Springfield First Church Of The Nazarene Podcast

It began with a "silent night, holy night" and ended "on a hill far away." On this Christmas Day we begin a survey of the life of Christ through the Gospel of Luke that will take us to Easter Sunday. The revolution of love has begun!

On this final Sunday of Advent 2011, we conclude what has been an exciting father/son roundtable discussion talking about various aspects of Christmas with a lively talk about why Jesus Christ is better than Santa Claus.

No discussion regarding Christmas would be complete without talking about some of the allegories found in Christmas songs as Pastor John and Caleb talk about Christmas music in this week's 10/40 roundtable.

Pastor John and Caleb continue their father/son roundtable discussion looking at various aspects of Christmas including the significance of the lights, visuals, signs, and symbols we experience this time of year.

In a roundtable format, Pastor John and his son Caleb (as well as other kids) talk about various aspects of Christmas in this fun, lively, and interactive Advent dialogue looking at Christmas through the eyes of children.

As we strive to embody divine love we come to realize that we cannot do so without being entirely sanctified, which is the only means of achieving "the greatest of these" as God pours His love into our hearts.

If faith is the first essential step in pleasing God on our way toward achieving love, then hope is the intermediary bridge between faith and love that keeps us solidly grounded as we press on toward "the greatest of these".

It is often mistaken that because love is "the greatest of these" that faith and hope are inconsequential in light of the greater quality of love. Yet we must think of faith and hope as essential stepping stones on our way toward achieving Christlike love.

Even as Las Vegas is known for its exuberant shows making it the entertainment capital of the United States, we only continue our compulsive addiction to be entertained and amused as author Neil Postman so "prophetically" anticipated in his book published 26 years ago entitled "Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business."

The title of the message is a euphemism for the drunken indulgence that so vividly characterizes Vegas, but also describes the alcohol problem in the United States as examined in Ken Burns' PBS documentary looking at the Eighteenth Amendment entitled "Prohibition: A Nation of Drunkards".

The reputation of Las Vegas is one of adult entertainment, debauchery, promiscuity, and sexual immorality, traits that are becoming increasingly commonplace in our culture today that God's holy people are to have absolutely nothing to do with.

It's one thing if what happened in Vegas stayed in Vegas, but the sin which abounds in "Sin City" is becoming increasingly pervasive throughout the entire nation, most notably a gambling industry with annual revenues of over $80 billion dollars and growing.

As we conclude this series on forgiveness, Jesus shows us how love for God and love for others is truly quantified, and it involves the degree to which we forgive.

The forgiveness principle as taught by Jesus is that as we extend forgiveness we ourselves are granted forgiveness along with all the benefits and blessings that are accompanied with it.

In giving us another forgiveness formula, Jesus taught that seven repentant grievances against us must result in seven acts of forgiving resulting in nothing that should hinder the relationship between two people.

On this national day of remembering the 10th anniversary of 9/11 in which the United States experienced the worst attack in history on American soil, we heed the difficult and demanding word of Jesus to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

The proportion with which we are to forgive others must be equal to but never less than the forgiveness we have already been shown as vividly illustrated in a most riveting story that Jesus tells about a man who desperately needed to appreciate the value of debt cancellation relative to debts owed him.

We begin an important series looking at the defining practice of Christianity as taught on several occasions in the New Testament using formulaic expressions with perhaps the most well known formula being 70 x 7 = indefinite.

We welcome to Springfield Church Jeff Brown, who is the Children's Pastor at Eugene Fairfield Church of the Nazarene. Jeff recently received his Master's degree in Christian Education from Northwest Nazarene University and is currently in the year of mentoring being mentored by Pastor John Hanna leading up to ordination in 2012. We are so glad to have Jeff, Amy, and their two sons Noah and Jonah join us for worship.

Our special guests for the day are Dr. Bob and Cambria Hunter. Bob is an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene and a recent doctorial graduate of George Fox University in Leadership and Spiritual Formation. They will be sharing with us in the morning worship service and also later in the afternoon with our leadership team. For more information about their ministry, visit soulhydration.net.