Season of Love
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Titus 3:
The New International Version Chapter 3
when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life
About three years ago Jeanette and I were shopping on Black Friday. We were at Fred Meyers for their annual sock sale and both of us were looking through bins for just the right kind. I spotted one I thought looked decent and reached for a closer look. Just as I was about to grab hold of them, a short, little Asian lady powerhoused me out of the way and snagged them first. She more than gave me a little shove. She full on acted like a line backer to get me out of her way. I bumped into others and thought I was almost ready to fall. But, she got her socks and paid no mind to how she had obtained them or what disruption she may have caused. Of course, it was the last pair of those socks so all behavior should be excused.
We joke about that lady every year as we remember this incident of selfish indulgence. Black Friday is a no hold barred kind of event that happens every year. We fill ourselves with the idea of getting the hot new items at the best prices and are willing to fight our way to be first. What so many people just do not recognize is that prices on Christmas Eve are notoriously lower than Black Friday. If you just save all your shopping for the last minute you can save even more. All you have to do is be willing to struggle through all the Christmas Eve crowds, hope they still have the items you’re looking for, wait in lines longer than Disneyland to pay for it all, go home, pull out your wrapping paper to get it all prettified, realize you don’t have enough paper and fight your way to the store again to start all over. Once you’ve managed all of this, you finally get the joy of ignoring your family for the entire evening while you fight, rip, and tear your way through the wrapping process only to emerge around midnight with various bows and tape stuck to parts of you. But, you saved even more money and didn’t get plowed by a little Asian lady…you hope.
Now you can start thinking about Christmas dinner prep...
Every year I see a big to-do over store that refuse to say Merry Christmas. Retail environments choose Happy Holidays or Seasons Greetings and many Christians feel this removes Christ from the holiday. I am not completely sure that I agree with this idea. Christ is only removed if we remove Him from our thoughts and heart. If we choose to make Christ the center of our holiday, then He is. We do have a entire season of holidays that others choose to celebrate, Hanukkah which has been celebrated since 165 BC commemorating to rededication of the 2nd temple.
Kwanzaa was created in 1966 and is derived from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili. Families celebrate in their own way with songs, dances, African drums, storytelling, poetry reading, and a large traditional meal.
After the Watts riots in Los Angeles, Karenga searched for ways to bring African-Americans together. He started to research African “first fruit” (harvest) celebrations and combined aspects of each to form the basis of Kwanzaa.
The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili. Families celebrate in their own way with songs, dances, African drums, storytelling, poetry reading, and a large traditional meal.
https://www.oddee.com/item_99548.aspx
Kwanza takes place over seven nights. When the celebrating family gathers and a child lights one of the candles on the Kinara (candleholder), then one of the seven principles is discussed. The principles, called the Nguzo Saba (seven principles in Swahili) are values of African culture which contribute to building and reinforcing community among African-Americans. Kwanzaa also has seven basic symbols that represent values and concepts reflective of African culture. The holiday culminates on December 31 with an African feast, called a Karamu.
There are a whole bunch of other holidays that people have invented as replacements for Christmas to not feel their personal beliefs violated. Now, I am not saying I agree with searching for alternatives just to avoid hurt feelings but I think we shouldn’t have hurt feelings when others choose to celebrate differently than us. Christmas is itself an entire set of seasonal holidays. We don’t just celebrate the birth of Christ. His birth is just the culmination of this particular holiday. Yet, His birth is also just the start of a much bigger Godly endeavor. There is more to the story. Without the events of Easter, Christmas is just another day. It was Christ’s ultimate sacrifice that defines our celebration each December 25th. But there is more to celebrate.
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Christmas is an Entire Season of Celebratory Greetings
Christmas is an Entire Season of Celebratory Greetings
Christmas is an Entire Season of Celebratory Greetings
That is why I think using the term Seasons Greetings can be just as valuable for Christians as saying Merry Christmas. Over the next few weeks we will be taking a look at the different Seasons of Christmas that we should celebrate as Christians and these celebrations should spill over int our view and treatment of those who may not share our beliefs or traditions. This is how Christ would choose for us to celebrate His birth above all else, by sharing in His mission.
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Seasons Greetings: Advent Series
Seasons Greetings: Advent Series
Season of Love
Season of Love
Season of Hope
Season of Life
Season of Gifts
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Season of Love
Season of Love
Season of Love
Season of Love
Titus 3:3-7
Maria Dyer was born in 1837 on the mission field in China where her parents were pioneer missionaries. Both her parents died when Maria was a little girl, and she was sent back to England to be raised by an uncle. The loss of her parents, however, did not deter her young heart from the importance of sharing the gospel. At age sixteen she, along with her sister, returned to China to work in a girl’s school as a missionary herself. Five years later, she married Hudson Taylor, a man well-known today for his life of ministry, faith, and sacrifice.
Hudson and Maria’s work was often criticized—even by other Christians. At one point Maria wrote, “As to the harsh judgings of the world, or the more painful misunderstandings of Christian brethren, I generally feel that the best plan is to go on with our work and leave God to vindicate our cause.” Of their nine children, only four survived to adulthood. Maria herself died of cholera when she was just forty-three. But she believed the cause was worthy of the sacrifice. On her grave marker these words were inscribed: “For her to live was Christ, and to die was gain.”
In a day when many are self-absorbed and care more about what they can get rather than what they can give, we need a renewal of sacrificial love. It was God’s love for us that sent Jesus into the world to die for our sins, and it is that kind of giving love that our world needs so greatly today. When we love God as we should, our interests fade as we magnify Him.
How does a moment last forever
How can a story never die
It is love we must hold onto
Never easy but we try
Sometimes our happiness is captured
Somehow a time and place stands still
Love lives on inside our hearts and always will
Minutes turn to hours, days to years and gone
But when all else has been forgotten
Still our song lives on
The book of Titus is one of the pastoral epistles specifically addressed to the pastor’s relationship and job to their church. It is not a traditional passage for Christmas but the passage speaks of Christmas.
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At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,
he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior,
so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,
Maybe some moments weren't so perfect
Maybe some memories not so sweet
But we have to know some bad times
Or our lives are incomplete
Then when the shadows overtake us
Just when we feel all hope is gone
We'll hear our song and know once more
Our love lives on
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
How does a moment last forever?
How does our happiness endure?
Through the darkest of our troubles
Love is beauty, love is pure
Love pays no mind to desolation
It flows like a river through the soul
Protects, perceives and perseveres
And makes us whole
Minutes turn to hours, days to years and gone
But when all else has been forgotten
Still our song lives on
How does a moment last forever?
When our song lives on
How Can a moment last forever lyrics
How Can a moment last forever lyrics
How Can a moment last forever lyrics
BKC: 3:4
But all of that changed when the kindness and love (philanthrōpia, lit., “love for man”) of God our Savior appeared. The contrast is startling. In verse 3 man is the actor, but in verses 4–7 man is merely the recipient, and God becomes the actor. What man could in no wise do for himself, God initiated for him.
Litfin, A. D. (1985). Titus. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 766). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Litfin, A. D. (1985). Titus. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 766). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Tags: Clipped: November 22, 2017
Tags:
Clipped: November 22, 2017
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Out of love, undeserved love, we are made righteous.
How? When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared! Christ came. Christ was born to eventually die, but born as an expression of God’s love for people and His kindness
Kindness 5544. χρηστότης chrēstotēs; from 5543; goodness, excellence, uprightness:—good(1), kindness(9).
5544. χρηστότης chrēstotēs; from 5543; goodness, excellence, uprightness:—good(1), kindness(9).
Thomas, R. L. (1998). New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek dictionaries : updated edition. Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc.
Thomas, R. L. (1998). New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek dictionaries : updated edition. Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc.
Gregory Boyle retells the story of a 15-year-old gang member named Rigo. Rigo was getting ready for a special worship service for incarcerated youth when Boyle casually asked if Rigo's father would be coming. The following is a summary of their conversation:
"No," he said, "He's a heroin addict and never been in my life. Used to always beat me."
Then something snapped inside Rigo as he recalled an image from his childhood.
"I think I was in fourth grade," he began, "I came home. Sent home in the middle of the day … . [When I got home] my dad says, 'Why did they send you home?' And cuz my dad always beat me, I said, 'If I tell you, promise you won't hit me?' He just said, 'I'm your father. Course I'm not gonna hit you.' So I told him."
Rigo began to cry, and in a moment he started wailing and rocking back and forth. Boyle put his arm around him until he slowly calmed down. When Rigo could finally speak again, he spoke quietly, still in a state of shock: "He beat me with a pipe … with … a pipe."
After Rigo composed himself, Boyle asked about his mom. Rigo pointed to a small woman and said, "That's her over there … . There's no one like her." Then Rigo paused and said, "I've been locked up for a year and half. She comes to see me every Sunday. You know how many buses she takes every Sunday [to see me]?"
Rigo started sobbing with the same ferocity as before. After catching his breath, he gasped through the sobs, "Seven buses. She takes … seven … buses. Imagine."
Boyle concluded this story with an analogy. God, as revealed in the person of Jesus, loves us like Rigo's mother loved her son—with commitment, steadfastness, and sacrifice. According to Boyle, we have a God "who takes seven buses, just to arrive at us." All throughout Jesus' ministry—his birth on Christmas morning, his meals with sinners, his healing of the sick, his death on the cross for our sins—he showed us the heart of God, the God who will take a long journey of love to find us.
The Mother of a Gang Member Demonstrates God's Love
Gregory Boyle, Tattoos on the Heart (Free Press, 2010), pp. 26-27
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This is precisely the kind of love expressed at Christmas. A parent going out of their way to bring relief, joy, hope, salvation to a lost child. It is a lifeline to freedom. Christ is our lifeline, our visiting parent hoping to show us the way to freedom.
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
In Luke we have a much more traditional passage for the Season of Christmas. is usually the passage referred to for most recollections of the Birth of Christ and coming of the Messiah. It begins with the prediction of John the Baptists birth, Zechariah’s silencing, Jesus’s birth foretold to Mary, Mary’s visit to Elizabeth & Zechariah (who is still silent), and Mary’s Songs more commonly known as the Magnificat. There is, however, another song in this passage known as the Benedictus. Zechariah’s Song after the birth of John.
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His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us—
to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
This is a significant event in Jewish history, it is an end to silence. The 400 years of silence refers to the time between the Old Testament and New Testaments, during which God did not speak to the Jewish people. The 400 years of silence began with the warning that closed the Old Testament: “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse" () and ended with the coming of John the Baptist, the Messiah’s forerunner.
This was the ending of The Silent Years. Prophecy is once again happening. The Spirit is once again at work in an active visible way proclaiming the coming of the Messiah. Zechariah's ability to speak and prophesy is a significant event at this time in Israel.
enabling prophecy and the coming of the Messiah. Zechariah's ability to speak and prophesy is a significant event at this time in Israel.
God’s purpose in pouring out the Holy Spirit was so that, having been justified by His grace, believers might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is intimately involved with bringing to fruition God’s gracious purposes to save. What God in His grace began, God in His grace will see to the end, through His Spirit.
This passage is a song of praise by Zechariah but it is not a song praising God for his son. Instead he praises for what his son represents. The forerunner of Jesus. John is the promised Elijah.
Horn of Salvation - verse 69
“Lord”
The other term, “Lord” (standard capitalization), is from adonai. This word literally means “my Lord,” and it derives from a root which suggests “sovereign, strength, power.”
It is a word particularly emphasizing the authority of the Deity. It expresses the relationship of the Creator to his creatures and the responsibility they have to the one who made them and who owns them (cf. ).
LORD (all caps or small caps)
reflects the original term yhwh. Because the Jews considered this title to be very sacred, they did not pronounce it.
Figuratively, a symbol of power () expressing dominance over the weak (Ez 34:21), forces of destruction (), and deliverance from oppression (; ). Thus the horn has two aspects, to succour and to denote force (; ). The succession of horns could mean the continuation of the kingly line
Gregory Boyle retells the story of a 15-year-old gang member named Rigo. Rigo was getting ready for a special worship service for incarcerated youth when Boyle casually asked if Rigo's father would be coming. The following is a summary of their conversation:
Figuratively, a symbol of power () expressing dominance over the weak (Ez 34:21), forces of destruction (), and deliverance from oppression (; ). Thus the horn has two aspects, to succour and to denote force (; ). The succession of horns could mean the continuation of the kingly line
Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Horn. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 1, p. 999). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
Gregory Boyle retells the story of a 15-year-old gang member named Rigo. Rigo was getting ready for a special worship service for incarcerated youth when Boyle casually asked if Rigo's father would be coming. The following is a summary of their conversation:
"No," he said, "He's a heroin addict and never been in my life. Used to always beat me."
the Lord - verse 69 & 76
John will go before the Messiah - here recognized as the Lord (note lower case the).
Then something snapped inside Rigo as he recalled an image from his childhood.
“Lord” (standard capitalization), is from adonai. This word literally means “my Lord,” and it derives from a root which suggests “sovereign, strength, power.”
"I think I was in fourth grade," he began, "I came home. Sent home in the middle of the day … . [When I got home] my dad says, 'Why did they send you home?' And cuz my dad always beat me, I said, 'If I tell you, promise you won't hit me?' He just said, 'I'm your father. Course I'm not gonna hit you.' So I told him."
The other term, “Lord” (standard capitalization), is from adonai. This word literally means “my Lord,” and it derives from a root which suggests “sovereign, strength, power.”
Rigo began to cry, and in a moment he started wailing and rocking back and forth. Boyle put his arm around him until he slowly calmed down. When Rigo could finally speak again, he spoke quietly, still in a state of shock: "He beat me with a pipe … with … a pipe."
It is a word particularly emphasizing the authority of the Deity. It expresses the relationship of the Creator to his creatures and the responsibility they have to the one who made them and who owns them (cf. ).
After Rigo composed himself, Boyle asked about his mom. Rigo pointed to a small woman and said, "That's her over there … . There's no one like her." Then Rigo paused and said, "I've been locked up for a year and half. She comes to see me every Sunday. You know how many buses she takes every Sunday [to see me]?"
LORD (all caps or small caps)
Rigo started sobbing with the same ferocity as before. After catching his breath, he gasped through the sobs, "Seven buses. She takes … seven … buses. Imagine."
reflects the original term yhwh. Because the Jews considered this title to be very sacred, they did not pronounce it.
Boyle concluded this story with an analogy. God, as revealed in the person of Jesus, loves us like Rigo's mother loved her son—with commitment, steadfastness, and sacrifice. According to Boyle, we have a God "who takes seven buses, just to arrive at us." All throughout Jesus' ministry—his birth on Christmas morning, his meals with sinners, his healing of the sick, his death on the cross for our sins—he showed us the heart of God, the God who will take a long journey of love to find us.
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The Mother of a Gang Member Demonstrates God's Love
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
Gregory Boyle, Tattoos on the Heart (Free Press, 2010), pp. 26-27
Gregory Boyle, Tattoos on the Heart (Free Press, 2010), pp. 26-27
Exegete
Jesus
Luke 1:69 Jesus
Gk. - tender
σπλάγχνον splagchnon; of unc. or.; the inward parts the emotions:—affection(3), affections(1), heart(4), hearts(1), intestines(1), tender(1).
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We love because he first loved us.
How does a moment last forever
How can a story never die
It is love we must hold onto
Never easy but we try
Sometimes our happiness is captured
Somehow a time and place stands still
Love lives on inside our hearts and always will
Minutes turn to hours, days to years and gone
But when all else has been forgotten
Still our song lives on
Maybe some moments weren't so perfect
Maybe some memories not so sweet
But we have to know some bad times
Or our lives are incomplete
Then when the shadows overtake us
Just when we feel all hope is gone
We'll hear our song and know once more
Our love lives on
How does a moment last forever?
How does our happiness endure?
Through the darkest of our troubles
Love is beauty, love is pure
Love pays no mind to desolation
It flows like a river through the soul
Protects, perceives and perseveres
And makes us whole
Minutes turn to hours, days to years and gone
But when all else has been forgotten
Still our song lives on
How does a moment last forever?
When our song lives on
How Can a moment last forever lyrics
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Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children
Each moment every day is an opportunity to share God’s love. What started a few thousand years ago wit a promise to Abraham was culminated at the moment of the birth of Christ. A Kingdom that would last forever and bring salvation to the people. Though not just the chosen people of Israel but for all. This moment became the beginning of a life so dedicated to loving people that He gave up His life. How do we make this moment last forever? By sharing the love each day with everyone. It does not take being an in-your-face witness of Christ but just a simple act of love. Show acceptance, show willingness, show openness; show His love. This holiday season is an opportunity for each of us. People always seem a little more available and gracious around Christmastime. Why not use this to reflect what God did so long ago by spreading a little kindness and empathy. Philanthropia - love for mankind.
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Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
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When does a moment last forever, when we share the moment. How does a moment last forever. How can a story never die? It is love we must hold onto. Never easy but we try. Sometimes our happiness is captured. Somehow a time and place stands still. Love lives on inside our hearts and always will