We will not be getting together at Mountain View Academy to worship God this Sunday. Instead, we’ll be getting together in our LTGs (small groups) to hang out, watch the Super Bowl, and eat food together. Invite friends and have a good time. If you’re not part of an LTG, use this as an opportunity to check one out. Check out the LTG page for details and more information about each of the LTGs that are currently running.
Our passage for this morning is a really familiar one: Luke 2:1-7, the birth of Jesus Christ. There are a few things about it that I think are easy to skip over because we’re so familiar with it.
The first is that this Jesus is Joseph and Mary’s first born child. For those of you who have kids, think about the time when you were having your first born. Recall the feelings. All that anticipation. All that excitement. And yet, at the same time, all that fear. All that anxiety. Joseph and Mary were likely an emotional mess.
The second is that the trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem, that trip that they took late in Mary’s third trimester was an 85 mile trip through some steep inclines. And if you’ve ever ridden an animal, you know that that’s still a physical exhausting mode of transportation. Think of the time when you were late in your third trimester. How far were you able to walk? Jospeh and Mary were physically exhausted. They were running on fumes.
And lastly, Bethlehem was Joseph’s “own city”, verse 3. Though it’s unclear whether Joseph’s parents were still alive, it’s almost certain that Joseph still had close relatives in Bethlehem. And considering Middle Eastern hospitality, it would’ve been inconceivable for Joseph and his new family to stay the night in some random barn as it’s portrayed in many of our Christmas pageants and plays.
Joseph and Mary likely stayed in one of his relatives’ home as did many of his other relatives, hence, why there wasn’t enough room for their entire family to sleep. With everybody coming back to their hometown to be registered for the census, there was likely a family reunion in the house where Joseph and Mary stayed. There’s music, dancing, massive amounts of food, laughter, and hugging. Jesus is getting passed around the room from family member to family member. And at the end of the day, after the party’s subsided well into the night, Joseph and Mary lay him down in a manger, a step below the living area but under the same roof.
There is very little that’s silent about this night. Very little is calm. And there’s little sleeping in heavenly peace.
If anything it’s a chaotic night. They’re emotionally and physically exhausted before they even get to Bethlehem. And when they do get there, they’re greeted by Joseph’s extended family who are excited to see the new addition to their family.
But Jesus is there with them. And for that reason, one of the lines from Silent Night rings true. It was a “holy night”. Being holy isn’t about being composed and calm, about having it all together with your sins properly managed. Being holy is about being with Jesus, abiding in Him.
I know that many of you are in a place right now where you feel like life is too chaotic to be connected to Jesus. Well, our relationship with Jesus is a two-way street. Jesus reaches out to us as well. Jesus loves you.
But will you notice? Will you notice Jesus loving you in the midst of the chaos of your life?
To notice, consider group life, being part of an LTG. When we live life alone, in seclusion it’s all too easy not to notice Jesus. Our spiritual vision gets near-sighted as we just live through the routines of our lives. But as we share about our lives, chaos and all, others in our LTGs can speak into them revealing Jesus at work in it. And as we pray together through the chaos of our lives, we can tangibly feel Jesus ministering to us through His body, the Church.
Discussion Questions:
31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority.
33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 “Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
35 “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
Last Sunday, April 19th, the COT shared about where we see BayLight headed by looking at where we’ve been, what has been our consistent values, and questions we can ask ourselves to help guide us in the right direction for the future.
We want to continue this conversation in our LTGs and with each other going forward, because the vision and direction of the church will only be as powerful as the commitment we have to pray and follow what God calls us to do and to be. With that in mind, I am posting both an mp3 of the talk, as well as the slides from Sunday’s presentation. Please keep in mind under the “vision” section that these were ideas brainstormed by the COT, and we don’t view the specific examples as an end all or be all. These were things that we see are beginning to happen in our midst, and things that we ourselves long for. But together as a church, as BayLight – what does it mean for God’s kingdom come and His will be done in our lives, in our church, in the world around us? It is time for us to seek God’s face together and ask Him to fill our hearts with the things that are on His heart.
Looking forward to journeying with all of you,
Minho
Hey bcc.
I wanted to let you know that tomorrow we’re going to keep pressing forward in together discovering what life looks like as an apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd or teacher. To help facilitate that to happen, we’re going to have fellow A-gifted people sharing with A’s, P-gifted people with P’s, and so on.
I see this time as WAY more valuable than hearing from just one person’s perspective b/c it’s collective intelligence and wisdom from others who are like you.
So I’d like for you to come prepared, having thought of three things:
1.) What insights has God been teaching you about being apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic, a shepherd or teacher — insights that God may have intended for others outside of you to hear?
2.) What questions have you been asking God about being apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic, a shepherd or teacher — questions that God may have intended for others outside of you to also explore?
3.) In addition, it would be good for you to ask the Lord which one of the five giftings you might:
a. most value in your heart (e.g., if reaching the lost, you most likely are an E; if caring for people, an S; if staying close to God’s word, a T; if the advancement of the Kingdom in new areas, an A; if hearing from God, a P),
b. have seen God bless in others through you, or
c. have heard the Holy Spirit tell you is latent inside you (even if the other two are not in place yet!).
Whichever one is PRIMARY is the group we’d like you to go to. We will be breaking up into five groups — one for every gifting. So bring your insights and questions with you.
Following that, we will be spending some time praying for one another — especially those of us who are fairly new in the giftings or may have no clue what they are. This is a biblical practice that we expect God to show up for. So please pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit tomorrow among us.
Thank you in advance for all being part of what God is going to do tomorrow. You ARE the CHURCH.
Dreaming of what Eph.4:11-16 can look like among us,
Mike
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