​The Hidden Christmas
Introduction & Chapter One
November 27, 2016
Our first meeting together on the first day of Advent started out on a hopeful note. Timothy Keller is a pastor who dedicates this book to his grandchildren. It gives us the sense of a wise father passing down the gospel to the next generation. This is an approach that invites us to hear what is taught and thoughtfully engage the teachings. Keller’s tone in the book has a smile (at times a smirk when the world acts out in unbecoming manners) because Christmas is a time for joy. It’s a joy because of the incarnation of God in the earth. Joy to the world indeed!
Although Keller’s approach is not casted in the light of Advent, we who are journeying during this time are mindful of the ancient church tradition that inaugurates our church calendar. Keller’s joy though is easy to mistake as incidental happiness that any of us can have if we can get in the Christmas spirit! This appears to where the battle lines are drawn for our study. Christmas is most holy for Christian observance yet, a secular festival of lights. Keller does not take the banal method of criticizing consumerism at Christmas (in some sense for this to remain a secular festival it will ever hold onto the transactional nature of gift giving). No, Keller deals with the issue of sentimentality. It’s this prevailing mood that does no good. The problem of sentimentality is its lack of truthfulness and unrealistic ways of living in this world. The Christian response is one that sees the battle as a clash of light and darkness. It’s not one that is between persons and peoples but in all of our hearts.
To be a Christian is recognize by admitting the truth that I am blind and that Jesus alone can heal us. This is the human condition and none of us are exempt from being malaise with this disease. We want to say as Christians we are in the light (and we are because of Christ’s light) but we still struggle and fight with disordered desires and decrepit ways of being human as a people. Yes we are people called out of darkness into God’s glorious light but this does not mean our battle is over, if anything, it intensifies. It is this admittance of Sin’s power that engenders self-centredness and shows how persistent spiritual blindness can be that gives the Christian a heartfelt sense of joy. You see, we live as Christians, by the hope of God’s light shining upon us and penetrating the stoniest heart to manifest the light within that it may shine through. Our blindness as a Christian would be to say we have no struggle. Listen to Jesus in the Gospel of John:
“For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” (9:39)
Now listen to the offence this created in the ears of the Pharisees (some of whom made Jesus their opponent):
“Are we also blind?” (9:40)
Jesus’ reply is telling:
“If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.” (9:41)
What this exchange means for us as Christians during this time of Advent hopes is this…we are in the dark in desperate need of light. This is not something the new convert simply learns and then goes on his/her merry way, rather, it is the chance to now live as disciples who recognize the profound bankruptcy of our thought life, humanity and spiritual reception of God’s life. We live by the miracle of God’s grace. We don’t have anything that makes it easier or better as we journey into Christ. No! We bear a cross in the hopes of imitating the Master who is our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Advent is a time to come to terms with our incipient nature to not relate to God with who we are on a regular basis. It is a time to discover as the light shines on you, our unpreparedness for the coming of the King. What hope do we have other than that the baby will be born and by otherworldly intervention we will hear and believe! Such is the hope of a Christian community of brothers and sisters who do not deny they are beginning to see but neither denies there is this recurring blindness. Blindness toward what you may ask? Blindness that says we are not blind and is thereby ignorant of our unloving stony hearts in need of a Spirit transformation. We need Jesus Christ more than we think or know. Are you ready to join us this Advent for the weeks ahead? Shalom.

Greetings fellow-wayfarer, two weeks ago (November 13, 2016) we went into groups of three for Sunday School. These are posted for your edification and to aid along in study of Paul's letter to the Colossians. Below are fifteen collections that I pray will stretch and strengthen you in your love for God. Shalom.
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1. If Colossians were a First Testament book, which one would you say and why?
2. Show five instances in the letter of Colossians of Paul being imprisoned. Describe each of those instances with citation of chapter and verse reference.
3. Paul is a new man in Christ but imprisoned. Make sense of this reality and share three paradoxes that are its necessary outcome.
4. Last week’s sermon entitled, “Misfits of Another Kingdom,” made the point in 3:18-4:1 that Christians are not primarily about telling other people what to do. Explain the way that works in family roles of wives-husbands, children-fathers, slaves-masters.
5. Unpack Colossians 2:23, “These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” Context: Paul is speaking of human teachings and precepts (something Jesus was on about with the Pharisees) when talking about having an appearance of wisdom. What does have value to stopping the indulgence of the flesh? And why does “self-made religion”, “asceticism” and “severity to the body” not work in stopping the indulgence of the flesh? Why is this false approach used by people generation after generation? How do you understand this lingering effect?
6. Review the Sunday School from a couple weeks ago that addressed the ways we understand the head and the way Colossians does (see Col. 1:18; 2:10, 19). In sum, Christ as the head sounds a lot different than we point at the head. Account for this difference.
7. The one part of our sermon series in Colossians that did not have time allotted to go through was Col. 3:15-17. In past times of teaching these verses, the repetition of thanksgiving (3X) has been mentioned. Look at the word “let” (v.15, 16) and connect this to doing everything in the name of the Lord Jesus. Comment on what kind of outcome this can have on our ways of being Christian.
8. Colossians 3:11 reads, “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free: but Christ is all, and in all.” This verse is reminiscent of Galatians 3:28. Why does Paul not include male and female in this list? Is this simply an oversight or gloss? Or perhaps does it contribute to the addressing of the Christian household in 3:18-4:1? Further, how do you hear Christ is all and in all?
9. Paul warns against being taken captive by philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of this world (2:8). Again in 2:22 he speaks of human precepts and teachings.  Why is there a need to warn against the role of human tradition, teachings and precepts? Isn’t this a built in component to being Christian that we have a human composition to that way things are share, disseminated or disclosed? Speak to this issue with understanding church practice (both within our Sunday confines and abroad).
10. Have each person offer up a portion of Paul’s prayer in 1:9-14 for one another and our church.
11. Re-summarize the role of the opening chapters of Genesis in Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Why does he make a point of starting from there?
12. Death and resurrection are the ways of God made plain in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Show the ways that Paul makes this the crux of the matter for our life in Christ.
13. Colossians 3:25, “For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.” This verse seems to be out of place when reading the flow of 3:22-4:1. But we know the Bible is God’s Word and these lines have a point to make. Who is this line speaking of? The bondservants or masters? Or it both? Give reason(s) for your answer.
14. Read Colossians 4:7-18. This will be next week’s text that concludes our sermon series in Colossians. Get acquainted with the names and imagine being in the church at Colossae when it is being read aloud. What impressions does this ending leave with you?  
15. Benediction: now may the Father of our living Lord Jesus Christ who robes you and adorns you as our high priest in heaven cause you by the Holy Spirit to be wearing as God’s hand-picked ones, holy and much loved to be clothed with compassionate hearts to our failures, kindness to the bruised, humility to the proud in heart, meekness to the power-hungry, patience to the wandering, making room for other Christians who fault without finding fault, and tenderly forgiving others as you remember what it has been like to be forgiven by the Lord, so now forgive others and let love reign in you from the inside out and by so doing promote the glory of God in this mission of imaging the Creator Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.  

Greetings, our last week in Sunday School (November 20, 2016) I wrote on the board various questions and musings on the letter of Colossians. Listed below are 12 questions I invite you to process and digest. Should you have any questions, feel free to let me know. Shalom!

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• Grace is vital to the proclamation of Paul’s gospel to the gentiles (see Colossians 1:2; 4:18). Show the ways Paul ministers grace in ministering to the Colossians.
• What is God’s action toward His creation? In other words, locate at least ten references to God as the subject of the verb in the entirety of the letter of Colossians.
• Why does the role of the mind come into conversation when speaking about humanity’s bondage to Sin?
• Identify the calling of the church, and the place you find yourself in all of this?
• The revelation of God’s gospel shows that God is hiding some things. Explain.
• How would it affect your understanding to learn the letter to the Laodiceans is the letter to the Ephesians?
• Paul’s language of faith shows a great level of imagination at work (eg. In 2:14 the legal demands on the cross are cancelled is referring to the inscription above Jesus’ head on the cross). Find other references in Colossians of Paul using his apostolic imagination.
• Comment upon the vertical/horizontal dimensions described in the letter. What effect does this give to the hearers?
• According to Paul in Colossians, a mature Christian community/people/church is characterized by ____________.
• Paul appears to throughout the letter to take a positive tone to the Colossian church. In this light, many scholars speak of a “Colossian Heresy” in the letter that Paul is warning Colossians Christians. Reconcile this conundrum.
• The Christian hope, as described by Paul, is shown in the letter to be what?
• Compare Paul’s letter to the Romans with Colossians, what major similarities and differences do you notice? 

​What we have here in Daniel 4 closes off a three part series since chapter 2. In these three chapters (Daniel 2, 3, 4) there is particular attention given to God working on King Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonian ruler is given a chapter’s worth of attention here. This is shocking to say the least. After all, the Old Testament considers the life of the people of Israel. Why does Nebuchadnezzar have this chance to articulate his thoughts? Or perhaps everything spins on its head when we consider Karl Barth’s words, “The content of the Bible is not at all formed by right human thoughts about God but by the right divine thoughts about men.” This is not a Babylonian king parading in Israel’s Scriptures. It is God’s Word to Israel from a king who was responsible for besieging Jerusalem and being used by God to bring about Israel’s exile. For Nebuchadnezzar to have a lengthy chapter spanning 37 verses is surprising. Further to learn this is first person speech is shocking, even alarming! What follows is why this chapter could be one of the finest pieces of human confession in the entire Bible.
Nebuchadnezzar the king is compelled in the opening verses to give an account of the Most High God’s deeds. This serves as a hinge from chapters 2 and 3. Nebuchadnezzar has had a dream sent from God and the encounter at the fiery furnace as two occurrences of the glory of God. In both accounts the king confesses that Daniel and Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah’s God is the true God and deserving of exclusive praise (see Daniel 2:47; 28-29). The other opening part to mention of chapter 4 is the king’s confession of God’s kingdom enduring from generation to generation (4:3b). This serves as a preparation for the following Babylonian monarch, Belshazzar’s arrival. This will be Nebuchadnezzar’s final words in the Bible.
It is Nebuchadnezzar’s re-telling of what God the Most High did. God sent a dream to him that scared him. No one in his court could interpret the vision except Daniel. The king’s characterization of him is one whom the spirit of the gods dwells in. An apt description that preserves Nebuchadnezzar’s polytheistic understanding of reality. The Bible doesn’t seem to censor the otherwise contrary thoughts of this despotic ruler.
Surprisingly, Nebuchadnezzar is the one telling the dream to Daniel without needing to reveal what it is to him. Rather Nebuchadnezzar states the dream as it is and Daniel interprets it. Before that however, Daniel is dismayed for a period of time. This will not be the last time that Daniel will be morbidly affected by dreams (only difference is he will be the recipient of the dreams). Daniel starts off saying that he wishes this dream is for his enemies. The dream is about a tree that is lofty in size that is chopped down by an otherworldly being’s command. But the tree’s stump is to be secured until seven times pass over him. Daniel tells the king he is the tree that will be cut down until you know that the Most High is God of heaven and gives kingdoms to whomever He pleases on earth. Sure enough, Nebuchadnezzar loses his mind (as close an example we have of mental illness today) and becomes animal like grazing in the field with unkempt hair. His reason returned to him when he lifted up his eyes to heaven and honoured the God of heaven and earth as Lord.
What is this re-telling all about? It is concerning Nebuchadnezzar’s humiliation that leads to the discovery by God’s grace that God humbles the proud and none of us are outside of God’s domain to do as He pleases that we might know who He is. God is God and we are not. It is a starling witness of God’s grace that a ruler of Nebuchadnezzar’s ilk could be humbled and confess that God is Lord. Does this not suggest something of a transformation? Could this hold out hope that a powerful world leader can be reached by God? Yes it does. And if God reaches the loftiest and proud and can humble them, then He will reach us and show us what He is really like. Look to Jesus Christ today and humble yourself under His mighty hand. Amen.

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold that was as tall as the CN Tower. The width of it is curiously thin at the base and we wonder what to make of the Babylonian king’s activity. Why would he make this idol in the first place? Especially given his confession of who the true God is, why would he undertake a project of this nature? The ending of chapter two appears to give explanation for the king’s actions. He builds this tall statue which represents him because he is thinking of himself. Remember his dream? The statue is erected to glorify him in the dream as the head of gold and apparently the entire statue is gold not just the head! Indeed the whole image building exercise gets to the king’s head. He demands all the people of his kingdom to gather together at the dedication of this blasphemous structure and hear the sound of the music and fall down and worship the statue which represents his own glory. Apparently everyone does it, except three Jews. Daniel is curiously absent in this story. His three friends though who had been exalted at the end of chapter two are in focus.
Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah are the names of the three Hebrews who are more famously known by their Babylonian names Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. These three will not worship the image that Nebuchadnezzar sets up. Malicious reports get out that they are not bowing to this idol. Nebuchadnezzar is raging mad over their defiance and demands them to come into his presence. Upon their arrival Nebuchadnezzar seeks to intimidate the three into submission to him. He gives them the ultimatum of one last chance to bow down once the music band starts playing. The three Hebrew boys respond by saying that it is not necessary for them to reply to his silly demands. They declare that their God is able to deliver them from the threats of the fiery furnace. But even if they are not delivered from the fiery furnace the king is being served notice that they will not have their compliance with the idolatrous image that the king set up. Civil disobedience is on display here at its finest.
The king is irate by now and there is no need for the music band to play because that is a lost cause. The only thing hotter than the furnace is the king’s rage. He commands the furnace to be cranked up seven times hotter than usual to let the boys know they have affronted the king. What is showed to us next is nothing short of a miracle. The boys go bound into the fire, apparently at the mercy of the king and his government. This is where the story usually ends. But the Bible is not that kind of story. It shows God showing up at the most interesting of times.
The boys are no longer bound in the fire and they are free! Nebuchadnezzar is aghast with astonishment! He can’t believe his eyes. He explains to his men about what he sees. We threw in three but there is a fourth and he like the son of the gods! God shows up in the most intense persecution. God appears with His people in their trial and greatest hour of need. God does not fail or forsake! This is clarion call to the church to be faithful when everything is going wrong because God will make it right! Only hold on and be of good courage. Wait for your deliverance is near! Call on the name of the Lord and you shall be saved!
The three Hebrew boys are called to come out of the fire and they are examined only to find out that the fire did not have any power over them, none at all. Nebuchadnezzar praises their God as the true God and promotes them in his kingdom.  Coming out of that affliction and being vindicated shows God’s ways with the righteous. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of this in His cross and resurrection. Easter promises this hope! May the Lord who preserves and keeps His people grant you the power to be faithful in your witness to the Triune God. Amen.

​Nebuchadnezzar is a world leader whom God had a word. But how do you reach the king of the strongest empire on the planet, Babylon? Answer is you send him a dream. The king had a sleepless night (something that happens in Scripture not infrequently) and his spirit is distressed. The king comes up with a most interesting proposal to his fortune-tellers. He commands them to tell him what his dream is or else they will be ripped to smithereens. The soothsayers think he is being unreasonable and offer a good dose of common sense. They say that no human being can do what you’re asking so be fair. But Nebuchadnezzar’s word is firm and since they are stalling and scheming ways out of it the king orders their destruction. In the process of eradicating his wise men, one of them, Daniel by name is dragged to be destroyed. Daniel though tactfully asks what all the commotion is about. Arioch the king’s henchman explains to him the situation. Daniel went to the king asked for some time that he might show the king the interpretation. Strange enough, the king grants Daniel time.
Daniel heads straight home and calls together his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. They had a prayer meeting and sought the mercy of God concerning this mystery. Sometime in the night the same God that sent Nebuchadnezzar the dream is the same one who sent Daniel the dream with its interpretation.  Once Daniel receives it he takes it as an occasion to bless the Lord. His priorities are toward the Lord.
Daniel ends up being rushed in to the king’s presence. After a brief exchange, Daniel wants to give a disclaimer before he goes ahead with the dream’s interpretation. It is simply that it is not about how wise a person I am but that God wants you to know the thoughts of your mind. The humility Daniel exudes with is a character of a righteous man in exile. He is humbled by all the events occurring and trusts God’s rule in human affairs.
Daniel then proceeds to tell the king the dream. It is a tall image of a man made of various metals from head to toe. Along with this is the drama of a stone, uncut by human hands crushes the statue, but the stone became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. The following is the interpretation of the dream according to Daniel:
Nebuchadnezzar you are given a kingdom to rule here on the earth by God. You are the head of gold.
Two more kingdoms shall come after yours and then the fourth kingdom (Daniel spends most time on this one)… which has partly iron and partly clay mixed together. These two elements do no mix together and are weak. But God will set up a kingdom that will bring an end to all these kingdoms. In the end, God’s kingdom alone will last and reign supreme. O king, pay attention to that stone because it is not made with human hands and is divine in origin. It is this kingdom that breaks apart all the kingdoms of the world. God alone who is great has made this known to you so that you see what is to come. As sure as I am standing here it will come to pass.
Nebuchadnezzar is floored. He praises the God of Daniel and gives gifts and offerings to him. The king’s confession is not one to overlook: truly your God is Lord of kings and reveals mysteries. Daniel is lifted up in the kingdom of Babylon along with his three friends. God is good.
This dream is sent from God to show the enduring power of the kingdom of God and the futility and brittleness of human fiefdoms. This rock is the One that triumphs over all. God sends it, God relativizes, God endures because He is the King of this kingdom. Jesus Christ is the king of this kingdom who shall never pass away. Become His loyal servant today and come to life in the kingdom of God and believe the good news…Jesus Christ is our king, let us worship Him today. Amen.