Have you seen the movie, The Santa Clause, starring Tim Allen. The Santa Clause is one of my favorite Christmas movies. One of the things I love about the movie is the way they bring the Santa character to life. Tim Allen plays the role of Scott Calvin, a marketing executive for a toy company. Through a series of events on Christmas Eve, Scott Calvin becomes the new Santa. Of course, Scott, being an adult and a parent, has lost his belief in the jolly old elf, so the events of the night are dismissed as a series of ironic happening that lead to an incredible dream.
However, it wasn’t a dream. We follow Scott through the year as he tries to figure out why he keeps gaining weight, growing abundant amounts of wintry white hair, and seems to be developing quite a following of children and animals, all while denying the idea and his newly found career. In the end Scott Calvin becomes Santa Claus. But what makes this movie a Christmas favorite for me is the question, “What if it were all true?”
The Santa Clause is a movie about the magic of Christmas. And I wonder, “What if it were all true?” It’s takes me back to when I was a kid, and a time when Christmas was filled with awe and wonder.
I remember, as a kid, we had to wait till Christmas Eve to decorate our tree. We would go to the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at church. It was a beautiful service with Joy to the World and Silent Night. We would light the candles and sing. The sanctuary was darkened, as the glow of candles and the smell of fresh cut greens filled the air. Then home to our awaiting tree.
Do You Remember Those Days?
There were four of us, and each would hang our ornaments on the tree, while filling our belly with mom's homemade Christmas cookies. When we were done, it was off to bed, wondering and hoping that Santa got our lists. It felt like forever till we fell asleep. Running high on cookies and excitement, we laid in our beds, talking and giggling.
Then morning came. Usually early. The house would be quiet. Christmas morning was one of few times we would be awake before mom was. Now, we weren’t allowed down stairs without our parents, but we learned that if you laid down on your belly, and carefully stretched our neck out you could catch a peek of the Christmas tree, all lit up, sparkling in the morning sun, with a sea of presents floating on the floor. It was a moment filled with awe and wonder. Today, Christmas is a little different. I’m an adult. A parent. I have 5 kids. The awe and wonder doesn’t come along quite as easily. In fact, I think sometimes, if we’re not careful, we miss a lot more than awe and wonder at Christmas. We miss the gift that makes Christmas what it is. Every year, we gather in our churches and read through the Christmas story, sing the carols, light the candles, open the presents, and I have to stop my self and ask, “Whatever happened to the awe and wonder?” I want to take some time over the next couple of days, I want us to return to the story and rediscover the awe and wonder of Christmas. I invite you to join me. Starting Monday, December 12th, we will begin a short series that I hope will help us rediscover the awe and wonder. Come along as we think through the impact of that night. As Luke says, "born to you in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Let's rediscover, together, the awe and wonder. - jay
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How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:9-11 NIV) Do you desire purity in your life? Amidst the temptations, distractions, and constant bombardment of cultural pressures, do you long for a heart that is pure? Are you desperate to know God more and more with each passing day? To know his word, to discern will and purpose for your life? To live to bring him glory and honor? Then you must be in the Word. It's time to make your Bible something more than a Sunday morning accessory. If you think it looks goods to have with you as you walk through the doors of the church, imagine how good it will look as you live it before the Lord every day of your life. If you truly want to pursue the life of a disciple, you MUST be a learner of the Word. Bible memorization and studying God's Word are two crucial habits that a disciple should practice. It's really the only way to know God, and to know how to live for Him. Our problem is, we sometimes think we can coast through life living on what the preacher says, or what we hear on the Christian radio, or how our favorite Christian song makes us feel, or even what we think we know the Bible says. But is coasting really living in obedience? Is coasting really what Jesus commands of his followers? No. In fact more than or desire to be pure is God's desire for us to be pure. David doesn't ask the question in Psalm 119:9, because he's clueless. He asks the question because he already knows the answer. You see God had already given the answer. The Bible (or the Word) isn't just a list of do's and don'ts, it's God's way of giving us the answers for all of our questions. Imagine, sitting down for an exam, but instead of wondering what might be on the exam, you come ready because you already knew all the answers. That what the Word of God is, the answers. What's holding you back from digging into God's Word today? Begin living according to the Word, and discover a whole new way to know God. - jay
A while back, when we were church planters, there was a Sunday where we canceled our worship service due to a snow storm that rolled in early in the morning. I don't think the storm was as bad as the weather guys were predicting, but the mix of snow and rain made for some really slick roads. So we erred on the side of caution and made the call to cancel. I share that because the cancellation opened up an opportunity for us do spend the morning together, talking around the breakfast table. Before hand, while the kids were still in bed, I was telling Amy a little about what I had planned to teach. I shared about Enoch, and the amazing event that happened to him. Amy thought we should try to talk about it with the kids. So here is what the Bible says about Enoch. Genesis 5:18-23 esv 18 When Jared had lived 162 years he fathered Enoch. 19 Jared lived after he fathered Enoch 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died. 21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. 22 Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. Now if we were to read this at face value, what we find is that after Enoch and his wife give birth to their son Methuselah, Enoch begins his walk with God. Now we don't know the specific details about what Enoch's life looked like before his sons birth, or why the birth caused such a huge change in his life. We only know that now, Enoch was walking with God. The verses go on to say that from that point on, Enoch walked with God till he was no more. One of the resources I read while prepping for my sermon shared a really simple, yet powerfully thoughtful story. The story was about a girl, who following her Sunday school class, told her mom that they had learned about Enoch. She said, "God would come to Enoch every day and ask Enoch to go for a walk with him. Enoch would say yes, and follow side by side with God. After awhile, Enoch so enjoyed his time with God that he would wait by the gate of his house for God to come. Day after day, Enoch looked forward to walking with God. Till one day, while on a specially long walk, Enoch noticed it was getting late, so he said to God that he'd better get back home. But God turned to Enoch and said, 'Enoch, you are closer to my home than you are to your home. Why not come home with me.' And that is what Enoch did." [Story from J. Vernen McGee's book, Genesis Chapters 1-15. Paraphrase is mine.] Think about that for a moment. Can you say that your walk with God looks anything like Enoch? I mean, do you look forward to spending time with God? If God were to come by your house in the morning to walk with you, would you be at the gate anxiously waiting? Would God say that your heart was closer to His home than your worldly home? It's a pretty powerful picture that the writer of Genesis gives in including Enoch and his faithful walk with His Creator. As God's children, we should be looking forward to spending time daily with the Father. I think the reason the story of Enoch is included in Genesis 5, is to encourage us to live in the same way. Walk with God. Till He comes and walks you home. - jay
What does Palm Sunday Mean for You? Now think about it, because, I’m sure that we can just start rattling off a list of things that palm Sunday means. It’s the beginning of Holy Week. It’s the Sunday before Easter Sunday. It’s the time we celebrate Jesus riding the baby donkey into Jerusalem. It’s when we go to church and get palm branches and wave them and say something like, “Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna!” But I’m not looking for those kind of answers. My question isn’t what IS Palm Sunday? My question is, What does Palm Sunday mean for you? You see, the difference in the question is, not what Palm Sunday is, but what does it mean? For YOU. Personally. In the depths of your heart. The telling of Jesus’ dramatic entrance into Jerusalem is recorded in all four gospel. There are slight differences in each account, but for the most part all four tell the story of Jesus’ grand entrance and what happened. Today, we'll look at Luke’s telling of the story. And as we look, we'll find, what I think are some very interesting remarks that I think push us towards the question, What does Palm Sunday Mean for You? To help us begin to process this question, let’s first break down what we see happening, as Luke tells it. Part 1 - Setting the Stage…vv. 28-34, Part 2 - The Approach…vv. 35-40, Part 3 - The Tears for a City…vv. 41-44. Part 1 - Setting the Stage… In verses 28-34, we find Jesus with his disciples and followers outside Jerusalem in the town of Bethany, where Mary, Martha and Lazarus lived. Now just days before, Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. This sparked significant commotion among the people and the religious leaders, who were now, more determined than ever to kill Jesus. According to John’s gospel, it was near the time for the Passover Feast, so many, many, many of the people we’re heading to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast. Combine the influx of travelers coming into the city for the festival and the news of what Jesus had just done for Lazarus, the climate was right for something crazy to happen. For Jesus, he’s fully aware of the timing. Three years of ministry, all that he has done, all that he has taught, all that he was and why he came all pointed to what is about to happen. Soon he will be arrested, crucified, and buried. But right now, he instructs 2 of his disciples to go up ahead, and they would find a young donkey, which had not been ridden. They were to untie it and bring it to Jesus. The disciple do as they were told, and find things just as Jesus had said. So we have the news of Lazarus being raised from the dead, thousand or more in Jerusalem for the Passover, and now Jesus was about to make his way into the city. Part 2 - The Approach… In verses 35-40, the grand event begins to unfold. The donkey is brought in. The disciple create a saddle out of their outer garments. And together they begin the track towards Jerusalem. Along the way, the people, begin laying down their cloaks on the the road, on which the donkey walked. And as they approached the city, those who were where, disciple, follower, spectator, began to joyfully praise God! I imagine that this wasn’t so much a greeting line of people shaking hands, clapping, laughing… No I suspect that this was a thunderous, booming celebration with voices shouting with great delight. this was loud. This was big. This was significant! Perhaps earth-shaking! I mean it has to be loud because they tell Jesus to turn it down! In v 39 tells us that there were Pharisees, the religious leaders, in the crowd. They say to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” Now I’ve got to wonder, and wish that we could send a news crew down to Jerusalem so we could see what was happening, because I get the sense from the Pharisees that this wasn’t exceptable. Maybe it wasn’t proper. Not the way good Hebrews behaved in public. Maybe they feared that the jubilant celebration might draw the attention of the Romans. Maybe it was the fact that we’re at the time of Passover. Maybe this was to be a somber time, and what was happening outside the city walls was everything but somber. But the people were excited! Filled with joy and caught up in the moment this was a party!! The people were celebrating God, praising God, worshiping God, and they did so with joy and passion. But then come the religious leaders, “Jesus, hey, Jesus, stop them. Shut them up. Get them to knock this off!!” And here’s where I think Jesus would have made a great youth pastor. Jesus says, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” You want to know loud, come hang out with us on Tuesday or Wednesday night, because it can get a little loud. And it’s okay. It’s okay to make a little noise in worship. It’s okay to express some emotion in worship. It’s okay to make a bit of a ruckus when we glorify God. But let’s make note of something. Who is it that these shouts are focused? Verse 37: When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to PRAISE GOD in loud voices… For What? “For all the miracles they had seen.” Not the Messiah. Not the Son of God. The focus of the people is not so much on Jesus, at least not in the right way. The focus is on God and the king that he had sent. Now let’s stop here for just a few minutes. Bible commentators have pointed out that within this story, we find a something incredibly telling. There are three kinds of people here in this scene. 1. Those who believe and are sold out for Jesus. 2. Those who see and hear what’s going on, and have been swept up into what’s happening, but it’s not clear just how much they understand, or how committed they will be to this king. 3. Those who see what’s happening, but outright reject what’s happening. Those who believe and are sold out for Jesus… These are the disciples, those who have committed themselves to Jesus, who have followed him. These are those who are obedient. They retrieve the donkey, walk along side Jesus, and are investing themselves in his teachings. They’re not perfect. They don’t quite understand everything that’s happening, but they’re in it. Those who see and hear, yet they seem to simply be people who are swept up in the commotion of the moment. These are the people who happen to be in the right place at the right time. They’ve heard about Jesus, they’ve heard what he’s done for Lazarus, and here he is, riding into the city with a reception fit for a king. I mean, that’s what they want after all, a king. Then there’s those who see what’s happening, and it’s just to stop. This movement is dangerous. it must be stopped. Jesus must be stopped. I titled this mornings message, What does Palm Sunday Mean for You? It’s a question that I hope you can answer. I mean, it’s pretty important that you know the answer. Because the commentators are right. Isn’t that kinda funny, some crazy youth guy telling you that the Bible commentators are right? That’s crazy. Jay must have flipped his lid. Gone a loopy, or something. No, but let’s look at this. Part 3 - The Tears for a City… Look with me again at vv. 41-44. Jesus approaches the city. Verse 41, “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it." In the midst of all the craziness happening around him, Jesus looks out across the city and he weeps. Not a, “Oh, I think I’ve got something in my eye.” cool, manly diversion. No, Jesus weeps. He looks and he sees and there is an emotional change, a deep heavy sadness, a sorrow that leads to grief which leads him to tears. And Jesus says, in verse 42, “If you, even you had only known on this day what would bring you peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes." In Eugene Peterson’s The Message, he says it this way… 41-44 "When the city came into view, he wept over it. “If you had only recognized this day, and everything that was good for you! But now it’s too late. In the days ahead your enemies are going to bring up their heavy artillery and surround you, pressing in from every side. They’ll smash you and your babies on the pavement. Not one stone will be left intact. All this because you didn’t recognize and welcome God’s personal visit.” So what is Jesus talking about? Well, he’s talking about destruction. The destruction, specifically of the city and the temple. He says, Your enemies will rise up against you. They will press in on you, and they will crush you. And this happens, 70 AD, Jerusalem is crushed by Rome. But there’s more to this than just a city being toppled. More then Jesus weeping over stone and mortar, I think Jesus is weeping over the fact that the people are missing it. That in all this time, they failed to see Jesus for who he really was. And now, here he is, about to go willingly to the cross, to die for the sins of the world, to demonstrate his love, his agape love to the world, and the world is missing it. And because the world is missing it, the truth of who he really is, is now hidden from them. They can’t see it, even if they wanted to. Now we might ask why, and I have some thoughts as to why, but we don’t have time to explore all of those thoughts. So let me say, that for them, for what God was doing, this was what God did. But that’s not the case for us. You see, were almost 2000 years past the resurrection, 2000 years past the crucifixion, 2000 years past the triumphant ride into Jerusalem, and we can see. We can see because we have the truth right here in front of us. The story, the history, the life-changing evidence of God’s love is right here. And so we read…That Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners! How? By dying. In the arrest, in the beating, in the scourging. In being nailed to the cross. In being taunted, harassed, abused. Spit upon. Stripped. He died. His final breath expelling the words, It is finished. He died. He was buried. Then 3 days later, God did what only God can do and he raised his son, Jesus the Christ, from the died. The sin debt, paid. Death, overcome and conquered. Forgiveness, available. Mercy, inexpressible. Love, unexplainable. Grace, given. Everything changed. Everything made new. So what does Palm Sunday mean for you? For the believer, this week marks a time for us to remember how God demonstrates his great love for us. And so today, we too rejoice. There should be joy in our hearts as we shout, Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna! Because we’re not like the Pharisee who tried to silence the crowd. And we’re not like the people swept up in the excitement of the moment, cheering for a great miracle worker, but miss the truth. No, we rejoice because like the disciple, we know that Jesus is the son of God, who dies for the sins of the world. For those who have not yet, put their trust in God, an opportunity to know his grace and love. To move from the crowd, swept up into the excitement of what happening around them, and into the arms of a God who welcomes, forgives, and rescues. Make today more than the beginning of a holiday, make it the day to surrender your life to God! - jay *What Does Palm Sunday Mean For You, was a sermon preached by Jay on Sunday, March 20th, 2016, Palm Sunday. This is a copy of the manuscript, adapted for the blog. You can also list to the sermon podcast by clicking the link below.
I know, I know, I'm a little late in the announcement depart. It's been a couple of weeks since my friends over at Group/Simply Youth Ministry announced the return of the Simply Youth Ministry Conference (SYMC). Nonetheless, I wanted to take a few minutes to share a little about what this means! I was introduced the SYMC in 2009. At the time, I didn't realize how much I needed a conference like SYMC. I had been in student ministry for a long time. And I had attended the National Youth Workers Convention (NYWC) for years. At that point, I was volunteering with NYWC. But that year, SYMC made a huge impact on my heart and my ministry. I am pretty sold out to NYWC. It was NYWC that really helped me develop, grow, and mature as a youth worker. I've often said that I've learned more attending NYWC than anywhere else. It's why I return every year as a volunteer. But SYMC offered me something different. I was in a place in my ministry where I began wondering about my role in student ministry. An opportunity had come to that would require that I step away from student ministry. That year at SYMC, I heard God tell me my place was with students. That year, God used SYMC to wreck my world, then rebuilt and reignited a passion for students again! I even have a red a sofa in my office to remind me of the impact. SYMC boasts, The conference for youth workers by youth workers. This is so true. After the 2009 conference, I found myself working with the "In The Trenches Team" (ITTT or IT3). The "In The Trenches Team" is made up of youth workers; some are full time, some are part time, and some are volunteers, but each one is committed, not just to their students, but to youth workers. It's this teams that comes along side the SYM/Group staff to help talk, dream, pray, prepare, plan, and lead the conference! I was blessed to serve with these amazing men and women for 3 years, helping and serving with the 2010 and 2011 conferences. There are a number of great conferences that youth workers can attend. But there is something special about SYMC, and I think it's in the fact that youth workers are an integral part of what happens at SYMC. After taking a couple years off, SYMC is back, and I for one am very excited to see it return. A little smaller, a little more intentional, a little more focused on the heart and health of the youth worker, SYMC will no doubt offer her attendees a weekend of training, resources, and soul care. SYMC will take place October 7-9, 2016, at the Hyatt Regency O'Hara in Chicago. (Which is a great location due to everything happening in the hotel.) Now I haven't decided if I will be attend this years conference. If money weren't an issue, I'm sure I'd be there in a heart, no questions asked. But I am still committed to serving at NYWC, so I have yet decided if I will be attending. However, based on what I am hearing it will be a great conference. Take a few minutes to go and check out the SYMC website. Get to know the conference, and prayerfully consider make SYMC your conference destination this fall! - jay Jay Higham is a 24 year veteran of student ministry; having worked with students in the local church and Christian camping settings. Jay is currently the Youth Director at Hickory Church, located in Western PA. Jay has been married to Amy for 19 years. Together, they are raising 5 kids, (4 boys and 1 little girl). Jay is passionate about student ministry, family ministry, and sharing with other youth workers. You can learn more about their ministry to the family by visiting their family blog at, www.TheHighamFamily.com! |
AuthorJay Higham is a veteran youth worker of over 30 years; having worked with students in the local church and Christian camping settings. Jay is currently serving as the director of family ministry at a church, located in West Virginia. Jay has been married to Amy for over 25 years. Together, they are raising 5 kids, (4 boys and 1 girl). Jay is an aspiring author, blogger, speaker, vlogger, and social media junkie. He is passionate about student ministry, family ministry, and training youth workers to love and serve their students with passion and excellence. Archives
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