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.