For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we our-selves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved.                                                                                                    (Romans 8:20-24a)
 
The Advent season, which begins today, is a season of both lament and anticipation. It is a season of waiting. We reflect on the coming of Christ. Or, rather, I should say the comings of Christ. The Gospel speaks of two comings. The first happened 2000 years ago when Jesus came as a baby born in a manger in Roman-occupied Israel. The second is a promised one we still wait for. Thus, Advent has a double meaning. In Advent, we focus on that first coming, reflecting on how those living before and during that time were to prepare for that coming. Yet in another sense we also live in the second Advent, awaiting Christ’s return. And we are also called to reflect on and prepare for that second coming.
 
Today, I want to focus on the importance of the promised second coming when He re-turns to usher in a new Heavenly kingdom. A fundamental promise of the Christian gospel is a resurrected body. That’s one of the reasons the historical resurrection of Jesus is such an important doctrine. C. S. Lewis noted in his book Miracles: “The earliest Christian documents give a casual and unemphatic assent to the belief that the supernatural part of a man survives the death of the natural organism. But they are very little interested in the matter. What they are intensely interested in is the restoration or ‘resurrection’ of the whole composite creature by a miraculous divine act.”
 
What Lewis is pointing out is that this promised eternal life is not one of a disembodied soul, but one to be enjoyed with a resurrected body. We see this in resurrection promises and images of Heaven throughout the New Testament. It can be seen clearly in Paul’s letter to the Romans in the passage above in which he writes that believers “wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies” [emphasis added]. What we wait eagerly for in this second Advent is the bodily resurrection. This hope, Paul concludes, is central to our salvation.
 
With that in mind, I want to end with a note of reflection as we enter the official season of Advent, and as we continue to live in the second Advent. The Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13) includes the petition, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” “Your kingdom come” has an element of that Advent expectation, doesn’t it? It invites us to reflect on the coming Kingdom of heaven. With Paul, we lament the decay of our bodies and the groaning of creation: the bondage to decay is the result of human sin. And yet, as Paul reminded the Roman church, we take hope in the promise of liberation from bondage as we look forward to that coming Kingdom.
 
And when we pray, “Your will be done,” we ought also to reflect on the principles and characteristics of God’s kingdom. Such a prayer – asking God to accomplish His will on earth as it is done in heaven – is empty if we aren’t willing to seek that will and live it. Paul teaches us is that God cares for us as bodily creatures; His plan is to undo the dam-age that sin does to our bodies. If we truly desire to see some reflection of God’s heavenly Kingdom on earth, then we ought to be caring for the bodily needs of our fellow humans: the hunger, suffering, pain, disease, hardship, war and violence that result from sin. Creation, as Paul tells us, has been subjected to frustration because of sin. Our efforts will either diminish some of that sin-induced frustration in the little corners of the world where God has placed us, or add to the frustration and decay.
May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving week!

Instead, be filled with the Spirit … 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.                            (Ephesians 5:20)
 
I have a Thanksgiving invitation for you. No, I am not inviting you to join me for Thanksgiving dinner this Thursday. I expect that you already have plans for Thanksgiving Day, even if it is not your usual plan. Nevertheless, I do want to invite you to join me in one or two of my “new” Thanksgiving traditions. It occurred to me that I really don’t give thanks very much on Thanksgiving Day. Someone in my family always offered a prayer of thanks before the meal and in some years we all went around to say what we were thankful for. But actually, giving extended thanks to God is not something that fit into our usual Thanksgiving habits. As I reflected on it, I realized that I was missing out on the role Thanksgiving could serve in my life. It could be an occasion for intentional reflection on all the ways God had blessed me and a time to offer thanks to God more deeply and fully than usual. So, I’d like to invite you to join me in a couple of traditions that I came up with, if you are so inclined.
 
First, I no longer consider the Thanksgiving holiday as only one day. Rather, I think of it as a week-long celebration. Beginning on the Monday before Thanksgiving Day, set aside time each day for deliberate gratitude. Try to pay attention to the gifts you are enjoying in the present moment, including life, health, warmth, beauty, good smells, restful music, etc. And tell God “Thank You” for these gifts. Moreover, listen to Thanksgiving-themed music (for instance, “We Gather Together,” “All Creatures of Our God and King,” and “Simple Gifts.”) Or watch the episode of The West Wing called “Shibboleth.” Activities such as these prime our hearts for the next practice.
 
Second, at some point during the week of Thanksgiving, often early on Thanksgiving morning, spend an hour or so writing down everything for which you thankful, especially things from the past year. In your journal, begin with: “Dear God, I thank You for . . .” and then start writing. Much of it may be obvious. Thank God for family (name each person) and for blessings they’ve received in the last year in addition to their impact on your life. Thank God for life, health, home, and work. Think of people who have meant a lot to you in the past year, like your colleagues or those who have been there for you. After a while, branch out and thank God for good things that have happened in the world in the last year. Let your mind wander freely as you jot down all that you are thankful for. And make sure to mention big things like salvation through Christ, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and so forth.
 
As you do this, a couple of things inevitably happen. First, you end up thanking God for things that you had previously taken for granted. Whether major or minor, they are worthy of gratitude to God. The second thing that happens you will begin to fell an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Even in difficult years with painful losses, we realize just how gracious God has been to us, how generous and kind. Humbled and joyful, we are moved by our experiences of God’s goodness. We become filled with true thanksgiving.
 
I realize that, because of your life situation, you may not be able to join in this gratitude practice on Thanksgiving morning. You may be busy preparing a meal or caring for your young children. That’s just fine. The precise timing of creating your “Thank You” list doesn’t matter. But let me encourage you to see if you can protect one hour sometime during this week for an extended session of giving thanks. Your heart needs it. The Lord deserves it. And doing this will make your celebration of Thanksgiving so much richer.
 
May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving week! 
​

The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you – Absalom, my son, my son!”
​(2 Samuel 18:33)
 
After King David danced before the Ark of the Covenant, he had a very mixed record. God told David that he would not build the Temple; he soundly defeated the Philistines and others and become ruler “over all Israel” (2 Sam. 8:15); and he showed kindness to Saul’s grandson, Mephibosheth (son of Jonathan). Perhaps most devastatingly, though, he raped Bathsheba, made her pregnant, had her husband murdered, and married her. The baby conceived in the rape died; Bathsheba then gave David another son, Solomon. Eventually, Solomon would succeed his father, build the Temple, and become one of Israel’s greatest kings, but all that was yet to happen. Right now – in 2 Sam. 13, at any rate – David’s heir is his son Amnon, by his wife Ahinoam. But not for long.
David also had many other children. Two of them, by his wife Maacah, were Absalom and his sister Tamar. 2 Sam. 13 tells us that Amnon raped Tamar, his half-sister; while David was furious, he did not punish Amnon. Absalom took matters into his own hands, taking two years to plot his revenge. He invited all of his brothers and half-brothers to a feast, and there had his servants kill Amnon, who was drunk. Then he fled and lived in a neighboring kingdom for three years. Eventually, David’s captain Joab plotted to have David recall Absalom. Even then, David exiled Absalom from his presence for two more years.
Finally, he agreed to see and forgive Absalom. That could have been the end of a terribly tragic story – but it wasn’t. Absalom spent the next few years plotting against his father and gaining support among the people; then he went to the city of Hebron and raised up a revolt, hoping to claim the throne. This revolt (2 Sam. 16 – 19) even took over Jerusalem, causing David to flee. Eventually, Absalom was defeated and, despite David’s repeated insistence that Absalom be spared, he was killed. David wept for the death of his son – whom, he still loved.
So many tragic decisions meet in this story. If only Amnon had not attacked his half-sister. If only David had held Amnon accountable for what he did to Tamar. If only someone had dissuaded Absalom from his plan sooner. If only David had forgiven Absalom sooner. If only there had been less plotting and more talking. We wish it could have been different. These are the stories of God’s chosen people, we think. Why couldn’t they have been perfect? Come to think of it, why can’t we be perfect?
And yet it is in the Bible – and even heard in churches on Sunday. There is something God wants us to take away from it. G. K. Chesterton wrote: “It is always simple to fall; there are an infinity of angles at which one falls, only one at which one stands.” He was talking about the checkered history of the Christian church, but it applies to this story as well. It is very easy to reject the grace of God. It is very hard to accept it. It is very hard to do the right thing. It is very easy to do the wrong one.
Lord, with David, we lament; with David, we repent;
with David, we seek Your face.

​“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”                  (Phil. 4:6)                                           

As we approach Thanksgiving, I want to thank you for your continued support and partnership in the work of the Gospel through the ministries of our church. We would not be able to do what we do without you and your involvement.
How is it possible for us to give thanks when so much in our current life is difficult and challenging? Can we and will we give thanks? Allow me to share with you a couple of examples that may encourage you. First, we remember that Paul wrote the above words while he was in prison, with his life in the balance as he awaited his execution. Paul, writing to his beloved church in Philippi, doesn’t offer cheap platitudes about choosing not to worry, prayers, petitions, requests and thanksgiving to God. Paul is writing to encourage the believers to present their thanksgiving to God in every situation, good or bad. 
Secondly, our national holiday of gratitude, Thanksgiving Day, was born and grew out of hard times. The first Thanksgiving took place after nearly half the pilgrims died from a rough year and a still rougher winter. It became a national holiday in 1863 in the middle of the Civil War and was moved to its current date in the 1930s following the Great Depression. We can be thankful even in the midst of very difficult and challenging times. These are examples of gratitude in very trying times.
Paul, in a very similar passage to the verse above, challenges us: “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess. 5:18) Notice that we are to give thanks in, not for, all circumstances. We are also to give thanks not only when things are good, but “in all circumstances.” Why does God command us to do so? It turns out that there are very good reasons. Dr. Robert A. Emmons, professor of psychology at U.C. Davis, one of the world’s leading scientific experts on gratitude, said, “When under crisis conditions, we have the most to gain by a grateful perspective on life. In the face of demoralization, gratitude has the power to energize. In the face of brokenness, gratitude has the power to heal. In the face of despair, gratitude has the power to bring hope. In other words, gratitude can help us cope with hard times.”
As followers of Jesus Christ, when we give thanks in all circumstances, even difficult ones, we are acknowledging God’s sovereign work in our lives. And He does so for our own good (see Rom. 8:28). Gratitude also helps us experience deeper joy in life, a joy that is never dependent upon our circumstances. As Dr. Emmons noted, this kind of joy that comes from our Lord is vital because it gives us the strength and energy to thrive in the midst of trying times. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Lastly, our prayers should be filled with thanksgiving. Both in the passage above as well as in 1 Thess. 5:16-18, Paul connects giving thanks with our prayers. Our thanksgiving should always be included every time we pray and ask God for our needs.
This Thanksgiving, we will gather as a family of faith to celebrate God’s faithfulness to us. I want to invite you to join us for our Thanksgiving Service (Thursday, November 25, at 10:30 AM, Cerritos campus) as we gather to corporately express gratitude to God. I also want to include our brothers and sisters from the Fullerton campus in this invitation. If you are in Michigan, whether in Oakland or East Lansing, you are invited to join our Thanksgiving Service (Thursday, November 25, at 11:00 AM, EST, Oakland campus). The services will be followed by a potluck luncheon. For more information, please contact your congregational pastor. I also want to invite you to consider a special Thanksgiving offering, as an expression of your gratitude to God for His abundant grace and rich blessings. If you choose to do so, you may send or drop off your special thanksgiving offering at your respective campus.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!