Four Things on Friday
December 6, 2019
An Interesting
Article/Podcast
This article is a deep dive into the classic hymn, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. It explores
the history and scriptural background of the verses that proclaim God’s
salvation in Christ for us.
Quote I’m
Pondering
“So, who’s afraid of a few pious and joyful traditions?
Not those who are free in Christ.” – Chad Bird, discussing the freedom we have
as Christians to celebrate all aspects of Christmas – including the secular
traditions.
One Good Thing
This Week
We were contacted by an organization that is interested
in starting a fitness business/ministry here at Gloria Dei. I met with three
representatives of the organization on Thursday: a coach, their IT guy, and an
LCMS pastor. It is an interesting model that uses fitness training to build
relationships to grow opportunities to share the Gospel with them. It is no
secret that I am interested in (and struggle with) physical fitness. This is
because I see God’s salvation working in a holistic way, touching every aspect
of our lives, including our bodies. This also grabbed my attention because, during
my studies, I visited Christ Memorial Lutheran Church, St. Louis, MO and was
intrigued by their evangelism efforts, which include a health and fitness center.
There are three things that I find compelling about this
potential partnership:
1.
God cares about our bodies. We live in a time of
obesity leading to a host of other physical problems. This is an opportunity to
help bring health and healing to people.
2.
Fitness is a felt need that cuts across
demographics. It does not matter if a person is a Christian, Buddhist, or
pagan, bodies matter and the needs of the body can be a contact point to build
relationships and share the Gospel.
3.
There is a potential revenue stream here. Finances
matter, even if they do not drive our decision making process. Being good
stewards of financial opportunities matters, too.
There are many things we would need to figure out if we
were to pursue this opportunity. And I am not saying it is the right thing for
us to do to partner with these folks. But it was exciting to hear about how
they are transforming people’s lives physically and spiritually. We need prayer
and conversation before we pursue something like this.
Our Scripture
readings for the Second Sunday of Advent are:
Over the years I have learned that those who read the
Scripture lessons and spend a little time thinking about them before church on
Sunday get more out of the service.
The sermon is: Advent: Time to Repent
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