Upcoming Series: Christmas Q's

A very big thank you to all of those who took the time to give me input for my first ever sermon poll! Altogether I received 32 responses and the top three vote getting questions were (from most popular to least popular) 1) Why is the story of the wise men such a big part of the Christmas story? 2) Does Mary's virginity really matter? and 3) What historically was going on at the time of Jesus' birth? (See the side bar for the rest of your results) It was a well worthwhile effort as one of the questions I would have never considered preaching had it not been for your valuable effort. So, now that the votes are in, the preaching schedule will look like this:

Sunday, December 7 - Christmas Q1: What historically was going on at the time of Jesus' birth?

Sunday, December 14 - Christmas Q2: Does Mary's virginity really matter?

Sunday, December 21 - Christmas Q3: Why is the story of the wise men such a big part of the Christmas story?

Wednesday December 24 - Traditional Candlelight Service retelling the Christmas story.

Thank you to all who participated.

Trev

An experiment that you are needed for!

Have you ever wanted to have a say in what is being preached on any given Sunday? Well, although it is somewhat limited, here is your chance! This year, I'd like to try an experiment. I'd like you as the listener or friend to have a say in what I will cover. I have blocked off 3 Sundays for Christmas themed messages this year, Sunday December 7, Sunday December 14 and Sunday December 21st. What I have devised for you is a list of possible questions that I am willing to tackle this year. What I am asking is that you as a listener pick the top 3 questions that peak your interest and respond in one of four ways. 1) 

Vote using the box underneath my picture. 2) Click on the comments button at the bottom of this post and list your three questions. 2) Email me your list to trevorrysavy@shaw.ca or 3) Fill in the card you find in your bulletin on Sunday November 30th and drop it in the offering plates at the back of the sanctuary. Tuesday December 2nd will be the last day to give input and after that the 3 questions with the most votes will be tackled over the next three Sundays. If there is a question that is not on the list, feel free to write it out. There's no question that is too silly, so feel free to write out whatever is on your mind. I hope to hear from as many of you as possible! Here is the list of questions.

1) Does Mary's virginity really matter?

2) Why are the other characters in the Christmas story important to us?

3) Why is it important that the Scriptures be fulfilled in the Christmas story?

4) What historically was going on at the time of Jesus' birth?

5) What does it really mean that God became flesh in Jesus Christ?

6) What is Joseph's role in the Christmas story and what does it matter?

7) What was the spiritual temperature of Israel at the time of the birth of the Messiah?

8) Why is the story of the wise men such a big part of the Christmas story?

9) Fill in the blank.

Looking forward to it,

Trev

Fresh Book, Fresh Understanding

This past Sunday I quoted from a book that I have been reading by Timothy Keller called, 'The Prodigal God'. Although there are few books that I would consider must reads, this one fits in that category. Having just studied and preached my way through Jesus' parables of 'lostness' in Luke 15, the content of the book immediately captured my attention. What surprised me however, is that rather than focus simply on the lost coin, lost sheep or lost  younger brother, Keller focuses his attention almost completely on the elder brother, whom is portrayed as just as lost. This makes sense when we realize that in the parable of the prodigal son, the audience is comprised not of younger brothers, but actually of older brothers (aka the Pharisees or religious teachers).  I was also immediately surprised to find out that in spite of all of my research, I had never realized that the word, 'prodigal' does not mean wayward but rather, 'recklessly extravagant', and 'having spent everything'. Since that is true, prodigal then describes the father in the story of the parable as much or more than it describes the son. Truthfully, I have always thought of the elder son as an aside, but a closer look at the parable reveals that truly, the reaction and emotions of the elder son are in fact one of the keys to the whole story. If this peaks your interest, you've got to check it out! Since it is difficult to find books on the gospel, and particularly how the gospel works and continues to work in the lives of people, I couldn't recommend this one more. It is only 133 shorts pages of easy reading and Keller's style is extremely likeable. Put this on your short list of books to get in the next month. It's available at Chapters, or you could order it online here.

Food, money and a few things in between.

As I said before, each week I would like to give you some more food for thought regarding Sunday's message. (pun intended!) Having subscribed recently to a magazine that keeps me informed of much of the culture around me, November's issue of WIRED magazine speaks about the whole issue and future of food in the world. If you are interested in reading what I am, you can find the specific article here. As per usual in our culture, our so-called smartest people believe that to solve the global food shortage crisis we need a scientific solution. Although I think science will help us create healthier food, science can never stop us from being greedy or idolatrous in our food addictions. This worldly solution is an example of what I was speaking about when I said that often we are 'outside-in' in our thinking--meaning that we sometimes believe that changing our external behavior first will then affect what is in our hearts. The Bible says the complete opposite however. Jesus in fact said, 'Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him . . . For from within, out of the heart of a man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.' (Mark 7:15-22, ESV) Let us be reminded then, that simply not eating, or eating only what we need will still never truly solve the problem. What we need is Jesus to change our hearts to the points where we begin to see our intake of food as a way to bring glory to him. One way this is done is by being thankful for our food. Another way, is by inviting others to partake of the goodness that God has given to us. In fact, regularly inviting strangers to take part of our mealtimes is the true definition of hospitality and a requirement of God's leaders. (See 1 Tim. 3:2) May we be reminded of God's goodness and grace to us as we eat today.

Hello everyone,

This is our new attempt to connect more of what is said on Sunday with what is lived Monday through Saturday. On Sunday, November 2nd, I preached a message on Idolatary that was particularly intensive for me personally. If you heard it you will know that it came at an unlikely time in my own life, but for that very reason, it was particularly helpful and meaningful for me to both study and preach at the same time. At the end of the message, I simply read a list of questions that I used in the powerpoint presentation on Sunday morning. There were reasons why I did not make them available in a handout, the foremost of which when I asked permission, said it would be a copyright infringement by the author of them, Darrin Patrick of The Journey Church in St. Louis. It is not a copyright infringement however for you to visit the church website and copy or print this list for yourself, and this post serves to direct you there if you would find them helpful. I certainly did. You can find them here.

Of course not all of the questions will cause us to reflect deeply, but surely a couple of them will hit home. As I reflected on the questions, the one that probably bit the deepest was, ‘What do I do to cope?’ I admit that rather than seeing more evidence of the glory of Jesus Christ, I often dream about leisure activities or sports. These things in and of themselves are not wrong or bad, in fact they are God’s good gift to me, but too often I find myself drawn to hope in them or wish for them when things aren’t going my way on any particular day. Since Jesus promises that He in fact is my strength in anything and everything, I am amazed at my own sinfulness to turn first to leisure or sport rather than my Saviour in my time of need. And that’s just the beginning. What I am also thankful for is that in spite of my own terrible knack for finding new ways to sin, I have a real Saviour who can not only draw me away from my idolatry, but can turn my worldly passions into new desires for friendship and worship of Him. What an awesome Saviour we have.

I would totally welcome your feedback on this.

Trev