We’re happy to announce the birth of Camden Thomas Celeste at 4:39 am, Saturday morning. Camden came into this world weighing 7lbs, 4.5oz.
A Study in Contrasts
Ministry is often a study in contrasts, this morning I visited with a 90+ year old parishioner with terminal cancer and then walked down the hall to meet a newborn parishioner less than 12 hrs old. It’s an honor to be allowed into the many stages of people’s lives.
The Creeds Explained — Part 8
This post continues a running series in which I’m attempting to explicate The Apostles’ Creed and The Nicene Creed. In this post we’ll be talking about the hinge upon which Christians believe salvation history turns.
First, The Apostles’ Creed:
“On the third day he [Jesus Christ] rose again.”
And from The Nicene Creed:
“On the third day he [Jesus Christ] rose again in accordance with the Scriptures.”
I’ll begin by admitting that I’m intimidated to be trying to unpack this affirmation in a blog post. I know I’ll miss something, because it’s impossible to say it all in a book, much less a blog post. So I want to focus on what is the key point, the full throated affirmation that Christ rose from the dead, that he is not merely a historical figure from long ago, but our present and future Lord and Savior. The creeds make a point of affirming this, in part, because the denial of the resurrection by Christianity’s critics is not a recent development. It has been there throughout all of church history. The ancient’s understanding of science was not as advanced as ours today, but they understood every bit as well as we do that dead people stay dead. The resurrection was not any more easily accepted then than now, but even so the church affirmed it in the creed.
The resurrection was affirmed because with it God the Father vindicated God the Son (showing that Jesus was in the right and the powers and principalities that crucified him were wrong and destined to lose). The resurrection reminds us that even “though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.” Following Jesus’ example may lead to suffering and hardship in the short term, but it is the best way in the long run. The creed affirms Christ’s resurrection on the third day because in it the promise of our future resurrection to everlasting life was secured. With the resurrection God’s victory over sin and even death was made manifest (to borrow a phrase from the apostle Paul, death was swallowed up in victory). The resurrection is not self-evident, and to believe and trust in it requires faith, but it was the key point in salvation history.
Theology Geek Note: “The Scriptures” referenced in the Nicene Creed refers to what we now refer to as the First or Old Testament.
Readers Needed
This Sunday we’ll be reading and singing our way through the Christmas story with a service of Nine Lessons and Carols. This means that there are nine scripture readings. If you would be willing to take a turn reading drop me a line: john@revcollins.com.
Church Office Hours
We’re following our practice of closing the church when Coffeyville schools are closed. So office hours will be sporadic until January 4, 2013. Thanks for your patience.
Christmas Eve Service Tonight at 7
A traditional Christmas Eve Candlelight Service with a short children’s skit and Holy Communion will be held tonight at 7 pm in the sanctuary.
Credit Where Credit is Due
I forgot to give my daughter, Elizabeth, credit for her drawing of an Advent Wreath (pictured above) which was our background for worship today.
Christmas Basket Thank You
The following was received from a family that received one of our Christmas baskets:
To the Pastor and Congregation of the First United Methodist Church,
Thank you very much for the great food basket that you provided for through the Salvation Army Christmas drive.
There was so much great food in the basket and we got to keep the basket which always comes in handy.
It makes our hearts warm and our eyes misty to know there are such caring people as you out there.
Thank you again and God bless.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Bradley Family
Jenny and I want to add our thanks to everyone who helped out with the shopping, the packing, and the distribution.
The Twelve Days of Christmas
“The Twelve Days of Christmas” is more than just a song. In the church’s reckoning, Christmas is not just a day but a season beginning December 25 and lasting for twelve days until Epiphany on January 6. The best short explanation for this (there is a long one that I would be more than happy to share with you) is that the good news of the Word becoming flesh and pitching tent among us is too grand to be adequately celebrated in one day.
Panoramic Sanctuary Photographs
Take a look: four large panoramic photographs of the sanctuary can be found here.
Furniture for Fire Victims
A long while back, we had some discussion about and approval of a ministry that we’ve been slow to implement. We have a lot of space here at First, and we’re convinced that God does not want us leaving it idle. Because of the twin desires to show our love of our neighbors in concrete ways and to utilize the space we have, we conceived of the idea of using some of our space to store the slightly-used, still-serviceable furniture that members and friends of the church always seem to be seeking a good home for. The idea was that we could store it and then share it with victims of the house fires that seem all too frequent in and around Coffeyville. It’s a sound idea with real possibilities, but for some reason we haven’t acted on it yet.
In yesterday’s sermon I talked about John the Baptist providing a kick in the rear to do what we already know we should be doing. Today I received a similar swift kick when Ashley Tatman mentioned that she had a friend who had just lost everything in a house fire and asked if there was anything the church could do to help. So, swift kick received, let’s get started. If you have slightly-used, still-serviceable furniture that you would like to donate, you can deposit it in Room 005 in the church basement and we’ll do our best to see that it gets to someone who needs it. One final disclaimer: we’re very serious about the slightly-used, still-serviceable aspect of this program, and the church has a large dumpster. By leaving furniture in Room 005 you’re granting us permission to throw it out if we don’t feel it’s suitable, but either way you’ll be rid of it and that may be all you’re looking for.
Voice of the Day: N. T. Wright
“For too long we have read Scripture with nineteenth-century eyes and sixteenth-century questions. It’s time to get back to reading with first-century eyes and twenty-first-century questions.”
— N. T. Wright, Justification: God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision
This is what I’m trying to do in every Sunday sermon. I don’t know if I’m succeeding, but I am trying.