D e c . 1 9 , 2 0 1 3

Dr. Mark PlattTransitional Senior Pastor

Dear River Oak Grace friend,

Old-timers in the backwoods of Kentucky used to tell of a cold and rainy day in February of 1809 when a rural mail carrier made his weekly trip through Hardin County. One day, a farmer met the mailman at a crossroads and asked him what was going on in the outside world.

The mailman told the farmer that there was talk that a war was brewing between Great Britain and the United States, and that Napoleon was invading Spain. He told them that Congress was fighting about whether to create a federal bank. In 1809, it sounded like the world and the nation were in a commotion.

Then the mailman turned the conversation around and asked the farmer this: “What’s going on in these parts?”The backwoods farmer smiled and said: “Aw, shucks, mister, nothin’ ever happens back here. I hear that there was a baby born to Tom and Nancy Lincoln. I hear they called him ‘Abraham.’ But shucks, nothin’ important ever happens back here.”

Little did that farmer know that his news was the biggest news of all. Tom and Nancy’s baby would change the nation. Their baby would go on to become the sixteenth president of the United States. He would become one of our nation’s most beloved leaders and perhaps our greatest president. He is the one who signed the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves. He and his generals mapped the strategy that defeated the Confederacy and saved the Union from division. You know his name, of course as Abraham Lincoln. That 1809 birth was so important even today, 200 years later, Lincoln is the subject of one of our best-selling books and was the subject of one of Stephen Spielberg’s movies last year.

In Luke’s gospel, chapter 2, the obscure little town of Bethlehem in Israel, had a baby born too. It was tax time and the inn was filled. So, an ordinary-looking man and

Dec. 22 - “God’s Christmas Gift” ~ John 3:16

Sunday Morning Message •

Friendship SundaySUNDAY, DEC. 22 ~ 9 & 11 am

his very pregnant wife had to sleep in a stable. In the middle of the night, the baby was born and placed in a manger. His parents gave him a common name for that day, Jesus. His name in Hebrew, Jeshuah (Joshua) means deliverer. How fitting, huh?

If that same Kentucky farmer had been in Bethlehem, I imagine that he would have yawned and said: “No big deal.” That baby’s birth didn’t seem earth-shattering back then either. Except for a few shepherds, the wise men from the east, and Herod, hardly anyone noticed this baby’s birth

But that baby of Bethlehem changed the world! James Allan Francis in a 1926 book of sermons titled, The Real Jesus and Other Sermons described the profound news of Jesus’ birth this way:“Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. “He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself...

While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. While He was dying His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth – His coat. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

Nineteen long centuries have come and gone, and today He is a centerpiece of the human race and leader of the column of

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progress. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built; all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life.”

I can’t tell you who wrote this. It is called “The Incomparable Christ.” But it summarizes the greatness of Jesus this way:“More than nineteen hundred years ago, there was a Man born contrary to the laws of life. This Man lived in poverty and was reared in obscurity. He did not travel extensively. Only once did He cross the boundary of the country in which He lived; that was during His exile in childhood.

He possessed neither wealth nor influence. His relatives were inconspicuous and had neither training nor formal education.

In infancy He startled a king; in childhood He puzzled doctors; in manhood He ruled the course of nature, walked upon the waves as pavement, and hushed the sea to sleep.

He healed the multitudes without medicine and made no charge for His service.

He never wrote a book, and yet perhaps all the libraries of the world could not hold the books that have been written about Him. He never wrote a song, and yet He has furnished the theme for more songs than all the songwriters combined. He never founded a college, but all the schools put together cannot boast of having as many students. He never marshaled an army, nor drafted a soldier, nor fired a gun; and yet no leader ever had more volunteers who have, under His orders, made more rebels stack arms and surrender without a shot fired. He never practiced psychiatry, and yet He has healed more broken hearts than all the doctors far and near.

Once each week multitudes congregate at worshiping assem-blies to pay homage and respect to Him.

The names of the past, proud statesmen of Greece and Rome have come and gone. The names of the past scientists, philosophers, and theologians have come and gone. But the name of this Man multiplies more and more.

Though time has spread nineteen hundred years between the people of this generation and the mockers at His crucifixion, He still lives. His enemies could not destroy Him, and the grave could not hold Him.

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He stands forth upon the highest pinnacle of heavenly glory, proclaimed of God, acknowledged by angels, adored by saints, and feared by devils, as the risen, personal Christ, our Lord and Savior.

We are either going to be forever with Him, or forever without Him.”

It is this same Jesus that we worship and adore. This same Jesus is the one upon whom we stake our lives and eternal destinies. It is the reason for this Christmas season.

Folks, here are three lessons from Christmas that you can take into your personal life from the birth of Jesus:

First, when things are dark, there is hope. When Jesus was born, the godless Roman Empire ruled the world. Caesar Augustus was a brutal narcissist and oppression was everywhere. Caesar’s armies marched and his power increased on the masses. In fact, a tax hike was the reason that Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem. The situation looked dark and hopeless back then.

But into this blackness, God broke through. Isaiah, the prophet (9:2), predicted this when he wrote: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”

This is often how God works. When your money is almost gone, when your health is faltering, or when some situation seems desperate, God invades your darkness with hope. Our hope is in the God who turns darkness into light. Remember what the baby of Bethlehem said: “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should stay in darkness” (John 12:46).

This hope rules the world. Romans 8:24 says: “For in this hope we were saved.”This hope is the candle that God uses to bring light to your problems, to your bills, and to whatever you are facing. Christmas tells us that hope is always there. God’s hope brings us eternal life!

Second, when God seems to be doing nothing, that’s when God is really working. Christmas is about how God changes history from behind the scenes. God sneaks up on us and surprises us with His greatness. Just when things seem stagnant and life seems static, it is then that God invades history with precise accuracy. God is working when you think nothing is happening. God is making changes when you think that nothing

December1-7 Hosea-Joel; 2 Peter8-14 Amos-Jonah; 1-3 John; Jude15-21 Micah-Zephaniah; Revelation 1-722-28 Haggai-Zechariah Revelation 8-15 29-31 Malachi; Revelation 17-22

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is changing. God is the God of surprises. Just when you think He has gone quiet, God bursts through with His miraculous power. It is amazing how God can turn things around and so quickly.

That is a lesson for you. God is working silently in the details of your life. God is working in cancer and heart attacks, in our pain and our sorrows, in job losses and lawsuits, divorces and deaths, in hardships and heartaches, in wayward kids and hurtful relationships. God is working when we least expect it. God is working when we most likely doubt it. God is working when we often miss it.

So, don’t despair. Although we don’t know when or how, God always has another miracle up His sleeve. Count on it! God’s style is to send His greatest miracles out of obscurity. It is like the old quote that my dad used to say: “little is much when God is in it.” God starts small and takes over the world!

Third, when things are out-of-control, God is still there. Joseph and Mary must have been travel-fatigued, disheartened, and out of options. Their trip was strenuous. They had no solutions. Then they were told there was no place for them in the inn. I imagine the contractions of child birth were intense and the uncertainty was more than Mary and Joseph could humanly handle. But into their turmoil and desperation came the sovereignty of God which had everything planned and had everything in control. God knew. God cared. God had a plan. In the chaos and confusion stood Almighty God who had it all worked out.

Our lives, our jobs, our families, and our world are chaotic and crazy! But amid the noise and the tumult, God is weaving the tapestry of His will. Romans 8:28 is still true. He can make the terrible things of life and even our sins to turn out for a good end. God knows where the road leads. He planned the road. He owns the road. God knows what is best. God’s plans are for good and not for evil. His good plan may seem hidden at the time; but God knows what we need better than we know it ourselves.

So this Christmas, here is how you can live:• You can rest in God’s rule over everything.• You can trust in His wisdom and care.• You can submit to God’s rule in everything.• You can stop worrying about anything.

One more thing, God offers His Son to you. Do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Have your given Him control of your life? Are you resting in God’s sovereignty? Are you living His joy? If you don’t know about God’s salvation and sovereignty,

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call or write us. River Oak Grace is about helping people know God’s love, plan, and hope!

Well, that is my epistle for this week. I pray that the message of Christmas will encourage you in your personal life and journey with God.

This Sunday, December 22 is “Friendship Sunday” at River Oak Grace. Invite your family! Invite your friends! Invite your contacts! Invite your co-workers! I have a great message planned from the most famous verse in the Bible, John 3:16. My title is: “God’s Christmas Gift” that will encourage people to let Christ into their life.

Our ROG team has planned a wonderful service. It’s going to be a great day! Bring your neighbors, friends, schoolmates, and your entire family to ROG this Sunday. The music, the message, and the services are geared for unchurched and unbelieving people. Share the Good News with somebody you care about this Christmas. Invite them to River Oak Grace this Sunday!

So, see you this Sunday for worship! Bring a Bible, a smile, and an open mind to let God talk to you. Remember, we have 3 worship choices and 2 learning choices for you:

9 AM – Worship Service – up-beat praise and worship 9 AM – Classes/Groups – learning opportunities 11 AM – Worship Service – up-beat praise and worship11 AM – Classes/Groups – learning opportunities 1:30 PM – Hispanic Service – Ministerio en espanol

I love being your pastor!

Pastor Mark PlattEmail: mplatt@riveroakgrace.org