Tawa Baptist

Christmas Day Message

Video Link: https://youtu.be/8O8tlfGlmuQ

Learning by Experience:

Kia Koutou and good morning everyone.

Mark Twain once said, ‘If you hold a cat by the tail, you learn things you cannot learn any other way.’

In other words, some things you cannot be told. Some things can only be discovered through personal experience. What you discover when you hold a cat by the tail is not to hold a cat by the tail. We tend to learn more from our mistakes than our successes. 

Albert Einstein, another dude with bushy hair and an impressive mustache, put it this way, ‘Learning is an experience. Everything else is just information.’

The point here is that we learn by doing. You don’t learn how to hammer a nail by watching The Repair Shop. You learn to hammer a nail by hammering a nail. 

Or take parenting as an example. Parenting books and Ted Talks may provide helpful information, but the real learning comes with the experience of trying to settle a crying baby or being there to support your kids when they need you or managing your feelings of powerlessness as your son or daughter leaves home. 

So does this principle of learning by experience work with God as well? Because God is not like us. God is Spirit. We can’t really see God or take him out for a coffee to get to know him.

Well, learning about God is not exactly the same as learning to hammer a nail or be a parent. But we still learn by experience.

We learn faith by being trusted.

We learn hope by being made to wait.

We learn love by being forgiven.

And we learn about God through Jesus.

Yes, you will pick up some helpful information by listening to sermons and reading spiritual books but the real learning about God comes with an experience of Jesus’ Spirit. 

When Mary (the mother of Jesus) first learned she was with child, she went to visit Elizabeth who was about six months pregnant with John the Baptist. 

41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Through the experience of the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth learned that Mary was carrying the Messiah of God. Elizabeth felt God’s presence in herself, and it was the experience of pure joy.

When the angels appeared to the shepherds, proclaiming the birth of the Messiah, the shepherds didn’t just say, ‘O yeah, good to know.’ Rather they hurried off to find Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger.

They were not satisfied with mere information. They wanted to experience the presence of the Christ child for themselves, and that experience affected them. It compelled them to share the good news.  

When the wise men saw the star shining in the east, they knew from their research that it was significant. These wise men understood that real learning comes through experience.  So, they set off on a long journey to find the King of the Jews and experience his presence for themselves, in person. They were not disappointed.

Fast forward 33 years and we read about Thomas, the disciple who would not take other people’s word for it. When Thomas’ friends told him the information that Jesus had been raised from the dead, Thomas wanted to experience the risen Christ for himself. Let me touch him. Let me put my fingers in his wounds.

A week later Jesus appeared to Thomas and Thomas discovered firsthand that Jesus is both human and divine. Learning is an experience.

What is your experience this Christmas? Is it a busy time for you? A stressful time, a week of running around trying to fit everything in. When Christmas is uncomfortably full it can be difficult to experience the presence of Christ. Difficult but not impossible.

The very first Christmas was busy and full, messy and unpredictable. Nevertheless, Jesus was present in the most unlikely of places, a feeding trough. The Spirit of Jesus has a way of showing up where we least expect him.  Make room for the Spirit.

What is your experience this Christmas? Is it a lonely time, a sad time, an empty time when you feel the absence of those you love. Everyone around you seems to be happy but you cannot wait for the season to end and for things to return to normal. 

When Christmas is painful and joyless it can be difficult to experience the presence of Christ. Difficult but not impossible. Jesus was born into a violent world, a sad world, a troubled world. The good news is Jesus was born to redeem this world through his death and resurrection.

Blessed are you who are sad or lonely this Christmas. You are closer to God than you think. 

Let me pray for you…

Loving God, we thank you for entering into the human experience through Jesus. May you be real for us this Christmas and always. Open our hearts and minds to the presence of Christ, that we would learn from you. Amen.  

Tawa Baptist

Before & After

Scripture: Ezekiel 36:26-27

Video Link: https://youtu.be/RQtLqS7-W9s

Before and After (the difference Jesus makes)

Before humankind learned to cook, people had to eat their meat raw. Since learning to cook though, there has been a lot less food poisoning and better nourishment.

Before the invention of the wheel, it was a lot harder to move things around. It took a great deal longer to get anything done. Since the wheel though, people have been able to carry more stuff and get places faster.

Before someone thought up the printing press, people had to copy words by hand onto scrolls. It took ages and was really expensive, which meant not many people got the opportunity to read or write. Since the printing press though, books have become more accessible, which makes the transfer of information a lot easier.

Before the discovery of penicillin, people often died from infections and the average life expectancy was less. Since penicillin though, there have been more people surviving into old age. Antibiotics have reduced human suffering considerably.

Christmas is a time when we celebrate Jesus’ coming into the world. Jesus’ life makes a bigger difference than the wheel, the printing press, penicillin and cooking all put together. The main difference Jesus makes is to our relationship with God.

Before Christ, if someone did something wrong, they had to sacrifice a goat or a lamb in order to be forgiven. Since Jesus’ death on the cross though, there is no need for animal sacrifice. If we forgive others, God will forgive us.  

Before Christ, if someone wanted to belong to God’s people, they had to be Jewish. Since Jesus’ resurrection though, the key is not genetics, but faith. When we accept Jesus, God accepts us, no matter what our whakapapa or family tree. Because of Jesus we can call God, Father.

Now, in talking about the positive difference Christ makes, we might think that because of Jesus we can get God to do whatever we want. But that is not how it works. God is not like Santa Claus. Sometimes doing the right thing and following Jesus makes your life, on this earth, harder.

Through Jesus we can be friends with God but the point of being friends with God is not to get what we want. The point is to do what God wants and enjoy him forever. Jesus shows us what God wants.

The prophets of the Old Testament looked forward to Jesus’ coming. They knew the difference the Messiah would make to our inner life. In Ezekiel 36 the Lord says through his messenger…

26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

The heart, in this context, represents a person’s inner life, the place inside you where decisions are made. The heart is not just your emotions, it’s also your mind and your will.

A ‘heart of stone’ is a dead heart, it’s a mind and will that is unresponsive to God. Whereas a heart of flesh is a living heart, it’s a mind and will that is obedient to God.

With the birth of Jesus, God offers humanity a heart of flesh. It is through the Spirit of Jesus that God gives us a new heart, a new attitude, a new way of thinking and feeling so we are inclined to do what God wants.

In a moment we will pray. I will pray the words in plain type, and I invite you to respond with the words in bold. Let us pray…

Father God, we thank you for Jesus who reveals your love and truth.

            Hallowed be your name.

Father God, we thank you for Jesus who brings heaven to earth.

            May your kingdom come, and your will be done. 

Father God, we thank you for Jesus who understands our needs and longings.

            Give us this day our daily bread.

Father God, we thank you for Jesus who takes away the sin of the world.

            Forgive us our sin as we forgive those who sin against us.

Father God, we thank you for Jesus who shows us Your way.

            Deliver us from evil.

Father God, we thank you for the Spirit of Jesus who transforms our heart.

Yours is the glory. Amen.

Tawa Baptist

Christmas Message – Mary’s Song

Scripture: Luke 1:46-55

Video Link: https://youtu.be/LMr7Om-kBKQ

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • God is mindful
  • God is mighty
  • God is merciful
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Kai ora whanau and Merry Christmas.

Have you ever noticed how good things often come in threes?

There are three primary colours from which all other colours can be made.

There are only three bones in the human ear, all of which are needed for us to hear.

A chair or a table needs at least three legs to stand.

A triangle, the strongest geometric shape, has three sides.

There are three feet in a yard, three dimensions in the physical world, three wickets in a hat trick, three Bronte sisters and three main ingredients in a BLT sandwich (apart from the bread).     

What’s more, there are three things needed to decide any kind of dispute: rock, paper, scissors.

Today’s message is based on Luke chapter 1, verses 46-55. This is Mary’s song of praise, sung while she was still pregnant with Jesus. From Luke 1, verse 46 we read…

46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord
47     and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49     for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name.

50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful 55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

In these verses, Mary is basically saying three things about God…

God is mindful, God is mighty and God is merciful. 

These three attributes of God are like the three bones in your ear, or the three primary colours or the three legs of a table or the three sides of a triangle. We need them all. We need to know God is mindful, mighty and merciful.    

God is mindful:

According to the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand, mindfulness means paying attention to what is presently occurring, with kindness and curiosity.

The idea with mindfulness is to bring some order and control to our patterns of thinking. Not let our thoughts run away from us. Not allow ourselves to think the worst, nor set ourselves up for disappointment by manufacturing unhelpful expectations. Just breathe and stay present in the moment. 

In verse 48, of Luke 1, Mary says that God has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.

I’m not sure that our human definition of mindfulness is transferable to God exactly, but Mary (the mother of Jesus) is certainly mindful that God is paying attention to her present situation with kindness.   

Mary had quite a bit to worry about. What would people think of her being pregnant and not married? How would she tell her fiancé Joseph and what would Joseph do?

But Mary doesn’t go down that path in her mind. Instead Mary enjoys the moment. She focuses on what God has done for her and how blessed she is.

The past couple of years have been difficult. Change is the only constant. We are all pretty tired and feeling over it. Maybe our thoughts are running ahead to next year and what the future might hold.

Try not to go there. Today is Christmas. Now is the time to be mindful of what God has done in sending his Son Jesus. This is the day to be aware that God is thinking of you personally and of his world collectively.

God has not forgotten. God understands the losses you have suffered, the pressures you feel and the burdens you carry.        

God is mindful and God is mighty.

God is mighty:

Some of you may be planning to do one of New Zealand’s great walks this summer. Perhaps the Routeburn or the Abel Tasman or the Milford Track.

If you are spending time in the bush you might come across some predator traps. For many years now our native birds have been under threat from rats and stoats and possums. Conservationists have been seeking to restore the balance by culling as many of these introduced predators as they can.

Mindfulness can be helpful, as far as it goes, but if you are a Kiwi or a Kōkako or a Black Robin, then you don’t need people to just be thinking about you. You need humans to build a predator proof fence to stop stoats from raiding your nest.   

In verse 49 Mary says, the Mighty One has done great things for me, and in verse 51 she says, He has performed mighty deeds with his arm… he has scattered the proud… but has lifted up the humble.

If God were only mindful of you, what good would that do? If you are homeless then you don’t need a sympathy card. No, you need affordable housing. More than that, you need someone with the might (as in the wisdom and power) to make the system more just so you can get into your own home.

As a young woman in a male dominated society, Mary was somewhere near the bottom of the social ladder. She didn’t have much power or influence. She was vulnerable, like a Kiwi or a Kākāpō.

But God, the Mighty One, has done great things for her. He has lifted her up, as humble as she is, by making her the mother of the Messiah.

In some ways, the nation of Israel was a bit like Mary in that they were relatively poor and vulnerable compared with other nations. Israel were oppressed by the Romans and needed God’s mighty power to save them.     

Like Mary and like Israel, New Zealand is not mighty. We don’t have an arsenal of nuclear weapons or a huge navy or the latest in drone strike technology. We need God to defend our free land.

God’s might (his power) goes hand in hand with his mercy. 

God is merciful:

Recently the United Nations (in Geneva) discussed the issue of Lethal Autonomous Weapons (or killer robots). Most countries were against the sort of technology where humans are not in control and decisions are outsourced to computers. But the bigger more powerful nations didn’t want rules around it.

Lethal Autonomous Weapons maybe mighty but they are hardly mindful, much less merciful. The world has enough problems without introducing more. 

In verse 50 Mary says that God’s mercy extends to those who fear him and in verse 54 she says that God has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful…

Mercy is essentially about using your power or might to help someone else.   

Power comes in many forms: for example, money & wealth, knowledge & skill, physical strength, political leverage and so on. When you use the power you have, to help someone who is in a weaker position than you, that’s mercy. 

If someone is having a heart attack and you know CPR, then mercy is stopping to help them. If someone owes you money and can’t repay you, then mercy is forgiving the debt. If someone is marginalised or an outsider and you are well connected, then mercy is including them in your community.

By definition God is the mightiest being there is. Fortunately for us, God chooses to use his power for the benefit of those who fear him. That is, those who respect and reverence God, those who hold the Lord in high regard.

As one who was relatively powerless, Mary was very mindful of God’s mercy. Usually it is when we are at our weakest and feeling vulnerable that we are most conscious of God’s mercy.

Conclusion:

For some, Christmas is a time of happiness and fun and good feelings. For others though, Christmas is a time that just seems to highlight what we have lost and how far from ideal our lives are.

Whatever you are feeling today, may you know that God is thinking of you with love, that nothing is too difficult for him and that he wants to use his power and might for our wellbeing.

Although her situation in life was far from ideal, Mary rejoiced because of God’s mindfulness, might and mercy for her personally.

She also rejoiced because the child she was carrying, Jesus the Christ, embodies the mindfulness, might and mercy of God for the world. That’s what we celebrate at Christmas.