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VALLEY CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

Emmanuel -- God with Us

12/21/2014

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It is just one word, four syllables; beautiful in its expression and richly deep in the truth it proclaims:  Emmanuel. 

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).  (Matthew 1:23) 

God with us, it’s almost incomprehensible but the reality of this truth is the very foundation of the Christmas story.   The Apostle Paul writes, In the fullness of time (at just the right time) God sent His Son. (Galatians 4:4)  John writes in the Gospel that bears his name:  The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  (John 1:14)  I like the way the Contemporary English Versions expresses it:  The Word became a human being and lived here with us.

How amazing!   The Word, who according to the opening verses of the John chapter one, existed from eternity past, is the Creator of all and the giver of life; the One who spoke creation into existence has now become a human being--the Creator making His home among His creation.
 

We tend to romantize, to glamorize the Christmas story; to reduce it to a nativity scene and sing songs about a silent night and having no crib for a bed.  Bas we celebrate the deeper meaning of Christmas we come back again to the One who laid aside His heavenly glory to become like us; to live among us.  

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death-- even death on a cross!  (Philippians 2:6-8) 

The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us he had to be made like us… fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.  (Hebrews 2:17) 

He came, in the flesh, to identify with us, to live a sinless life so that He could make atonement for our sin; he came as God with us, to become our Redeemer.  He came to restore harmony between God and man.  In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin (Ephesians 1:7); the price of our sin has been paid in full--we have been reconciled to God. 

Paul writes...2 Corinthians 5:19…God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them.  [NLT]

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.  (Colossians 2:13-14) 

He came, Emmanuel, God with us, to redeem us and restore a right relationship with the Father.  God’s saving grace is found in the One who is with us.  What an amazing gift!  This is what we celebrate each Christmas and this is what sustains 365 days a year, the gift of His continual presence, bringing us peace and hope and joy, confidence and strength and courage!  May God help us to learn to live more fully in His presence and to rest in Him! 

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A Christmas to Believe In

12/14/2014

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There is something about Christmas that fills our hearts with wonder and childlike expectation.  Even for some of us who consider ourselves too old for such things; we all feel it. 

Maybe it’s the tradition, the nostalgia of it all; the housed decorated with lights or putting up a tree and hanging the ornaments--each one telling its own story, each one holding a special memory.  Maybe it’s the gathering around the table; the laughter and joy of being together as a meal is shared with family and friends.  

Maybe it’s the songs of Christmas; Jingle Bells, Silver Bell, Away in a Manger or Silent Night.  Or maybe it’s a favourite movie; It’s a Wonderful Life, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or Frosty the Snowman or A Christmas Carol. 

A movie that came out a few years ago, The Polar Express examines the meaning of Christmas and our belief or disbelief.  In the movie, only those who believe in the wonder of Christmas can hear the ringing of a bell.  When a child stops believing, when faith is lost, he or she can no longer hear the bell.  The train, The Polar Express, takes these children on a ride to the North Pole in hopes of restoring their belief in Christmas. 

But the true wonder of Christmas is not found at the North Pole, it’s found in Bethlehem, in the Christ child, who came to restore harmony between God and man.  This is a Christmas to believe in! 

Maybe for you it’s just another Christmas story, a nativity scene and some Christmas carols.  Maybe for you it’s all too much; the virgin birth, shepherds wise men and a star—nothing more than a myth. 

I don’t know what it all means to you but I do know what it means to me.  Something happened on the first Christmas, something way outside of the ordinary!  

This was no ordinary birth.  Mary and Joseph both had a divine, somewhat mystical experience that assured them that God was behind all that was taking place. And in the area, the larger community of people, the shepherds, wise men and others also experienced something outside the ordinary.  There was something going on!   

So let me ask you, what do you do with the Christmas story?  What you do with Christ of Christmas?  You can dismiss it as nothing more than a myth; you can ignore it or even mock it but in case you have not noticed, it's not going away.  Something about it rings true in our hearts if we would only open our hearts to it.

We all need something to believe in; something bigger than ourselves that gives our lives meaning and purpose and hope--a hope that will last beyond the grave.  What is it for you?  What do you believe in?

Many of us learned long ago the words of the Apostle’s Creed:  I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son.  Do you still believe?  Can you still hear the bell?  Do you still believe on the other side of childhood?  Do you still believe on the other side of pain and loss?  Do you still believe God seeks a place in our lives today?  If not, what is that you believe in? 

When the set time had fully come, God sent his Son.  (Galatians 4:4) 

He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.  (John 1:11-12)

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Waiting on God

12/6/2014

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What would it mean for you to have God invade your life; to meet you where you are and take you to a place of rest and renewed hope and strength?

That is exactly what God desires to do for each us; to meet us where we are and take us to that place of rest and strength and hope.  Jesus said, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.  (Matthew 11:28)  Isaiah tells us our strength is renewed when we wait upon / hope in the LORD.  (Isaiah 40:31)

Advent is a season of waiting; of eager expectation that God will indeed break into our lives and bring us hope and rest and strength.  But to find it we must learn to let go, to turn things over to God and to wait expectantly; a discipline that many of us find difficult--we do not like to wait, nor do we easily let go!

Henry Nouwen in The Path of Waiting, writes:
I have found it very important in my own life to let go of my wishes and start hoping.  It was only when I was willing to let go of my wishes that something new, something beyond my own expectations, could really happen to me.  Just imagine what Mary was actually saying in the words, “I am the handmaid of the Lord.  Let what you have said be done to me.”  (Luke 1:38)  She was saying, “I don’t know what this all means, but I trust that good things will happen.”  She trusted so deeply that her waiting was open to all possibilities.  And she did not want to control them.  She believed that when she listened carefully, she could trust what was going to happen.


To wait open-endedly is an enormously radical attitude toward life.  It is trusting that something will happen to us that is far beyond our own imaginings.  It is giving up control over our future and letting God define our life.  It is living with the conviction that God moulds us according to His love and not according to our fears. The spiritual life is a life in which we wait, actively present to the moment, expecting that new things will happen to us, things that are far beyond our own imagination or prediction.  That, indeed, is a very radical stance in a world preoccupied with control.

What would it mean to have God invade our lives? 

Are you willing to open yourself up to that possibility?


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    Author

    Ken Clarke has been the Pastor at Valley since 2007. He lives in the Oliver area 
    with his wife Janice. They have three adult children, Lisa, Scott & Tiffany (Riley, Charlie), Andrea & Jason (Noah, Luke).

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4312 Black Sage Road Box 1235 Oliver, BC V0H 1T0 250-498-4829 valleyccc@hotmail.com