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.
If you’re interested in meeting up with the Kenya team when they come back at SFO, here’s their information:
SFO arriving from LHR @ 5:11PM tomorrow 6/28. United flight #0931.
Let Hideyo know if you can help out with rides.
A final update from Leslie after talking with Mike:
Mike just called–finally! They didn’t have internet or phone access in Garissa and arrived in Nairobi today. They said that the last two days of medical camps went really well–chaotic, very busy, but great. Jonathan, Chris and Mike are healthy, but Dennis has the dreaded “D” now and has for a few days now. Mike asked us to pray for Dennis’ healing and continued strength.
Tomorrow they will spend the day debriefing some with Ken and going on safari, and then will leave on Saturday. Please pray for their safe travel home. MIke said that the team has been like a real spiritual family, taking care of each other and enjoying each other’s company. Thank you for your prayers concerning team unity. The Lord has blessed them so much, and they really feel like brothers and sisters.
Thank you for your prayers!
Love, Leslie for the Kenya team
And here’s a follow up, again from Leslie after talking with Mike on the phone:
The church-planting training was totally awesome on Sunday. In the morning, the team spoke at several different churches and were supposed to work on the iron sheets (roofs for the guest house at Dadaab). They never got to the iron sheets because the Lord showed up in such a powerful way during the training. So Mike is sick with diarrhea and is dehydrated, but the Lord have him strength to teach four hours. But Chris took over in the afternoon and gave a totally God-inspired and convicting talk on passing these things on to the children. Apparently, she is like the pied piper there with children following her everywhere she goes, holding her hands and touching her. She taught them how to sing Jesus Loves Me, and they sang for the training, I think. It was really touching. 
Mike finished up the training Sunday afternoon despite his illness, and the Holy Spirit took over, according to his words. He ditched his material and shared that they don’t need more education but they just need to follow Jesus and obey him. He shared several testimonies of what God is doing all over the world with people who are willing to go for broke with him and the stories of transformation and gospel harvest as a result of their surrender and love for Jesus. He challenged them all to stand up if they were choosing this day to give up their lives for Jesus and be a person that God would use for his Kingdom. About a quarter of them stood up (roughly 40 people, I think). Then Mike led them in prayer to be ready to walk into martyrdom, to surrender their children, etc. Prompted by these prayers, they invited any of the sick to come forward for healing prayer so that all of them could immediately practice “real Christianity.” Tons of people flooded the stage area, and there were much fewer to pray for them. There wasn’t time or opportunity to ask them what ailment they had, so the team and other prayer warriors had to just listen to the Lord and pray according to the Spirit. This time went so long, because God was doing so much. At the end, they invited people to give testimony of how God has just healed them. And five women spoke up and witnessed to God’s healing. I think the team was so blessed to be a part of that.
Tomorrow is the last full day of training. And Mike doesn’t know if the others will do the iron sheets or not. It sounds like the team is doing well though apart from Mike’s sickness. Please continue to pray for them–for miracles and amazing things. Thank you for praying, BayLight family!
Love, Leslie for the team
In case you’re not part of the Baylight Church Yahoogroup listserv, here’s an update that Leslie wrote after talking with Mike on the phone:
Hello Everyone!
I just got off the phone with Mike–actually we got cut off mid-sentence because the connection was bad. But he was able to fill me in on a couple cool things.
First of all, they are all safely in Dadaab, the UN refugee camp. Today Chris, Jonathan, and Dennis hung out with 200 kids in the camp. They shared the gospel with the kids through a couple simple crafts–the gospel bracelets and some crosses. There were only a few other volunteers there, so it sounds like it was a bit crazy but awesome.
Mike started the church-planting training as well. Ken told him to anticipate around 70 people, but instead 170 people showed up! So they are having to share the materials, but they are very hungry to learn and excited to work the harvest. Mike is still learning how to work with a translator, but he sounds like he’s having the time of his life.
Thank you for praying for Chris’ health. She has 100% of her strength back. And she’ll need it for the days ahead. Tomorrow Chris, Jonathan and Dennis will be speaking at several churches in Dadaab, basically encouraging the few believers there. And then they will begin constructing roofs. (At least I think that’s what Mike said–that was when we got cut off.) Mike will continue the training with the 170 folks.
Please continue praying for the team and for the harvest in Dadaab. Mike said that however we are praying is working, because everything has been great so far. He sounds overwhelmed by God’s work there–in a good way, I think. So thank you for praying.
Love, Leslie for the team
Yesterday, I received this email from Ken.
I wanted to let you know that the team arrived safely in Nairobi after which we embarked on the journey to Garissa. Tommorow morning, we will be heading to dadaab–i am not sure how communication will be but i will try my best to update you. Please, let everybody know that the team is fine—pray for a fruitful time in dadaab.
Just got this email update yesterday from Mike on behalf of the team.
6/17 – from London airport
Hi praying friends! So we’re safely in Heathrow airport with hardly a snag. Thank you for your prayers! We were able to catch some shut eye on the plane. And all our bags got here safely to date. And though we were not able to head into London, we consoled ourselves with some Pub food in the airport. The portions were large and a welcome meal for us, weary travelers. The team has been bonding over meals, exploring airports, and some Philippino card games. Chris seems to always win that one though.
Please continue to pray for Chris — she seems to have come down with a cold and could use some physical strength and healing. Thank you for loving us in this way. The next time we check in will hopefully be in Garissa tomorrow evening.
With great fondness, Mike for the team
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