Restored!
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of our God.
Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you.”
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
A highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Holy Way;
the unclean shall not travel on it,
but it shall be for God’s people;
no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.
No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
- Isaiah 35:1-10 (NRSV)
Back to the start
Restoration means many different things. To some in means spending time with an old piece of furniture until its original beauty shines through. For others, it means months of sanding, painting and cleaning an old classic car until it looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor in 1946. For others, it may mean hours of physical therapy until the new knee works at least as good as the old one–without all the pain.
Webster’s Dictionary says to restore something is “to put or bring back into existence or use; to bring back to or put back into a former or original state.” Some would add to make it better than it was.
Restoring humanity back to an authentically positive relationship with God was one of God’s reasons for Christmas. Restoration was God’s way of bringing humanity back to their original purpose which was, as the Westminster Catechism says, “to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”
Ever since the Garden of Eden, God has been at work restoring all of us to our original nature and purpose. That restoration took on many forms, Noah’s flood, the call of Abraham, the Exodus of Israel from Egypt, sending the prophets to a rebellious people, and finally sending Jesus and the One who would lead us back to God.
Joy!
This Sunday is the Third Sunday of Advent, typically a day marked by joy. We celebrate Mary’s joy of becoming the vessel through which Jesus would come, the joy of the shepherds who first heard the news of Jesus’ birth, and the joy of our deliverance from sin and death. One this Third Sunday of Advent we light the one pink candle as a symbol of all that joy.
Isaiah 35 gives us a picture of the joy of weary travelers, who learn that they are almost home. They encourage one another, strengthen hands and knees and begin singing for joy as they view their home on the horizon. Restored!
We all need restoration in our lives. For some of us we need restoration because we made some poor decisions that took us down the wrong road. For some, other people blocked our way deliberately, and we had to look for other paths. For others, we have been wandering in the wilderness so long, we have forgotten what normal looks like. However, for every one of us, there is a homecoming, a restoration that God provides.
Let’s take the time to encourage each other, to strengthen our hands and feeble knees, to lift our heads in this Christmas season and our Deliverer, our Savior, Jesus.
Blessings,
-Alan
CLICK HERE FOR THIS WEEK'S FAITH NOTES.
Alan Cassady serves as Senior Pastor at Navarre UMC, and has been at the church since 2011. When he's not preaching and teaching, he enjoys sci-fi movies and FSU Football. Read more about Alan here.
Peace!
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
but withrighteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of hislips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
Isaiah 11:1-10, NRSV
One mother was completely amazed by her child’s awareness of Christmas carols, as she puts it:
I did not realize just how closely my 18-month-old toddler had been listening to Christmas carols until she picked the peas off her plate, threw then on the floor, and said with an excited smile, “Peas on Earth.”
We all know that is not exactly how the song goes! Sometimes we even see a complete disconnect between the peace Jesus came to bring and what we experience between Thanksgiving Day and Christmas day.
Prince of Peace
Jesus, the Prince of Peace, indeed, did come to bring peace. The Isaiah passage quoted above tells how Jesus, the Messiah, would do it. The Messiah would be the opposite of the evil king Ahaz. He would be filled with the Spirit of God, wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and the fear of the Lord. Thus, he would rule with righteousness and equity. Those are the qualities that create an environment of peace.
Peace is not necessarily something we do, but a condition that comes about because of the things we do. The peace the Messiah will bring, will come because of his wise, effective rule and his successful dealing with evil and wickedness.
When Jesus returns to bring the new heaven and new earth, we can look forward to peace on earth, as the Book of Revelation puts it:
I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Revelation 21:22–27, NRSV)
Peace will reign because God will finally be enthroned as the King in this world. As King, his rule will be carried out without hesitation. But what about now?
Filled with the Spirit
Now we are followers of Jesus filled with the Spirit of God and so have access, at least in some measure to the qualities above. As we live out those qualities, we can bring a measure of peace through our attitudes and actions. Of course, this will only happen as people respond to God in their lives, that is what Paul meant when he said, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all," (Romans 12:18, NRSV).
Ultimately peace a gift from God for those who acknowledge and submit to God’s rule in the earth. The degree to which we and those around us yield to God’s reign is the extent to which we will experience God’s peace, at least between now and Jesus second advent.
Blessings!
-Alan
CLICK HERE FOR THIS WEEK'S FAITH NOTES.
Alan Cassady serves as Senior Pastor at Navarre UMC, and has been at the church since 2011. When he's not preaching and teaching, he enjoys sci-fi movies and FSU Football. Read more about Alan here.
Come!
The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
Many peoples shall come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn warany more.
O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!
Isaiah 2:1-5, NRSV
Happy Holidays
Every year it happens like clockwork, stores begin putting their Christmas decorations out and then comes the chorus of complaints, “They’re already putting out Christmas decorations and it not even Halloween yet!” Then comes the myriad of Facebook posts about keeping Christ in Christmas and the outcry against Holiday Trees and saying, “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” All of this happens because we have some very particular ways of celebrating Jesus’ birth and if it doesn’t happen that way, then the earth will explode – well, not really.
Every year people bemoan the commercialization of Christmas, and yet many of those people line up for Black Friday and pre-Black Friday sales. They scurry around trying to get all their Christmas shopping done in the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. Some are so good at planning that they have finished their shopping before Thanksgiving even gets here. Others brag that they got all their shopping done online and never had to leave the house. Then comes the inevitable charity appeals to help make sure children have a good Christmas, by which we mean get presents.
God's Idea of Christmas
However, have you ever taken the time to wonder what God’s idea of Christmas was? We all know the story of how he sent Jesus to be born of the Virgin Mary in a stable in Bethlehem. But why? What was God trying to accomplish by that act?
You get some idea when you read the songs of Mary, Zechariah, and Simeon. But to understand you should dig into the prophets of the Hebrew Bible. That is what we will do in worship as we prepare for Christmas this year.
Over the next four weeks, we will unwrap Christmas to discover God’s purposes for this special Holy Day. The passages we will explore in this series come from the Prophet Isaiah and have been used by the church for just this purpose for centuries.
Coming
Traditionally, the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day has been called the season of Advent. Advent comes from a Latin word that means “coming.” It was a time set aside by the Church long ago to celebrate Jesus’ first coming in the world and anticipate his second coming. It is a time to reflect, repent, and prepare for Jesus to come again. How would Christmas be different if we did that this year? Let’s find out.
Blessings!
- Alan
CLICK HERE FOR THIS WEEK'S FAITH NOTES.
Alan Cassady serves as Senior Pastor at Navarre UMC, and has been at the church since 2011. When he's not preaching and teaching, he enjoys sci-fi movies and FSU Football. Read more about Alan here.
Advent vs. Christmas
What is Advent about anyway?
Advent starts Sunday, but what really is Advent? In the Church Calendar, Advent begins the new year. It's the 40 days, not counting Sundays, the leads up to Christmas. The time after Christmas is called Christmastide. If we were actually following long-standing church tradition, we wouldn't sing a single Christmas song in the church until Christmas Eve, and then would sing them all through Christmastide which starts Christmas Eve and lasts 12 days (ending January 5th).
On the twelfth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
12 Drummers Drumming
11 Pipers Piping
10 Lords a Leaping
9 Ladies Dancing
8 Maids a Milking...
Anyway. Advent is about anticipation and hope. It's about looking toward something, whereas Christmas is about celebration. In our culture today, we spend so much busyness during Advent, we don't have a chance to truly look towards Christmas. We're so busy shopping, planning, and preparing; we can't even start to begin to think about what is coming...the birth of God in a human form.
This Advent, I encourage you to as many moments as you can and stop to think about why you are dong all of the shopping, planning, and preparing. Why do you attend all the parties and celebrate with everyone? What is it we hope for at Christmas?
Don't forget to have fun!
Faith
Faith Parry serves as our Associate Pastor, and has been at the church since 2015. When she's not preaching and teaching, she enjoys documentaries and TV. Read more about Faith here.
A Call for Prayer and Fasting
Preparing for Commitment Sunday
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.
Hebrews 12:1-3, NLT
As we draw near to commitment Sunday, I’d like to encourage you to consider a time of prayer and fasting. I know. We’re 21st century Protestants. We don’t talk about fasting. But Fasting is one of the spiritual disciplines that have been rooted in our Methodist tradition from its founding and can deepen your prayer life.
When you do a short fast, you are taking extra time to focus on God. It’s more than fasting from food and drink; it’s fasting from things that would be a distraction to prayer. Don’t watch your regular TV shows; TiVo them for later. Keep your mind focused on God for a short period, meditating on scripture, your prayers to God, and most importantly, listening.
What would the fast look like?
I’m seeking people in our church to fast and pray on Saturday night as we prepare for Sunday morning, a time to commit to God for the coming year. After sundown, avoid eating or drinking. You don’t have to skip dinner just eat dinner early.
Spend time as a family or personally in prayer. Reflect on the scripture passage for this Sunday. Read it multiple times and in different translations. Focus on the words that stand out to you. Ask God to speak to you through the passage.
Pray for our church. Ask God to bring unity to our church in the coming year and that we would be his living example in our community. Pray that we will be strong and reach out to those around us. Pray that we will embrace each other and those outside of our walls. Pray that God will show you your role in our church for the next year and how you can help us accomplish our vision to the community. Ask God how you can help further the Kingdom of God.
Spend time in prayer over your Financial and Service Commitments for 2017. Sunday you will be presenting those to God at the end of the service. Ask God to help you discern how you can give to help build his Kingdom and help reach those who don’t yet know him, as well a help build up his body.
Together, we can make 2017 a year like no other. We can bring people closer to God and make an impact for the Kingdom.
I'll be praying with you,
Faith
CLICK HERE FOR THIS WEEK'S FAITH NOTES
Faith Parry serves as our Associate Pastor, and has been at the church since 2015. When she's not preaching and teaching, she enjoys documentaries and TV. Read more about Faith here.