Dear Friends,
The following folk have sponsored an advent reader through CBM which are made available both online and in print:
- Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches
- Union d’Eglises Baptists Francophones du Canada
- Canadian Baptists of Quebec and Ontario
- CBWC
- CBM
This publication has deeply affected many. Several of CBWC folk have written in this piece but I want to share two with you today which I found particularly helpful. Bruce Martin from FBC Lethbridge and Shannon Youell, our church planting coordinator from The Forge in Victoria.
Advent may not be part of your tradition, experience or practice but it is sometimes helpful to have a framework for preparing for Christmas that is a strong counterpoint to the culture. Please feel free to prepare in your own way or follow through these advent readings. My wife Kerry and I are using the one from our church and I am augmenting that by using CBM’s resource.
Have No Fear
“If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Romans 8:31
In Genesis 12, Abram had every right to be afraid. He was called to leave his homeland, Haran, for a new country, Canaan. That journey – 1000 kilometres of unknown wilderness filled with who-knows-what dangers heading for who-knows-what in Canaan – would in itself be a pretty terrifying experience. Second, Abram, his family, and his flocks faced the frightening prospect of famine. But in both of those circumstances Abram seemed to show no fear. The record we have implies that he simply followed God’s leading, without much worry about the future. He trusted God completely. What a wonderful, peaceful way to live. May God give us such a simple, sincere, trusting faith!
However, as the family arrives in Egypt, Abrams’ faith seems to fail. He is terrified – to the point of allowing Pharaoh to have his wife. Apparently Abram has his “fear-threshold” too. What were the consequences of his decisions, made in fear? What can we learn?
God’s great mission is to bring people to faith and new life in himself. Our God is a missionary God, always reaching out to people with his love. He calls Abram to be part of that mission by being a blessing to others, too. When Abram walks in that calling and confidence, he seems unafraid – he knows God is with him. It’s when Abram loses sight of God’s call and care that he gets himself into trouble.
“All we have – ourselves – to him, and if that be all, that is enough.” – Watchman Nee
That sounds great, but it is so hard to live out. God’s call to us is to “be a blessing” to others as well. When we make that our aim, we need have no fear. To whom can we be a blessing?
Lord, give us your confidence to walk through the uncertain futures of our life unafraid.
Bruce Martin, Senior Pastor
First Baptist Church, Lethbridge, AB, CBWC
Promise, Prophecy and Proclamation
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went inot the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
And recovery of sight for the blind,
To set the oppressed free,
To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke 4: 16-21
Some thirty years after his birth, standing in a synagogue and reading from the Isaiah prophecy, Jesus proclaimed God’s strategy of the kingdom presence here on earth as it is in heaven; to free the captives, give voice for the voiceless, food for the poor, sight for the blind, belonging and healing for those relegated to the margins of community and restoration to the Lord’s favour, to his place of shalom.
This same prophet writes that this Prince of Shalom shall “…reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.” (Isaiah 9:7)
In between the prophecy and the proclamation in Mary’s revelation that God’s promises are about to be fulfilled – those living in darkness in the shadow of death, despair and desperation will be washed with a dawning light conceived in an unwed, shamed teenaged girl.
Within this promise, prophecy and proclamation is rejoicing. Those who society deems as losers, failures, unclean, less valued and ‘unredeemable’ are elevated and invited to the banqueting table!
The promise of Christmas is that God’s kingdom is established through Christ and upheld by justice that delivers all humanity from the captivity and oppression that became our fall, restoring us to community with God. This id God’s righteousness! And it is our righteousness – that we seek first the kingdom, the rule and reign of God’s plan for life and liberty and become both spiritual and tangible deliverers in our communities, cities and nations. We are deliverers of a justice that shatters the yoke that burdens heart, soul and spirit – the bar across shoulders that pushes people into the mud of desperation, and the rod of the oppressors who take away the destiny that each human has as image-bearers of God (Isaiah 9:4)
When John’s disciples were sent to find out if Jesus was the “one,” he sent them back with this description of the tangible presence of the kingdom among us: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.” (Matt 11:5)
Wherever this kind of righteousness is delivered, the kingdom is upheld, lives are transformed, community is enlarged, joy is increased and God’s creation rejoices.
Glory to God in the highest and Shalom for all!
Shannon Youell
Church Planting Coordinator/BC-Yukon Church Planting Director
The Forge, Victoria, BC, CBWC
24 Days of Giving
Help Canadian Baptists of Western Canada extend the season of family, feasting and celebration all year long.
We recently launched Celebration Dinners—free regional get-togethers where folks from a whole bunch of our churches can network, plan exciting new ministries, and enjoy a meal together. The 2014 Celebration Dinners were a big success and we’d love to offer them again in 2015, but we need your help to make them happen.
From December 2 to 25, the CBWC’s 24 Days of Giving your chance to support a good cause and be honoured with a big thank you, also called a perk.
Check out the perks at http://indiegogo.com/at/ CBWC including a Christmas treat basket and even a personalized thank you video from me!
Warmly,
In Christ,
Jeremy