You can't love Jesus and hat his wife. by Ed Stetzer
Get this. I'm standing in a reception line with my wife following a speaking engagement when this guy comes up to me and starts telling me how he's read all my books, has heard me speak on several occasions and told me how influential I've been to his ministry. (Please go on!)

He talks about how he's introduced a number of his pastor friends to all things Stetzer and how they actually traveled across country to be at this event. Wow!

But then, he starts verbally ripping on my wife like she's not even standing there. She's right there! He thinks my wife, who has been the love of my life and a partner in ministry for 25 years, is a drain on my ability to influence others. He says she's obsolete and that the "old girl is a little faded."

I'm in shock. Suddenly, the cheezy Christian motto of the 1990s flashes through my mind: What would Jesus do? Turn the other cheek? Pray for his enemy? Hand this guy His cloak?

I'm about to jo Jack Bauer on him.

I think Jesus would have been ticked - like any normal husband would be. You see, the church is the Bride of Christ. And, you don't mess with a man's wife.

The story about my wife is made up. The reality of what professing believers of Christ do to and what they say about His bride - the church - is not. Ant it is exponentially more serious than saying my wife is, "a little faded." (And I would take that pretty seriously!)

You cannot say you love Jesus and abuse His wife.

Unfortunately, there is a prevailing wind currently blowing across Western Evangelicalism that has caused an ecclesialogical (church) drift into dangerous waters. Research stalwart George Barna documented the tread in a longitudinal study released in 2005. One alarming element of the study showed that 70% of respondents found their primary means of spiritual expression through the local church in 200, but by 2025 he predicts those numbers to decrease by at least half. Did you get that? Now I have some quibbles about the numbers and more about the theology. But, if Barna is right, in less than 20 years, only 30-35 people out of 100 will believe that the church holds primary significance in their relationship with Christ. That's stunning for someone who loves the church (like I do.)

We were surprised that in our recent research on young adult dropouts, the more common reasons young adults dropped out of the church were lifestyle reasons. They got too busy, moved too far away, or experienced some other life change. And the church did not make the new list of priorities. Nice.

My question is how can anyone give even a cursory read to the New Testament and miss the supreme importance give to the church by the One who is most Supreme? Paul says that we were once "alienated and hostile in mind because of [our] evil actions. but now He has reconciled [us] by His physical body through His death, to present [us] holy, faultless and blameless before Him." Paul goes on to say that he rejoices in his suffering because his suffering is "completing in [his] flesh what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for His body, that is the church" (Colossians 1:21-24)

Paul was willing to take a beating for the church because Jesus submitted to a brutal murder "to make her [the church] holy, cleansing her in the washing of water by the word. He did this to present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and blameless." (Ephesians 5:26-27)

Seems like fewer and fewer people are wiling to take the church seriously, let alone take a beating for her.

Peace Lutheran Church

Christmas Eve

Dec 24^th, 2007 ? 11pm

David Hively

I don?t know if this happens to anyone else, but I think it is a sign of the times. Every so often I open my email to find some new link or video is making its rounds. Not too long ago I received one of these emails. I followed the link and found a letter from Jesus. Well, not really from Jesus, but from some pastor writing as though he was Jesus. It was an angry letter, from a bitter Jesus who was upset by being left out of Christmas. He was angry about being replaced by Santa and not being given any gifts. But that really doesn?t capture the Jesus I know. That isn?t the way my Jesus acts towards his creation. So I started thinking about what a letter from Jesus might actually sound like.

A letter from Jesus:

My dearest family,

As you well know, we are getting closer and closer to my birthday. Every year there is a celebration in my honor and it looks like people are planning parties for this year as well. During this time there is lots of shopping for gifts, radio and TV ads, and across the world everyone is talking about how my birthday is getting closer and closer. It is really very nice to know, that at least once a year, some people think of me. It makes me very happy to see that people have used this time as way to take care of each other, especially the poor, the widows, and orphans. I would love to see people make that a year-round project. Remember, I came into this world as a poor vulnerable baby, so I know what it is like to have to depend on someone else.

I?ve seen lots of signs around that say, ?Jesus is the reason for the season.? That?s true, but YOU are a part of the reason for the season too. You see, God the Father sent me to earth, so that you could have everlasting life - so that you would have not just any kind of life, but the kind of life that is abundant and overflowing with love. I came to set you free from the power of sin, and to ask you to share in my mission. Some of your brothers and sisters are out there right now: bringing good news to the poor, giving sight to the blind, setting captives free, curing the sick! There is so much to do! But, don?t worry ? I?ll give you everything you need and walk beside you on the way.

I know that it can be hard to think of me amidst the hustle and bustle of life. It seems like things move faster and faster every year. There is so much to do ? so many things to get ready. There are presents to buy and wrap, cookies to bake, rooms to clean and decorations to hang. I know that these things are important to you, but please remember to take time to enjoy some of the gifts that you have already received. Take a walk one afternoon and see all of the wonderful animals that I created to share the world with you. When you sit down to a meal, think about all of the people whose gifts went into making that meal possible. Take a look around this room and see all of the brothers and sisters that I have gathered together here so that you can encourage and strengthen each other. I?m glad that you were able to make it tonight. I hope that this time that you spend in worship will fill you with hope and joy and a sense of peace that passes all understanding.

For all of its glitz and glamour, this time of year can be hard for some people. Even when things look all happy and cheery on the outside, sometimes the insides don?t match. Sure, things look the same this year. The lights are up again. The tree is back where it belongs. Everything looks right, but this year feels different. Maybe there is a new face at the dinner table ? or maybe there is one less. Things just aren?t the way they used to be. No matter how hard you fight to keep them the same, to maintain those traditions, time keeps on moving by. I?ve seen a lot of traditions come and go. But know this ? my love for you is more than a tradition. It is more than a once a year holiday. It has been there since the beginning of the beginning and there is nothing that you could ever do to make me love you less.

I can see that there is a lot of pain in my world right now. Many of my children do not have anyone to share this holiday with them. Some of my children are far away fighting in wars. Some do not have enough to eat. This holiday is for them too. While I was on earth I felt how heavy your burdens can be. I felt your pain. I know your grief. Really, that?s why I came to earth in the first place ? to be with you in ALL circumstances, even the tough ones. Please don?t forget that I am ready to hear from you whenever you want. And that I am ready to take those heavy burdens from your shoulders.

I miss you. I can?t get enough of hearing from you. I know that it seems like a long time ago that I left, but I want you to know that you are still very much on my mind. You are so very precious to me.

My dear family, be good to each other. Pray for each other. Celebrate with the people who are celebrating, cry with the people who are crying. Do the best that you can to live in peace with each other. Hold tightly to me, because even though I started out as a little baby, I grew to take all of your sins on myself, to die on the cross, and to rise again so that you can have eternal life. I?ve placed in your life a light that shines against the darkness in the world. Take that light and pass it on to others. I want this night to be special for you. I want you to feel my presence with you, to know the peace that I have come to bring, and to trust that there is nothing in this entire world that could ever change just how very much I love you.

May the peace of Christ fill your hearts, minds, and souls. Merry Christmas

Peace Lutheran Church

Peace on Earth?

The Prince of Peace

Dec 22^nd, 23^rd

David Hively
I?ve heard a lot in the last few weeks about the various traditions that people have. The particular things that make this time of year special for them. I?ve heard stories about trips to see families, about going out to find that perfect tree. But I?ve also hear that there are several people in this congregation who collect nativity sets which they proudly display this time of year. Some people call them crèches. But they are these sets of figurines that are fashioned to represent all of the major players in the story of the birth of Jesus. You have seen these, right? There is one just to the left as you enter through the sliding doors in the back of the sanctuary. They make for these beautiful scenes, frozen in time where all is calm and all is bright. The faces are all looking down, peering at the newborn Jesus. Some are even kneeling out of reverence for this tiny king. Some of the sets even have angels sounding a trumpet to herald the arrival of the Prince of Peace. The scene is so idyllic, so serene, so full of ? peace. But what about this baby Jesus? We call him the Prince of Peace, but I wonder just how much peace he brought into the lives of the people with whom he shares this scene.

Lets work our way in from the outside. The Magi. We know these guys by a lot of different names: Magi, Kings, Wise Men, Astrologers. And we put them in the scene with the shepherds and angels and little baby Jesus, but most biblical scholars agree that the magi didn?t make it to Jesus on Christmas night. They think that it might have taken them as long as two years to find Jesus. It isn?t a part of our text for today, but these guys had quite a trek on their hands. And as wearying as traveling can be in our own time, I?m not even sure that I can comprehend what all these guys went through to catch a glimpse of the boy Jesus. We show them riding camels, wearing fine clothing, and bringing expensive gifts. But would they have called Jesus the Prince of Peace? Had he made their lives any easier? If anything their quest was long, tiring, and dangerous ? especially with so many valuables on hand.

Moving a little further in you find the shepherds. You have to feel for these guys too. They were basically homeless. They slept in the fields with the sheep. And probably not their own sheep either, someone else?s sheep. They had to do the hard, dirty part of tending the sheep. They were the lowest of the low, the bottom of the social ladder. They were held in such low regard that shepherds were not allowed to be called as witnesses in court cases ? they were just too unreliable to be trusted. And it was these guys who were out in the field one quiet night only to have the heavens torn open and a host of angels come pouring through. It is no wonder the first thing that the angels have to say is ? ?Do not be afraid.? These lowly shepherds are the first ones to find out about Jesus? birth. They can?t be witnesses in court and yet God makes them into the first witnesses of the coming of the Messiah. Then the shepherds abandon their flocks, their livelihoods to go out in search of the boy Jesus. Do you think that Jesus? coming brought peace into the shepherd?s lives?

And what about Mary? She usually gets to be the closest. He face shows some blend of wonder and adoration. But things weren?t so easy for Mary either. She?s engaged, but ends up pregnant, and not even by the man to whom she?s engaged. She has conceived in a way that nobody before her or since has ever conceived. You have to wonder how many people took her seriously. Who really believed her?

And do you remember what she is told about this baby? If you have you Bibles flip open to Luke 2:34,35 (page in your pew Bibles). Simeon is an old man and it has been revealed to him that he will see the Messiah. When Mary and Joseph bring baby Jesus to him, look at what Simeon says, ?This child is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thought of many will be revealed.? And as if that isn?t unsettling news enough he says to Mary, ?and a sword will pierce your own soul too.? That doesn?t sound very much like what one might expect from the Prince of Peace.

Joseph is the character in the nativity that gets most of the attention in our Gospel text for today. We know that Joseph and Mary were engaged. But engagement worked differently in Jesus? time than it does in our own. In our day the couple falls in love. According to tradition the young man asks the young woman?s father for her hand in marriage, and then they live happily ever after. But in Jesus time marriages were legally binding contracts and had a very large financial component to them. They also bore many marks of patriarchy that we would not tolerate today. In order to marry, the young man needed to pay a fee, a dowry, in order to be married. Now, sometimes a young man would express an interest in marrying a young lady, but not have enough money to pay the dowry. But to make sure that she would still be available to him when he was able to afford the dowry, he could make a sort of down payment ? paying a portion of the dowry to claim the woman as his own. There would be a wedding and everything, but after the ceremony, the young lady went back home with her dad. From the description in our Gospel text for today, it seems that this is the arrangement that existed between Mary and Joseph. He had paid a part of the dowry, but not the whole thing. So, in the eyes of the law, they were engaged.

When Joseph finds out that Mary, his betrothed, has become pregnant and not by his own doing ? he tries to do what is right under the Law. He plans to dissolve the contract. He could have her dragged to the town square and stoned for adultery, but instead he chooses a path of mercy and decides for a quiet divorce. But Joseph hears from God that he is to take Mary as his wife without regard to the Law or to the social customs of the day.

We talk about the baby Jesus and we call him the Prince of Peace. But one by one we have seen that the people that we most closely associate with Jesus? birth had very little peace brought into it that night. There must be some other meaning when Isaiah identifies Jesus as the Prince of Peace.

The famous news man, Paul Harvey, tells the story about a family on Christmas Eve. This family had a tradition where the Mother and children would go to the Christmas Eve service, and the Father would stay home and read the paper. When the family returns home from church, they would all gather to open up their presents. The Father was not an evil man, but he just couldn?t believe in the childhood stories anymore of God coming as a baby in a manger. As the family left for church, he opened up the evening paper and began to read by the fireplace. Suddenly, he heard tapping on the window. It was a bird flying against the glass of his window trying to get out of the snow into the warmth of his home. The man had compassion on the bird, and he went outside, hoping to bring it in. As he approached the bird, the bird just flew against the window even harder. Pretty soon, the bird flew into the bushes below the window, half frozen, yet too afraid to be caught by this huge man. The more the man tried to reach for the bird, the more the bird flew frantically into the snow and thorns of the bushes. After a few minutes in the cold and seeing the bird continue to injure itself, the man yelled out in frustration, "Stupid bird, can?t you understand that I?m trying to help?" The man paused and thought, "If only you understood you wouldn?t fly away ... if only ... if only I could become a bird, and get you to understand.? And then off in the distance the man heard the church bells ringing, just as they had done at this time every year, announcing the beginning of Christmas, the day that we celebrate Jesus taking on frail human flesh and living as one of us.

Jesus comes to us in human form to show us a different kind of peace. It isn?t the greeting card or nativity set kind of peace ? he?s offering something deeper, something transcendent. He doesn?t offer peace through the use of military might. He isn?t offering peace from coasting over the trials and tribulations of this life. What Jesus offers instead is the peace that comes from walking this road together. In times of hardship and times of abundance, when the rule of the land is an eye for an eye ? God is with us. In times of violence or oppression, when people seek the third way ? God is with us. As we reach out to heal the sick and the suffering and be a visible presence in our communities ? God is with us. That is the peace that we celebrate. That is the peace that we announce. Jesus brings peace as he comforts the grieving widow. He brings peace when he waits with the children who are waiting for a parent to return from war. He brings peace when family factions sit down around the Christmas dinner table and share a meal together. The Emmanuel, the God with us ? this is the Prince of Peace. The one who came to live among us, and now promises to be with us always.