How to prepare for Christmas

This verse from Isaiah is quoted in the New Testament to describe the preaching of John the Baptist in preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ. If you think about it, it teaches us how to prepare for Christmas.

Isaiah 40:3 A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."

The same basic message is there for both Isaiah’s time and our time: to prepare for the coming of the Lord, we need to prepare the way, and make the paths straight. In ancient times, roads were not paved smooth like they are today. They were often very rough to travel. So when a king was coming, representatives would go ahead of the king and remove obstacles from the road, level off the road, and get it prepared for his visit. We see references to this in Isaiah 57:14 and 62:10. Just as ancient roads had obstacles that need to be removed to prepare for a king’s visit, so we have obstacles that need to be removed for us to prepare for Christmas. We need to remove the obstacle of commercialism. The retail industry has hijacked Christmas and tried to convince our culture that it is mandatory that we spend money at Christmas to truly celebrate it. They’ve made Christmas all about shopping and giving presents. We need to remove the obstacle of selfishness. Related to commercialism is the obstacle of selfishness. If we buy into the idea that Christmas is about shopping and gift-giving, we may fall into the further trap of thinking Christmas is about gift receiving. We start talking about “What I want for Christmas.” Then the emphasis becomes all about me: what I want for Christmas, what you should give me. We need to remove the obstacle of busyness. A third obstacle at Christmas is busyness. Many families spend the first part of December running from their child’s Christmas program at the elementary school to the children’s choir Christmas program at the church to their child’s ride on the float in the Christmas parade to the Christmas band concert at the high school to the adult choir Christmas program at the church to the husband’s staff office party to the children’s school party to the wife’s staff Christmas party to the Sunday School class Christmas party. Then they spend the last part of December running from the wife’s family to the husband’s family to the grandparents, and if there is a divorce, they may have to add the ex-wife or ex-husband’s family. And somewhere in the middle of all that, they try to squeeze in sending Christmas cards and going shopping. No wonder church attendance is no better in December than November, and sometimes it’s lower. Some people are too busy doing Christmas activities in December to come to Sunday worship in December! So how can we remove these obstacles and truly prepare ourselves for Christmas? We have to decide before it all begins that we will define our Christmas celebration by our faith, not by our culture. To overcome commercialism and selfishness, we need to have honest conversations with our families about our faith and what our budget is going to be for Christmas. Agree on budget limits. Draw names instead of giving everybody a gift. And if you really want to overcome selfishness, tell people to give a gift to missions in your name. And how do we overcome the busyness of Christmas? We decide ahead of time to say “no” to some activities, so that we can say “yes” to time with our families and time for worship. You do not have to attend every party, and you do not have to write a Christmas card to every cousin. Years ago at a former church, I tried to attend every Sunday School Christmas party. I was never home with my family! I finally decided I would not go to any Sunday School class Christmas parties that were in the evening, except for the one in my own class, and I would go to the deacons and wives banquet for widows and widowers. That’s it. Jesus the king has come. Wise men came to worship Him. Let’s prepare to celebrate His coming by removing the obstacles that block the way: obstacles of commercialism, selfishness and busyness. Clear the path so you can see Christ this Christmas!

NAMB Commissioning awesome experience

The North American Mission Board commissioning service at First Baptist Church of Rincon on February 22, 2009 was an awesome experience.
The crowd of nearly 1,000 people heard brief testimonies and prayer requests from 144 missionaries serving all over the United States and Canada. Dr. Geoff Hammond, president of NAMB, spoke about how in these difficult economic times, we are to seek the kingdom first, not "all these things" of materialism.
Children from the church and other area churches brought in the flags of the United States and Canadian provinces, and the choirs and praise team of FBC Rincon led music. We also heard pre-service music by a Hispanic praise team and Korean choir.
This picture shows Lon Vining (the man in the aisle seat with his arm over the end of the pew) in the congregation. Lon and his wife Amanda serve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where he is planting a church. The population in Montreal is 0.05% evangelical Christian. The need is great, but God's calling is greater!
It was a thrilling worship service. When it ended, Dr. Bob White, executive director of the Georgia Baptist Convention, turned to me and told me that it was one of the most inspiring worship services he had ever been in.
You can read the article by Baptist Press about the commissioning service here.

What to do when your cell phone goes off in church

A man told me he was visiting another church, and a cell phone started ringing during the sermon. It rang several times, and finally a person answered the phone and proceeded to carry on a conversation while the pastor was trying to preach!
It reminded me of the time I was attending a Baptist convention, when a cell phone went off during a sermon. A convention-goer answered the phone and headed toward the door to talk outside. As he was exiting, the man behind the pulpit said, "Tell them I'm not through with my sermon!"
Most of us have cell phones, and sometimes we forget to turn them off or put them on vibration. So what do you do when your cell phone starts ringing in church? Here are three bad suggestions:
1. When the cell phone goes off, stare at the person next to you and shake your head in disgust, as if the ring is coming from him or her. After a while your phone will quit ringing, and everybody will think the other person was the guilty culprit.
2. If everybody knows that you are the cell phone's owner, answer it quickly and pretend that it is an emergency. You can say, "Really? Did you call an ambulance?" or "Is she alive?" Then run out of the church, and remove yourself from the embarrassing situation altogether.
3. If none of the above will work, you can stand up and announce, "It's God calling. He says keep up the good work and be faithful." After all, didn't God say in Jeremiah 33:3, "Call to Me and I will answer you..."?
The only problem with all of the suggestions above is that they break the Ninth Commandment (you know, the one about lying). So here's another suggestion: If you're in the choir or somewhere else near the baptistry, toss the phone in the water. Or if you're not near the baptistry, just confess your sin and turn the thing off. Either way, the congregation will appreciate you, your conscience will be clear, and best of all, your phone won't interrupt your worship again during the service.