The Best Gift Ever!

The Journey Matters

Sometimes, we can be in such a rush to get to the destination, we can miss the joy of the journey. The Christmas season is one of my most favourite times of the year... perhaps it is yours too. But even for those of us who love it, it can be busy, and hectic, and we can always be looking forward to the next thing. Sometimes our faith is like that too. We are in such a hurry to get to the place we feel God has called us to be, that we can rush past the learning, and growing, and developing that is necessary for us to get there. Jesus, our example, was not like that. Between Christmas Day and Easter Sunday, there were more than 30 years of growing, and learning, and developing before he would be ready to do what he came to do. Luke reminds us that the majority of his life was not spent in ministry. For the majority of his life "Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man". Since he is our example, perhaps we need to be more ready to do the same.

Grace -- Why We Celebrate

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer started as a marketing ploy by the Montgomery Ward department store. Today, it is the third best selling Christmas song of all time. For some, this may be a sign that the world is too focused on the wrong thing at Christmas time, forgetting the true meaning of the celebration, and commercializing the holiday, elevating all kinds of things that don't really matter. But even in this simple children's song, an echo of the real reason for the season remains -- Grace! At Christmas, we remember that Jesus came to earth, but that event is only important if we remember why he came into the world in the first place -- to show incredible, unearned, unmerited grace and favour to an undeserving people, and to win for himself a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. No matter how much the world may try to shift our focus away from this, the true reason for Christmas will always be there, if we only care to look for it.

The Best Gift Ever!

It's nearly Christmas!! In the coming days, gifts will be given and received. Families will reunite, and cards will be received from friends far away, and perhaps long forgotten. We'll also probably all receive a gift or two which, perhaps, isn't so perfect, one to go in the regifting pile for next Christmas! It's funny isn't it, that gifts that we ourselves don't want are the ones we will then turn around and give to someone else. But why do we give gifts at all? This episode, we think about the greatest gift ever given, the gift of salvation which comes through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and why this gift, it's one that is meant to be regifted, given away and passed on to others.

They Are Who We Thought They Were

On October 16, 2006, Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green walked up to the podium for a post-game press conference, as he had done many times prior in his career. Several minutes later, he walked away a legend, following a rant of epic proportions. His speech would be immortalized with a few choice words for his opponents, the Chicago Bears: "They are who we thought they were". If the world looked at you, and your Christian faith, would they say that about you? And if they did, what would they mean by it? There are a lot of stereotypes, preconceptions, even baggage, that can come when you call yourself a Christian, but there are also some incredible opportunities. Pastor Luke thinks about Titus 2, and what it means to live with integrity, in a world where that title "Christian" -- Christ follower -- can mean a lot of different things, to a lot of different people, and how we should live when we claim the name of the one who has saved us.

Expect the Unexpected

Life often catches us off guard, and it seems like this is happening now, more than ever. Sometimes, it can feels like in spite of the best laid plans, things still seem to end up totally different from how we imagined. It can be easy to feel out of control in these moments, but as Christians we need to remember, our God is never out of control, and his plans are greater than ours could ever be. In this episode, we think about how we should respond when plans our do not go as expected.