Whose birthday is Christmas? Who is the main figure of this Christmas season? Does what you do during the season of Christmas display that Jesus Christ is the main figure of Christmas?
Christmas is not about the presents. It is about the presence of Jesus Christ. What are you doing to let the world experience the presence of Jesus Christ?
RECEIVED TRANSFORMED SENT
Sermons by Rev. Jinwoo Chun (Page 23)
What is the focus of your Christmas tradition? The presents or the presence of Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ broke into our lives and showed us His life-giving power. God calls us to let those, who are “little jesus” living in unsafe and dangerous life conditions, experience the presence of Jesus Christ as we celebrate Christmas.
WWJD? It is one of the well-known expressions among Christian communities. What would Jesus do? In order to do what Jesus would do, we first need to know what He did. WDJD? What did Jesus do? Jesus had the purpose of His life that pleased God. And this clear purpose helped Him to overcome all the temptations and challenges that He had to face. With this clear purpose, Jesus always made the decisions to bring God great joy throughout His life journey. How about you?
God loves ALL no matter what! So does the Church? What is St. Matthew’s UMC doing to let the world know that God loves ALL?
It is a time to heal. It is time to come near to God. God calls us (Vayikra) to come near (qorban) to God. The more deeply broken we are, the nearer God calls us to come to the Lord. How would you respond to God’s calling?
God calls you (Vayikra) and tells you, “Come near to Me.” And the offering (qorban: come near) reminds you that you are worthy and precious in God’s eye regardless of how much you have, regardless of what other people say you are, and regardless of what you think you are. Offering is not about money. It is one of God’s loving ways to remind you that God wants you to come near to God. It is one of the passionate ways you can take to tell God that you want to come near to God. Don’t you want to be a cheerful giver?
God broke into our lives to be with us through the event of the Tabernacle. When God commanded the Israelites to build the Tabernacle, they “brought their sacred offerings to the Lord.” Sacred offerings. The word “offering” is qorban in Hebrew and it originally means “come near.” In other words, when God came near to the Israelites, they decided to come near to God as well. They responded to God’s “come near” invitation by bringing their sacred offering “come near” to God. How do you respond to God’s qorban invitation today?
Stewardship Program an opportunity to examine my priorities. Where is God on my priority list?
How can I make God my first priority? We are going to listen to what the Bible has to say about it this Sunday.