Omc: Family Chapel

For this Sunday, we will look at Jesus' declaration that he is the Bread of Life. We will see how Jesus teaches us that there is a false "bread" that will never satisfy, a "bread of life" that provides the ultimate satisfaction, and how we might receive this bread of life.

The very first thing that Jesus does before starting his public ministry is to go off to the wilderness in silence and solitude. As we seek Christ first, we need to seek to do the same. Silence and solitude can transform our lives as it exposes our insecurity and as it solidifies our identity. We can rightly practice silence and solitude as we reserve, remove, relax, and receive.

As we strive to seek Christ first, one of the biggest challenges many of us will face is our busyness. We live such hurried lives with too much on our plates as we constantly rush from one thing to the next - and tragically, we wear our busyness as a badge of honor. Instead, we need to ruthlessly eliminate hurry from our lives because a life of hurry leads to being distracted, discouraged, self-centered, critical of others, and too busy for Jesus. The solution to a hurried life is to slow down and to simplify our lives around Jesus as his disciples.

As we seek Christ first, we need to press on with godly dissatisfaction and we need to press on towards God’s Kingdom completion. We press on with godly dissatisfaction because we still have a long way to go and we do have a hunger for more. And we can press on towards God's Kingdom completion as we follow behind the right runners and keep our eyes on the prize.

The message of Christmas is that we worship God who went to great lengths to be with us. And this brought us light, fellowship and joy. Therefore, Christmas is also a season for us to reflect in what ways we are truly seeking to be with Him and near Him.

As we look forward to Christ's return in this Advent season, what does Jesus' return mean for us? We see three incredible hopes with the Second Advent: the restoration of all creation, the presence of God for all time, and the healing of all hurts. We can look forward with great joy and hope to the return of our King, not because we are so faithful in our waiting, but because God is so faithful in His coming.

Advent (and really, the entire Christian life) is one of waiting. We await the return of our King as sojourners making our way home. But for the most part, we're pretty terrible at waiting. However, we are called to wait for Christ's return because his return is worth the wait and because his return is guaranteed. Furthermore, waiting isn't a passive activity, but rather we are to actively look forward to Christ's return by looking towards one another with kindness, by looking back at past examples of God's faithfulness, and by looking to maintain our Christian witness.

Matthew records Jesus' genealogy before he tells the Christmas story because he wants us to see what Jesus has come to do. In looking at his genealogy, we see that Jesus has come to fulfill all the covenant promises as well as to heal all our brokenness. The beautiful thing about Christmas is that Jesus invites us to attach our story to His story. From this peculiar family tree, we arrive at a Son, who would one day grow up to be nailed to a different tree so that all who put their faith in Him are able to join His family tree.

If sin kills renewal, repentance revives renewal. The Israelites come together to confront their sins and engage in heartfelt repentance through honest confession, intentional action, and accepting chastisement. Therefore, when we engage in heartfelt repentance, we experience the peace, restoration, and transformation of God.

As Ezra has returned to Jerusalem and begun teaching the people God's Word, hidden sins are brought to light. He mourns over sin because sin kills renewal. Sin kills renewal because sin leads to compromised faith, sin has serious consequences, sin dismisses God’s grace, sin disobeys God’s Word, and sin deserves God’s wrath. As such, we need to confess our sins before God in community with urgency, humility, honesty, and hope.

As Ezra has been called by God to go to Jerusalem to teach the people God's Word, he sets out to carry out that call to renewal. Through Ezra's example, we see three crucial components of rightly carrying out the call of God on our lives. Often, we can be so preoccupied trying to discern what God has called us to, that we don't think too much about how to carry out what God has called us to. But if we want to faithfully carry out God's call on our lives to pursue renewal, then we need to engage in faithful preparation, exercise risk-taking faith, and embody godly character.

Several years go by after the completion of the temple rebuilding and we are finally introduced to leader and scribe, Ezra. God sends Ezra in this pivotal moment in time to help Israel learn and obey the Word of God. This is a reminder that in the long process of renewal, the key to sustaining renewal is faithful adherence and growth in God's Word.

The Israelites begin rebuilding the temple once again and the opposition rises up to thwart their plans. But God, who works all things for the good of HIs people, uses their opposition to provide protection and provision for their renewal. Ultimately, God is the grand orchestrator of our renewal, and the people of God are called to respond with continual joyful worship.

As the returned Israelites set out to rebuild the temple in their pursuit of renewal, they face opposition from their adversaries. In our pursuit of renewal, we also have an adversary (Satan) and his playbook is quite similar to what the Israelites faced: deceptive lies, discouraging intimidation, and direct persecution. Thankfully, by God's grace, we can overcome these obstacles and hold fast in our pursuit of renewal through discernment, courage, and patience.

After the people return to the Promise Land, they prioritize practices that lead to renewal. While renewal is ultimately an act of God's sovereignty, God has graciously invited us to participate in certain practices that help cultivate renewal. In our passage we see three such practices: joyful obedience to God's Word, corporate worship with God's people, and honest lament in God's presence. May we prioritize these practices to better experience the work of renewal in our lives!