Parkwood Baptist Church

“Home Alone”

Another theme that we will often see in some of our Christmas movies is broken relationships being restored.  In fact, just about every Hallmark Christmas movie ever made has a story of estranged family members reconciling or young couples working through misunderstandings and renewing their committment to one another.  It is the story we love to see over and over.  It is a great feeling when people forgive and are forgiven…when love prevails and friendships are restored…when wrongs are made right and peace brings broken families together.

One of the more popular contemporary (1990) Christmas movies is “Home Alone”.  It is the story of a young boy named Kevin McCallister who was a part a large family.  He felt neglected and ignored and was, therefore, quite a handful.  We are brought into the flurry of activity as the family (along with other relatives) is preparing to go on a Christmas vacation.  Kevin’s bad behavior takes his mom to the edge and she sends him to a remote bedroom where he falls asleep wishing his family wasn’t around.  When he awakes the family is gone…wish granted.  In the hurried confusion Kevin had been left behind…home alone.

It doesn’t take long before a series of scary and funny events help Kevin realize that he loves his family and wants them back.  By the end of the movie…spoiler alert…they are reunited and there are hugs and kisses and relationships are restored.

We are now moving into the second week of Advent which focuses on peace.  It is key to the first Christmas.  Isaiah prophesied,

“For unto us a child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

This is the message that God brings to us through Jesus!  The broken relationship between God and humankind can be restored.  The angels proclaimed to the shepherds that night, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace…” (Luke 2:14).

This peace that the Scriptures talk about is not just an absence of conflict.  The peace that the angels are singing about is a reconciliation between us and the Father who loves us.  Unfortunately, we had rejected God in favor of following our own desires.  We “wished away” our family and brokeness has followed.  But, the Scriptures tell us that God never stopped pursuing us and He has continued to reveal Himself to us.  He loved us so much that He came!  Yep…Christmas again!

We have not been left “home alone”.  God has not forgotten about us.  He has come to show His love for us.  He stands ready to forgive…and bring peace.  It is what we need.  It is what we long for…relationship restored!

Merry Christmas!

“A Christmas Carol”
“The Grinch”

In most of our Christmas movie favorites there is a defining moment.  This is where the transformation we have already talked about takes place.  It is a moment of realization…an awakening.  This is the moment when the movie changes direction and the Scrooge of our story begins the process of making things right.  In “A Christmas Carol” it is when Scrooge sees Tiny Tim’s crutch in the corner and his own name on the tombstone in the cemetary.  For the Grinch it was when the whos down in who-ville gathered in the vacant square and sang songs despite his overnight heist of their Christmas trappings.  The narrator tells us,

“He puzzled and puzzed till his puzzler was sore.  Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before.  Maybe Christmas, he thought…doesn’t come from a store.  Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

It is only after that kind of moment that change can begin.  It is only after this moment that Scrooge begins to set things right with Bob Crachit and others.  It is only after this moment that Grinch rides his overstuffed sleigh down the mountain to bring back Christmas to the whos.  It is only after that moment of “seeing the Light”…after the wake up call that their behavior changes.  Movie Message…change only comes when we have a personal encounter with the true meaning of Christmas.

According to the Scripture, there is such a moment in the life of every believer who comes to faith in Jesus.  It is an awakening…a realization…a new beginning that Jesus called being “born again” (John 3:3).  We are made new by the power of the Holy Spirit.  A defining moment when life changes direction.

But this moment is just the beginning.  Most of our Christmas movies end with our Christmas Curmudgeons on a new or re-newed path of “peace on earth and good will toward men”.  It is a change of lifestyle, attitude and relationships…it is all encompassing.

Likewise, our encounter with the person of Christmas…Jesus…is one that has a beginning…a defining moment when we realize who He is and how much He loves us.  But, it is only the beginning of a change in the way we live…the way we see the world…and the way we relate to the people around us!  Hollywood can’t put their finger on it, but even they recognize that there is something about the message of Christmas that goes beyond just giving gifts and singing songs.  There is something that can change your life.

“Hey Hollywood!  That something is a SOMEONE and His name is Jesus!”  Everyone’s thinking it…I’m just saying it.

“Miracle on 34th Street”
“A Christmas Carol”
“Elf”
“The Grinch”

Over the last few days our journey through the movies of Christmas has focused on the “scrooges” of the holiday season.  Lessons learned?

1.  There will always be “scrooges’ and “grinches” in our Christmas celebrations.
2. Transformation is possible!  There is a hope that comes in the message of the Christmas event that every one…you and me and every “grinch” can be changed.
3. No matter how tragic their back story may be.  No matter how far they have wandered.  No matter how they were abused or mistreated in the past…there is Hope because of the good news of Christmas…the coming of Jesus!

Another essential ingredient to our Christmas movie formula is a hero!  This is the person that gives the consistent witness or testimony to the true “spirit of Christmas” to our unbelieving antagonists.  For Ebenezer Scrooge it was his nephew Fred and the family of his employee Bob Crachit.  For the Grinch it was little Cindy Lou Who and for Doris Walker in “Miracle on 34th Street”, it was Fred Gailey who said things like, “Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not too.”

One of the best examples of this is from one of the more recent popular movies titled “Elf”.  Buddy is a human raised at the North Pole by Santa’s elves.  In the story he goes to New York city to find his biological father (our scrooge in this story) and help get him on the “nice” list.  In other words, his goal is to get his dad to believe.

Spoiler alert:  Buddy’s innocence and embodiment of the Christmas spirit help melt away his father’s cynical exterior and he, along with much of New York city, become believers in Christmas.

Today I want us to understand that because there will always be “grinches” and unbelieving relatives in our Christmas experience…there also needs to be a hero.  Someone that will give the testimony of the true meaning of the holiday.  Someone who will bring into the hardened life of many the softening Hope of the messsage!  The coming of Jesus into our world was God revealing Himself to His creation.  It was a proclamation of His unconditional love that can bring light into every dark place and bring restoration to those who feel the most lost!

You, O Christian believer, are that hero!  We are charged to to give witness to the transforming power available to all because of the first Christmas.  We are the Cindy Lous.  We are the Fred Gaileys.  The mantra of Buddy the elf was, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear”.  We are the Buddys in our story!

So let us confidently proclaim the truth of the Christmas story for all to hear!  The God who created you has come…in the flesh…and has revealed His love for us.  It is by His coming (Christmas) and through His work on the cross (Easter) that we can be redeemed!

Go and sing loud today!  Merry Christmas!

“Miracle on 34th Street”
“A Christmas Carol”
“The Santa Clause”

There are always “Scrooges” and “Grinches” in our favorite movies.  Those who do not believe or are just plain enemies of the Christmas celebration.  This is part of the formula.  An equally important ingredient, as we said yesterday, is the transformation that takes place by the end of the story.  This is why we watch and wait for the moment when a life is changed and Christmas triumphs.  Yes, it’s predictable and even a little corny…ok…a lot corny, but we love it.  It is the message of hope that reminds us that anyone can change!  No matter how terrible a character’s backstory…they can be transformed!

This brings me to another important element in our movie formula…”backstory”, more specifically…”tragic backstory”.  What could have possibly happened to our unbelieving Christmas “Grinches” that could have stolen their childlike wonder of the season?  How could they have become so jaded to the generous and caring spirit of Christmas?

Well, most of our movies give us some reason or another.  In the 1947 classic, “A Miracle on 34th Street” Doris Walker is an employee at Macy’s Department store and oversees the holiday parade as well as the store’s Santas.  She is a hard working single mother who has pledged to raise her daughter with a secular cynicism that denies the existence of anything that cannot be factually proven.  Therefore, she has vowed to not expose her daughter to “fairy tales” or any other work of creative imagination…including Christmas.  Why?  What could cause a person to become so cynical?  As the story is played out we discover that Doris was deeply hurt by her ex-husband and father of her daughter when he abandoned them.  Her response…never trust anyone.  If they say they love you…never believe it.  Tragic.  No wonder she is miserable.

It is the same in most of our other favorites.  As a small child, Scrooge was sent away to boarding school by an uncaring father.  In the popular “The Santa Clause”, Scott Calvin’s ex-wife doesn’t believe in Santa because she didn’t get a certain gift as a child on a Christmas long ago.  Or according to Dr. Seuss, we may not know exactly the reason for it all, but “it may be that his heart was two sizes too small”.  No matter the specifics, a tragic event in the past or a biological deformity, there is a reason for this “Yuletide Grumpiness”.

Likewise in the true Christmas story there is a “tragic backstory”.  The Bible tells us that the life of joy and fellowship and peace we were intended to have was tragically interrupted by sin.  Some have blamed God or the church or religion in general and Christmas is just a reminder of that hurt.  But, the message of Christmas is just the opposite.  Jesus said I came (Christmas) to seek and save those who are lost (Luke 19:10).  He also said, “Come unto me all you who are weak and heavy laden and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

The messsage of Christmas and it’s movies is that no matter how tragic your backstory…no matter how badly you were treated in the past…no matter how far you have wandered…you are loved and invited into the presence of the One who came into our world that first Christmas.

There is always hope.

“How the Grinch Stole Christmas”
“A Christmas Carol”

It seems that every Christmas movie has a Grinch or a Scrooge.  It is part of the Christmas movie “formula”.  They either hate the Christmas season or do not believe in it or celebrate it.  In fact, the Grinch will go so far as to try and steal Christmas from the Hoos!  Infact, yesterday I pointed out that there will alwayas be Scrooges and Grinches at Christmas.

However, there is another theme that always seems to be present in these holiday films…transformation.  It is usually presented as some kind of awakening for these enemies of the season.  Scrooge went from being a grumpy old miser to a generous and caring individual.  The Grinch’s heart actually grew “three sizes that day” and he happily returned the Christmas to Hoo-ville.

I would also point out that this transformation does more than change their attitudes toward Christmas…it changes THEM!  They become different.  It is a transformation that effects their whole life not just their view of this time of year.  Scrooge becomes a better man, a better boss, a better everything.  The narrarator tells us,

“He did it all and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not  die, he was a second father.  He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good city knew, or any other good old city, town or borough, in the good old world” (Dickens).

Transformation!

Our favorite Christmas films have this message in common…the spirit of Christmas totally changes people!

As Christians we believe the same thing and we know why…Christmas is about God coming to us to restore us…transform us into everything we were created to be if we would just believe.  The Scripture tells us,

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Transformation!

Yes Hollywood, Christmas makes transformation possible!  That is why we love the story!  We love seeing those trapped in the darkness of unbelief be awakened to the light.  We love to see joy replace sorrow…peace replace contention…love replace hate…and hope replace despair.

Christmas is a story of transformation.  An obscure town becomes a doorway for the Savior.  A feeding trough is transformed into a crib and a stable becomes a nursery.  Lowly shepherds become heralds and wise men become followers.

Yes, Christmas is all about transformation.  In fact, without Christmas there can be no transformation.  We would be lost…trapped in the darkness of our own unbelief and despair.  But God came, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) and our transformation became possible.

Rejoice in our Hope today!

Scrooge

One of the most popular of the Christmas movies are the many versions of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens.  It is the familiar story of a man named Ebenezer Scrooge who despises Christmas and all those who observe it.  He sees the celebration as a waste of time and states that if he had his way “every idiot who goes about with a ‘Merry Christmas’ should be boiled with his own pudding”!  Wow!  Talk about a wet blanket.  Why would such a story be so popular?  Well…we know what’s coming.  Through a series of supernatural visitations the old miser’s heart is awakened and transformed.  He then makes things right and becomes (spoiler alert if you are the only person on the planet that doesn’t know the story) the biggest fan of the Christmas season.

This story has many things in it that we can use to help us celebrate our holiday more richly but lets focus on one truth today as we begin our Advent journey.

Here is the holiday truth…there will always be a Scrooge at your Christmas!  There were at the first Christmas and every Christmas since.  There will be those around you who will “Bah Humbug” your party and rain on your Christmas parade.  When Jesus talked about His own birth in John 3 He said, “the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” (verse 19).

Darkness and light cannot coexist.  Sin and righteousness are contrary and are always in conflict.  Therefore, when we celebrate the hope, peace, joy, and love that Christmas brings, it should not surprise us that there is resistance from a sinful world.  Another thing to remember is that we were all ‘Scrooges” before we embraced the Light and our hearts were transformed.  Our selfish hearts were wrapped in darkness before God shined the light of His mercy and grace upon us.

So, on this first Sunday of Advent…the Sunday of Hope…here is your Christmas truth.  There is hope!  We watch the “Christmas Carol” and we can put up with Scrooge’s insults because we know what’s coming!  There is hope for this guy!  He can be changed!

Let that same hope encourage you as you prepare for your celebration.  And don’t let the “scrooges” of this world rob you of the Joy of the season.  We know there is hope!  We know what’s coming!  This should give us the courage to share with those who are struggling the “good news” of Christmas…the coming of Jesus!  The world can be a dark place but Christmas reminds us that God so loved the world that He came!  The Light has come into the world and now, we can celebrate the season!

May the Hope of Christmas fill you this day!

“Behold…”

Throughout the Christmas story we hear this word…”Behold”.  It is said to Mary by the angel.  It is said to Joseph in a vision.  It is proclaimed by a choir of heavenly hosts to the shepherds!

“Behold!”

This word sets the stage for a revelation.  It is getting the audience’s attention because there is something special about to happen.  Stop what you are doing!  You are going to want to see this.  This is what you have been waiting for!  You don’t want to miss it!  On the stage it is shouted by the emcee, “Ladies and Gentlemen”!  In NASCAR it is, “Start your engines!”  In the 100 yard dash  it is, “On your marks”.  In the movie theater it is the dimming of the lights and the start of the music.  In eternity it is…”BEHOLD!”

Throughout the entire Old Testament the prophets have prepared us for the “coming”…”Advent” of the Messiah.  The Savior who would come to restore fellowship between Creator and Creation!  The Scripture is filled with dreams and visions and prophesies that lead us into the theater for the presentation of this blessed event.  As we settle into our seats the lights begin to dim and the  four Gospels serve as the stage for the greatest story ever told!

“Behold!”

Since then the story has been repeated many times in many ways.  Through traditions, music, books, and on the big screen the message of Christmas has been heralded.  Yes, it is true that many of the stories have strayed from the main story and gone off on “holiday hoobiddywhatie” (to quote the Grinch).  We are overwhelmed with the reindeer, snowmen, Santas, etc and the true story, we fear, is lost.

Well, as we celebrate Advent together over the next few weeks in this blog we will look at the messages in some of the most popular Christmas movies.  I believe that the reason these holiday films are so popular is that even the most unbelieving in our world acknowledge that there is something special…something they can’t put their finger on…something supernatural about Christmas!

It is my hope that we will be able to have some fun and also see how many of our favorite movies have messages that can remind us of the first story…the long awaited story…the true story that was told over 2000 years ago and began with…

BEHOLD!

I invite you to join me in this Advent journey over the next 25 days and use this time to begin the preparation and anticipation of your own Christmas tradition.  It will be here before you know it.  So settle into your seat with your popcorn and…”Lights, camera, action!”

He is alive!  He is Risen!

”But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.  And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.  And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but has risen.  Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man  must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.’ And they remembered…” – Luke 24:1-8

Today we celebrate the risen Savior, Jesus Christ Our Lord!

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city (the new Jerusalem); also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month.  The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.  No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will worship Him.  They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.  And night will be no more.  They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” – Revelation 22:1-5

”…and they lived happily ever after.”  Have you ever heard a story or watched a movie that had a bad ending?  It’s hard to enjoy that story especially when you know it ends bad.  Like when you are watching a movie about Abraham Lincoln…you know how it ends and it’s not good.  We like stories with good endings.  We like it when the bad guys get theirs and the good guys are victorious.  Our story…the One story…the story of the Bible has a great ending.

The last Book of the Bible, Revelation, describes the last part of our story on this earth and where the next chapter begins.  It is a story of the final restoration that has been made possible by the cross of Jesus.  It is a story that ends with a final victory over sin and death.  It is a story of new things to come and a re-creation of old things.  It is a story of eternal life where believers enjoy a sweet relief from the trials and temptations of this world.  It is a story of light and no more darkness.  It is a “happily ever after”.

The description in the Scripture above sounds very familiar.  It keeps us mindful of the unity of the story as a whole.  The purpose of the story and the character of our God has not changed from the very beginning and throughout the Scripture and throughout our lives and…ever more!  God loves us and has created us to have fellowship with Him and to live with Him forever.

Once that relationship was shattered by our own pride and selfish desires (Genesis 3), God has pursued us and done everything to bring us back home to Him.  That is the message in our beloved John 3:16;

“For God (our Father) so loved the world (that means us), that He gave (on the cross) His only Son (That’s Jesus), that whosoever believes (has faith and trusts) in Him will NOT perish (no longer condemned) but have everlasting (forever) life!”

In the verses from Revelation above, we are given a glimpse of what this reconciliation looks like.  It describes a place…a Paradise…a Garden of Eden…where perfect fellowship with our heavenly Father is restored.  The Tree of Life that was off limits because of our sin is once again accessible in abundance!  These verses describe a “healing” between nations as well as our God.

It is a future where God is the center of it all.  There is no need for light, for God Himself is the Light.  Therefore, there is no more darkness…no more fear…no more sorrow…no more death.  These verses talk about the “throne of God and of the Lamb”.  It is a reminder that we are in this wonderful place and experiencing this “happily ever after” because of the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29).  Yes, this is referring to Jesus.  It is referring to His sacrifice for you and me.  It is referring to His death on the cross…His burial…and His resurrection and all that we are celebrating this weekend.  It is the center of our whole story…the One story…and it is the center of our “ever after”.  Jesus is the center of it all!

Bottom line…it is only when we make Jesus the center of our story that our story begins to make sense.  Only when we trust in Him, accept His invitation to come home, and run to our Father’s arms do we find peace and purpose for our lives.  This is THE STORY!

This can be YOUR STORY…thanks to Jesus.

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season, we will reap, if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:9

“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophesy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” – Revelation 1:3

“To him who overcomes I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” – Revelation 2:7

“He who overcomes will not be hurt at all from the second death.” – Revelation 2:11

“To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna.” – Revelation 2:17

“To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations…” – Revelation 2:26

“He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white.  I will never blot his name out of the Book of Life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and His angels.” – Revelation 3:5

“Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God.” – Revelation 3:12

“To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne.” – Revelation 3:21

“And Jesus said to them, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and  follow me.'” – Luke 9:23

Our story is a story that encourages us to keep on “going and going and going”, as the well-known battery commercial says.  Everyone knows it is hard to keep any commitment over a period of time.  We get tired and things lose their spark and we find ourselves wanting to quit.  New year’s resolutions are a great example of how we struggle with keeping promises.  Even in this 40-day Lenten journey you may have found yourself struggling with keeping disciplined in something you decided to do.  It is easy to become discouraged.  But, our story is a story of encouragement.  It is a story that cheers us on no matter what we are going through or how many times we have failed.  In our story, the “fallen” are not left behind…they are picked up…brushed off…and brought back into the flock.  So let me encourage you today to keep on going.

In our Scriptures above, Paul, John, and Jesus remind us that our journey is a marathon, not a short dash.  It is a daily decision and requires constant attention.  It is not satisfied to end with the words “I almost made it”.  It is a story of those who overcame the obstacles…who kept going despite the ridicule…who pushed through the resistance and finished the race.  This is not a story of quitters who came up short by giving up early.

The Apostle Paul, near the end of his life said, “The time of my departure has come.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:6, 7)

At this point let me share an important thought…our story is not so much about “winning” as it is about “finishing”.  Our competitive attitudes can sometimes set us up for disappointment and discouragement.  We must remember that in any story there are ups and downs.  There are times in our story where we are victorious and we receive the “well done” from the Lord, but there are also times when we fail and we have to be rescued by our ever-loving…ever-watching Savior.  He works with us…He walks with us…we walk together through the good and the bad.

As we come to the last Book of the Bible we are reminded that the message from the Scripture is not “Walk perfectly or you will be disqualified”…it is “Keep walking with Jesus and He will help you through anything!”  You are not just a character in a story that doesn’t matter.  The Author of our story does not direct from a distance.  He walks with you and…He wants you to finish well.

Therefore, our story is a story of encouragement…a story that cheers us on…a story that will not let us quit.  Believer, He has you in the palm of His hand.  You may think that you cannot do this…that it is too hard…too long…too much, but it is not too much for Him.  Your heavenly Father has got this!

So, today, trust Him!  Hold fast to your faith!  At the cross Jesus made it possible for you to “overcome” and keep going.  Let the love of Jesus encourage you today!

Your story is not finished.