The Gifts of Christmas

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."- Luke 2:8‭-‬12 ESV

Rev. Dan Whang

Is our Christianity truly joyful? Or are we faking it? Is it a struggle to have joy? The core of Christianity is joy.

The joy of Christmas comes from the Good News of the baby Jesus coming to a broken world.

The shepherds are outsiders. They are outcasts from society. But in a flash of light, angels appear and proclaim the birth of Christ. The first reaction is one of fear and anxiety. It had been a long time since Israel had heard from God whether prophet or judge. So the people were afraid. Hence the first words of the angel, fear not! And immediately followed by the proclamation of joy.

God has sent salvation in his son. God is working out redemption, salvation, and restoration. With a backdrop of suffering, sin, and pain, we see a great joy come. So it still is today. So in the midst of stress, anxiety, rushing, and pain, we still have this great joy. Jesus has lived the perfect life and died for our sins. So we have eternal life and a perfect restored relationship with God.

How can we increase our joy?
+ Learn how to delay your gratification this season
+ Get rid of unhealthy comparison and competition in your life

Advent: The gifts of Christmas: Hope

But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.- Isaiah 9:1‭-‬7 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Hope animates our lives. It helps us to persevere through trials and difficulties. It drives us to make goals. But losing hope can kill us. It can make us like walking dead. Not only that, but we must have hopes that are good. There are bad hopes. We can hope in things that can only disappoint. Like an abused woman who hopes their abuser doesn't leave them; there are harmful things to hope for.

The ultimate source of hope

Isiah gives these words of hope. However this will not come to pass for three hundred years. The prophecy was spoken in past tense to indicate the confidence that it would come to pass.

To those who hope for joy, Jesus comes to fill us with joy. The harvest is the last step of farming. After plowing, planting, guarding against pests, and waiting patiently, finally, time to taste the fruits of their labor. But more so than anything else we can hope in, whether careers, relationships, our spouse, sports teams, or any other goal or dream...

To those hoping for freedom, Jesus provides true freedom. Israel was under Assyrians and the Romans. There were times of freedom between the slavery and political oppression. But the freedom Jesus gives is freedom from sin. Humans enslave because there is something horribly wrong inside each of us. Jesus comes to conquer sin and death not by strength, but by God's power. The day of the Midianites was the story of Gideon. God calls for the smallest army of the most incompetent soldiers to battle thousands of Midianites.

To those who hope in peace, Jesus answers that as well. Not just the absence of war, but wholeness. Everything working as it should, with justice and properly restored. Can we hope that this world will work properly and be restored by human hands? Can we expect that we will deal with each other lovingly and justly? Does history tell us that we are moving away from war, oppression, neglect, slavery, and hatred? No, we repeat it time and again, different people and different contexts with the same problems.

Faith begets hope. Faith is trusting that what God promises will come to pass because God is trustworthy. Hope is the feeling of excitement and anticipation. Hope animates us. It drives us to make goals and push forward. It is what allows Christians to enter hopeless situations and being hope for more than what circumstances may dictate. God will move. People will be changed. The world will be restored.

Gospel Thanksgiving

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. -1 Thessalonians 5:16‭-‬18 ESV

John Yun

It is one thing to feel gratitude, it is another to give thanks. One is a feeling. The other is an action. We may have trouble conjuring a feeling. But we can pursue the act of giving thanks. How often is our gratitude directed towards God? How do we give thanks to God?

Pray. Do not confuse it with mediation. Prayer is a conversation. We are not to simply consider what we should be thankful for. We should talk to God about what God has given to us.

How much of our prayer life is asking for things? Do we acknowledge what God has done for us? Do we meet God with a humble heart before it's savior? If our prayer life is only about asking God to give us this, to help us out of this situation, to get us... then something's missing.

We should thank God unceasingly. For every good thing God brings into our lives. If we counted all the things God brings, then we would be praying endlessly. This doesn't mean we have our heads bowed and eyes closed all day. But it is a conscious turning towards God. A God-consciousness. Knowing that God is always present and always involved in our lives.

Why is it so difficult to feel grateful? Children are taught to say thank you, even if they don't feel it. It is the polite thing to do. So it is with the children of God. We don't feel gratitude towards God. This is often a symptom of pride. We don't want to acknowledge that God deserves credit. A proud person feels they deserve a good life. It is a sense of entitlement. The key to deep gratitude is humility. "Every good and perfect gift comes from above..." Every good thing that comes is grace from God. It isn't something we can produce ourselves.

When a child receives a gift for their birthday or Christmas, they jump up and down in joy. They did not and could not have earned that gift. They receive with unbridled joy.

Another reason that we are ungrateful is because we are forgetful and blind. We forget what God has done as soon as he's answered our prayers. We only ask and ask and ask without reflecting on how God has answered our prayers. We don't see how God has been at work...

Finally, the last barrier to thankfulness is anxiety and idolatry. An anxious heart is rooted in feeling that God either doesn't care or will not provide. An idolatrous heart is searching for anything and everything to satisfy except God. Instead of keeping God front and center, we seek satisfaction in other things. We don't think God can or will satisfy.

How do we give thanks when we have all these things going wrong in our lives? Family troubles, relationship problems, trials, struggles at work, health issues... We can always give thanks in Christ. We have a Savior who suffered and knows our troubles intimately.

Gospel Spreading

Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.- Acts 11:19‭-‬26 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Every member is on mission (witnessing is priority!)

A great persecution had broken out in Jerusalem. This caused believers to spread out and preach the gospel as they went. Who spearheaded this massive spreading of the Gospel? The disciples were still in Jerusalem. It was the everyday believer. They lived their lives with gospel intention. They didn't want to leave Jerusalem. But even so, they witnessed about Jesus wherever they found themselves.

Perhaps that is you. You find yourself in Philly. But that wasn't what you wanted/planned. You're at a job or school that you're not crazy about. You are living in a neighborhood that you don't really like. But maybe that's where God wants you. He wants you to witness to that supervisor. He wants you to engage that neighbor. He desires that you help at your local school. Are you faithful to the call to make disciples in your current situation/circumstance?

Believers engaged everyone

The church at Antioch reached out to not just Jews, but the Hellenists as well. The church at this time usually reached out to the Jews. But Antioch was very diverse, if somewhat segregated, so we find that the gospel was shared with these wild pagans. What interest could they have in the God of the Jews? It was unbelievable. This is the first place where they were called Christians. Why? Because it was a diverse ethnic group. It was not just Jews, not just Indians, etc.

It is very similar to Philly. This city is so diverse, but also so segregated. Diversity is difficult. It is hard to be in community with those who are different from us. But this is what the church should look like. People of different ethnic, socio-economic status, political affiliation... making up the same church.

And the hand of the Lord was with them

It was the hand of God opening the hearts of people. It was God working through them. All these things cannot come about by our hard work alone. We need God. So we must pray for convicted hearts, kingdom growth, and wisdom & desire to love our neighbors.

Gospel Community: part 2

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.- Galatians 6:1‭-‬2 ESV

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.- James 5:19‭-‬20 ESV

Rev. Dan Whang

Truth telling

Pursuing Holiness through Accountability

Why is gospel community important?

We need to hear the truth. We need accountability. This reminds us of what sin is doing in our lives. It keeps us from drifting away. We do need a personal spiritual life, but that is not enough. We need a community that challenges and confronts sin in our lives.

Gospel community is hard

Speaking the truth in love requires love. We are selfish and harsh. We either don't confront because we don't care what that sin will do. Or we confront them in a harsh manner in order to belittle.

For those being confronted, there can be this fear of judgement. Or this need to defend ourselves. Finally, pride. We don't want to hear other people's feedback on our spiritual lives. Or maybe it's simpler than that, maybe we don't want to grow. Maybe we don't want to change, we're comfortable. Are you okay with your current state of spiritual stagnation?

How do we practically build each other up?

First, we need to realize that this is not a casual activity. We need to pray for God to empower us. For humility; for a selfless love. We must be in his word, so we can recognize sin.

Pray for your heart. If this bothers just you, perhaps you should bear with them. If it affects the community, then ask for another point of view. Not gossip, but rather if whether you discern rightly. Then confront them lovingly.

For those who are confronted, stop and consider the words of rebuke or admonishment. Put aside your pride and consult the word. See if there is truth in what was said. 

Gospel Transformation (Part 2)

Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.- Romans 7:16-‬25 ESV

Dr. John Applegate

A Picture of Addictions

For a layman to preach, one of the best ways to start is to address from where we come. Not to instruct about topics that we know little, but rather what we are familiar with.

Addiction to drugs are much like desire for other's approval. Addicts were seen as people with some sort of moral failure. Why then are we equating pride to addiction?

"Bondage to the rule of a substance, activity, or state of mind, which then becomes the center of life, defending itself from the truth so that even bad consequences don't bring repentance, and leading to further estrangement from God." - Ed Welch

Each person has different desires and natures that makes them vulnerable to various substances, activities... From gambling, drinking, eating, ... etc.

Challenges to Applying the Gospel

We go through these addiction cycles. We're told to apply the gospel, but what does that mean? We don't unpack the gospel and see how it maps and applies itself to each person's addictions and the rest of their lives.

We are aware of our conscious personality, but what of the the subconscious? A picture of a crack pipe, needle, or other drug paraphernalia can trigger the reward center of the brain in 33ms. Too fast for the conscious mind to process, but enough for the brain to start considering the addiction. It's like our addictions know how to bypass the guard at the front gate and go around to the easy back door.

The heart knows both the conscious and the subconscious. It drives them both. It is our core identity that drives our behavior. This is why we often co-op the gospel to drive our own desires and agendas. The Gospel is used and abused, often rationalized as a way to justify our sinful addictions.

The Gospel Path to Freedom

So what then? Are we to be forever stuck in this cycle of addiction? Paul calls us wretched men. And then tells us of our new identity in Christ. What does this mean?

We need to learn several things:

First, there is a fight. Self deceptions are coming. There is an enemy within, foremost among sinners. Prepare to spot the lies that will open the door for other sins to sneak by. We must prepare for the next attack rather than sitting in the dark.

Secondly, we need to know our counterfeit gods in our lives. There are competing desires that keep us from taking in the Gospel. They keep us from tapping into the power of the Gospel when the battle comes to our gates.

Lastly, consider the downsides of our sin. Burn the sweetness of Christ into our hearts. Consider the aftermath of sin, the guilt and remorse. Think of the intimacy we have with God and how this sin distances us from God. We need the pleasures afforded by Jesus to overtake the pleasures of our addictions/sin.

"Faith keeps us laying hold of the grace and mercy of Christ and thereby avoiding despair.  Repentance keeps us facing our ongoing struggle with sin and thereby avoiding pride." - How People Change by Timothy Lane and Paul Tripp

We are without hope without the gospel of Christ. This is our path out of addiction. Jesus came into our world to identify with the outcast, shameful, and guilty. We need not be afraid, Jesus came for those who struggle with guilt and shame.

Gospel Worship

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!" Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for." And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am! Send me." And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." Then I said, "How long, O Lord?" And he said: "Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled." The holy seed is its stump.- Isaiah 6:1‭-‬13 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

The making of worshippers

Isiah was a prophet during the reign of King Uzziah. He was walking into the temple when he received a vision. He saw angelic beings. These were pure beings compared to humans. So the angels covered the eyes and feet in an act of modesty. God was set apart even from the angels. He is so great that he is on a whole other level. Isiah sees this and he is lost, he is undone. Isiah was considered the most righteous man in his generation. But when he caught a glimpse of God, his sense of self worth and righteousness fell apart. As long as Isiah compared himself to his peers, he could consider himself righteous. But the moment he saw the greatness and righteousness of God, he saw himself as unclean. But God does not come to crush and judge, he comes to save. He sends the angel to cleanse him of sin. Then God asks for someone to go and speak to his people and not be heard. This is a job that nobody would want. Preach and get no response. Speak and be ignored. There is nothing for Isiah to gain from this. Isiah is not coerced. This is grateful response of one who is forgiven by God.

The pattern of encountering of God
. Sees God
. Sees his sin
. Receives grace and assurance
. Responds in grateful devotion
. Given a promise

The focus of worshippers

The story of Jesus is the central storyline of the Bible. Some consider the Bible to be a book of stories. A collection of good moral teachings. But we consider the Bible to be all about Jesus. The Bible is not like a bag of pearls, but rather if we grab a pearl, we will find that we have pulled out a necklace of pearls and Jesus is the centerpiece.

But it is not just the general worship of God. We worship God for his redeeming work through the life and death of Jesus. The gospel is how we focus our worship.

The shaping of worshippers

Why do we need to reminded again and again of the gospel? Doesn't it get old? Why are we called to worship again and again? Worship is where God does a work in our hearts. He is working on our hearts. Why would we need this? Because this world is constantly trying to turn us away from God and to worship other things. We are prone to wander. We are easily distracted from and forget the gospel.

Sundays are important. But we need more, we need daily gospel immersion. More than just worshipping on Sundays, our everyday lives should become a daily worship of God.