgiven and go to heaven when you die.” Now the thing about these definitions of the Gospel is that the basic concept that they talk about is very biblical. the Bible is very clear that we all us humans are sinners are sinners, and through Jesus we can be forgiven of our sins and be assured of living in eternity in the presence of God. But the problem with making this the core of the Gospel is that they center the message on the wrong thing. It makes everything about where we spend life after death. We end up being the stars, the center of the story. Which of course is a problem. Because us being the center of the story—well that’s what got us into this mess in the first place."
"I’m not trying to point fingers at anyone, because we all medicate, and we all have a false self. We are all prone to whatever degree to present a polished picture of ourselves to the world in the hopes of being applauded, accepted, or approved. These impulses to do this—to filter, to cover up, to polish—these are direct consequences of sin, and of the curse sin brings. But if we set aside our defenses and resistances for a few moments, if we do our best to say, 'you know, this false self set of clothing is getting kind of scratch, so I’m gonna take it off for just a second. And I’m gonna sit in a reflective space for a few moments.' If we do that, we might realize that a picture of ourselves hangs in the walls of our inner world. And no one else sees it. And this picture shapes, powerfully and profoundly, our thoughts, our feelings, the relationships we have and how we are in those relationships, our defenses, our decisions, our habits, our passions, our overall way of living and being in the world. And our overall sense of peace and well-being in life."
NOTE: Mike Lueken refers to a song called “Christ is Lower Still” by Matt Maher, Kate Bluett, and Doe Jones, which was played during the service.