If we are going to make the effort of organizing a day of food and games, why not be creative to think of ways of inviting the wider community to take part in the fun? We need to remember that much of our salt and light is the shared life that we enjoy together. The more we can get ourselves out of the building and out into the wider community, the more the basket will be lifted and our light seen.

Here is a question that I hope everyone cares about: How can we do more mission together as a congregation?
Now, there are two ways to answer the question. The first and more obvious answer is simply to do more stuff. More activities equal more mission. Therefore, if we want more mission, we just need to add events to the calendar. The logic is clear here – but so is the cost. Doing more requires asking more of people. If this method is effective, it is also taxing. A church that is intent to always do more will be a church whose members are often flagging.
Fortunately, there is a second way of answering the question. This is not to do more, but rather to do better. Here the objective is to take what is already happening and to continually improve it. Often, this might mean not adding new missional events to the calendar, but adding a missional element to something already scheduled. For example, a youth event can simply be an in-house event for teenagers already attending HEC, or a banner can be printed and a wider invitation offered so that the scheduled event becomes a missional outreach.
The great benefits of this second method are ease and simplicity. By focusing on doing better (instead of doing more) we conserve the limited time and energy of our members. We ensure that people are not so tied up with church activities that they lose their freedom for the other frontlines that God has given them i.e. work, family, friends, and additional service opportunities.
Keeping the latter model in mind, we will soon be adding a missional element to two regular events that happen in the life of HEC.
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In the person of Christ we see humanity yielding itself completely to divinity. Jesus is perfectly righteous because his will is submitted completely to the love of the Father. Herein lies the essence of all true spirituality. Our greatest fulfilment does not come by resisting God or trying to become God, but by yielding ourselves completely to God. Although we cannot replicate the unique person of Christ, we can learn from him what it means to be truly human. 

We all know that we are supposed to be amazed by the incarnation. We reverently listen to Christmas messages and use pious language about the marvel and beauty of the child in the manger. However, if we are honest, a lot of us struggle get much spiritual benefit from thinking about the incarnation. We are more mystified by the story of Christmas than amazed by it. We readily understand the need for Jesus to live a perfect life, for him to die on the cross, and for him to resurrect; however, the relevance of the incarnation is more difficult for us to determine. The proof of this is seen in two ways: first, in just how little we talk about the incarnation at any time other than Christmas and, second, the slight influence that the incarnation has in shaping our everyday devotional lives.
Now, if you (like me) have often struggled to discern the spiritual relevance of the incarnation, here are some ideas to ponder over the advent season.
1 – The Incarnation Reveals the Dignity of Human Nature
God could not take the form of a tiger, a mole, or an eagle and reveal His glory. There is something incompatible about the nature of a mere animal and the nature of God. Animals lack the freedom, will, intellect, and ability to love which are necessary to reflect the personal nature of God.
The incarnation highlights for us that, when the Bible says we are made in the image of God, it really means what it says. Our nature, as shocking as it may sound, is able to bear something of the weight of God. God is able to take the form of a man because man is able, by design, to reflect the life of God. Marilynne Robinson, the great Christian novelist, captures this point when she says, “Jesus is the profoundest praise of humankind the cosmos could utter” – or, as one old Puritan put the matter, Jesus is the “flower” of our nature.
2 – The Incarnation Measures the Immeasurable Love of God
Pagan religion could not conceive of a true incarnation.
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Psalm 119 takes on fresh beauty and life when we begin to read the Psalm, not just as a script of general devotion to God, but as a script of particular devotion to Christ. The way to do this is by inserting the name of Christ each time we read of testimonies, of laws, or of statutes. In others words, don’t let the law of God be the primary object in sight as the Psalm is read. Let each mention of the law lead you to the mediator of the new covenant, Jesus himself.

Psalm 119 is a bit like a Munro on the Isle of Skye. Any Christian can look from a distance and recognise the beauty and majesty of the Psalm. However, when we actually try to read the Psalm, or appropriate its sentiment, we often wear out quickly and end up giving up. If we actually make it all of the way through the Psalm, we feel fatigued at the end, having trodden one ridge after another without taking in much of what we have passed.
Yet, length and repetition are not the only difficulties that we encounter as we read the longest chapter in the Bible. There is also the challenge of knowing what to do with the Psalmist’s intense passion for laws, statutes, precepts, and commands. Very few of us relish the seasons of our Bible reading plans when we are led into the wilderness of Leviticus or Deuteronomy. We cannot sincerely say that “I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies as much as in all riches” (Ps. 119:14). Although we can appreciate the personal devotion of the Psalmist to God, this intimate love often appears tediously bundled with an appetite for laws and commands that – if we are honest – not many of us share.
What should we do with such struggles? How can we imbibe the spiritual passion of Psalm 119 without our joy feeling somewhat suffocated by the rigidity and formalism of a relationship defined by law?
The Power of Seeing Christ as Mediator
The shift between the old and new covenants is a shift of mediation. Whereas under the Old Covenant, the people of God had Sinai standing between God and them, under the New Covenant we now have Christ in the middle. No longer is our relationship with God depicted by tablets of law; rather, we now know God and relate to Him in and through the person of His Son. Jesus himself is our prophet, priest, and king. All of our devotion to God now has Christ in view. Every command, as it were, is now a command from the mouth of Jesus. To obey God is to obey Christ.
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As disciples, we cannot compartmentalise between secular and sacred duties. God’s desire for us is that “the bells of the horses” will be every bit as consecrated to Him as the priestly uniform. He wants every square inch of our lives to be inscribed with the glorious placard, “Holy to the LORD”.

Let’s be honest, there are some strange verses in the Bible. Often, when we are reading through the Old and New Testaments, we come across a statement that sounds foreign and indecipherable, something that leaves us scratching our heads and wondering, “what on earth does that mean?”
One of these verses is found at the end of Zechariah. The prophet says, “And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD”. Now, anyone who has read a bit of the Bible will know that bells and horses are not a common topic in the Scriptures. When we hear of horses, they usually come up with a warning directed to a king that such creatures are not a stable foundation of trust or accurate measure of wealth.  As for bells, they are only spotlighted when the priestly uniform is being tailored. Thus, it is indeed strange when a seer like Zechariah refers to a special set of bells being worn by horses that have a label which, elsewhere, is the exclusive property of the high priest. If we’re not asking, “What’s going on here!”, we’ve clearly dozed off. The image is divinely intended to catch our attention.
So, what is this verse trying to tell us? Essentially, the verse is alerting us to one of the great objectives of the entire mission of God. As we read our Bibles, one truth that progressively becomes clearer is that God is not content to limit the reach of holiness to a tiny room in a small tent among an obscure people. Rather, what we find as we turn the pages of our Bibles is that God’s final intent is to flood creation with His holy presence.
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Just as light enables genuine objects to be seen, Jesus enables genuine truths to be known. God, eternal life, forgiveness, adoption, the indwelling of the Spirit – these are not just comforting ideas for unstable souls. These are truths as solid at mountains, trees, and boulders – the very truths upon which the universe itself is built.

One of the great dangers of being an adult is feigned competence. After having lived several decades, we slip into thinking that we have the wisdom and strength needed to manage our lives. Without being fully aware of what is going on, the attitude of dependence evaporates and we are left in a hardened state of self-reliance.
One of the ways we can avoid this threat is by meditating on Jesus’ words, “I am the light of the world”. Like a lot of Jesus’ statements, these words have unfathomable depth. We need to avoid the mistake of thinking that, because we may have heard these words countless times before, the meaning of the words has somehow been exhausted. A lot of Biblical truths are like a coat of paint that needs to be reapplied to the heart regularly. Knowing about a truth and living a truth are not the same, and, as many an old Christian will attest, often it is the most simple of truths to understand which are the most difficult ones to put into practice.
To understand Jesus’ words, we need to pause and reflect on the human relationship with ordinary, natural light. Let me quickly make five observations about the way light affects our daily existence. First, light is something outside of us. If we close our eyes, we do not discover there to be an “inner light” that enables sight. Rather, to shut our eyes is to be in darkness. Second, light illuminates the world around us. Although, at times, light can result in a mirage, in most cases what we see around us is real and true. Because of light, we can see objects that – though always present – were invisible in the darkness. Third, light enables safe movement. Anyone who has tried to take a walk in the pitch dark has felt the hazard of not being able to see obstacles. It is only when we have a clear path in front of us, that we can move freely. Fourth, light overcomes darkness. Darkness is nothing in and of itself.
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Chastity is the resolve to keep a heart pure and on fire for Jesus. It is not just the virtue that protects us from sexual sin. Chastity is the watchman that guards the heart from any passion that would douse or misdirect the love that belongs to the bridegroom himself.

In I Corinthians 6 Paul is dealing with sexual immorality. In giving pastoral instruction, he says something that is, at first, difficult to understand. He says,
‘Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, ‘The two will become one flesh.’ But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him’ (vs. 15-17).
Now what is strange about this teaching is that Paul seems to suggest that the spirit of a Christian is wedded to the spirit of Christ. The problem of prostitution is not just that it violates a command of God or that it infringes upon the covenant of a human marriage. The depth of the sin is nothing other than infidelity against Christ himself.
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Isaiah’s basic meaning is that the Messiah will be fatherly in his love and concern for the people of God. He will care for the household of God just as a righteous and devoted Israelite dad would look after his children.

There is one passage that each of us will hear a dozen times over Christmas: ‘For unto us a child is born, for unto us a Son is given…And he shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace’ (Is. 9:6). There is a puzzle in this verse that a lot of Christians never pause to figure out. What does it mean that Jesus is ‘Everlasting Father’? Most Christians with a basic understanding of the gospel can make sense of Jesus being Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, and Prince of Peace. These labels fit well with our understanding of the story of redemption. Yet, Jesus being called ‘father’ does not square with how we typically think about the Savior. How do we make sense of this unusual title for the Messiah?
Avoiding Confusion
A good starting point is to recognise that when Isaiah refers to the Christ as ‘father’ he does not mean that the eternal Son of God is ‘father’ in relation to the first person of the Trinity. Before God the Father, Jesus is the eternally begotten Son. In the old language of the creeds, the Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Father.
Having side-stepped this confusion, we are now in a better place to understand the text. Isaiah’s basic meaning is that the Messiah will be fatherly in his love and concern for the people of God. He will care for the household of God just as a righteous and devoted Israelite dad would look after his children.
So far, so good. Yet, this just leads to a further question. How would Isaiah have understood the roles and responsibilities of a pious father? To answer this question a little Old Testament background is required.
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Envy is the recoil of comparing ourselves with others. We see something beautiful in the life of another person and lament because the good belongs to them, not us. Now, when it comes to identifying a good in someone else’s life, we should always ask an initial question: Does the good that I perceive do anything to amplify the glory of Jesus? Often the answer will be ‘no’. In many cases, envy is built on a covetous desire for something that has little or no spiritual value – or perhaps even negative value. 

We aim at God’s glory when we are content to be outshined by others in gifts and esteem (Thomas Watson).

Envy is a weed that readily grows in my heart. If I go on social media, my first look is a casual scroll through pictures and memes shared by friends. But if my eyes alight for more than a second or two, it is usually because I’ve spotted some point of comparison. Like a tilted bottle of water, I feel my emotion shift from a settled disposition of contentment to a sullen mood of disappointment. A sadness ebbs into my heart. It’s a sadness so ugly and shameful that I’m embarrassed to admit the truth in public. Deep down I feel a self-pity that someone else has experienced a dollop of blessing instead of me. Rather than rejoicing in the happiness of a friend, the beauty of her life triggers a bitter taste of disappointment.
My guess is that I’m not alone in needing to combat the sinful passion of envy. Many others will be familiar with the resentful sensation that a neighbour’s slice of cake is bigger and better than ‘mine’.  The question I want to raise is this: What should we do when envy spring up like a thorn in the heart? What steps can we follow to keep unequal scales from spoiling our contentment and joy?
The place to begin is to drill down into the core of the Christian heart. Deep down, regardless of how we feel in a passing moment, the bedrock of the heart of a Christian is a passion for the glory of Christ. We long for Jesus to be made preeminent in everything. On the one hand, the more he is exalted, the less room there is for sin, for suffering, and for death. On the other, anything that detracts or distracts from the glory of Christ is an obstacle to human happiness which needs to be demolished and removed. We need to keep this subterranean love in mind as we grapple with our more superficial passions.
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