I have some very good news: We have been told by Gibbs International, Inc. that they are going to buy our downtown property! Our lawyer, Matt Henderson, has looked over the closing papers and everything is in good order. We are now set to close on the sale of the property on January 4, 2011.
In getting to this point the people of Calvary Church have had but one desire: Let God get the honor and glory for accomplishing His purposes in and through His church. We never wanted to manipulate the sale of our present location nor the move to our future location. It has been our heartfelt passion that we would not be able to explain this through our own effort; we wanted people to know this is the unmistakable plan that God has for His church. I believe God has great and wonderful plans for the future of Calvary Baptist Church!
The work has just begun! From what I've been told by other pastors I should be thankful that there is not a crystal ball showing all that will need to be worked out in the next 12 months. I look back at the date when all of this got started, August 2, 2007, and my mind is blown away by how quickly the time has gone. We are now simply 12 months from moving into a new building and beginning to experience the future God has for us. I am excited and scared at the same time.
I know the time will go by so fast that we will hardly have time to breathe. I am also aware that this is a time when many decisions will need to be made and the potential landmines for strife and division are many. Each of us must decide now that we are only making decisions about brick and mortar, and that doesn't amount to much more than a hill of beans. How we treat one another in making these decisions is what is important. In the process of building a structure I believe God could use this to continue building the unique unity of Calvary.
So, let's build for the glory of God alone and serve one another through love as we do this together. God is handing us a wonderful opportunity, let's not let it slip by.
Grace & Peace,
Scott
What will alter the way we think about Christmas? What will change our mindset from "presents" to "presence."
I don't think it's too far of a stretch to believe that we get it--that we get it's not about getting, it's about giving. The older I get the more I come to appreciate and live this out. When Barb and I became parents it was a wonderful experience to wake up on Christmas morning and watch each of our kids open their presents. (I am so thankful for video cameras!)
But I think we need to take this a step further. I believe we need to fully examine Scripture and let the Holy Spirit teach us lessons about Christmas that will strip away the lessons we've learned from the empire of cultural consumerism. Think about this: What if we began cutting back on presents in order to spend more time with each other? The danger of modern Christmas shopping is getting caught up in the mood of buying stuff we can't afford. I didn't say we couldn't buy it--plastic money makes it possible to buy almost anything--we just have to pay for it latter. And just how do we pay for something later we couldn't afford in the first place? Businesses call it overtime. We buy things we don't need at prices we can't afford to satisfy a longing that is only fleeting. And come January, when we get the invoice in the mail, we discover that we have to work extra hours to make ends meet. The extra hours we work cheats our family out of the time we should be spending with them. Nobody really wins.
The biblical record of God's gift was the gift of Himself. He didn't give something that would rust, fade or go out of style; no, God gave us His eternal Son whose birth would change the world forever! I believe Christmas can still change lives. I also believe we go about celebrating Christmas wrong. I realize accomplishing this is difficult and that is why I propose we go about it slowly, but intentionally. Start small this year and let it grow as the years pass.
I wish all of you reading this a Merry Christmas. My hope and prayer is that you find peace and contentment through the gift God gave.
Grace & Peace,
Scott
I have a sneaking suspicion that we all love a happy ending. Most, if not all, the stories of Christmas have the ending we expect. Hallmark seems to have the corner on this market; they know how to spin a Christmas story in such a way to make us glad the lights are turned off so the rest of the family can't see the tears in our eyes...it touches us in all the right places. Hallmark has eight new Christmas movies for 2010:
- The Night Before, The Night Before Christmas
- The Town Christmas Forgot
- Call Me Mrs. Miracle
- November Christmas
- Farewell, Mr. Kringle
- An Old-Fashioned Christmas
- The Santa Incident
- Three Wise Women
The other night we watched November Christmas, and let me say you ought to watch it!
The story line of Christ's birth recorded in God's Word has all the elements to bring tears to our eyes. The problem is that we have become so familiar with it that it no longer touches us. It is the birth of the King of kings that leads to the tragedy of the cross that leads to the triumphant and glorious resurrection that eventually leads to His return to set things right in the world. Ultimately the true Christmas story has a happy ending for believers and we should celebrate this, especially this time of year.
To sincerely celebrate the birth of Jesus we must get caught up in the story; we must lose ourselves in the plot of God as He unfolds it through Scripture and in our lives. Take Jesus' birth personally because that is the way it is intended. Jesus came personally to put on display the glories of His Father. Part of this display is believers. We read in Ephesians 1:4-6,
In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace.
The purpose of our adoption into God's family is to "the praise of his glorious grace." This is, at least in part, the happy ending for which we are looking. It is the ending that should bring tears to our eyes because the Hero (Jesus) has triumphed over what was killing us (sin and Satan). Here is the reason we can joyfully sing His praises this Christmas.
Grace & Peace,
Scott
