The Holy Spirit is not an amorphous abstraction. Spirit is active and embodied in our efforts to transform ourselves and transform the world.

This was a long Minnesota winter. My snow-bound friends and I bemoaned the stubborn cold and the elusive thaw. We collectively longed for spring and for the warmth, the growth, and the new life it brings.

The renewal of life associated with spring reminds me of the activity of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is known in scripture and theological tradition as the life-giver, healer, and Perfector of creation. One of the “two hands of God” (Irenaeus), the Spirit draws, awakens, and breathes new life into creation and humanity.

In its original form, the Nicene Creed (325 A.D.) simply asserted, “we believe in the Holy Spirit.” In 381, more was added: the Spirit is “the Lord, the giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father; who with the Father and Son together is worshipped and glorified.” The Holy Spirit was understood to be fully divine, an equal “hypostasis” (person) with the Father and to the Son. Why did it take so long for the Church to articulate clearly and emphatically that the Spirit is fully divine and equally worthy of worship, prayer, and praise as the Father and the Son?

Read more…

Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell used to tell a story about a mission he flew in his F2H Banshee off the coast of Japan in 1950. He had missed the rendezvous point when his instruments mistakenly picked up a signal leading him away from his aircraft carrier. Lovell felt hopelessly lost as he flew circles in the dark over the stormy Sea of Japan. As he tried to use his map light, suddenly all of the electronics in the cockpit shorted out and everything went black. A bad omen he thought, until he began looking down at the water below. With the absence of light in the cockpit his eyes began to adjust to the dark, making it possible to see the faint trail of phosphorescent algae which had been churned up by the propellers of the carrier. He began to follow the trail which lighted the way home to the carrier where he landed safely. Were it not for the failed light and the resulting darkness, Lovell might have been forced to ditch his plane. The darkness saved him.

Click here to read more.

Miriam’s pulse rate was soaring. So would yours or mine. Accountability was one thing, but having the Almighty personally deliver a lecture with a side of leprosy was quite another kind of experience.

One minute Miriam was exercising her “family license” by criticizing her adult little brother, Moses. The next minute her olive skin was oozing pasty white with leprosy. (See Numbers 12.)

Miriam believed her opening complaint against Moses was nothing more than a legitimate concern. After all, a Cushite had invaded her inner circle. Feeling nudged off her perch, Miriam saw Moses’ wife as an outlaw instead of a sister-in-law. Not even her love for her brother could stop her tongue. Her mouth sought to do what Pharaohs armies could not: Bring down Moses. With the aid of her younger brother, Aaron, the two sibling sewers erupted. Then suddenly, both her brothers — Moses and Aaron — looked on in horror as the God who destroyed Egypt now took on their sister.

Click here to read more.

Edwin and Jennifer Woodruff Tait

Sometime in November, as things now stand, the “Christmas season” begins. The streets are hung with lights, the stores are decorated with red and green, and you can’t turn on the radio without hearing songs about the spirit of the season and the glories of Santa Claus. The excitement builds to a climax on the morning of December 25, and then it stops, abruptly. Christmas is over, the New Year begins, and people go back to their normal lives.

The traditional Christian celebration of Christmas is exactly the opposite. The season of Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, and for nearly a month Christians await the coming of Christ in a spirit of expectation, singing hymns of longing. Then, on December 25, Christmas Day itself ushers in twelve days of celebration, ending only on January 6 with the feast of the Epiphany. Exhortations to follow this calendar rather than the secular one have become routine at this time of year. But often the focus falls on giving Advent its due, with the Twelve Days of Christmas relegated to the words of a cryptic traditional carol. Most people are simply too tired after Christmas Day to do much celebrating.

Click here to read more…

Sometime this Christmas season, you are sure to hear those rousing words of Handel’s Messiah, taken from Revelation 11:15: “The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” (ESV). Tradition has it that the music so moved King George II that he stood to his feet out of respect for an even greater King. The rest of the audience followed, as have audiences for generations since. The Hallelujah Chorus is the culmination of our Messiah’s story, a story that Handel rightly showed was foretold by the Prophets, heralded in the Annunciation, and has at its heart a message about a king and a kingdom.

Sadly, that kingdom message is often missed in our saccharine retelling of the Christmas story. Somehow we glaze over the angel’s words to Mary, that she will give birth to a son whose “kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:33). The myopia continues as we read the Gospels. We skim over pages of kingdom references. We miss Christ’s inaugural address when he opens the scroll of Isaiah and proclaims that Scripture has been fulfilled in the people’s hearing (Luke 4:21). We muddle through the parables that tell us repeatedly, “The kingdom of God is like ….” And we glance over the very reason our Savior was crucified, a sign crudely scrawled beneath the cross: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” (John 19:19).

Along the way, the Good News is truncated. An earth-shaking, kingdom-sized announcement is reduced to a personal self-help story. Our gospel has grown too small.

So what was Jesus talking about when he came announcing a kingdom?

Click here to finish this article.

The story of Santa Claus’s namesake.

Ted Olsen

December 6 marks Saint Nicholas Day, and I thought I’d mark the beginning of the Christmas season by telling the story of Santa Claus’s namesake. But before I do, I should remark that, historically speaking, there’s not much we really know about Nicholas. Though he’s one of the most popular saints in the Greek and Latin churches, his existence isn’t attested by any historical document. All we can say is that he was probably the bishop of Myra (near modern Finike, Turkey) sometime in the 300s.

That said, there are of course many legends about Nicholas, and since these have influenced people throughout history, and they likely illustrate something about the historical man, they are fair game for a publication, like ours, devoted to Christian history.

Click here to finish the article.

STUDENT LOCK-IN on Friday, December 31.  Starting @ 7 PM with pickup at 8 AM on Saturday, January 1.  Enjoy Pizza, Games, Movies, etc.  Students will need to bring sleeping bags, pillows, cover, etc.  Ages 12-18.  For more info contact Tim Langdon.

Kimberly D. Malkogainnis

Start close to home

Get on your knees with your family, and covenant with God to simplify your life. Determine to glorify and worship your external Lord rather than the holiday myth of overworking yourself into exhaustion for a “perfect” Christmas season.

Ask family members which traditions they most want to continue, and ask them to give something in exchange. If your daughter craves homemade cookies, ask her to do the vacuuming or errands to free your time and energy to help her bake. If your family needs a decorated evergreen to make them feel jolly, ask them to take over; explain that your job will be taking snapshots or video of the activity. If they’re too young to pitch in, you’re fortunate, because you can start them off with simpler traditions.

Click here to finish reading this article.

The Christian faith in the United States is in the midst of a propaganda war. The new atheist and secularist have launched an attack on religion in general, and Christianity in particular. This is seen in the current debates about the celebration of Christmas. Some businesses have replaced “Merry Christmas” with “Happy Holidays.” I recently saw a news report that branch managers of Wachovia Bank have been told not to decorate with Christmas trees. The American Atheist have initiated a billboard campaign that proclaims “You know its a myth – this season celebrate reason.”

Christian organizations have responded in various ways. Sometimes it seems like a shouting match – there is a lot of noise, but no one is listening. I think that we are missing an opportunity.  Maybe we should take an opportunity to tell the story.  The next time someone says “Happy Holidays,” instead of retorting “Merry Christmas” take a moment to tell them why you celebrate Christmas.  Tell them the story of angels, the Virgin Mary, and the Christ child who is God with us. Tell them your story – of how Jesus brought to you the forgiveness of sin, filled your heart with love and joy, and the promise of eternal life.  Sing to them the angel’s song – “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Maybe, instead of trying to save the Christmas holiday we should make an extra effort this Christmas season to share Christ with the world.

Most Christians are familiar with the seasonal motto “Jesus is the reason for the season.”  But it seems that with all the holiday events, shopping, and entertaining that we too often forget to take time to worship and celebrate Christ.  There are a few things that I like to do during this season that that keep the meaning of Christmas alive in my heart.  I would like to share them with you and maybe they will help you and your family keep Jesus as the center of your holiday celebration.

First, my perennial favorite is A Charlie Brown Christmas.  All of the Peanuts gang gets carried away by the commercialism of Christmas.  Linus brings them, and us, back to Jesus as he retells the Christmas story.  This program should be a part of every family’s Christmas.

Also, I really like The Nativity Story, a movie that was released in 2006.  It tells the story of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in a beautiful way.  One of the things that I really liked about this movie is that is captures the culture of the first century.

If you need help with family devotions during this season, check out A Family Advent: Keeping the Savior in the Season.  This is a good guide to leading your family in Advent worship that includes devotions and activities.

If you are interested in learning about all the Christian traditions behind Christmas, you will want to read The Origins of Christmas.  This is a concise but informative book that will fascinate the reader with the stories behind the various Christmas traditions.

Finally, if you are serious about keeping Jesus at the center of Christmas, then you are going to have to put Santa Clause in his proper place.  The best way to do this is to teach our children about the historical St. Nicholas.  You will enjoy Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend.

Following are some helpful websites:

The Meaning of Christmas: Look Deeper

All Things Christmas

New Advent – Christmas

O Christmas Tree: The Meaning and Origin of the Christmas Tree

_______________________________________________

The greatest event in the history of the world is described by the words of John: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 NKJV). The Incarnation of the Eternal Word – Jesus Christ – is the great redemptive miracle of the Christian faith.  The union of humanity and divinity in the person of Jesus means that his crucifixion and resurrection have defeated the power of sin and death and brings the promise of eternal life to all who believe.  This redemptive event is most often associated with the celebration of Christmas. However, in the last century the celebration of Christmas has lost its focus on Jesus Christ.  So, the challenge before us is to discover, or rediscover, ways by which the church can once again focus its worship on this wonderful event.

Many centuries ago, the church established a sacred calendar to inspire its worship.  The sacred calendar focused on God’s saving acts as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.  The first sacred season is Advent.  Advent is a season of expectation.  For centuries the Hebrew prophets declared the coming of the Anointed One. The Hebrew people patiently waited for the “consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25).  Each year as the church celebrates Advent, the people of God experience a season of hopeful expectation.  Just as the ancient Hebrews anticipated the advent of the messiah, the church presently anticipates the second advent of Jesus Christ. Advent focuses our worship on the fullness of Christ’s redemption – Incarnation and consummation.  Thinking of the sacred calendar as a clock is helpful to understanding Advent. Just as twelve o’clock is the ending and beginning of the day (AM and PM), so too Advent is the ending and beginning of the sacred calendar.

Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas (usually the last Sunday of November, or the first Sunday of December).  The four Sundays of Advent are celebrated by emphasizing biblical themes of expectation and hope. The first Sunday of Advent emphasizes the Second Advent of Christ (Matthew 24:37-44; Mark 13:24-37; Luke 21:25-36). The theme for the second and third Sundays of Advent focuses on the ministry of the John the Baptist: Prepare the Way of the Lord (Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8; Luke 3:1-6) and The Coming One (Matthew 11:2-11; John 1:6-8; 19-28; Luke 3:7-18). The fourth Sunday of Advent focuses on the Virgin birth of Christ (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 1:39-55).

Because Advent has not been celebrated in most Pentecostal churches, the various Advent themes may seem somewhat alien.  But there are many ways that Advent can be observed that will be helpful in Pentecostal congregations.  The celebration of Advent is traditionally centered on the Advent wreath.  It is comprised of a wreath of evergreens with four candles placed around the circumference and a fifth candle in the center – the Christ candle.  The wreath should be placed at the altar, or on the stage.  Each Sunday, beginning with the first Sunday of Advent, the appropriate candle is lighted with an appropriate song or hymn and reading from the Scripture.  This is a good opportunity to involve children, or entire families.  The progressive lighting of the candles symbolizes the growing anticipation of the coming of the Light of the world.  The Christ candle should be lighted during a Christmas Eve service, or as the final act of worship on the fourth Sunday of Advent.  The lighting of candles for Advent is an ancient Christian tradition.  According to legend, during the 4th and 5th centuries, the entire Roman Empire was illuminated by the candles of believers during Advent.  The Advent wreath could also be used in Christian homes as a teaching device to instruct our children about the “reason for the season.”

Advent worship could also include dramas and dances that depict the theme of the season. Also, choral songs and sermons should be presented during worship that serves to keep the redemptive theme of Advent prominent in the minds of worshipers.  For the past several years, I have designated the midweek services during Advent to teach the biblical and traditional foundations for the Advent/Christmas season.  This includes lessons on the infancy narratives of the Gospel, and historical background behind other seasonal images, such as:  the Virgin Mary, the three wise men, and the star of Bethlehem.  Also, this is an excellent time to teach the story and traditions about Nicholas of Myra, the ancient Bishop who has been transformed into Santa Claus.

It may surprise many Christian parents to discover that most of the contemporary themes of Advent and Christmas celebrations – Santa Claus, gift giving, and Rudolf – are less than 150 years old.  The present culture has co-opted, redefined, and even paganized an important holy season of the Christian church.  If we are to succeed in preserving the significance of the Advent season, it must begin with intentional observances in church, and at home.