²³ “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

Matthew 5:23-24

Christmas is the season of gift giving. This is the season of presents. Ask any 5 year-old in our midst and they can tell you that, and this is a wonderful thing as we celebrate the ultimate gift of Christ. But there are some rules that go along with gift giving and one of them can be found here in this instruction from Jesus. If you would seek to make an offering, a freewill gift to God, you may not do so while there is something between you and your neighbor. That gift will not be accepted. Instead, you should leave it and go make things right with your brother first. In the same way, the nicest Christmas present will not cover up sin between you and your neighbor. This is a lie that you will hear in countless commercials. “Have you been a distant husband, make up for it with this beautiful neckless!” “Have you been failing as a mother, well just splurge a little extra this holiday season. This gift will say sorry for you.” No, it will not! Your mouth must say sorry for you. That gift will never do the trick. All the blessing of that gift that you intend will not be realized by the giftee when there is strife between you. Proverbs 17:1 “Better is a dry morsel with quietness, Than a house full of feasting with strife.” 

So, leave the gift at the door and first go in and make things right. Rather than trying to make up for your wrongs with your wallet, humble yourself, confess your sins to those you have wronged and don’t hold any sin back. Once you do that, then bring on the gift-giving and it will be bless-ed. This applies to our interaction with the city of Troy as well. We are seeking to bless our neighbors by contributing to the Christmas celebration and with Christmas caroling. But that gift will not be received if you are holding onto any malice in your hearts towards them. Confess this first and go to your neighbor if you have sinned against them with sideways words or actions, make things right. We are fighting back against the world, but we must do so like our Father, with peace and goodwill toward men.

Zach Browning – December 3, 2023

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At the center of any society are its festivals. What you celebrate defines and manifests who you are and who you wish to be. They have both descriptive and prescriptive power. If you want to see what is important to a culture, don’t look at their work, look at what they take off work for. Look at the parades, the feasts, the holidays.  

We see this in the Israelite feasts and festivals. God ordained yearly, monthly, weekly festivals for His people. We are gathered right now in continuation of the Sabbath: the festival at the heart of Israelite life. What and how we celebrate defines who we are.

This is why the Pride parades and the drag shows and the Juneteenth observances are big deals, because they are attempts to redefine a people. And it is also why the seasons of Advent and Christmas are so charged and fraught with temptation, because they are strategic points in the battle for the soul of a people.

So as we enter Advent and the Christmas preparations begin, recognize that you are entering the fray. The powers of Earth and Hell are arrayed against you, and they are subtle and crafty and have long desired this last bastion of Christendom to crumble. You may encounter outright persecution and snarling atheists flinging themselves at the walls, but more likely you will face subtler ploys, treachery and sappers under the walls: temptations to envy, to sloth, to sentimentality, to gnostic notions disguised as spirituality.

But your God has not left you defenseless. He has given you fudge. And hot chocolate and eggnog and some of the finest songs ever written and trees that stay green all year long, giving us token of the eternal life that is ours, and lights and savory meat and bright tablecloths and rich wine. In other words, our weapons are Gospel joy and hope and charity.

So get ye to battle, and above all else, resist the sidelong glance. You are brothers and sisters in arms defending an ancient fortress. Spur one another on towards love and good deeds, but don’t waste time envying one another.

Josh Edgren – December 3, 2023

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In the season of Advent, the Christian Church declares that the Lord comes. Beware dark corners. You have sat for long enough, moldy, putrid, wallowing in subterranean rivers of unseemliness. But your days are numbered. The King of Lights has appeared. He did so just outside of an obscure little town, in a sheep pasture, at night, when the dark was black enough that you could have seen the glory shining around those angels for miles.

We rejoice in the advent of our Lord, and it is most fitting to do so. But, we really should understand why so many have embodied the spirit of Mr. Grinch at a time like this. Stand with Herod for just a moment, Herod with his deep, dark precious lust for power, the one for which he was willing to kill many little baby boys; and hear him explain to you why it is no small problem that this new king has come. Stand with the chief priests and scribes shortly after they spoke with Herod, self-righteous with their long prayers and twisted traditions, and hear them out as they tell you of their troubled hearts.

When the Lord comes, He exposes the works of darkness. He reveals some very uncomfortable things. So two roads lie before you. Side with those who despise His coming, those who would rather stay in their soiled garments rather than have them changed, those who hated Him because He testified of their evil works (John 7:7). Or, side with those who say, “Come, Lord Jesus.” But that means He will open you up, He will find what remains of your former self, and He will clean you through and through. This sanitization process will be so thorough it will singe your eyebrows. But you are God’s covenant people so the only response is: Even so, Lord, quickly come.

Jared Longshore – December 3, 2023

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²¹ Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:²² But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Matthew 5:21-22

Jesus pushes the application of the law into the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hatred in your heart breaks the sixth commandment. He is not equating how heinous the act is, 1^st degree murder is worse than a spiteful thought in degree, but they are both condemned by the law, and that angry thought will come under the judgement of God. We are given 3 terms here that are worth explaining. First anger, which we understand, the second one is the transliteration Raca, which we do not know exactly what it means, but most agree it is equivalent to calling someone stupid. It is a scornful term coming from a place of pride. And lastly “Thou fool” is passing moral judgement on someone, despising or detesting someone from a place of bitterness and hatred. The Westminster catechism teaches well that the sixth commandment not only condemns the taking of a life, but also requires us to preserve life so far as we are able. So taking Jesus application here, that does not just mean pulling your neighbor out of the water if they are drowning. It also applies to how you think about your neighbor. Do you look down on your neighbor in your pride? Is it easy for you to get annoyed at someone when they screw up, how about when they inconvenience you? Do you take personal offense? Are you holding on to that offense with bitterness?

Call these thoughts what God calls them. Annoyance, frustration, personal offense, are euphemisms for little bits of anger in your heart. Instead of these evil thoughts we ought to think life unto our neighbors, we ought to think of how to bless them and their family. This does not need to be in the form of major action. Just like a hateful thought is sin so turning your face toward your neighbor with a loving thought is obedience. So, confess frustration, annoyance, bitterness, quickly. And do it today, for if you let it be, it will grow deceiving you more and more as it grows. These thoughts fester if left alone and can ruin marriages, families, and communities. Instead of growing together in love you will be shrinking apart in hate.

Zach Browning – November 26, 2023

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The holidays are rife with a temptation to let down your guard. Drinking to drunkenness. Lowering entertainment standards. Snapping in irritation at family members. Wandering down an internet rabbit hole of folly, envy, or lust. Being slothful and calling it rest.

As Christians, our celebrations are to be glorious. But the glory of our celebrations doesn’t come from reckless self-indulgence. Rather, the glory only comes from being a forgiven people. And, forgiven people ought to be marked as loving people. The equation which Christ gave us is that those who are forgiven much love much. But love isn’t the mushy slop of subjective feelings. The definition for love is found in the deep ocean of God’s attributes. 

The love of God which we are to imitate cannot be divorced from the holiness of God which we receive through Christ by the Spirit who dwells in us. Being forgiven is like getting rid the furniture of sin (the musty couch of envy, the chair of arrogance with a missing leg, the creaky bed-frame of lust, and so on). But a barren house, void of the comfort of lovely furniture and the beauty of attractive decor is not a pleasant place for celebration. Pursuing holiness is how the Spirit works in us to bring into our lives the pleasant furnishings of God’s love.

Holiness is loving what God loves and hating what God hates. This maxim holds true at all times, including our celebrations and holidays. The glory of our jollification comes from being forgiven and being holy by the Spirit’s power in us.

So be vigilant during your celebrations. Don’t put down the sword. Don’t fold your hands in sloth when it comes to vigilantly watching for sin. Don’t leave a chink in your armor. For godly celebration is a lethal weapon in overthrowing the darkness of our age.

Our times of leisure are a blessing from God’s hand, a gift of His grace, and a foretaste of the everlasting peace purchased for us through Christ’s blood. As such, we must not neglect to put on Christ in our times of celebration. We must not forsake our duties of righteousness which God has commanded for us. And we certainly must not toy with our temptations instead of slitting their throats. May God give you vigilance in your merry-making, that you may be a clear and vivid testimony of the glory of His forgiveness and the potency of His holiness in us.

Finally, true rejoicing and celebration only from flows from the knowledge that God is merciful to sinners. This mercy was made manifest in the cross of our Lord Jesus, through whom the world was crucified to you and you to the world. So let all your rejoicing this month be grounded upon this everlasting glory, that your sins, which are scarlet, He has washed whiter than snow.

Ben Zornes – November 26, 2023

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