Jesus, the Prince of Peace

There's a story about two families that lived side by side in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. They hated each other and for years they quarreled and fought. The feud started when Grandpa Smith's cow jumped over Grandpa Brown’s stone fence and ate his corn. Brown shot the cow. Then one of the Smith boys shot two of the Brown's boys.

'n jist like dat, day was a feudin!

Bill, the oldest of the Brown family, decided to even up matters, especially since his own daddy had been killed. But before Bill could act out his anger and revenge, he was called away to war. While he was away his mother had a hard time providing for the family.

One Christmas the head of the Smith family took his wife and children to church. Usually he stayed outside, but it was so cold he decided to go in and wait. The sermon was on Christ, the Prince of Peace. It struck Smith’s heart. On his way home he passed the home of the Browns and he began to realize what a crime he had committed in killing the breadwinner of the family. He prayed, but he also did more. He determined secretly to help them. He hired a small boy to carry a basket of food to the Browns every day.

When Bill came home, and heard of this kindness, he decided to find out who the generous helper was. He followed the little boy—to the door of Smith’s house. He could not believe his eyes. When Smith answered his knock, he smiled and declared: “Shoot me, Bill, if you want to.”

But Bill said he had come to thank him for taking care of his family while he was gone. Then Smith explained to Bill how he had come to a change of heart. He had heard the story of the first Christmas, the story of the Prince of Peace and it changed him.

Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas.

Phil

Joseph, Mary, and Hebrew Marriage Customs

When reading the Christmas story from Matthew's gospel it is helpful to have an understanding about Hebrew marriage customs.

Parents arranged the marriages of their children; contracts were negotiated and the young couple entered into the covenant of marriage. After the arrangement was accomplished, the two were considered married and were called husband and wife. They did not, however, begin to live together or engage in sexual intimacy. Instead, they both continued to live at home with their parents for one year. During this waiting period, the husband would prepare a place for he and his bride to live (usually a room attached to his father's house). The waiting period was also to demonstrate the faithfulness of the pledge of purity given concerning the bride. If she got pregnant during this waiting period, she obviously was not pure, but had been involved in an unfaithful sexual relationship. In the case of marital unfaithfulness, the marriage could be annulled. If, however, the one-year waiting period demonstrated the purity of the bride, the husband would then go to the house of the bride’s parents and, in a grand processional march, lead his bride back to his home. Then the husband and wife would consummate their marriage.

It was during this one-year waiting period when an angel told Mary she was with child. She knew she had been faithful, but Joseph did not (vv. 20, 23). Very little is known about Joseph, but one can imagine how his heart must have been broken. Although the marriage was pre-arranged, he must have genuinely loved Mary. His love for her was demonstrated by his choice not to create a public scandal by exposing her pregnancy to the elders at the city gate. According the Law of Moses, Mary could have been stoned to death (Deut. 22:23-24). Instead, Joseph decided to divorce her quietly, severing the marriage covenant.

Now, in light of this background, I encourage you to read Matthew 1:18-25.

Christ the Savior is born!

Phil

Stick to Our Mission

God has uniquely called the Church to present the Gospel in an uncomplicated and common sense way.

And all God’s people say… Amen! That’s a given isn’t it? I think we would all agree. But what if I put it this way: “I believe God has uniquely called First Christian Church of Salem to present the Gospel in an uncomplicated and common sense way.” Do you still agree? I hope so. The point I’m trying to make is that we must take the mission of the Church personally. Each and every one of us should commit to that mission. It isn’t someone else’s mission – it’s your mission and my mission. We should want First Christian to truly be a church passionately committed to Christ, His Cause, and His Community. Everything else is a distant second.

When we commit to the mission, when we give ourselves wholly to the mission, when we live and die for the mission, then nothing else can sidetrack us – Satan and the gates of Hell will not prevail. When we’re on the frontlines of this spiritual battle there’s no room for bickering and complaining because…well, we have a mission to accomplish. Will we have disagreements, yes, but we should never let our disagreements and preferences stand in the way of accomplishing our mission.

With a passion and zeal for the lost and hurting world, First Christian must look for ways to build bridges to a cynical and jaded society. We must take a different approach in reaching out and helping people along the journey. That means we must stress cultural relevancy and utilize all means, all medias, all genres, all styles, all things to communicate the gospel message.

In His Grip,

Phil

21

I don't get it. Why is it that when kids turn 21 they think they need to buy and consume alcohol? Is there some sort of rite of passage that I missed? Is there some great temptation that overcomes them, or is it just because they can? Does it magically turn them into adults? Perhaps it makes them feel better about themselves. Maybe it's just peer pressure. I wonder, did they smoke a cigarette when they turned 18? Is that the same thing? Are they going to go rent a car at the age of 25?

I find it odd that one of the first things a person does with their newfound responsibilities as an adult is to do something that is irresponsible? (I know, I know, I can hear all of the "adult beverage" drinker's protest: "I drink responsibly." "I don't drink and drive." "I can handle it. I'm always in control." "The Bible doesn't really say it's sinful. The apostle Paul told Timothy..." blah, blah, blah.)

I guess my point is not to argue about the immorality of drinking (that's for another discussion), but instead to consider the message Paul told the Corinthians. Paul wrote that just because something is lawful, does not mean it's beneficial (1 Corinthians 10:23).

Hmmm. Just because you turn 21 and can legally buy and drink booze, does not mean it's beneficial. He wasn't being legalistic. He didn't say they were going to hell. He simply wanted them to move their lives toward holiness.

Am I there...holiness, that is? Nope. Do I want to get all legalistic on you? Nope. Am I going to encourage you to move your life toward holiness and purity as I am trying to do the same in my own life? Absolutely!

Just something to think about.