Now, we wait

Announcements:

21 Days of Prayer and Fasting

Winter Camp - February 4-6th

Good morning saints. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas

Christmas eve we had to my estimation about 60 people in the building - which was wonderful. It was a blessing to host some of your family that don’t usually make it out to church on Sunday mornings.

It was our first service with the new monitor system. I wanted to share with you that God used someone who joins us online to pay for that entire system. We are blessed, and well cared for - for a little church in Keokuk.

Before we get into the word, lets pray.

Christmas seems to bring a lot of things with it. It is a joyful, wonderful season, full of painful memories and experiences that we tie together with it. We celebrate the birth of Jesus - in a world that we know rejected Him while He was walking among us, and rejects Him still today. In so many ways, it seems as though not much has changed at all. And that could be for a lot of reasons.

The unfortunate thing about Christmas, is that we get really excited about it for a moment.. and then it is over. We spent most of the day Friday getting ready for the service that night. We spent already several days throughout the week, making things ready here at the church. Some of that you can see, some was just cleaning up closets and putting things away.. but we have been busy - making ourselves ready for one big deal event… to celebrate Christmas.

And we did the same in our homes too. Cleaning, cooking, wrapping, making ourselves ready for this one big deal. to celebrate Christmas.

And then its over.

Our bellies are full - our hearts are contented - or they aren’t… either way, eventually it is over. Life continues. Because the things that we hope for and celebrate aren’t realized yet. We aren’t there yet. In a lot of ways, it is exactly what the wise men experienced.

They came, celebrated, and then - they went home.

Matthew 2:12 CSB

And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.

Even the shepherds - had to go back to work. Even though they knew wonderful things had happened, and their lives were changed forever..

Luke 2:20 CSB

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told.

This is where we find ourselves too.

Full of grace, able to be children of God, knowing that God has come, born King of Israel… Jesus was born in Nazareth, wrapped tightly in a manger. We came, we celebrated… like Mary, we stored up treasures in our heart.

Ephesians 1:7 CSB

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace

And we return to our own country, by another route.

We return to the hills, glorifying and praising God for all of the things we have seen and heard.

We go back to our jobs, our homes, our lives… not the same.

Now we wait. But what does that look like?

The identity that I just described, that we get to enjoy, because of who Jesus, is described in Colossians 3:12 like this:

God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved.

The star didn’t appear to everyone… The angels didn’t appear to everyone… only to those who would respond to it. Chosen by God.

Holy - which means to be set apart.

Dearly loved… Why did God send His son and not yours? Because he loves the world and the people in it.

And then comes the instructions.

We are waiting - anxiously - for the return of Jesus. We know all of the wonderful things… now we wait.

And while we wait, the Apostle Paul has some things that we can be doing.

Colossians 3:12–17 CSB

Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive. Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Put on - Let yourselves be known for - show off - compassion, kindness, humility gentleness, and patience

He says - to the outside world, look like this. Because you are chosen, holy and dearly loved...

You should be known for compassion

You should be known for kindness

You should be known to be humble and gentle and patient.

With one another… we have to bear with one another… each other’s burdens, eachothers struggles and hardships.

We have to be forgiving with one another. And then there is this explanation of this.

Just as the lord has forgiven you.

Micah 7:18–19 CSB

Who is a God like you, forgiving iniquity and passing over rebellion for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not hold on to his anger forever because he delights in faithful love. He will again have compassion on us; he will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.

Such a beautiful description of forgiveness. A blessing of grace.

Put on love… we have discussed this before, as the Apostle Paul describes in Corinthians - we are to love people. And he wrote that definition to the church because they didn’t do it well.

You were called to peace… Let peace reign.

That tells me there is a decision that we have to make, to allow peace to rule and reign.

We can choose chaos.

Let the word dwell.

Admonish each other. Urge one another. Warn one another. Keep each other on track.

Colossians 3:16–17 CSB

Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Thankful. abundantly thankful.

Ephesians 1:7 CSB

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace