Back Creek Church | Charlotte, NC

Note: there are audio issues with the first two minutes of this recording.

As we navigate difficult circumstances in life, Psalm 117 expresses God's invitation to be refreshed as we praise Him.

Those who Jesus says are truly blessed are those who see things as they really are - and as a result, they mourn. And to those who mourn things as they really are, Jesus alone gives comfort: He is making all things new. Those who mourn see the HOLINESS of God. Those who mourn see the HORROR of sin. Those who mourn see the HOPELESSNESS of the world. But those who mourn see JESUS as he really is: the only true and lasting source of comfort in the universe! Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Being "poor in spirit" means being emptied (in some specific ways) of self, that we might be filled with Christ.The poor in spirit renounce self-reliance and embrace Christ-reliance.The poor in spirit renounce self-righteousness and receive Christ's righteousness.The poor in spirit renounce self-rule and surrender to Christ's rule (receive the kingdom of heaven).

The world's idea of #blessed usually comes down to power, possessions, popularity, pleasant experiences, and/or prosperity. But what does God say it means to be blessed? Being blessed is about the disposition of God toward us. Being blessed is about the orientation of our lives around God and not the world.Being blessed is about the anticipation of eternity. The problem is that none of us qualify to be "blessed." We do not faithfully orient our lives around God and His Word, so we cannot earn his pleased disposition or anticipate eternal life with him... unless we run to Jesus! It is in Christ that we are truly blessed.

The best way for God's family to honor Christmas in our hearts and try to keep it all the year is to keep the Lord's Day, every week, all week long. Like the shepherds, we gather. Like the angels, we celebrate. Like the wise men, we give. As God's children, we receive His greatest present, Jesus. And like the shepherds, we go. Like the shepherds, when we go, our worship and our message go with us.

Jesus is God's greatest present. Have you received Him?

The best way for God's family to honor Christmas in our hearts and try to keep it all the year is to keep the Lord's Day, every week, all year long. Like the shepherds, we gather. Like the angels, we celebrate. And like the wise men, we give. Like the wise men, we give our worship, our joy, and our gifts.

Every week, Christ's Church gathers to celebrate His incarnation. How do we celebrate? Like the angels, we celebrate by announcing the good news, ascribing glory to God, and advancing peace on earth.

Like the shepherds on the night of Christ's birth, we gather in response to good news. Like the shepherds, we gather because God invites us and meets us. But unlike the shepherds, it's not a one time event for us. We gather at God's invitation and in expectation of God's presence weekly(!) on a day more significant than December 25 - the Lord's Day.

"To all who did receive [Christ], to those who believed on His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." We who believe are family, not because of natural descent or natural desire, but because of supernatural delivery.

Yahweh gave His people three offices to help lead them in the way of righteousness: prophet, priest, and king. The problem is that the leaders were as unrighteous as the people. So, God gave His promise: He would send a Shepherd who would be the true Prophet, Priest, and King. He would be Yahweh Tsidkenu: The Lord Is Our Righteousness.

Yahweh Shalom provides peace to His people through His presence, His power, His promises, and ultimately, His Person.

"Yahweh Yireh" means The Lord Will Provide.Yahweh Yireh provides the test(s) we need, the faith we need, and ultimately, the Substitute we need.

God's names represent His being, reveal His nature and character, and rescue His people.The name El Shaddai means "God Almighty" and reveals that God is able to reach us where we are, able to rewrite our stories, and able to redeem us forever.

God's names represent His being, reveal His nature and character, and rescue His people.The name Adonai reveals that God is the Lord who rules everything that is, owns everything we have, provides everything we need, and demands everything we are.

God's names represent His being, reveal His nature and character, and rescue His people.In Moses's encounter with God in Exodus 3, the Lord reveals His covenant name, Yahweh, the self-existent, unchanging, and faithful God.

God's names represent His being, reveal His nature and character, and rescue His people.Genesis 1 reveals God as Elohim, the transcendent, personal Creator of the universe.

God's name represents His being, reveals His nature and character, and rescues His people.

The younger son runs from his father in rebellion, and the father runs toward him. The older son runs from his father in self-righteousness and his father runs toward him.

Sinners are drawn to Jesus. Jesus is drawn to sinners.

Belonging to Christ means peace with God, peace with each other, and peace in all circumstances.

A world where belonging is counterfeit needs a church where belonging is real - where we who belong to Jesus extend that belonging to one another by embracing our new identity and embracing one another.

Behavior does not merit belonging. But knowing that we already and unconditionally belong through Christ, that changes us - including our behavior.

When we belong to Christ and are united to Him by faith, it changes everything about our lives. Christ becomes our life, and we receive a new focus in life, a new foundation for life, and a new future of life.

We all have a longing to belong because we were created by God for belonging. We broke our belonging and threw away our relationship with God through sin. Yet, Christ loves us so much that He came to live and die and rise again so that we could be restored and reconciled, and finally know true belonging.

I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me... Fear the Lord and find in Him a strong fortress.

Submission is part of our mission because it is a practical demonstration that our real hope is in God. His wisdom is better than our freedom. We submit to our shepherds (elders and ministers).We submit to our siblings (fellow believers in Christ). We submit to our Savior (everything - our selves, our situations, our safety, and our sufferings)

Our mission is not easy, and along the way we forget our identity. Christ, the Chief Shepherd, has given us the good gift of shepherds (ministers and elders) in His church, to help us. Shepherds are to minister to us by:Overseeing Willingly.Serving Eagerly. Modeling Humbly.

How do we sustain with hope when we face opposition and suffering? We trust God because God is good. And we do good because we trust God.

We have been blessed by God to be a blessing to others. How do we bless others? By stewarding well what God has entrusted to us. We steward our selves.We steward our stuff.We steward our service. All for the blessing of others, as an expression of our mission of hope.

Suffering in this world is inevitable. How can we suffer with hope?We bless one another in our suffering.We bless our enemies in our suffering.We bless with the Gospel, which gives us hope in our suffering.

Christian households are to be outposts of the kingdom of God in the world, shining hope to the world, with marriage as an essential building block. In marriage, husbands and wives are equal in status, different in role, and have the same goal: imitating Jesus through humility toward one another.

Our identity of hope is that we are exiles and sojourners in this world, having been born again to a living hope. But we are also invaders, waging war against the kingdom of darkness on the internal front against the passions of our flesh (by grace resisting them) and the external front against those who oppose us (by grace submitting to authority, silencing fools by doing good to them, serving others, suffering well, and in all things seeking Christ).

Our identity of hope: we are chosen by God, children of God, and the church for God. This passage teaches us that God means to dwell with His people and the Church is the spiritual house He is building. We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession.

We are not only chosen by God as elect exiles. In Christ, we are children of God!As children of God, we are called to holiness in the way we think.As children of God, we are called to holiness in the way we live.As children of God, we are called to holiness in the way we relate.

Having been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have a new identity of hope. We are no longer citizens of this world, but citizens of Christ's Kingdom - elect exiles.

Jesus meets us in our struggle with exactly what we need.Struggle: Fear (disciples huddled in a room afraid)Response: Peace (the risen Christ comes and proclaims peace)Struggle: Doubt (Thomas: "unless I see... I will never believe")Response: Assurance (Jesus: "Put your finger here... do not disbelieve, but believe")Struggle: Off Mission (disciples returning to their old way of life)Response: Commission (provision of what they need and restoration of Peter the denier)

The journey we see Mary Magdalene experiencing through the crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is parallel to the journey we take when the truth of the resurrection changes everything for us - Expectation, Devastation, Revelation, Proclamation.

Even in a world full of vanity, we can live a life of ultimate meaning and eternal significance - through relationship with God.

Life gets harder. But for those who remember God, it also gets sweeter. Wherever we are in life, it is almost certain that hard days are ahead. The Preacher of Ecclesiastes calls us to remember our Creator now so that we may have hope and meaning and even sweetness then.

We were created and redeemed for a great adventure, called to express our faith through taking risks with discernment.

How do we keep going in an unpredictable, volatile, vain world where even wisdom can't give us all the answers we want? Trust and obey. The failure of human wisdom to figure it all out is actually a very good thing and a blessing, because it calls us into a trust relationship with God. Trust God for His provision. Obey God for your good. Trust God for your eternity.

To navigate and enjoy life under the sun, we need wisdom. Wisdom in our perspective, character, lifestyle, work, and speech.

The key to enjoying life is never the gifts. It is always the Giver.