Christ Came Into the World!

photo credit: Bradley Buhro

Hebrews 10:5-7 (ESV)

5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body have you prepared for me;
6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”

In many ways, the book of Hebrews is the owner’s manual for the Old Testament sacrificial system. What are all those passages about and how do we properly understand them? For the writer of that important letter, the ultimate answer was that everything found their meaning in the Person and work of Jesus—a better servant, a better prophet, a better priest.

Behold the Lamb of God!

photo credit: Andy Purviance
It must have been an incredible moment, especially for those who had ears to hear and hearts prepared by God to understand the fullness of the Baptizer’s confession. John had known from the beginning that he was called to be the forerunner of the Messiah. He knew that he was not the Light come into the world, but the one ordained by Almighty God to bear witness of the Light, that all through Him might believe (John 1:6-9).

Waiting for His Appearing, with Faith

photo credit: openDemocracy

Hebrews 9:26-28
26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

It has been some 2000 years since our Lord ascended into heaven to take His rightful place at the right hand of God the Father. The wait has certainly been long, has it not?

A Day of Shame for Christ

photo credit: martinaphotography

Isaiah 53:3-4

He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.

Imagine, if you will, your most embarrassing moment. I am not talking about some small thing like your cell phone going off in church and everyone hearing the embarrassing song that is your ring tone (by the way, you know who you are). No, I am asking you to think about a moment of deep embarrassment.

Freedom for a Christian

photo credit: SonOfJordan
When he first said it, it was not what I expected. After all, he had been behind bars for the last six years and he was now a free man on the outside with so many choices and options. As many of you at Village know, I have been visiting with “Kevin” [name has been changed] since 2009 when his sister and brother-in-law called me one afternoon in the early spring of that year. Through three trials and many visits, we spoke of what it means to be a Christian on the inside of prison and what it means to be one on the outside—no difference at all, really, except for location.

Welcome!

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