News from Pastor Steve

Pain and suffering is so real in our world.  Each day we are bombarded by news of another: sexual scandal, act of terrorism, misuse of political power, natural disaster, senseless hate-crime, or word of the economic upheaval.  We don’t have to look far to find hurting people.  Many wonder if this means the world is coming to an end and maybe rightly so.  For those who wonder; the end offers a time void of the chaos and pain of our times.  Nevertheless, we all look for a change to our lives here and now. We all search for hope and a new day.

This is not too dissimilar from ancient Israel.  They too longed for a new day when things would be different.  For centuries they looked for a Messiah, an Anointed one, who would come and bring in a new era of peace and prosperity.  The messiah would issue in a time when Israel would be a powerful kingdom and all, friend and foe, would live joyously together.  In this Kingdom, the lame would walk, the blind would see and the lion and lamb who lie beside each other.

Today, we are still looking for that one to come!  But as Christians, we claim that the one for whom we await is Jesus who is the messiah: the Christ.  We await his coming at Christmas and we await His second coming.  We call this season Advent.

The season of Advent is a time for waiting and preparing for his coming.   Each of four Sundays, we light another candle of a Advent wreath until all four candles have been lit. That Advent wreath reminds us of the growing light pressing against the increasing darkness of the season and the darkness of the world.  As we gather, we are reminded that Christ meets us in this space and place, and draws us into the time when he will come again. Jesus comes to be the light of the world.  Jesus comes as the hope for our world.

This Advent season, at Alleluia, we enter into a sermon series titled: Expecting Jesus.   As we gather together in worship and light Advent candles, we do so focused on the One for which we wait.  Below are the themes for each Sunday:

November 27: Power in Our Weakness

December 4: Miracle in our Messiness

December 11: Light in our Darkness

December 18: Promise in our Impossibilities

December 24: Peace in our Chaos

December 25: God in our Flesh

January 1: Hope in our Future

Won’t you join us as we wait together: Expecting Jesus!

When I was in college one of the fun things about living in the dorms was the opportunity presented when taking study breaks.  As I would walk down the hall, open doors would lead to opportunities to visit, meet new friends and develop relationships. 

Doors make for an interesting symbol.  Open doors represent new opportunities, unlimited ability to grow into the future and a willingness by the owner of the door to allow and invite interaction with others.

Closed doors on the other hand are meant to shut the world out, to limit interaction and to say “no” to relationship.  Along those lines, how many of us, when mad, have ever slammed a door?  What are we really saying by closing that door with force?

Keys also present an interesting symbol.  They open closed doors.  Keys provide opportunity to enter into rooms, a new future, relationship.  Keys unlock what once was impossible to enter into.

 Our September worship series is called, “Closed Doors and Kingdom Keys”  In this series,we will ask  questions like: “How do we react when faced with the closed doors of the world?”  “How do we approach  the “closed doors” of soured relationships?”  Or, “How do we engage the “closed doors” of  bad experiences?”  And then we will seek to answer those questions by searching for the   “Kingdom keys”, as taught to us by Jesus, that we can apply to those “closed doors” that we face in our lives.

 Won’t you join us as we talk about “Closed doors and Kingdom keys”?

I have been asked, “Why does Easter come so late this year, and earlier other years”  The following is a description of  history and process of dating Easter. 

For the first three centuries after Jesus death, the Church celebrated Easter in connection with the Jewish Passover. The Passover began on the evening of the full moon in the Jewish month of Nisan, which coincided with the Spring Equinox.

As the Western Church began to emerge, its celebration of Easter coincided with the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring, which caused some contention with the Eastern Church. The matter came to the attention of the Emperor Constantine, who convened the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. The council ruled that all churches would celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the first full moon of the Spring Equinox. This became the standard for the Church under the Julian calendar until 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII revised the calendar and the Easter tables by adding the leap-year rule.

And so this explains how and why the date of Easter moves from year to year.

On April 3 Alleluia will have a  FREE Pancake Breakfast  from 9-10:15.  Join us for the fun and fellowship and Free Pancakes and sausage.  Bring a friend . Who loves Pancakes?  Come and eat with us!!

We are in the season of Epiphany.  Epiphany is the season in the church year following Christmas and the birth of Christ.  Epiphany is the season where we celebrate how Jesus makes himself know to us.  Often the scriptures used in worship during this season are ones that give clues as to who Jesus is, as the Son of God. Jesus mission was to proclaim and demonstrate the in breaking of the Kingdom of God.

          One way that we experience the in breaking of  God’s Kingdom in our lives today, is through forgiveness; both by receiving forgiveness for wrongs we have committed and by offering forgiveness to those we have harmed, by attitude, words or actions.  Forgiveness is at the core of the Kingdom of God that Jesus offers us. Forgiveness is about restoring right relationships; whether that be with God or our neighbor.

          Our sermon series beginning January 30 is titled, “Forgive Us Our Trespasses As We For Those Who Trespass Against Us” If this sounds familiar you are right, Christians pray this petition in the Lord’s Prayer.  I truly believe this petition makes a wonderful starting point to talk about how we live out all our relationships. For example, “As a person of faith, what do I do when someone has really hurt me emotionally?”  Or, “How can I reflect God’s grace to a neighbor who knows nothing of Jesus love for her?”

          This should be an enlightening series and one that will cause us all to grow in God’s love for us and our ability to share that love with others!

With only several days to Christmas, let me invite everyone to worship with us at 7:00 on Friday, December 24, 2010.  As we gather at 6:00, we will have a time of fun, fellowship and snack food in our foyer, before worship.  Our service will have Christmas carols, special music, the reading of the Christmas story, Holy Communion and a candle light portion where we will all sing Silent night.  Join us to welcome, celebrate and worship our New Born King!

Sunday December 12, after worship at Alleluia, all are invited to join us at  Max and Erma’s on Franz Rd. in Dublin for fun, food and fellowship.  We will be passing out a tickets to be handed to you waitress at the beginning of your meal and 20% of the cost of your meal will go toward providing clean water to those in need in Haiti. This is part of our Advent worship series called Advent Conspiracy. 

The Advent Conspiracy challenges us to experience the joy of the season through four main concepts:  Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More and Love All.

As we Worship Fully our Lord Jesus this season, we are being challenged to turn from the lure of consumerism, by Spending Less on presents , but instead to Give More presence to those who are close to us.  The money we save on Spending Less we are gathering to make a difference in the lives of people who really need it. 

The project we are gathering money for is to provide clean water for those in Haiti through Living Water International.  Clean water is a blessing that many of us over look.  It is essential for life.  Without it disease can set in, and even lead to death.

The money collected this Advent season, of which this special event at Max and Erma’s Restaurant is a part, will go toward providing clean drinking water to those in great need in Haiti.

Through the Advent season at Alleluia we will be participating in the Advent
Conspiracy. The Advent Conspiracy is a national movement to help Christians
think through the meaning of this season. God comes to us in Jesus to bring
love redemption and healing. But for many this season has become about glitz
and consumerism.

Below is part of a brochure describing the Advent Conspiracy.

Advent Conspiracy is a resource for churches to engage in authentic Worship
and Giving at Christmas more fully – a simple idea for you to take and run with.
Be as creative and bless those in need by giving relationally as God gave His
Son to us at Christmas. No money comes to or through Advent Conspiracy.
You decide where and how you would like to Give More to those in need. The
concept behind Advent Conspiracy is simple…
[WORSHIP FULLY]
It starts with Jesus. It ends with Jesus. This is the holistic approach God had in
mind for Christmas. It’s a season where we are called to put down our burdens
and lift a song up to our God. It’s a season where love wins, peace reigns, and a
king is celebrated with each breath. It’s the party of the year. Entering the story
of Advent means entering this season with an overwhelming passion to worship
Jesus to the fullest.
[SPEND LESS]
Before you think we’re getting all Scrooge on you, let us explain what we mean.
We like gifts. Our kids really like gifts. But consider this: America spends an
money on Christmas presents for no other reason than obligation? How many
times have you received a gift out of that same obligation? Thanks, but no
thanks, right? We’re asking people to consider buying ONE LESS GIFT this
Christmas. Just one. Sounds insignificant, yet many who have taken this small
sacrifice have experienced something nothing less than a miracle: They have
been more available to celebrate Christ during the advent season. Looking for
a few gifts that don’t cost a lot of money? Need some more ideas for relational
giving? Head to www.RethinkingChristmas.com today.
[GIVE MORE]
God’s gift to us was a relationship built on love. So it’s no wonder why we’re
drawn to the idea that Christmas should be a time to love our friends and family
in the most memorable ways possible. Time is the real gift Christmas offers us,
and no matter how hard we look, it can’t be found at the mall. Time to make a
gift that turns into the next family heirloom. Time to write mom a letter. Time to
take the kids sledding. Time to bake really good cookies and sing really bad
Christmas carols. Time to make love visible through relational giving. Sounds a
lot better than getting a sweater two sizes too big, right?
[LOVE ALL]
When Jesus loved, he loved in ways never imagined. Though rich, he became
poor to love the poor, the forgotten, the overlooked and the sick. He played to
the margins. By spending less at Christmas we have the opportunity to join him
in giving resources to those who need help the most. When Advent Conspiracy
first began four churches challenged this simple concept to its congregations.
The result raised more than a half million dollars to aid those in need. One less
gift. One unbelievable present in the name of Christ. For more information,
including some videos, be sure to visit www.AdventConspiracy.org.

Thy Will Be Done

                What is God’s will? How do we wrestle with this provocative question? One way is to scan the scriptures. And while there are many texts that may make strides in answer the question of God’s Will, In this series we will turn to Micah 6:8. “God has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Throughout this series we will look at the three broad categories that Micah mentions; doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God.

                We will also look at the broad categories that most of Jesus’ commands fall into: missional commands on behalf of those who are less fortunate in order to provide justice for them; relational commands to love our neighbors as ourselves, causing us to love kindness; and sacrificial commands that we carry out in obedience as we walk humbly with our God. All of these commands have a direct relationship to how we steward the resources we’ve been given and how we prepare for the Christmas season.