This Little Babe

Here's my short homily from Christmas Eve 2009.  Every year during Advent and Christmas I spend some time reading Martin Luther's Advent and Christmas sermons.  Anyone familiar with Luther's thoughts about the baby Jesus will recognize my dependence on him.  Very few theologians have grasped the full significance of the incarnation of the eternal Son of God as Luther did.  The true humility of God is unveiled in the story of Jesus' birth.  God the Son united himself to our human flesh forever.

Old CVCRT Lectures

This morning I found mp3 files of some old lectures I did at the Connecticut Valley Conference on Reformed Theology.  The first two lectures were given in 1997.  The theme of that conference was "Why the Trinity Matters."

The Trinitarian Shape of Christian Ministry: Does God do All Things for his Own Glory?

The Trinity & The Church: Lex Ordandi, Lex Credendi

In 2002 I also gave four lectures at the CVCRT.  The theme that year was "The Covenant."  I could only locate my first three lectures.  The lecture on the Lord's Supper seems to be lost.

Christian Ministry After the Death of God

The Origin and Ground of the Covenant - The Trinity

Ritual & Covenant: Part 1 - Baptism.

How Jesus Saved the World

A Lenten Sermon 
Providence Presbyterian Church 
February 10, 2002 
Text: John 18:28-40

by Pastor Jeffrey J. Meyers

With a little help this morning, I think you will be able see from the way this story is written, from the details that John has selected, what the Holy Spirit wants us to think about.

We are too used to reading the Gospels stories of Jesus arrest, trial,  condemnation, and death from a devotional perspective and so miss a lot of what’s going on.   We actually have a difficult time trying to figure out the meaning of the details of the story.  Of course, we will defend the historicity of the details of the story against unbelieving academics and liberal churchman.  Butwhy these details? Why any details at all?

John, of course, has already wonderfully summarized things in chapter 1 and 3.  “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” and “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.”  But what does God’s provision of a lamb for the sins of the world have to do with this long story of what happens to Jesus the night before he dies?  What does God loving the world have to do with the machinations and conspiracies of Judas, the High Priests, Pilate, and the Jewish crowds?  A great deal, truly, but we will have to learn to read them a bit differently.

You see, here in the narrative of Jesus’ arrest and trial and condemnation we have a somewhat surprising perspective—it does not contradict or compete with the other apostolic explanations of Jesus’ death, rather, it complements and enriches them. Remember, the meaning of death of Jesus is far richer than we are often used to acknowledging.

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Honesty, Maturity, & Godly Leadership

A Narrative Sermon on Luke 22:24-46

by Jeffrey J. Meyers

As Luke walked through the rain toward the corner house he was apprehensive.  That surprised him.  He knew all along that this was the climax of the process—that he would have to present his work to these men before it could be copied and used to teach the disciples.  But he didn’t think it would be this nerve-wracking.

His wife had encouraged him by reminding him that they were all anxiously waiting for his account of the life of Jesus.  They were his colleges and friends, after all.  And he reminded himself that his mentor and companion Paul had encouraged him and helped him with the work.  Paul would be there tonight to support him.  That helped comfort him.

When he arrived at the threshold Luke prayed, “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands; yes, Lord, establish the work of our hands.  Amen.”

Mnason’s wife met him at the door, greeted him warmly, and took his cloak met.   She directed him into a warm, well-lit room filled with men standing around talking.  Luke remembered that the Mnason household was among the first to be baptized and become Christians in Jerusalem.  Ever since then his house, situated in such a convenient place in Jerusalem, had been a welcome home away from home for so many travelling disciples.

“Here’s Doctor Luke,” one of the men in the room announced.  “Get him a glass of wine,” another one said.  That was Trophimus, one of the first converts from Asia.  Luke hoped that he had brought a bottle or two of that Asian wine he had tasted in Troas a few months ago.  Trophimus was one of about 7 men that travelled with Paul and Luke from Troas to Jerusalem. 

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Thoughts on Lent

By Joshua Anderson

Fat Tuesday, 2010

More and more evangelical Christians these days are seeking to engage in the historic and catholic season of Lent in the church year. Is this a good thing? What sort of dangers might there be with such a practice?

Generally speaking, seeking to "practice" lent is a good thing--the church calendar is catholic and historical and helps us to engage the life of Christ as we follow his example and live corporately as his bride. However, there are some dangers with lent in particular, especially because lent is such a long period of the church year (40 days, and over 10% of the year!) and there is a strong emphasis on fasting, pentitence and "giving up things" during this season. 

Thus, here are a couple thoughts about some Lenten concerns:

--Remember that in the Old Testament, God gave Israel a "church calendar," describing how she was to live in community as the people of God during the year. In that calendar, the Lord commanded Israel to keep something like 80-90 days of feasting (52 sabbaths, the feast of Passover, the feast of Unleavened bread, the feast of Firstfruits, the feast of Weeks, the feast of Trumpets, and the feast of Booths), and only one day of fasting (The Day of Atonement). Read Leviticus 23 to feel the weight of this ratio. If we emphasize the entire season of Lent as a season of fasting (40 days!), then we are in danger of reversing the biblical ratio of days of feasting to days of fasting. Isn't it odd that Christians will "fast" for the forty days of lent, and then feast only one day for Easter? If we are going to fast for forty days in preparation for the feast of the Resurrection, then it seems as though we ought to feast for at least forty days after.

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