Bacchus was the god of wine. He was also known as Dionysus. He was seen as the god of the grape harvest which led to the fermentation of the wine. He provided for his “worshippers” a frenzy or ecstasy that brought them back time and again. Ephesus was one of the centers of the worship of Bacchus. Historians tell us that the celebrations associated with Bacchus were so out of hand that the Roman Senate forbid these celebrations! Now, that is saying something.
This detrimental and debauched lifestyle was normal fare for the citizens of Ephesus. They were known as partiers who knew how to have a “good time.” Even associated with their worship of the goddess Diana, Bacchus would provide a better time.
And, it was out of this kind of lifestyle many who made up the Church in Ephesus were saved from. These former drunkards and abusers were now being taught a new way to live. The Apostle Paul comes to this topic in Ephesians 5:18-20. He will call the believers to be controlled by something new, or rather Someone new. He tells them to stop being controlled by the provisions of Bacchus. Rather, be controlled by the Holy Spirit Who was given to each believer.
In our day we are being told that a “teetotaler,” one who completely abstains from any use of alcoholic beverages is out of step with modern culture. More and more Christian voices are calling for a relaxation of of the old “legalistic” stance against the moderate use of alcohol. Is this a good step? Is this the path we as believers should be taking?
I believe not. Call me “old fashioned” or “stuck in the past,” but I still believe the path of total abstinence is the best way to live. Sunday we will approach this very controversial subject as we enter the passage in Ephesians. We will look at what Paul is saying to his original readers and to us today.
As you try to answer this question for yourself may I ask you one thing? If I never drink, will I ever have to worry about drunkenness or alcoholism? I think the answer is obvious, isn’t it? Come Sunday so we can study this important subject together. Let’s choose wisely.
Oh, boy, mom won’t be happy about this mess! Looks like someone hasn’t been very careful in putting things away.
Have you heard about hoarders? They have become popular enough for a television show. Hoarders are people that have no self-control when it come to getting things. Some order unnecessary things and never open them. Others just won’t throw away an old magazine or newspapers. Things simply pile up higher and higher until the person can barely get around in their own home. Simply put, it is chaos!
Yet, each one of us has that same choice every day. We might not stress over throwing away an old newspaper. And, maybe our offices don’t look like this. But, our lives are made up of one out of control decision after another.
The Apostle Paul says, “Stop being dunk with wine which leads to dissipation.” (Eph. 5:18) Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t use the word “dissipation” much! Other translations use the English word “debauchery.” The Greek word Paul uses points out a wasteful life style. It has the idea of scattering things randomly. Much like a tornado, a life out of control simply turns life into chaos.
What about us? Are we living orderly or chaotically? Sunday we will look into steps that lead to orderly lives.
Well, 2014 has barely begun, but I wonder how many dumb decisions you have already made? Some of you might have started 2014 with bad decisions on NYE! As the new year dawned you were doing things that you regretted on January 1st. As you reflected on those decisions maybe you concluded nothing will ever change.
Let me encourage you a bit with this thought, you and I can change if we learn to apply biblical wisdom in our decision process. When I saw the picture above I asked myself, “If I was hit in the head with this rock, would it get my attention?” My answer was, “YES!” That big rock hitting my head would get me to consider what I was doing. Wisdom, likewise, is like that. God’s wisdom will hit us in the head each time we walk in our own ways. But, unlike a real rock hitting our real head, God’s wisdom often doesn’t get our attention.
Sunday we continue our thoughts on wisdom from Ephesians 5:14-17. We will come back to our study in the Epistle of Ephesians and pick up where we left off before Christmas. We will again remind ourselves of what biblical and godly wisdom is. Today, January 2, make the decision to choose wisely in 2014. Make it your daily choice to put God’s Word into practice. When you fail, seek forgiveness and then start again.
Decisions can seem like they bind us forever. But, it’s what we do with the consequences of bad decisions that counts more. Like a great sage once said, “Ever notice the number of people watching is proportional to the stupidity of your actions?” (Charlie Brown) Don’t be stymied by what others say. Look to your Heavenly Father Who will walk each step with you.
Can we really be at the end of another year? Wasn’t it just a few days ago we were turning our calendars to 2013? It seems like we just got into the habit of writing 2013. Now we must retrain ourselves to write 2014! Wow, how time flies.
So, what did you accomplish in 2013? Was it a “happy” new year? What makes you happy? Happiness and joy are essential to life. Wise King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 17:22, “A merry heart does good like a medicine…” Some people try to “medicate” themselves to happiness. What they find is that no medicine can bring lasting happiness. Rather, a joyful heart will keep us looking at life from a healthy perspective. And, as we know, genuine joy and happiness come from a right relationship to the Lord. So, did your happiness in 2013 come from that source? May 2014 by a “happy” new year as you draw closer to the Lord.
Was 2013 “new” for you? Did you get some new things? Maybe this was year to replace your old car with a new one? Or, maybe you swapped out your old refrigerator for new one? Or, maybe you moved into a new home? But, sooner or later, all of these new things simply become old. They will fade and deteriorate. What about you, are you new? Did you just keep doing all the “old” things? Or, did you grow spiritually so that you added new things to your walk with your Saviour? Revelation 21:5 says, “Behold, I make all things new.” Our God is in the business of replacing old, worn out things with new ones. How well did you do in 2013 replacing your old ways with new ways? Reread Ephesians 4:22-24 to be reminded of this process.
How long was your “year”? You might be saying, “what a ridiculous question.” Of course, we were all given 365 days in 2013. That breaks down to 12 months or 52 weeks or 8,760 hours or 525,600 minutes or 31,536,000 seconds! And, as of January 1, 2014 another set of those numbers will be available. But, just as in 2013, so also in 2014, some of us will not make it to December 31. Our life will have ended some where in those days. Moses says in Psalm 90:12, “Lord teach us to number our days…” This year, will you go through life oblivious to eternity? 2014 is to be another opportunity to prepare ourselves for life after death. Which of us reading these words will not be on the earth at the end of 2014? I don’t know, but I do know some will not be.
As you reflect upon the new year, may the Lord give us a “happy new year” because we receive our joy from a right relationship to Himself, because we are being made new by His grace, and we are willing to reflect upon eternity. Let’s decide now to make 2014 a truly HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Here it is, Christmas Day. Another year of remembering the birth of our Saviour. If it’s not your first Christmas, be sure to still be amazed by the story of it all.
Today, as your family gets up and goes through your family tradition, keep Christ in Christmas. Read the Christmas story. Sing a Christmas carol. Give a gift to Jesus. Please keep a focus upon the Person of Jesus throughout the day.
As some of us are celebrating Christmas in New York City our tradition is all mixed up! No snow has fallen, but it is cold. We have walked the streets of the city for the past two days. Last night walked past the window displays at Macy’s. Monday night we walked past the window displays at Saks Fifth Ave. One thing that stands out about them is that not one window reminds anyone of the Nativity. But, we have found more New Yorkers who are willing to say, “Merry Christmas,” than in San Francisco! That makes it a little more Christmasy!
What a blessing we have been given to receive salvation. The plan started in the heart of God, continued in the incarnation of the Son, progressed to the cross and the resurrection, and will eventuate in our eternal home on the new Earth. Let’s praise Him for “His unspeakable gift.”
What’s in your wallet? Have you heard this commercial lately? If not, you are obviously not watching any TV! Which isn’t a bad thing. But, this phrase was made popular by Alec Baldwin as the spokesman for Capitol One credit card. Now, Samuel L. Jackson is the pitchman. But, in each commercial the final question is, “What’s in your wallet?”
Well, at Christmas time, after all the buying is over, maybe we would conclude that not much is left in our wallets! But, if we pull the Capitol One credit card, there just might be a big balance on our bill come January 1.
Today I want to pose a different question. I’m not as concerned about what’s in your wallet as I am about what’s in your heart. As you navigate through this Christmas season have you even thought much about God’s love for you or your love for God? Do you stop to recognize the motivation behind the coming of Jesus to Earth was His love for the Father and sinners? He was obedient to His Father’s will to be humbled to such a low estate. Please read Philippians 2:5-11 to see how the Apostle Paul presents this humbling.
But, we also must ask ourselves how much do I love God; what is in my heart? Nearly every person associated with the Christmas story demonstrates an unflinching love for God. Zacharias, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary, the Magi, and the shepherds, all showed their love for God by their obedience. They gave themselves first to God and then to others.
On Sunday we will hear a beautiful rendition of the Christmas story via music. Come to worship the Lord with us.
It sure was. A few lonely shepherds on a lonely hill just doing their job. Not expecting anything more special on that night than on any other night. But, things were about to change!
Stars and the sky seem to take a prominent place in the Christmas accounts. Beginning in Numbers 24:17 the subject of stars and lights take center stage in the expectations of the coming Messiah. By the time of the birth of Jesus darkness had gripped the world. Without warning the skies lit up to proclaim the birth of Messiah. To forgotten shepherds and to to scholarly Magi, the skies trumpeted a message for all the world to hear.
On Sunday we will have the joy of our Adult choir singing music that points us to the stars and the birth of Jesus. A live orchestra will accompany our choir to proclaim the joy of the birth of Jesus. I trust you will make plans to be here at 10:30 am for this wonderful message in song.
A part of the Christmas celebration in Los Gatos is the Fantasy of Lights display in Vasona Park. Though it doesn’t present the real meaning of Christmas, it is still quite spectacular. This year we have a a few passes which entitle the holder to enter the display for FREE! If you are one of the first THREE to call the office at 408-395-6144 you can have one of these coupons. Remember, first come, first served! Call NOW.
Shepherds, aren’t they so cute. Little boys wearing their bathrobes scooting off to the manger to see the Baby Jesus. No Christmas play is quite complete without them. But, do they actually represent the shepherds of old? Not really.
If you look into the social status of shepherds in the first century you will find they were on the same rung as the tax collectors! Now, everyone knows how much we love it when the “IRS man cometh.” Can you recall the hateful things said of tax collectors in the Gospels? Well, shepherds were thought of just as malevolently as the tax collectors.
Shepherds were thought of as dirty, filthy, lonely, uncouth people. They were classed as lying, cheating, and conniving. In fact, in a court of law a shepherd could not testify because everyone just assumed he would lie! Their job was important to the ongoing of the society, but, no one wanted to be one.
Oh how different from the status of shepherds was throughout the Old Testament. Names such as Abraham, Moses and even David evoke wonderful mental pictures. David’s experience as a shepherd prepared him for one of his greatest challenges; battling Goliath. And, King David’s most endearing Psalm came from his experience as well. Psalm 23 is David’s way of pointing out that just as he shepherded his sheep, so the Lord shepherds his people.
Yet, all of that good will changed by the time we reach a bunch of shepherds on a hillside on that first Christmas night. While these lonely, dejected shepherds prepared for another long night, with the fire flickering and the stars twinkling, the sky lit up like noonday. The black darkness of their secluded spot became bright. Then, on top of seeing an unbelievable sight, they heard a voice! Was it an illusion? Was it a dream? Whatever it was couldn’t be real, or could it?
The words they heard were, “Fear not.” Don’t be afraid, are you kidding me? But, then they heard the words the world was longing to hear, the words the Jewish people had been looking forward to for centuries, the Messiah is born. But, this message wasn’t delivered to the “powers that be” in the capitol city of Jerusalem. No, it was deliverd to a bunch of looney, dirty, neglected, and rejected shepherds. Crazy, huh? But, then, God does so many things that are “out of the ordinary.”
But, then, who would feel more “at home” in a barn? Smelly shepherds or squeaky-clean Scribes? I think you know that answer. You see, God really does know what He is doing. And, you and I can trust Him for our lives as well. Let’s thank Him for showing us that we normal people are welcome to come to worship. Be sure to do that during this Christmas season.
Do you see the words above? Read through the list to see what they are? No, I mean read them NOW! Did you see it? Each of these words are used so often in our modern speech that they have lost their impact. When nearly everything is “amazing” or “wonderful” what sets anything apart as truly amazing?
When you read the Christmas story for the first time you are amazed at it. You cannot grasp how God became man and came as a little Baby in “the little town of Bethlehem.” You are astonished by the love of God that He would send His Son to be the Redeemer of a lost, sinful human race. You wonder about it.
Christmas 1933 saw the introduction of a “new” Christmas carol. I put new in quotation marks because the song wasn’t new. It was a folk song well known in the hills of the Appalachia Mountains. A songwriter b y the name of John Jacob Niles was traveling in the Appalachia mountains when he heard a little girl sing a few lines of this song. He went home and put the words to a haunting melody and the song became an instant classic. Here are the words to the first verse.
I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die
For poor on’ry people like you and like I;
I wonder as I wander out under the sky
Do you still wonder about Christmas? Or, has it become just “old hat”? This Sunday we will look at how some of the characters in the account of Christmas reacted to the news of the birth of the Baby Jesus.
Let’s add wonder back to Christmas and again be amazed at the story.
How many of you have ever seen a beautiful sunset? Unless we are physically blind, I suspect all of us have seen a wonderful setting of the sun. As the sun sets behind the mountains or sinks into the sea we are in awe of its magnificence. Yet, it also signals the coming of the darkness of night. Without the light of the sun shining we must use some sort of artificial light. The moon and other stars provide some light, but not enough.
But, let me ask you, have you witnessed a beautiful sunrise? After a long night the sun rises in the East. Out from the sea or coming above the mountains the sun once again shines brightly and dispels the night. Someone said, It is always darkest before the dawn.” It seems that is pretty much true.
We live in a world of darkness desperately searching for a source of light. I’m not talking about some artificial light to light up the living room, Rather, I’m rearing to men and women looking for a light to guide them in the world. They know they are living in darkness. Now, they want a light to lead them correctly.
At the darkest moment in human history, the Sun of Righteousness came to Bethlehem. Malachi 4:2 predicted the coming of the Messiah. Just when it looked like the darkness was forever dispel the light, Jesus, the Light of the World, arose! Into that small town came the One who was “of old.” He shined His light into the darkness.
One day, the Lord Jesus Christ will come again. It will be a new day that looks like the light is almost extinguished. Then, Jesus, the Sun of Righteousness will come. During this Christmas season let’s be reflectors of His Light.
Other translations use the English word “debauchery.” The Greek word Paul uses points out a wasteful life style. It has the idea of scattering things randomly. Much like a tornado, a life out of control simply turns life into chaos.
