Tommy Cash - November 30, 2014
Hurry Up and Wait
We are addicting to achievement. Today, even companies and app developers are rewarding performance with badges and achievements because they know if we can measure our progress, we work harder. Many of us would love to have a divine leaderboard as well, to know how well we are progressing toward God through church, reading the Bible, acts of kindness, etc. But Paul reveals to the Corinthians that God doesn’t have a divine scoreboard. God hasn’t gamed religion. Because we don’t have to earn, we are free to respond to what God has already done for us!
From Series: "Thrill of Hope"
It seems like everyone's in a competition to "Do Christmas Well" these days. From party after party to non-stop shopping for all those perfect gifts to endless feasts, we don't feel like we can stop. But Advent teaches us that to do Christmas well, we have to learn to wait. And waiting is not something we are very good at. Learning to wait well is the key to doing Christmas well. And it's very good news! In this series, we'll learn that waiting brings back the thrill of hope!
More From "Thrill of Hope"
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New Year’s Eve is also the seventh day of Christmas, which means on New Year’s Eve, we’re barely halfway through the Church’s celebration of God coming among us!
Over the weekend, we’ll been wrapping up our last Christmas parties, getting in a little more travel to one more set of relatives, exchanging the last few gifts. We’re also turning our attention to 2018. School’s back in session in a couple of days, we return to our routines, and we hope this next year will be better.
So as we slide out of the Christmas season into the New Year, let’s talk about the hope we have for the new year.
Let’s talk about a hope we find in the Christmas story.
Something that gets lost in the Christmas season is the global sweep of the Christmas story. In the joy and beautiful chaos of the holidays, we lose track of the fact that Christmas was a world-changing event, that the angels declared to shepherds that Jesus’ birth was good news for ALL PEOPLE, a harbinger of peace for the whole earth.
What does it mean to celebrate Christmas with a global vision?
What does it mean to look for peace on Earth and goodwill for all peoples? How can our anticipation of the New Year be laced with hope both personally and for the whole world?
