Intersections

  In my house, I feel like the Christmas season really begins after my children’s birthdays. As with the rest of the country, it’s hard to get excited about being grateful with Thanksgiving, although the food is always top notch. But here recently, Aaron has been badgering me to get out the Christmas decorations. “Dad… it’s almost time! We gotta be ready!” he exclaims. And me, the supposed rational adult in this situation has to be the wet blanket and tamper his unbridled enthusiasm.   I try to explain to him that we need to lower our excitement otherwise we’ll get burned out from holding it in… but I am a little envious of that impossible-to-contain joy. It’s infectious - for once, an infection that everyone probably wants. We know Jesus is going to be born at the end of the month, and it’s a beginning for all of us (of sorts). God has come to us, and will eventually bring love and redemption, and words of restoration and peace.  But what about those prophets who tol...

I've been to New York several times. The first time I went to New York, I was with a bunch of youth group kids from our district and we were there for a seminar regarding Peace and Justice. We got to tour the UN building, which I thought was really cool. But a couple of the best things that I saw were actually outside of the building.   In the gardens, there is a statue (which was once bronze I've been told, now made green) of a human raising a hammer to a bent sword they're pushing into the ground. It looks a little strange, but the plaque said "Beating Swords into Plowshares" and it's was a gift from the Soviet Union to the UN back in 1959. The reference comes from our text this morning. The other is across the street from the UN Building. There's a small park, and in the park is a huge wall with Isaiah 2:4 carved into it:  "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against na...

  Do you know what a paradox is? A paradox is defined as “a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.” Our faith as Christians is rife with paradoxes. Let me name a few: Christians conquer through surrender; we see the unseen; we lead by serving; and, we are strong when we are weak. Those are but a few. One preacher from another generation said “that without paradoxes there is no Christianity.” We wrestle today with another paradox—living today with an eye on the future. It’s particularly challenging for us to think about the future in light of Jesus’ own words to us in Matthew’s Gospel. In the Sermon on the Mount, when he’s laying out the new ethic for the Kingdom of God, we hear him talk to his disciples about not storing up treasure on earth and about not worrying about food or clothing, and especially not worrying about tomorrow. His quote is “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomo...

  It seems strange to be talking about “Making Change” by using the Old Testament. We’re New Testament people, right, and Jesus and the power of His Holy Spirit are the change agents in our lives. So? What’s with this message series rooted in the writings of Solomon? Well, think about it. In his day, Solomon was not only considered the wisest man in the world, but he was also the richest man in the world. I’ve always believed if we want to be successful in life, we should watch successful people. If you want to be good at basketball, watch what Michael Jordan does (well, maybe Steph Curry these days). We’ll probably never be NBA players, but we can learn from the best to make ourselves better. If it works that way in other areas of life, why not with our money. Solomon used his wisdom and increased his wealth. We ought to learn from him, and Solomon, in his collected wisdom says: Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. 25 The generous will prosper; t...