BRO JACK’S NEWSLETTER
(Mon, 16 Dec 2013)
Pastor Jack Hall
Since I last wrote, the First Baptist Kids and I have lit
two more Advent Candles in preparation for the day that we celebrate the
“Coming” of our Savior, Jesus Christ, into our world. Those two candles
are the Bethlehem Candle which I call the candle of peace and the Shepherds’
Candle which I call the candle of love.
Peace and love are among the top things that most
people long for in their lifetime. And, I don’t know about you; but I
believe they are the two things most needed in our world today!
In Isaiah 9:6, one of the names attributed
to the coming Messiah is Prince of Peace. Jesus is that Prince of Peace
who was born in Bethlehem. I don‘t call the Bethlehem Candle the candle
of peace because Bethlehem was a town of peace. In fact, it was anything
but a place of peace on the night when Jesus was born! Caesar Augustus
had called for a census and all the men had to return to their place of birth
to register. That included Joseph. So he and Mary, who was
pregnant, returned there.
The town was filled with people, many of
whom were seeking places to stay. Mary and Joseph entered this town of
bedlam and turmoil looking for a place for themselves. The only place
they could find was a cave where cattle and sheep were kept. It was in
the midst of turmoil that Jesus, the Prince of Peace, was born.
It’s the same with us today! We live
in a world of bedlam and turmoil. Our hearts are filled with anxiety and
frustration. We seek peace in so many places; mostly the wrong
places. But when we look to the Prince of Peace, we can have peace in the
midst of our turmoil. The only real peace is peace with God through
Jesus.
When I got to the Shepherds’ Candle (love), I
asked the children what they might have thought if they had arrived at the
church that morning and someone was standing at the door and said, “You can’t
come in! You’re not good enough! You’re not one of our kind!”? The
answers were “sad” and “mad.”
Then, I explained that the shepherds were
not allowed to worship in the temple simply because they were shepherds!
And, it was to those shepherds that the announcement was first made:
“Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of
David” (Luke 2:11).
That announcement to those lowly, outcast
shepherds shows the great love of our God! God loves you! It
doesn’t matter who you are, what your background is, or what you have done in
the past. God loved you so much that He sent His One and Only Son into
this world to be your Savior! You just need to receive Him by faith!
One of the things which I enjoy about sharing these scriptural truths with the
kids is their enthusiasm and excitement. Each Sunday they cannot wait for
us to get to “that white candle in the middle!” That is the Christ Candle
(the candle of salvation). Wouldn’t be wonderful if the rest of us (us
adults) were that enthused and excited to get to Christ?
Bro Jack
I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)
I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)
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