Protecting God

Welcome

Merry Christmas!

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I would like to begin with a reading from Matthew 2.

Matthew 2 NET

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the time of King Herod, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem2 saying, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 After assembling all the chief priests and experts in the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they said, “for it is written this way by the prophet: 6 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are in no way least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ” 7 Then Herod privately summoned the wise men and determined from them when the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, inform me so that I can go and worship him as well.” 9 After listening to the king they left, and once again the star they saw when it rose led them until it stopped above the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star they shouted joyfully.11 As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.12 After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back by another route to their own country. 13 After they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to look for the child to kill him.” 14 Then he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and went to Egypt. 15 He stayed there until Herod died. In this way what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled: “I called my Son out of Egypt.” 16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men to kill all the children in Bethlehem and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men. 17 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud wailing, Rachel weeping for her children, and she did not want to be comforted, because they were gone.” 19 After Herod had died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” 21 So he got up and took the child and his mother and returned to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the regions of Galilee. 23 He came to a town called Nazareth and lived there. Then what had been spoken by the prophets was fulfilled, that Jesus would be called a Nazarene.

Song: Rich Mullins’ My Deliverer

Covered by Melody Hwang

Why did Joseph need to protect God?

Flee

Stay in Egypt (hide)

Implied that Herod could kill God manifested in the flesh.

What can we learn about responding to threat (persecution, sickness, etc.)?

A Treasure in Earthen Vessels

Just as God was miraculously born a human and as a human needed protection from his parents, God has left the gospel in us (a treasure in earthen vessels)

At times, God miraculously protects us

Other times, He expects us (either through intelligence and/or the leading of his Spirit) to protect ourselves (and his gospel)

The leading and guiding of the Spirit

Not all circumstances are the same

Examples of the miraculous are real:

The Plagues of Egypt

Moses parting the Red Sea

Joshua stopping the Sun

The Walls of Jericho

The Raising of Lazarus

Jesus walking on water

But we also have examples of human action:

Noah built the ark (at God’s direction)

Esther interceded for her people (at her uncle’s instruction)

The disciples helped Paul escape Damascus in a basket

Not all circumstances are the same

We do not expect to walk on water

We do not all sell our houses and hold our property in common

The Story of Doug (HIV)

Our response to COVID-19

Unlike HIV, COVID-19 is transmitted through the air (aerosolized)

The Spirit knew this

We have followed the leading of the Spirit

We give liberty to our brothers and sisters around the world to also follow the leading of the Spirit

You do not attend Newark UPC because you expect us to conform. Every single person who is a part of our church was attracted by Newark’s uniqueness. So you should not be surprised that we are going to approach COVID-19 uniquely.

He gave us prophetic word that there was coming a season in which we would only have him but he would be all that we needed

Our diverse congregation has always maintained the freedom of each individual and family to live their lives as dictated by their understanding of the Scriptures and their relationship with God

We do not control people’s lives

Each of our circumstances are unique and the decisions we have to make in this season of COVID-19 are unique

We have people who are able to completely quarantine by working remote

We have front-line health care workers who are exposed daily

The Pastoral Team has and will continue to assess how to proceed safely as a community

Ultimately, I am responsible for those decisions and I will answer for them when the pandemic has ended but not until the pandemic has ended

We cannot bring those diverse individuals and families with their diverse decisions (both of choice and necessity) together yet because it will mean death

I am willing to die

I am willing for you to die

But not when God directs to protect you

Even as the pandemic recedes with the advent of the vaccines, we will continue to follow the guiding principles of maintaining individual and family decisions while guarding the community as a whole

The next milestone regarding our continued assessment is when there has been a transition of power in the Presidency of the United States. Please join me in praying for our leaders and our government, as the scriptures instruct.

2020: A Year of Unexpected Change

From the beginning, the Spirit has led us to rest in him and open our eyes and learn

It has required us to adapt but with that adapting we have continued to learn

We have learned that the core of the church is faithful

You have been faithful to our Digital Campus Broadcasts Tuesday - Sunday (6 days a week)

You have been faithful to Small Groups on Zoom

You have been financially faithful

2018 and 2019 were successively record setting years for contributions

2020, with all of its financial woes, was only 6.7% down from 2019 contributions and was 2% up from 2018 contributions

Our Missions giving has placed us 3rd per capita and 22nd in actual dollars out of all the churches in the UPCI

God has been faithful to us and you have been faithful to him

2021: A Year of Expected Change

Continue to be faithful

Our daily broadcasts (Tuesday - Sunday)

Our Small Groups on Zoom

In your giving, both to Missions and the local church

Trust us as we continue to lead you through the pandemic and then apply what we have learned as we come out of the pandemic

Bottom Line:

We cannot be like those early Christians (mostly Jewish by culture) who clung to the physical expression of God’s presence in the Temple and refused to follow the leading of the Spirit. Less than 50 years after Jesus ascended, the Temple and Jerusalem were destroyed. They were no longer relevant. And history tells us that Jewish Christians were extinct within another generation. They refused to learn. They refused to adapt. They clung to their preferences. They could not hear the voice of the Spirit over the shouts of what they were used to.

We must be like the Christians of Antioch. Willing to learn. Willing to adapt. Willing to let go of their preferences as the Spirit led them. The church of Antioch was not destroyed. In fact, we owe the church of Antioch for the Apostle Paul who took the gospel to people who knew nothing of the gospel and did it using methods that were unexpected.

Will we come back to in-person services? Absolutely! But you should expect change. We will continue to follow the Spirit. The will of God at any cost.

John 3:5–8 NLT

5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

We must resist the spirit of our world which is divided and angry and distrustful. We must stand for truth and justice through unity, patience, and faithfulness. We must not be Jerusalem, fearful and controlling. We must be Antioch, embracing change even as we protect and advance the gospel. I leave you with a song and invite you join me in welcoming our Lord and Savior (as he promised never to leave us or forsake us until the end) to be with us in 2021. May he faithfully lead and guide us as he has in 2020. Again, the will of God at any cost.

Song: Paul Baloche’s Angels from the Realms of Glory/Emmanuel

Covered by a group called Theophilus166