Scripture's covenants and their significance:

Eternal covenant, Hebrews 13:20 :The redemptive covenant before time began, between the Father and the Son. By this covenant we have eternal redemption, an eternal peace from the 'God of peace', through the death and resurrection of the Son.

Edenic covenant, Genesis 1:26-28: The creative covenant between the Triune God, as the first party (Genesis 1:26), and newly created man, as the second party, governing man's creation and life in Edenic innocence. It regulated man's dominion and subjugation of the earth, and presented a simple test of obedience. The penalty was death.

Adamic covenant, Genesis 3:14-19: The covenant conditioning fallen man's life on the earth. Satan's tool (the serpent) was cursed (Gen 3:14); the first promise of the Redeemer was given (3:15); women's status was altered (3:16); the earth was cursed (3:17-19); physical and spiritual death resulted (3:19).

Noahic covenant, Genesis 8:20-9:6: The covenant of human government. Man is to govern his fellowmen for God, indicated by the institution of capital punishment as the supreme judicial power of the state (Genesis 9:5-6). Other features included the promise of redemption through the line of Shem (Genesis 9:26).

Abrahamic covenant, Genesis 12:1-3; confirmed 13:14-17; 15:1-7; 17:1-8: The covenant of promise. Abraham's posterity was to be made a great nation. In him (through Christ) all the families of the earth were to be blessed (Galations 3:16; John 8:56-58).

Mosaic covenant, Exodus 20:1-31:18: The legal covenant, given solely to Israel. It consisted of the commandments (Exodus 20:1-26); the judgments (social) - (Exodus 21:1; 24:11) and the ordinances (religious); (Exodus 24:12-31:18); also called the law. It was a conditional covenant of works, a ministry of 'condemnation' and 'death' (2 Corinthians 3:7-9), designed to lead the transgressor (convicted thereby as a sinner) to Christ.

Palestinian covenant, Deut 30:1-10: The covenant regulating Israel's tenure of the land of Canaan. Its prophetic features include dispersion of disobedience (Deuteronomy 30:1), future repentance while in dispersion (30:2), the Lord's return (30:3), the restoration (30:4-5, national conversion (3:6), judgment of Israel's foes (30:7), national prosperity (30:9). Its blessings are conditioned upon obedience (30:8,10), but fulfillment is guaranteed by the new covenant.

Davidic covenant, 2 Samuel 7:4-17, 1 Chr 17:4-15: The kingdom covenant regulating the temporal and eternal rule of David's posterity. It secures in perpetuity a Davidic 'house' or line, a throne, and a kingdom. It was confirmed by divine oath in Psalm 89:30-37 and renewed to Mary in Luke 1:31-33. It is fulfilled in Christ as the World's Saviour and Israel's coming King (Acts 1:6; Rev 19:16; 20:4-6).

New covenant, Jeremiah 31:31-33; Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; Hebrew 8:8-12: The covenant of unconditional blessing based upon the finished redemption of Christ. It secures blessing for the church, flowing from the Abrahamic covenant (Galations 3:13-20), and secures all covenant blessings to converted Israel, including those of the Abrahamic, Palestinian, and Davidic covenants. This covenant is unconditional, final and irreversible.

1 Chronicles 22:2 - "David commanded to gather together the aliens who were in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to prepare dressed stones for building the house of God."

As we know, the Hebrews, in their early history, were a nomadic people, and, as such, they needed homes which were readily portable as they moved from one grazing ground to another. However, as they settled into a more agricultural existence, their habits and modes of living changed. They soon discovered that the tents which they had formerly occupied, and even those houses of clay which they had built when they settled in Canaan, were vulnerable to attack by robbers and enemies.

So, they looked around for more permanent and satisfactory building materials. Canaan is a very stony land, and sandstone in particular is common there. It was, then, a natural development that they should start making homes of stone. Thus, the art of stonecutting and masonry was introduced.

Naturally, if stone was so good for the homes of the people, it had to be the material that was used for the house of God. After all, God required the finest efforts of his people, and their best achievements. So, as our text tells us, David started his project with orders to round up all the craftsmen that would be needed - among them stonecutters.

If we read the accounts of the construction of the Temple, as recorded in the first book of Kings, we find that the foundation consisted of great hewn stones, and that the superstructure was also of stone. The repairs made later by Jehoash and Josiah included hewn stones, and they are also mentioned in connection with the materials used for the second temple.

1 Kings 5:15 tells us that Solomon gathered together 80,000 stonecutters to provide these stones for the Temple. And Josephus says that the traditions of the Jews tell of stones in Solomon’s Temple that were 60 feet long! But there was more than just the Temple in Solomon’s Jerusalem. We know of the many building projects that he initiated. For example, we are told that his palace, and the house built for the Pharaoh’s daughter, were made of costly stones.

We may today see examples of Israelite stone work in the Wailing Wall of Jerusalem. A stone from the old city walls is fourteen feet long and 3 and 3/4 feet square. And, to further show how wide-spread the use of stone was in ancient times, there are remains of quarries in many places of the Holy Land.

Today, of course, we see deep gouges in many places in our land, where stone is quarried. The present day quarry worker is very similar to his ancient brothers. And in more than one respect - one of the first known labor strikes was conducted by stonecutters (in 600 B.C.) who were working on a Temple building project! And why? Because they hadn’t been paid for several months! Apparently the men of the past had more in common with men of our century than we would have expected!

Jesus quoted the words of the Psalmist: "The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner..." (Ps. 118:22) Later Simon Peter would quote these words to the rulers and the elders in testimony concerning the good news of Christ. (Acts 4:11) Later he would cite those words again in his epistles. (I Pet. 2:7)

There was a legend that was well known in New Testament times that in the building of the temple of Solomon most of the stones were of the same size and shape. One stone arrived, however, that was different from the others. The builders took one look at it and said, "This will not do," and sent it rolling down into the valley of Kedron below. The years passed and the great temple was nearing completion, and the builders sent a message to the stonecutters to send the chief cornerstone that the structure might be complete. The cutters replied that they had sent the stone years before. Then someone remembered the stone that was different than all the rest that somehow did not seem to belong. They realized that they had thrown away the cornerstone. They hurried into the valley to retrieve it. Finally under vines and debris they recovered it and with great effort rolled it up the hill and put it in place so that the great temple would be complete. The stone that had been rejected had become the chief cornerstone. Jesus, who had been rejected now reigns at the right hand of the Father. From rejection to rejoicing.

2 Chronicles 29:28 - "The whole assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished."

Nehemiah 13:10 - "I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them; so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each to his field."

Today there seems to be a resurgence of the popularity of the gospel tunes that used to be so well-known. In part, this is due to the "Jesus Movement" among so many young people, and, perhaps, it is also partly due to the state of extreme tension and unrest that prevails in our time. A local radio station in my listening area has recently given over three hours every weekday morning to gospel songs. And there has been a heartfelt chorus of approval for this move.

We have virtually made folk heroes of many of our singers today, and, regardless of the irregularities in the personal lives of many of them, a great many young people try to emulate them. Woodstock has moved into our language as a new noun. We pay fantastic amounts to all types of singers - from serious opera to sex and drug oriented performers.

So how far back can we go to find the origin of the singer as a professional? Way, way back! All of the ancient courts had professional singers attached - rather like press agents, since their function was to sing the praises of the king, as well as to entertain. There were also the traveling singers, who went from village to village, singing for handouts. This, of course, puts us in mind of the troubadors of the Middle Ages, who generally followed this same pattern. Unfortunately, however, the romantic picture that we generally have of these performers is far off base. Actually, they were wretched men of low morals, who couldn’t hold a job.

This was probably the same situation in ancient Israel before the establishment of the monarchy. It was only then that the singers achieved a degree of respectability. Of course, there had always been the indigenous balladeers, and we are grateful that there were these men, because they kept alive many of the legends and traditions of the people, that were later incorporated into the biblical narrative.

But it wasn’t until David (who was a great singer himself) that a class of singers arose. He is said to have used singers to entertain him at meals, an idea which was also carried on and expanded by Solomon, who probably appropriated some of the ideas of proper court entertainment from his Egyptian wife.

By the time that David began to crystallize plans for the building of the Great Temple, the idea of a class of professional liturgical singers had become a very real part of those plans. David is said to have organized 4,000 sacred singers for this purpose. Although this was all recorded by the Chronicler, who wrote very late within the Old Testament period, still we know that such professionals must have been around early, because the very nature of the worship service required them. In fact, if you will look through the Psalter, you will find that several of the Psalms are ascribed to such professionals.

Again referring to the Chronicler, we find that he has given David credit for instituting 24 classes of singers, and there were all assigned within the ranks of the Levites. It’s not my purpose here to go into the Hierarchical history of the Levites, but it is important to know that they were entrusted with the sacred music.

The Jews have always considered themselves to be a highly musical people, although, being Oriental in concept and origin, it would clash on our ears. It was often atonal, shrill, and harsh, alternately hauntingly beautiful and wildly raucous. But, then again, perhaps our ears have been assualted so badly by much of our modern music that we could have appreciated the ancient melodies. Of course, there was no harmony as we know it. That was a very late development.

But someone had to teach apprentice singers their craft, and again this was a job of the Levites, a job that we can compare to modern day music teachers. With one difference, however, that all music teachers will appreciate. The Levites were highly regarded, so much so, in fact, that they were tax exempt and lived free in special villages built around Jerusalem. Ah, I can hear you sigh, for the good old days. But now, at least we can escape. For the Levites, it was a matter of birth and a non-escapable obligation.

The glory of God comes to us when we are most "fully awake." A list of the half-dozen or more true geniuses of human history would surely include the name of Blaise Pascal the seventeenth-century French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. In his brief 39 years, he made scientific discoveries which are basic to a great amount of our most significant contemporary knowledge.

But with all his ability in logic and all his commitment to tough-minded scholarship, Pascal found his greatest personal assurance, not in science but in faith. On the evening of Monday, November 23, 1654, he felt the reality of Jesus Christ in such an intense way that it changed him. So that he would never forget that moment and forget his Lord he he wrote his feelings down on parchment and sewed it into the lining of his coat, which he wore for the rest of his life. Here is some of what he wrote:

God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob.
Not of the Philosophers and Scientists.
Certainty, Certainty, Feeling Joy, Peace.
God of Jesus Christ
May I not forget your words. Amen.

The words were found by his servant after his death nearly eight years later. For Pascal the greatest reality was not what he discovered in laboratory experiments, but what he found in his communion with God. It was at such a time that he was "fully awake."

Note: Here is the full writing as it appears on the parchment in his jacket:

Memorial

The year of grace 1654,

Monday, 23 November, feast of St. Clement, pope and martyr,
and others in the martyrology.
Vigil of St. Chrysogonus, martyr, and others.
From about half past ten at night until about half past midnight,

FIRE.

GOD of Abraham, GOD of Isaac, GOD of Jacob
not of the philosophers and of the learned.
Certitude. Certitude. Feeling. Joy. Peace.
GOD of Jesus Christ.
My God and your God.
Your GOD will be my God.
Forgetfulness of the world and of everything, except GOD.
He is only found by the ways taught in the Gospel.
Grandeur of the human soul.
Righteous Father, the world has not known you, but I have known you.
Joy, joy, joy, tears of joy.
I have departed from him:
They have forsaken me, the fount of living water.
My God, will you leave me?
Let me not be separated from him forever.
This is eternal life, that they know you, the one true God,
and the one that you sent, Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ.
I left him; I fled him, renounced, crucified.
Let me never be separated from him.
He is only kept securely by the ways taught in the Gospel:
Renunciation, total and sweet.
Complete submission to Jesus Christ and to my director.
Eternally in joy for a day’s exercise on the earth.
May I not forget your words. Amen.

Perhaps you have visited the Upper Room Chapel in Nashville, Tennessee, and had the opportunity to meditate before the marvelous wood carving and its appointments which so dramatically depict the Last Supper. One of the mysterious features of this particular carving is that no matter where you kneel before the figure of Christ, his eyes gaze strangely into yours. So it must have seemed to the disciples gathered around the table in Jerusalem on that fateful evening. How much more intense it must have been for Judas, and we can but wonder where his eyes were fixed when Jesus uttered those terrible words. "He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me, will betray me" (Matthew 26:23).

So far as the disciples were concerned, they had gathered, as they had done since childhood, to partake of the traditional Passover meal. The streets of Jerusalem were crowded with pious Jews who had come into the city for this express purpose. The ritual was always the same: while at the table, the story of the escape from Egypt would be recounted ... there would be special foods on the table and unleavened bread would be eaten as a reminder of the haste in which the Exodus people had been forced to flee Egypt ... it was always the same.

To the disciples’ surprise however, Jesus suddenly departed from the familiar references; "And he took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave unto them saying, ‘This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.’ Likewise also the cup after supper saying, ‘This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.’ " Jesus had dramatically transformed the Passover supper into the Lord’s Supper on the evening of his "last supper" with them (see also Mark 14:22-24 and Matthew 26:26-29).

The Lord’s Supper:

1. Is a sacrament, meaning that it was instituted by Christ and commanded to be continued "till he come." In Paul’s familiar passage, used in the sacrament ritual, he adds, "For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye proclaim the Lord’s death till he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26).

2. Symbolizes the new covenant. The Old Testament covenant of the Law was sealed with the blood of animal sacrifice. However, this covenant had failed. The prophets themselves had said, "Behold, the days will come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a new convenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah." The covenant of Law was being superseded by the new convenant of love, sealed by the blood of Christ.

3. Uses of common elements. In addition to using the traditional elements of the Passover, bread and wine, Jesus realized that each day when his followers partook of their meals, two things were certain to be on the table ... bread and wine. Consequently, even an ordinary meal would include reminders of the new covenant.

4. Was observed anxiously. Devout early Christians met daily to observe the sacrament in the prayerful hope that Jesus would return while they were sharing the sacred meal. In time, the early Church observed the sacrament each Sunday, a practice continued until the Reformation. Oddly enough, in Scotland, during the sixteenth century, it was observed in the country twice and in town four times a year.

5. Is called the eucharist, meaning the "thanksgiving," based on the passage, "He took a cup, and when he had given thanks...."

Perhaps John Calvin spoke for each of us when he admitted that "the matter is too sublime for me to be able to express, or even to comprehend ... I rather experience it, than understand it."

For the Christian, life is idyllic. As you embrace Christ, your problems become opportunities, heartaches turn into joys, and bad times fade into the past. Your career succeeds as it never has. Your relationship with those around you is enhanced. Unkind words once directed toward you no longer make their way to your ears. Temptation runs against you, then retreats in dismay. Money is no longer a problem, for you’ll have more than enough. Lovely flowers moving in the fresh breeze send their fragrance your way as the warming rays of the sun fill your body with the feeling of health and beautiful harmony with God and nature. You are God’s special person. He spares you from pain, problems, and poverty.

Hogwash, unmitigated hogwash - more like heresy. If Christianity is as I have just described it, then all of us must be wondering whether we really are Christians. Although our walk with Jesus brings us many blessings that will enhance our lives, the Evil One does not roll over and play dead when we follow Christ but continues to dog us as we make our way through life. Following Jesus Christ also brings with it a degree of suffering as our selfishness is lost to service and discipleship. And as we struggle to be what we are, children of God through Baptism, it is often hard and painful. Christ suffered, his followers suffered, we too will have the privilege of suffering.

Those of us who try to live a moral life in society that is so permissive know the suffering that sometimes accompanies our uniqueness. Often, others look at us in disbelief when we stand for something because it’s right rather than because it’s expedient. To them we appear as losers. But for us to do less is to march to a different drum beat than the one Jesus sounds. Jesus puts it this way, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." To lead a winning Christian life, we lose our selfishness and replace it with selflessness.

Our march through life does not end at the grave but moves beyond. Our vision is both present and future, in this world and the next. Courageously we meet the world, proclaiming the glory of the Lord in word and deed and find strength through him to overcome whatever conflicts our faith might encounter. Leaning on him we seek his Spirit’s power to help us deny ourselves, to bear his cross, and to even suffer for the Gospel’s sake. With Christ we desire that everyone might become his children through faith and join him and us at the Father’s house in eternity.

When we arrive, God will look us over - not for medals, or awards, or degrees, but for scars. Finding them, he will declare, "Ah, a wise person who understood that winning meant losing."

Isaiah 44:13 - "The carpenter stretches a line, he makes it out with a pencil; he fashions it with planes, and marks it with a compass; he shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house."

Mark 6:3 - "Is not this the carpenter, the son ot Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?"

2 Samuel 5:11 - "And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also carpenters and masons who built David a house."

Matthew 13:55 - "Is not this the carpenter’s son?"

We can’t really talk about carpenters in the Old Testament, because there is no such word in Hebrew. And this has a logical explanation. Because of their nomadic origin, the early Hebrews were backward in this skill. Actually, when the word is used, it is in reference to cabinet-makers, cartwrights, wood-sculptors, and such. Since they didn’t settle in one place long enough to build houses, timber work as such was not important to them. Because of this, by the time they settled and started building cities, they found themselves in a bind as far as skilled workmen went.

Well, this might have been all right as far as the homes of the common people went, but the palace of the king, and, especially, the House of God, had to be a far better example of the carpenter’s art than the Hebrews themselves could produce. So both David and Solomon imported carpenters from Phoenicia to build the palace-Temple complex in Jerusalem.

However, as with anything else that is necessary, the people soon learned for themselves, and, later, native carpenters were skilled enough to repair the temple (2 Kings 12:11; 22:6). During the Exile, they were carried into captivity and, presumably, few chose to return, because Ezra again imported Phoenicians (Ezra 3:7). This would seem to indicate that they were well established and probably doing well financially. We do know, that in later Old Testament times, they were organized into guilds, and we also know that some kind of simple building code probably existed. This is verified by the Oxyrhynthus Papyrus.

The chief work of the carpenter by New Testament times was making roofs, doors, window-shutters, lattice squares, divan frames for the houses, plows, and yokes. Since Jesus was a carpenter, it was natural for him to think of the yokes which he had made, and to say "my yoke is easy and the burden is light."

Today’s carpenters, cabinet-makers, woodworkers of all kinds have motor-driven tools to assist them in their work. But in the biblical times, the carpenter had to depend on such simple tools as compasses, planes, pencil, saws, hammers, nails, files, chisle, awls, squares, plumb lines, and adzes. And, most of all, his own strong back!

When Charles Swindoll was a young boy, he was greatly influenced by this remark from an old Texan: "The problem with the Christian life is that it's so daily."

It's true. Following Jesus is a lifestyle that builds on past lessons and decisions, but it also depends on our dedication day by day. We cannot live off yesterday's successes, last week's prayers, or the Bible stories we heard when we were children.

Each new day is both a challenge and an opportunity. Our faith will be challenged, and we can use that challenge as an opportunity to grow in our relationship with God. Jesus Himself said that those who wanted to be His disciples were expected to be in a continual attitude of self-denial and obedience to Him. Here's how the Lord put it: "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Lk. 9:23).

As each day unfolds, we must pause and remind ourselves that this is a day dedicated to God, that it is to be used for His glory, and that it is best lived with a continual recollection of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Starting today, let's look at life that way. It's a daily commitment.

The Christian life is more than just
A prayer of faith made in the past;
It's dedicating every day
To live for Christ and what will last.

Dedication to Christ is not just a one-time choice, it's a daily challenge.

1 Kings 6:35 - "On them he carved cherubim and palm trees and open flowers; and he overlaid with gold evenly applied upon the carved work."

Carving was one of the very earliest activities, of man. Before primitive man knew anything about agriculture or clothing he had found a way of chipping, rubbing, or scraping many different kinds of materials into the sculptural shapes he desired. Bone, ivory, and horn carvings have been found that were made 50,000 years ago.

It is interesting to note that, apart from allusions, usually sarcastic, to the carvings of idols, all the Old Testament references to the carving of wood, stone, and metal pertain to the Tabernacle, or its successor, the Temple.

The recorder of the biblical record has made especial note of the carving on the bronze stand of the temple layers, and, in speaking of the temple doors, he makes mention of the decoration of these olivewood and cypress doors and the cedar wainscoting with carvings of "cherubims and palm trees and open flowers."

The Hebrew carvers were especially skilled in woodworking, and this is particularly evidenced in what we can picture the cherubim the Holy of Holies to have been. Since these were made from olivewood, each fifteen feet high, it is obvious that a great deal of joinery and carving were necessary.

The interior walls of Solomon’s Temple were completely covered with cedarwood wainscoting; the floor was covered with boards of cypress; nowhere was any stone to be seen. These woods, further, were filled with carved figures of gourds, lotus blossoms, birds, palm trees, and cherubs, and many other symbols.

And, of course, as time went on, they became more and more adept in this art. So much so, that by the time Herod the Great rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem, it’s beauty was proverbial. I mean that quite literally - "He who has not seen Herod’s building has never seen anything beautiful," was a common proverb of that day. Although we have conflicting reports of this building, and we do know vast areas of it were covered with gold, still we may assume that a great deal of carving was also found here.

And, of course, the accomplished carver could make a very good living for himself in ornamenting the homes of the wealthy, in making jewelry, in all the ways in which carving is used today. There are extant magnificent pieces of carved jade and ivory that any woman would give her eye-teeth to have made for her today - and they are many centuries old!

1 Samuel 9:9 - "Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, ‘Come let us go to the seer’; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer."

It is presumed (especially when reading our text), that the office of the seer antedated the office of prophet in Israel, although the functions of each were the same. Our text is probably a gloss on the original text, added at a later date by someone who realized that Samuel was not a member of a roving band of ecstatics, such as the early prophets (see PROPHET), but that he was a solitary man in close communication with God, who spoke the messages of God.

The office of the prophet, as we generally think of it, did not clearly emerge until the tenth century B.C. at the earliest, but it is obvious that there were, at all times, men who were tuned in on God’s wave length, if we may say so, and who were commissioned to present God’s messages to the people. It is quite possible that the office of seer was lifted from the Canaanites, and then made into a distinctively Israelite profession through a process of refinement.

We do have specific instances of the non-Hebrew seer, who was actually a messenger of Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews. For example, in Numbers 22 to 24, we have the story of Balaam, a seer who was employed by the king of Moab at the time of the Israelites’ wanderings, but who actually became a spokesman for God.

However, there is one thing that we must remember - the earlier the time with which we are dealing, the more primitive the concepts, so it should be no surprise to us that the seers were often dabblers in fortune-telling and became involved with the baser forms of divination, such as wizardry, necromancy, and such practices which has been expressly forbidden. But there is a mysterious fascination about things, and the temptation was great. So we find that there were degenerate seers also in Israel.

I suppose that if we wish to make a more specific differentiation between seer and prophet, we might be justified in saying that the seer made his powers his profession and livelihood, and his functioning was habitually passive: he waited to be consulted. The great prophets, on the other hand, were men of all walks of life who were literally "plucked out of their ways of life" by God, and were driven to deliver God’s messages to his people.

Today I don’t suppose we have a profession or calling that parallels that of the seer, although we might not be too far off base if we compare him to the modern-day fortune-teller, who makes his living off the credibility of others, and who, in more cases than not, will predict what he knows the client wants to hear, rather than jeopardize that living.

There's an interesting quote - from an unexpected source - that applies to this First Day of Advent, from a book you may have read to your children or grandchildren, or that you may remember from your own childhood. The book is by Dr. Seuss, and is entitled ‘One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.' The quote to consider today is brief:

From there to here,
from here to there,
funny things
are everywhere.

Funny things are everywhere! And there are two things funny about this First Sunday of Advent, the start of a new church year. The first of them is that, here at the start of a new year, we don't look back to the beginning, but we look forward to the end. Here on the first day of the new church year, we do not focus on the past, but we anticipate the future where Christ promises to meet us.

The second funny thing about today is related to the first. When we look forward to the end, when we anticipate the future, we do not treat this conclusion as some distant, far-off event. It is near at hand. It may be as close as the next second. So imminent is it, in fact, that the future comes and takes up residence in the present. The Christ who will arrive with power and great glory at the end of time comes to us also before the end of time.

Isaiah 46:6 - "Those who lavish gold from the purse, and weigh out silver in the scales, hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; then they fall down and worship!"

Nehemiah 3:8 - "Next to them Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmith, repaired ..."

Gold! How we love it and dream about it, even though as currency it is no longer in use. But the glamour of it remains. A great many people still spend their lives searching for the "pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!" We can share a vicarious thrill with Schliemann as he unearthed the gold burial mask that he felt belonged to Agamemmonn. We have shuddered at the stories in our history books that told of the atrocities committed by the Spaniards as they hunted in South and Central America for El Dorado, "the gilded one." Some years ago, many of the artifacts from the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamen were put on display in many parts of our country, and I can remember the magnificence of these gold pieces.

Yes, gold has always had a special connotation for people in all cultures. It was probably the first metal known to man, since it is found in nature in a pure state and so requires only refining. It occurs in the Bible hundreds of times, and in both the Old and the New Testaments more frequently than any other metal. We know of the golden calf that the Hebrews cast in the wilderness. We have the Golden Rule - so called, probably, because gold signifies something of an inestimable value and utility.

Naturally, something that was so valuable and held in such esteem would be used extensively in the House of the Lord. If you will read again the instructions the Lord gave Moses in chapters 25 and 26 of Exodus, you will note all the gold that was to be used in constructing the Tabernacle. And, of course, by the time that Solomon built his magnificent Temple and, still later, Herod built his, the lavish use of gold was breathtaking.

Since they were performing such a valuable service, it is only natural that the goldsmiths were held in very high esteem. This was particularly true during the Middle Bronze Age (long before even the monarchy), when the special technique called "granulation" was developed, by which tiny globules of gold were arranged in patterns and soldered onto a gold surface.

In looking back at the texts, you might read again the one from Nehemiah. It seems that by his time, the goldsmiths had organized themselves into guilds, which correspond very closely to the type of union which goldsmiths have today. They enjoyed great benefits from their association with this guild and received protection from it.

Their skill was amazing. For a people who lived long before the mechanical aids that we have today, their delicacy of design is remarkable. They were even able to make narrow threads of gold by cutting sheet gold. Surely a ticklish procedure at best!

On the journey of Advent, we light the first candle, and we read biblical passages that propel us into the future to consider the end of time-the apocalypse. Today, our reading sends us in the opposite direction. On the second Sunday of Advent, we are pulled into the distant past to hear the words of the ancient prophet, Malachi. Malachi tells of a figure who is coming "to prepare the way for the Lord." He speaks of a messenger who will purify people's hearts. "God is sending an emissary," writes Malachi, "who comes intending to cleanse your souls."

It all seems a bit presumptuous, doesn't it? In the midst of our pre-Christmas hustle and bustle, the church trots out some primitive prophet who promises us an Advent scrub-down. Is that really what we need right now? You would think that the lectionary could come up with a few encouraging words at this time-assuring us that we will make it through another Christmas, instead of cheekily suggesting that before God arrives, we need a bath.

On December 6, 1865, just months after the Civil War ended, the 13th amendment outlawing slavery was ratified and became of the law of the land. But that didn't mean every state approved the ratification of the amendment. Mississippi's state legislature, for example, was dominated by whites bitter over the defeat of the Confederacy, and they rejected the measure. 130 years passed before Mississippi took action. By 1995 Mississippi was the only state in the Union that had not approved the ratification of the 13th amendment.

Finally, on Thursday, February 16, 1995, the Mississippi Senate voted unanimously to outlaw slavery by approving the ratification of the 13th amendment to the Constitution.

Senator Hillman Frazier, a member of the Mississippi's Legislature's Black Caucus, said, "I think it's very important for us to show the world that we have finally put the past behind us."

Just as there was a delay in some states ratifying an end to slavery in the United States, so there is often a delay accepting the presence God's kingdom coming ever new here and now. Advent is a reminder we must never stop trying, never stop hoping, never stop preparing for the in-breaking of God's kingdom either into our own hearts or in our community. God's kingdom will one day hold sway over the entire world. When that day comes, my prayer is we will be prepared for its glory.

Note: Go here to review the Ratification of Constitutional Amendments. Amazingly, though Mississippi ratified the amendment in 1995, the state didn't officially notify the US Archivist until 2012, when the ratification finally became official.

2 Kings 6:5 - "But as one was felling a log, his axe head fell into the water; and he cried out, ‘Alas, my master! It was borrowed.’ "

Biblical loggers chopped trees to specified lengths, lashed the trunks together, and floated them down waterways when necessary and possible. Wood of various trees was widely used for the construction of royal palaces, carts, idols, boats, farm implements, and many other things. And, of course, much wood was used in the construction of the Temple.

Because forests in ancient Palestine were not extensive, it was necessary that woods be imported. So, we find that Hiram, king of Tyre, sent cedar, cypress, and algum wood, presumably in the form of logs tied together as rafts. These were sent to Solomon by sea and were used in building the Temple.

In the New Testament, the translation is "beam," rather than "lag," a beam being a long, shaped piece of lumber. There is an interesting parallel in the Babylonian Talmud to Jesus’ comment in Matthew 7:3-5. The Talmud says, "Rabbi Tarfon (@A.D. 120) said: ‘I wonder whether there is anyone in this generation who would accept reproof. If one said, "Take the mote from between your eyes," he would answer, "Take the beam from between your eyes." ’ "

Today’s logger is becoming a vanishing man. New and improved methods of sending wood to the sawmills are eliminating the last remnants of a once glamorous, although dangerous, profession. We all grew up on stories of Paul Bunyan and the other mighty men of the forests. Lumberjacks there still are, but the day of river logging is almost done. But, we still need great quantities of lumber in our every day lives, and so the men who work with the trees will be needed for a long time yet.

Isaiah 36:3 - "And there came out to him Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Hebna the secretary, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder."

The recorder was an officer of high rank in the Jewish state, exercising the functions, not simply of an annalist, but of chancellor or president of the privy council. He was not only the grand custodian of the public records, but also kept the responsible registry of the current transactions of government. Perhaps orginally he kept in mind the decrees and judgments of the king, and possibly the customs of the people.

In David’s court, the recorder appears among the high officers of his household; in Solomon’s court, the recorder is associated with the three secretaries, and is mentioned last, probably being their president. We may assume from the references to him, always in company with other high officials, that he served as an adviser to the king, as well as a chronicler. He was also involved in the payment of the laborers in the repairs to the temple made under Josiah; in this case he seems to outrank or at least to parallel the governor of the city.

He would, then, be comparable to our governmental advisers or, perhaps, a cabinet member in charge of overseeing the financial transactions of the government. Or, to stretch the imagination a bit, we might be able to consider him as a parallel to a recorder of such things as the Congressional Record, or even something as dry as the fiscal budget. At least, his records will survive to the future and give those to come an insight into our way of life, just as the ancient recorder left his records for us to read.

When Jesus came forth from Joseph's tomb on that unprecedented Sunday morning long ago, what was the first thing he did? Think about it: he met his people, his followers, his friends. The sufferings of the cross were past; from the cross, dying, he had said, "It is finished." He had done what he had come into the world to do: he had opened up a way of salvation for every believing person. Now he was risen from the dead. From that grave, he might have gone straight on to glory, but he didn't. There was yet one other thing he wanted to do: he wanted to meet with his people.

So he met them - first that very morning in the garden near the tomb, and later in a Jerusalem room, and then in Galilee, and since then in their small assembled groups all over the world. "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them," he said. And he is. He is meeting with us as we are meeting here today.

Our meeting together with him is, I think, important to him. It is something he wants, something he yearns for, something he chose to do on that first Lord's Day long ago, and something he chooses still. And I believe he is glad when we choose it too.

Having died, he might have gone on from his grave, but he chose to come back from it. He chose to come back to us - to reassure us, to comfort us, to reinforce our faith, to let us know that life in him is mightier than death can ever be. And this he is doing as he meets with us here today.

Song of Solomon 6:4 - "You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners."

In spite of all the problems that many people seem to attach to the national flag, there is still a moment for most of us when the sight of many flags flying in the sunlight brings a distinct catch of the breath, and an uplifting of the heart. There’s just no denying it - flags do have symbolic significance, whether, as many claim, that significance is outmoded, or whether it remains alive in our hearts. Still it is there.

The area in which I live is populated in large part by officers stationed at a nearby air base, and the flag flies proudly from many homes. Many a bereaved mother or widow or child cherishes the flag that was draped over the coffin of a dead patriot.

Most of us remember when the flags were remade to include Hawaii and Alaska. The flag manufacturers worked overtime then! But, even though there is no immediate prospect for again revising our flag to include new states, flag manufacturing is a thriving business.

And, in fact, it always has been. The use of flags or flag-like devices may be traced back as far as recorded history. But - not necessarily in the usage as we know it today. We almost always associate the flag in some way with war or military usage of one kind or another. However, strictly military use was not the primary design of the Hebrews. The only strictly military reference we have comes from the War Scroll found at Qumray and this comes from a different ideology altogether.

Actually, for the Hebrews, the word was used both literally and figuratively as a rallying point for God’s people. This is what was meant when God instructed Moses to have every man of Israel pitch his tent by his own tribal banners. This means that each tribe had a distinguishing banner, so that a straggler or newcomer could find his own people readily.

Nothing is known about the nature of these tribal standards, but the assumption is that they may have been animal standards raised on a pole or a spear. For example, we are reminded of the firey serpent standard which Moses erected on a pole. At any rate, each tribe’s was an individual, recognizable insignia, just as the flags of nations are distinguishable today.

It was the early significance of these animal standards that later led to trouble with Rome. The Romans, too, just like everyone else, used various symbols to top their banners, eventually ending with the representation of an eagle. That was all right, as long as they kept their banners in the field where they belonged. But when they brought them into the Temple, they were violating God’s restrictions against images and so trouble broke out - trouble which finally led to the destruction of Jerusalem the Beautiful.

Leighton Farrell was the minister of Highland Park Church in Dallas for many years. He tells of a man in the church who once made a covenant with his pastor to tithe ten percent of their income every year. They were both young and neither of them had much money. But things changed. The layman tithed one thousand dollars the year he earned ten thousand, ten thousand dollars the year he earned one-hundred thousand, and one- hundred thousand dollars the year he earned one million. But the year he earned six million dollars he just could not bring himself to write out that check for six-hundred thousand dollars to the Church.

He telephoned the minister, long since having moved to another church, and asked to see him. Walking into the pastor's office the man begged to be let out of the covenant, saying, "This tithing business has to stop. It was fine when my tithe was one thousand dollars, but I just cannot afford six-hundred thousand dollars. You've got to do something, Reverend!" The pastor knelt on the floor and prayed silently for a long time. Eventually the man said, "What are you doing? Are you praying that God will let me out of the covenant to tithe?" "No," said the minister. "I am praying for God to reduce your income back to the level where one thousand dollars will be your tithe!"

His given name was Leslie Leonard but everyone just called him "Pete." Pete was the son of very devout parents. They saw to it that the seeds of faith were planted in him. They were there to nourish the seeds along. Once he got out on his own in life, however, it appeared that the seeds of faith had not taken very deep root in Pete's soul. He sowed wild oats instead. He appeared to have left behind him the faith of his parents.

Early on life went well for Pete. He married, had a son, was involved with a number of businesses. He had some successes in his life. What was most successful about him was his personality. Pete was a charmer. He had a ready smile for all whom he encountered. People who were swept into his life's orbit couldn't help but like him. He was just that kind of guy.

As the years passed by things were not easy for Pete. His marriage failed him. His only son failed him as well. And then the greatest tragedy of all occurred. His health failed him. In his early 40s he was stricken with multiple sclerosis. He was totally blind and paralyzed from the neck down. Eventually he got back the use of his upper body though his eyes and his legs never recovered. After some years one of his legs had to be amputated. Suffering covered Pete's life like a blanket.

Blind and crippled Pete had every earthly reason to be bitter over his state in life. He had every earthly reason to complain. He had every earthly reason to hate life and God. But he didn't. Miraculously, as his suffering increased, his faith increased as well. He hinted at times that there in his hospital bed, in the first days of his MS, God had been revealed to him in a special way. Whatever the reason, Pete was a new man. The faith planted by his parents blossomed at last!

People often went to visit Pete. After a visit to him a man said of his experience, "I went to cheer him up and it was he who cheered me up. It's always like that with him."

His pastor spoke similar words about Pete. "I don't go to call on Pete in order to minister to him," they would often say. "I go to call on Pete when I need someone to talk to; when I need someone to minister to me. I take my problems to him. In his blindness he sees more than just about anyone I know."

As long as he was able, Pete was in church every Sunday. There was a space reserved for him in the last row where his wheelchair would easily fit. Through the cajoling of his pastors Pete also served many terms on the church council. He was one of the leaders of his congregation. His common sense and his faith tested-by-fire helped him to pierce to the core of many of the issues that faced the congregation. He was blind but he could see things that most people could never see. He was immobile of body but mobile of mind and thought.

When Pete died the whole congregation mourned. On a bitter winter day the church was full for his funeral. The pastor put into words that day what most of them had thought. "We saw in him the glory of God," the pastor said, "the glory of God shining through the depths of human suffering. Thanks be to God."

Harry Emerson Fosdick was pastor of Riverside Church in New York when their magnificent new building was built. But the last Sunday in their old building, before moving into the new one, he said: "My friends, it is not settled yet whether or not the new church will be wonderful. That depends upon what we do with it. If in that new temple we simply sit together in heavenly places that will not be wonderful. But if we also work together in unheavenly places, that will be." He was right on target. The validation of what we do in here, is what we then do out there as a result.

 

In modern times we define a host of relations by contracts. These are usually for goods or services and for hard cash. The contract, formal or informal, helps to specify failure in these relationships. The Lord did not establish a contract with Israel or with the church. He created a covenant. There is a difference. Contracts are broken when one of the parties fails to keep his promise. If, let us say, a patient fails to keep an appointment with a doctor, the doctor is not obligated to call the house and inquire, "Where were you? Why didn't you show up for your appointment?" He simply goes on to his next patient and has his appointment secretary take note of the patient who failed to keep the appointment. The patient may find it harder the next time to see the doctor. He broke an informal contract.

According to the Bible, however, the Lord asks: "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!" (Isaiah 49:15) The Bible indicates the covenant is more like the ties of a parent to her child than it is a doctor's appointment. If a child fails to show up for dinner, the parent's obligation, unlike the doctor's, isn't canceled. The parent finds out where the child is and makes sure he's cared for. One member's failure does not destroy the relationship. A covenant puts no conditions on faithfulness. It is the unconditional commitment to love and serve.

When I was a boy, I felt it was both a duty and a privilege to help my widowed mother make ends meet by finding employment in vacation time, on Saturdays and other times when I did not have to be in school. For quite a while I worked for a Scottish shoemaker, or "cobbler," as he preferred to be called, an Orkney man, named Dan Mackay. He was a forthright Christian and his little shop was a real testimony for Christ in the neighborhood. The walls were literally covered with Bible texts and pictures, generally taken from old-fashioned Scripture Sheet Almanacs, so that look where one would, he found the Word of God staring him in the face. There were John 3:16 and John 5:24, Romans 10:9, and many more.

On the little counter in front of the bench on which the owner of the shop sat, was a Bible, generally open, and a pile of gospel tracts. No package went out of that shop without a printed message wrapped inside. And whenever opportunity offered, the customers were spoken to kindly and tactfully about the importance of being born again and the blessedness of knowing that the soul is saved through faith in Christ. Many came back to ask for more literature or to inquire more particularly as to how they might find peace with God, with the blessed results that men and women were saved, frequently right in the shoe shop.

It was my chief responsibility to pound leather for shoe soles. A piece of cowhide would be cut to suite, then soaked in water. I had a flat piece of iron over my knees and, with a flat-headed hammer, I pounded these soles until they were hard and dry. It seemed an endless operation to me, and I wearied of it many times.

What made my task worse was the fact that, a block away, there was another shop that I passed going and coming to or from my home, and in it sat a jolly, godless cobbler who gathered the boys of the neighborhood about him and regaled them with lewd tales that made him dreaded by respectable parents as a menace to the community. Yet, somehow, he seemed to thrive and that perhaps to a greater extent than my employer, Mackay. As I looked in his window, I often noticed that he never pounded the soles at all, but took them from the water, nailed them on, damp as they were, and with the water splashing from them as he drove each nail in.

One day I ventured inside, something I had been warned never to do. Timidly, I said, "I notice you put the soles on while still wet. Are they just as good as if they were pounded?" He gave me a wicked leer as he answered, "They come back all the quicker this way, my boy!"

"Feeling I had learned something, I related the instance to my boss and suggested that I was perhaps wasting time in drying out the leather so carefully. Mr. Mackay stopped his work and opened his Bible to the passage that reads, "Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of god."

"Harry," he said, "I do not cobble shoes just for the four bits and six bits (50c or 75c) that I get from my customers. I am doing this for the glory of God. I expect to see every shoe I have ever repaired in a big pile at the judgment seat of Christ, and I do not want the Lord to say to me in that day, 'Dan, this was a poor job. You did not do your best here.' I want Him to be able to say, 'Well done, good and faithful servant.'"

Then he went on to explain that just as some men are called to preach, so he was called to fix shoes, and that only as he did this well would his testimony count for God. It was a lesson I have never been able to forget. Often when I have been tempted to carelessness, and to slipshod effort, I have thought of dear, devoted Dan Mackay, and it has stirred me up to seek to do all as for Him who died to redeem me.

Jesus did not condemn the man for eating, drinking and being merry, nor even for being rich. Rather the man was called foolish for building bigger barns. The point of the story is that the entrepreneur was planning to store more of his wealth than he needed to eat, drink and be merry. Look again at the words of the story. The man says, "What shall I do for I have nowhere to store my crops?" Not true! He has barns. His problem is that his harvest has been so great that his present storage facilities will not hold all of the grain. So he decides, "I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain. Then and only then will I have ample goods to eat, drink and be merry." Again, not true! He already has ample goods. He does not have to live in the moment. He has barns for his future. They may not be as big as he would like, but he has plenty to eat, drink and be merry. The man already has enough wealth to enjoy Shalom. He has a sense of well-being and security because God has generously blessed his land with fruitfulness. Fortune has smiled on him and he has been able to accumulate a sizable portion of this world's goods.

The point of the story is not that there is something wrong with amassing some wealth, but that he was intending to store it all by building bigger barns and storing it. He was called "foolish" because he did not recognize that his wealth had brought him happiness and that it could do the same for others if only it were not locked up in those bigger barns. His sin was not that he had become wealthy, but that he wanted to hoard all his wealth. His sin was not that he ate, drank and was merry, but that he was withholding the means for others to do the same. He had become a bottleneck in the flow of Shalom blessings to others.

The story, so understood, is not a teaching condemning the foolishness of gathering wealth. It is rather a parable which condemns the refusal to share the wealth we do not need. It warns about the shortsightedness of failing to be a good custodian of the abundance that God entrusts to us.

When Jesus appeared to the disciples, his greeting was, "Peace be unto you." The Hebrew word shalom, for "peace," is a most comprehensive word, covering the full realm of relationships in daily life and expressing an ideal state of life. The word suggests the fullness of well-being and harmony untouched by ill fortune. The word as a blessing is a prayer for the best that God can give to enable a person to complete one's life with happiness and a natural death. If the concept of shalom became all too casual and light-hearted with no more significance than a passing greeting, Jesus came to give it new meaning. At Bethlehem God announced that peace would come through the gift of God's unique Son. The mission and ministry of our Lord made it quite clear that Jesus had come to introduce the rule of God and to order peace for the world.

In a baccalaureate address at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, Bill Moyers told the Jewish tale about Shalom Aleichem, a Job-like figure who experienced every misfortune imaginable, but nevertheless went about his life returning good for evil. His reputation for goodness was so hailed in heaven that when he arrived there all the angels and the Lord were present to greet him. Shalom was told that whatever he might wish for would be granted him. All he wanted was that every day in heaven begins with a hot buttered roll. The angels and even the Lord wept at the beauty of the simple thing he requested.

A buttered roll, a clean bed, a beautiful summer day, someone to love and be loved by. These simple things supply joy and meaning on this earthly journey. We might call them nano-treasures. They are the small gems in life which are rich with meaning.

In another story, there was a Buddhist monk who was visiting New York. He was told by his Western host that they could save ten minutes by making a complex transfer in the subway at Grand Central Station. When they emerged from the underground in Central Park, the monk sat down on a bench. His host wanted to know what he was doing. "I thought we should enjoy the ten minutes," the monk replied.

How long has it been since we have stopped for ten minutes simply to be, to observe our surroundings, to wonder at the world around us, to enjoy the time we have? It is not a very long time, but it is enough time to ponder the simple treasures that enrich our lives and fill them with meaning and joy.

May we delight in the nano-things, the small parts, the simple treasures of life.

Jesus did not condemn the man for eating, drinking and being merry, nor even for being rich. Rather the man was called foolish for building bigger barns. The point of the story is that the entrepreneur was planning to store more of his wealth than he needed to eat, drink and be merry. Look again at the words of the story. The man says, "What shall I do for I have nowhere to store my crops?" Not true! He has barns. His problem is that his harvest has been so great that his present storage facilities will not hold all of the grain. So he decides, "I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain. Then and only then will I have ample goods to eat, drink and be merry." Again, not true! He already has ample goods. He does not have to live in the moment. He has barns for his future. They may not be as big as he would like, but he has plenty to eat, drink and be merry. The man already has enough wealth to enjoy Shalom. He has a sense of well-being and security because God has generously blessed his land with fruitfulness. Fortune has smiled on him and he has been able to accumulate a sizeable portion of this world's goods.

The point of the story is not that there is something wrong with amassing some wealth, but that he was intending to store it all by building bigger barns and storing it. He was called "foolish" because he did not recognize that his wealth had brought him happiness and that it could do the same for others if only it were not locked up in those bigger barns. His sin was not that he had become wealthy, but that he wanted to hoard all his wealth. His sin was not that he ate, drank and was merry, but that he was withholding the means for others to do the same. He had become a bottleneck in the flow of Shalom blessings to others.

The story, so understood, is not a teaching condemning the foolishness of gathering wealth. It is rather a parable which condemns the refusal to share the wealth we do not need. It warns about the shortsightedness of failing to be a good custodian of the abundance that God entrusts to us.

Creation was something only the triune God could do. To create an infinite universe, it took an infinite God. Think of the vastness of the universe. Today astronomers study stars so distant that their light, traveling at 186,000 miles per second, has been moving toward the earth for more than ten billion years. Or consider the age of the universe. Some astrophysicists claim that the universe is from fifteen to twenty billion years of age. For this to be created, there had to be a God who is "from everlasting to everlasting." Then think of the size of the universe. There are billions upon billions of stars, like our sun, that continually burn like thermonuclear furnaces.

Above all, there is the creation of humankind, the very crown of creation. The human being is a marvel of creation. The human body has thirty trillion cells performing 10,000 chemical functions. The body has 206 bones, 639 muscles, and a brain that processes 10,000 thoughts per day and communicates 4,000 messages. The heart beats over 100,000 times daily and pumps blood 168,000,000 miles around the body. Consider the human lungs. The average person takes 23,800 breaths per day to bring 438 cubic feet of air to the lungs.

In light of all this, we can see that only God could create the universe. "The heavens are telling the glory of God and the firmament proclaims his handiwork."

For Jesus there was no separation between personal piety and action. He was equally concerned about the misery of human beings and the glory of God! The times alone with God gave him the resolve to turn belief into behavior and words into deeds of compassion and justice.

We can see that same resolve in the life of John Wesley, the great Methodist preacher. A biography of Wesley gives this description of his very busy but fruitful life: Wesley always arose at four in the morning, preached whenever possible at seven, and was often on the road again at eight. Sometimes he followed his morning sermon with five others in the same day. In fifty years, he preached over 40,000 times! That's an average of fifteen sermons per week. It is estimated that he traveled more than 250,000 miles all on horseback! Even when he was eighty-three years old, he recorded with some regret that he could only write about fifteen hours a day before his eyes hurt too much to continue. At eighty-five, when his friends urged him to ride his horse to a place six miles away where he was to preach, Wesley said indignantly, "I'd be ashamed if any Methodist preacher in tolerable health made a difficulty of six miles." And off he tramped on foot to keep his engagement!

At the end of this description of such a full and busy life, the biographer tells us the secret of Wesley's resolve: "His ability to achieve was due in the main to a temperament which was remarkably steady and self-possessed. He never seemed to hurry or to worry, and he always made time in his busy day to be alone with God."

When people tell me that they are saved and question whether or not I am, I am tempted to say to them, "Well, I'm so happy for you. But no, I'm still a sinner. I'm still working on it. I'm still struggling day by day to be purified and sanctified in God's sight. But God is patient with me and allows me to come, just as I am, without one plea. As I look at myself in the light of God's glory, I know that I am still a work in progress. I need a lot more assembling before God is through with me."

The truth is that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. In one way or another, every one of us is like a rocking horse with 4,175 pieces. We each come wrapped in a box plainly labeled SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED. We all come with a few spiritual pieces missing, and we can only be reassembled by following the directions laid out for us by our Creator. We cannot reassemble ourselves.

Just like each of you, the package I come in still has stamped on it, in big, bold letters, SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED. But I know who to turn to for help with the assembly process. And so do you. But just in case, in all the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, you may have forgotten, his name is Jesus. And He's here, right now.

We sometimes miss the great opportunities of life because we get sidetracked. I once heard the tale of a talented and gifted bloodhound in England that started a hunt by chasing a full-grown male deer. During the chase a fox crossed his path, so he began now to chase the fox. A rabbit crossed his hunting path, so he began to chase the rabbit. After chasing the rabbit for a while, a tiny field mouse crossed his path, and he chased the mouse to the corner of a farmer's barn. The bloodhound had begun the hunt chasing a prized male deer for his master and wound up barking at a tiny mouse. It is a rare human being who can do three or four different things at a time moving in different directions.

The Apostle Paul knew his number one priority in life was to live his life to the honor and glory of God by preaching the Gospel. However, we know that Paul is not in a plush hotel room but in prison. He receives a report that all is not well at the Church in Philippi. His very life could be ended at any moment. And the list goes on. However, the Apostle Paul would not allow anything to cross his path that would deter him from his priority. Paul knew that his new life was a gift from God, not from the promises of humanity. His life was to be lived for his master. Nothing would sidetrack him of that priority!

Your child's journey from 4 to 14 is very short. Christian parents need to put God into each day during this impressionable time. As a father of five foster children and a preschool teacher for 10 years, I'm convinced that the following practices instilled early can teach children to hold onto God during the difficult adolescent period:

• Hang a picture of Christ in each child's bedroom. Children are often quicker to respond to pictures than to words.
• Teach your child how to pray. By the time a child is 5, he should be able to speak one-sentence prayers with a parent. By the time he's 6, he should be looking for answers to his prayers. But avoid correcting a child's prayers. They are between him and God.
• Bless your child each morning. If you want to see sudden dramatic improvement in your family and young children, try this. I admit it sounds formal, but it's been a miracle for many. Place one hand on the shoulder or head and repeat a blessing from Scripture, such as one of the following: "May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you and give you peace" (Num. 6:24-26) or "May God strengthen you with power through His spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith" (Eph. 3:16). You can also choose your own words. The spirit of the blessing impresses even the youngest children. Giving a blessing can also renew a parent's heart.
• Take short walks. Get outside to God's world as much as possible. You can identify trees, capture bugs and look at scenery. Let creation declare the glory of God.
• Purchase Scripture cards from your Christian bookstore and leave them on the kitchen table. Reading from God's Word as part of the mealtime prayer is a great way to remind the family of God's presence.
• Display your child's Sunday school lesson. Letting a youngster's efforts die a painful death on the car floor can leave hurt feelings.

Of course, none of these efforts is a guarantee that your daughter or son will know God. But incorporating some of these ideas will be a daily reminder of His presence and love.

On their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, the people of Israel come to a wilderness. It was barren and forbidding there. But the Scripture says, "They looked beyond the wilderness and beheld the glory of God."

It is always good to look beyond whatever wilderness we may be in, and to see the glory that is there. In many ways in our time we live in a wilderness kind of world; there are many problems, there is a lot of trouble, there is much complexity and confusion, and a great deal of the news is bad.

Occasionally we need to lift our gaze and look beyond all this. And this is what we do on Sunday morning when we worship God: we look beyond to see the glory.

The central element of the Christian Faith is the Christian gospel - and the word "gospel" means "good news." Beyond all the bad news that's in the daily press is the good news of Christ, our deliverance and our hope. There may be a lot of gloom in the world around us, but think of it: there isn't a single pessimistic idea in the whole New Testament! Today, may we all together see the glory of this, the wonder of what lies beyond.

An unknown writer said: This Book is the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding; its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword, and the Christian's character.

Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. Follow its precepts and it will lead you to Calvary, to the empty tomb, to a resurrected life in Christ; yes, to glory itself, for eternity.

Mickey Mantle, an almost mythical baseball star who feared he had failed to fulfill career expectations because of alcohol abuse and whose last years were haunted by self-recrimination, died of cancer in 1995. He was 63. The former New York Yankees center fielder and a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame, just before his death, said at a news conference that he had squandered a gifted life and warned admirers he was no role model. “God gave me the ability to play baseball. God gave me everything,” he said. “For the kids out there, don’t be like me.”

Can you imagine? A name that was legendary long before he passed away and he felt shame. Why? Because he took the gifts he was given and he threw them in God's face. Do you recognize your gifts and are you using them for the glory of God? Mickey Mantle would want you to. I want you to. And those around you who love you...I know they've encouraged you...some of them may have even begged you to, sometimes with strong words. Why don't you do it now?

God’s “glory” is how we describe the sum effect of all of his attributes: Grace, truth, goodness, mercy, justice, knowledge, power, eternality—all that he is. Therefore, the glory of God is intrinsic, that is, it is as essential to God as light is to the sun, as blue is to the sky, as wet is to water. You don’t make the sun light; it is light. You don’t make water wet; it is wet. In all of these cases, the attribute is intrinsic to the object.

In contrast, man’s glory is granted to him. If you take a king and take off all his robes and crowns and give him only a rag to wear and leave him on the streets for a few weeks, when put next to a beggar you’ll never know which is which. Because there is no intrinsic glory. The only glory a king has is when you give him a crown and a robe and sit him on his throne. He has no intrinsic glory.

That’s the point. The only glory that men have is granted to them. The glory that is God’s is his in his essence. You can’t de-glory God because glory is his nature. You can’t touch his glory. It cannot be taken away. It cannot be added to. It’s his being.

Ten Basic Statements about ministry:

1. The foundation of ministry is character.
2. The nature of ministry is service.
3. The motive for ministry is love.
4. The measure of ministry is sacrifice.
5. The authority of ministry is submission.
6. The purpose of ministry is the glory of God.
7. The tools of ministry are the Word and prayer.
8. The privilege of ministry is growth.
9. The power of ministry is the Holy Spirit.
10. The model for ministry is Jesus Christ

With the coming of the Holy Spirit an exclamation point was added to the Christian witness. Excitement had arrived. Power was present. Unbelief vanished. Fear fled. God, full throttle, was busy putting punch into preaching - cracking walls of unbelief, and giving the apostles a spiritual trip that they had never imagined possible.

At Pentecost the church is born. It had ceased to be an expectant enclave and now becomes a witnessing community. What emerged that day was a congregation filled with the power, excited over the message of salvation through Jesus Christ, alive at worship, consumed with love for one another, and devoted to the Lord. Their ministry was so positive that Luke tells us that the whole city was favorable to them.

We all get excited over the early success of the Christian Church, for everyone likes to hear a success story. In recent history, there have been fewer success stories in the church. In contemporary America, a congregation merely holding its own is seen as doing exceptionally well. The church has developed a failure mentality. At times even its leadership and its pastors speak in terms of its lessening influence and its ineffective witness. Disgraceful! All hell rejoices over such negatives.

When I recite the Creed every Sunday at our services, I believe what I say. "I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Christian Church." I really do. And I know you do also. I not only believe the church will remain, but I also believe it will flourish. The promises of God and the powerful Spirit are still with us!

There is no dream inspired by God and having the blessing of his Spirit that is unattainable for us. As a salesman member of our parish put it to me, "We have the greatest product there is, Jesus Christ." To which I might add, "We have a great area to market it. We all live in communities stocked with thousands of potential customers. In most cases only forty percent of them are worshiping regularly." I have only the highest hopes for the church’s future.

"I believe in the Holy Spirit." Pentecost continues to happen! The Spirit’s power is ours! We must seize the moment and become a dynamic church in every way to the glory of God until the Lord comes again!

The Board of Bethlehem Community Church gathered for its monthly meeting with solemn resolve. They were the largest, most prestigious congregation in their region, and with that honor came some serious responsibility. Every other year they hosted the Bishop's Winter Renewal Retreat for forty to fifty area pastors. Bethlehem Church's beautiful facility provided meeting rooms and meals for the specially invited clergy and guest speakers. The details were always impeccably managed. Each retreat closed with the Bishop preaching the Sunday morning sermon for the guests and congregation. Participants left feeling pampered and refreshed.

But this year the Board faced a potentially embarrassing dilemma. In the two years since the last retreat, Mae Ella Grant had joined the church.

Now, Bethlehem Community Church was known for its classic, high-church liturgy. The pastor's preaching style tended to attract the intellectual, professional members of the community. The organist and music director had both taught music at a local private college for years. They had attracted many professional singers and musicians to the sixty-voice choir and chamber orchestra. Mae Ella Grant's first visit to the church had been at Easter the previous year. After the choir's beautiful presentation of Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus," she had spontaneously cried out, "Praise the Lord!" Imagine the congregation's shock!

Most everyone had politely ignored that first, indelicate outburst. But the Grant family returned to worship. During each service she attended, Mae Ella managed to lose control of at least one "Amen!" or "Halleluia!" or "Praise the Lord!" The difficulty was that she was a perfectly charming person in every other way. When her family joined the church, she took an immediate role in Sunday School, the Social Concerns Committee and the Women's Service Society. She volunteered tirelessly to serve at dinners, help put out mailings, and work at the mealsite for the homeless. Everyone came to know and like her. Many tried, directly or indirectly, in gentle and not-so-gentle ways, to tell her how disturbing her outbursts were to the rest of the congregation. Mae Ella would blush and shake her red curls and apologize. But, with a sparkle in her eyes, she would say that, sometimes, there was no controlling the Holy Spirit!

Well, even the most conservative worshipers became accustomed to the outbursts after a year and a half. They could tolerate some spontaneity, especially when they knew Mae Ella was trying to conform. But what would the Bishop and visiting pastors think? The board was solemn, indeed, as they made their preparations.

Another Bishop's Winter Retreat was carried out as impeccably as always after the beginning of the New Year. With tastefully-chosen Christmas decorations still in place, awaiting the arrival of the magi, forty-five pastors were enveloped in the hospitality of Bethlehem Church. Mae Ella Grant was one of the hardest working volunteers that entire weekend. And on Sunday morning she and her husband, a psychology professor at the University, and their three curly-haired children were in their usual places to hear the Bishop speak. Mae Ella, having been cautioned by her many friends to control herself, was on her best behavior.

The choir's moving rendition of "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" nearly did her in. Mae Ella sat on her hands and bit her lip when they were finished. Then one of the guest speakers from the retreat rose to read the Psalm, and his words and the strength of his southern drawl were a balm on Mae Ella's soul. He read:

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his host! Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars! ... Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and women alike, old and young together! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his glory is above earth and heaven ... Praise the Lord! (verses 1-3, 11-13, 14b)

The echo of his last words had not finished ringing through the carved oak rafters before Mae Ella's hands clapped before her and she shouted in return, "Oh, praise the Lord!"

Just as abruptly as it began, her applause stopped as Mae Ella's hands clapped over her mouth. She sank back in the pew in horror of what she had done. But her husband tapped her shoulder and pointed to the Bishop, who now stood in the pulpit beaming a warm smile in her direction.

"Thank you so much for that testimony to the glory of God," the Bishop said directly to Mae Ella. And as the crimson color began to recede slowly from her face, she listened in awe. The Bishop proceeded to preach an inspiring sermon on the importance of spontaneous praise in worship. In it he endorsed the expression of such praise as a regular part of the worship experience. When he came to the conclusion, the Bishop smiled impishly in Mae Ella's direction and said, "Will you all say 'Amen'?" Mae Ella's lilting voice led the staid congregation in a surprisingly strong Amen!

Dr Paul Brand was speaking to a medical college in India on "Let your light so shine before men that they may behold your good works and glorify your Father." In front of the lectern was a oil lamp, with its cotton wick burning from the shallow dish of oil. As he preached, the lamp ran out of oil, the wick burned dry, and the smoke made him cough. He immediately used the opportunity.

"Some of us here are like this wick," he said. "We're trying to shine for the glory of God, but we stink. That's what happens when we use ourselves as the fuel of our witness rather than the Holy Spirit. "Wicks can last indefinitely, burning brightly and without irritating smoke, if the fuel, the Holy "Spirit, is in constant supply."

A missionary preached in a remote, poverty ridden area in west Africa. He appealed for support of Christian work throughout the area and encouraged those present to give what they could toward the construction of a building which would serve as a medical clinic and a place of worship. Approximately two hours after the worship service, a young woman came to the missionary and presented him with $40 to be used for the building project. The missionary was stunned. Where on earth, he thought, did this woman come up with such a large sum of money in a region afflicted by painfully forbidding circumstances? Confounded, he posed this question as politely as he knew how. He was informed that she had gone to a wealthy planter and sold herself into his service for the rest of her life. Let us be clear about what I have just told you. She had sold herself into the service of a landowner. And why? This was her way of giving herself into the service of Jesus Christ. Not partially, but totally. That sounds like a radical price to pay doesn't it? However, if you think such a measure of commitment is radical, read again the words of our text and be impressed that the lifetime commitment is exactly what is called for. A lifetime of service. Call it anything you please, but do not call it less than it is; total commitment.

Once there was a small jazz club in New Orleans. In a corner of that club sat an old dilapidated piano. All of the jazz artists complained about this antiquated instrument. The piano players dreaded playing on it. The vocalists dreaded singing with it. And all of the combos that played the club wished that they could bring in their own piano - just like they could a saxophone or a trumpet.

Finally, after years of listening to these jazz musicians complain about his piano, the owner of the club decided to do something about it. He had the piano painted.

Father Henri Nouwen, reflecting on the story of Nicodemas, writes, "I love Jesus but want to hold on to my own friends even when they do not lead me closer to Jesus. I love Jesus but want to hold on to my own independence even when that independence brings me no real freedom. I love Jesus but do not want to lose the respect of my professional colleagues, even though I know that their respect does not make me grow spiritually. I love Jesus but do not want to give up my writing plans, travel plans, and speaking plans, even when these plans are often more to my glory that to the glory of God."

Upon reflection Father Nouwen realizes that he isn't all that different from Nicodemus. He writes, "So I am like Nicodemus, who came by night, and said safe things about Jesus to his colleagues." Even a great Christian like Father Henri Nouwen is sometimes content to paint the old piano.

There's an element of Nicodemus in all of us. It's always easier to play it safe and keep Jesus off in the distance than to call him the Lord of our life. We need to know, however, that we cannot always put him off.

A man was hiking in the mountains out West when he saw the stone—a small one, about the size of a half-dollar, with smooth rounded edges. Ordinarily he would have passed it by, not being a rock hound. It would have remained there for another thousand years perhaps, a mere pebble among the larger stones on the trail. But this one instantly caught the eye. It was special. Glinting in the sunlight, it seemed to reflect all the surrounding colors, as though trying to mirror nature. Into my pocket went the rare find. All the way home to the East Coast the man thought about where he should display it so its beauty could be most enjoyed. He finally placed it in a curio cabinet, next to some jade and carved ivory. He forgot it for a while. Then one day, while dusting, he was surprised to see that the stone had completely lose its luster. It sat on the shelf among the other lovely objects, a hard, gray chunk of nothing, downright ugly. The man was shocked. What had happened to the prize he had so carefully brought back with me across the continent? Where was the sparkle and the colors that had attracted me so much? Disgusted, he snatched it up and started for the trash can in the backyard. Then, just as he opened the kitchen door, a beam of light struck the stone. As though by magic, it began to shimmer, to glow again. In an instant the beautiful jewel tones shone brilliantly. Had they returned? Or had they always been there, dormant, waiting to be released? Wondering, he glanced up at the sky. Sunlight? That was the answer. The rays from the sun were all the stone needed to come alive. How much like each of us! Of ourselves our lives are empty, colorless, without meaning. Only when we are touched by the glory of God is our inner beauty revealed.

The Scottish town of Stirling is built around a castle. It's a real castle, going back to the Middle Ages. It wasn't built as a tourist attraction and it has been the site of many major battles in Scottish history. The location of Stirling is such that whoever controlled Stirling Castle controlled Scotland. Anyone who has ever been to the castle would immediately see why it is so important. The castle is built on a huge rock standing in the middle of a plain. To the north, the Scottish highlands dramatically appear, great hills standing like sentinels, with passes disappearing between them, leading to the north of Scotland. To the south, the plain stretches out to smaller hills. Beyond them, lies England. Every invasion from the south was won or lost at Stirling. Looking down from the castle, it is possible to see where William Wallace defeated the English army at Stirling Bridge.

I wonder if anyone who heard today's gospel, while in the castle during one of the innumerable sieges it endured, would have seen the irony of the reading. To stand in the great stone castle, looking out from the battlements and feeling the sheer power and safety that the cliffs provided, while looking forwards to a messianic age, when 'God has ordered that every high mountain and the everlasting hills be made low and the valleys filled up, to make level ground, so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God'.

A true heart of compassion will let people know of God's love and that God has provided a way to experience true life, an abundant life. But How? Do we all have to share the same way? No, the unbelieving world is made up of a variety of people: young, old, rich, poor, educated, uneducated, urban, rural, with different race, personalities, values, politics, and religious backgrounds. It's going to take more than one style of evangelism to reach such a diverse population!

So what is your style?

Confrontational? Repent and be baptized, save yourselves from this corrupt generation. (Acts 2)

Intellectual? Paul debated with the philosophers on Mars Hill to convince them. (Acts 17)

Testimonial? One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see! (John 9)

Relational? Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you. (Mark 5)

Invitational? The Samaritan woman at the well begged the people of the city to come and hear Jesus for themselves. (John 4)

Serving? Dorcas impacted her city by doing deeds of kindness. (Acts 9)

Don't ever think you're a second class Christian because you don't proclaim Christ like Peter or Paul. Discover your own method. Then get out of your chair and use it, for the Glory of God. Live by faith, not fear!!!

A high school graduating class in California omits the invocation from its proceedings because of a law suit brought by three seniors who claimed the brief prayers would violate the "separation of church and state" clause of the Constitution. This is but one instance, part of a long-growing list, to be contained in a manual that our generation appears to be authoring: "How to Dismiss God from the Universe." To whom or what shall we ultimately be driven? What was the first tiny spark in the abysmal darkness? The first cause? The initial force? How did the universe come into being? Was it the handiwork of a great "Whom it may concern," or the climax of a colossal cosmic chaos? Read no farther than the first verse of the Bible: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

I remember having once spent several days meticulously fitting together pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, only to have a leg under the card table collapse, dumping the puzzle all over the floor. It was one of those puzzles with a lot of autumn colors in it, and had been extremely difficult, if not exasperating to assemble. It would have been marvelous if I could have just sat down on the floor, gathered up all the scattered pieces, thrown the whole business up in the air and let them fall into their proper places on the floor. How many times do you think a person would have to throw the pieces in the air before they would finally come down fitted together to form the perfect picture? The chances of that ever happening are about as likely as the universe having "just accumulated" out of cosmic stuff, without design, without a creator.

All evidence, no matter how paltry, points to the same conclusion: the universe is designed! On the lowly end of the spectrum, the earthworms in an acre of soil can bring to the surface more than eighteen tons of earth. In twenty years, a new layer of topsoil three inches thick will have been created by worms, which also fill the soil with holes, allowing air to circulate freely. On the other end of the spectrum, take into account that the farthest detectable star from earth is ten billion light years away. There are stars beyond that but not within the scope of our instruments. Inasmuch as one light year equals six trillion miles, imagine the distance to the star ten billion light years away, and appreciate the testimony of Psalm 19:1; "The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork."

The Greek word for lord is indeed used in scripture in the sense of master, and as a mere honorary title as in the English Sir. But, on the other hand, it is the translation of Adonai, supreme Lord, an incommunicable name of God, and the substitute for Jehovah, a name the Jews would not pronounce. It is in this sense that Christ is 'the Lord, the Lord of Lords, the Lord God'; Lord in that sense in which God alone can be Lord having a dominion of which divine perfection is the only adequate or possible foundation. This is the reason why no one can call him Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. It is a confession which implies the apprehension of the glory of God as it shines in Him. It is an acknowledgement that He is God manifested in the flesh. Blessed are all who make this acknowledgement with sincerity; for flesh and blood cannot reveal the truth therein confessed, but only the Father who is in heaven.

When you think of great building projects, what typically comes to mind? We might think of great buildings that were built centuries ago that still stand today. The Kremlin was built over 500 years and was an architectural marvel of its day. The Great Wall of China as we know it today was built in the 15th and 16th centuries and is over 4,000 miles long. The main construction of the Taj Mahal took 20,000 workers 11 years to build and the whole project spanned 22 years. Sometimes these projects took several decades to complete. Herod's temple, the one destroyed in 70 A. D., took over 80 years to build. Construction on St. Peter's Basilica began in 1506 and was not completed until 109 years later in 1615.

But as spectacular as any of these are in the eyes of man, there is one building project that far eclipses all of them. Its design is so spectacular that it couldn't be drawn by even the best architects. It has been under construction not for decades or centuries, but for millennia, and it still is not finished. Its size is not mere acres or square miles, but encompasses all parts of the earth. What is more amazing is that this building has no steel, bricks, concrete, or windows. Its construction is with very unique, precious stones called "living stones." Unlike all of these other projects, this building will not fade with time. In fact, it will endure forever. What is this greatest of buildings? It is the church, God's master project.

Perhaps you have visited the Lincoln Memorial in our nation's capital. In this white marble structure millions of people have stood and looked upon the overpowering statue of Lincoln by sculptor Daniel C. French. When the statue was unveiled in 1922, it was discovered that the facial features of Lincoln were grossly distorted by faulty lighting. Corrections were later made, so that viewers may now see that face as it really is.

To see a thing clearly, it is important in what light it is seen. If we view life solely in the light of competition and conflict, we are not seeing all of it. If we look upon all other persons strictly in the light of some mean thing somebody once did to us, we are not seeing them as they are. Grotesque caricatures can be made when distortion lights are used. We can color what we see by the light in which we choose to see it.

When we are at worship, we are seeking to see all things in all the light there is - the illumination of the Spirit, the word of Scripture, the insights of the ages, the accumulated wisdom of all time.

May our worship here today help us to correct our flawed and faulted views of ourselves and others, of God and Christ and life. May all the distorting shadows that blur and mar our view of things be dispelled, and may we truly see, as Scripture says, "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."