That's Why I say Merry Christmas!

"I love Christmas, but I hate the stress."  That was what one person recently said to me as she stopped for a moment to say hello in my office.  

Sadly, Christmas often stresses us out because it heightens our relentless pursuit of perfection.  We work hard to find the perfect gifts and wrap them with the perfect paper.  We endlessly stress out to get the perfect foods for the party.  We worry about getting the perfect family picture taken and getting the perfect Christmas cards out on time!  Why all the stress about perfection when the only perfection we need comes from that baby who was announced to imperfect people?

The night that Jesus was born, the angels were sent by God to announce Jesus' birth to shepherds in fields nearby.  Maybe it's just me, but sometimes I wonder why God sent angels to shepherds.  Stop and think about it: angels are bright and shiny.  Angels are perfect.  Angels can't say the wrong thing.  Wouldn't it have been better for God to send angels to everyone to announce Jesus' birth, instead of shepherds?  But no, God sent them to shepherds.  People who were ordinary, dusty and dirty, and no doubt smelled a little bit...have you ever smelled a sheep?

Why would God send bright and perfect messengers to dirty and imperfect ones?  Isn't it because the perfect object of their message, Jesus, came to save those who are imperfect?  That's right.  The angels said, "Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you.  He is the Messiah, the Lord" (Luke 2:11).

The reason Jesus was born and lived perfectly 33 years on this earth and then died and rose again is simply stated in 2 Corinthians 5:21, "God made him (Jesus), who had no sin, to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."  That's what makes Christmas worth celebrating.  That baby grew up to be my Savior, and yours.  He took my sin upon himself when He died and He gave me His perfection.  I'm righteous, in other words, right with God, in spite of all of my imperfections, because of what Jesus did for me.  And He did the same for you.  That's why I say, "Merry Christmas!"

You're invited to join us this weekend as we celebrate the timeless love of our Savior and what He did to save us.

Worship times on Saturday, December 24: 5:00pm and 7:00pm at our De Pere site (2066 Lawrence Dr, De Pere)

Worship times on Sunday, December 25: 9:00am at our De Pere site 9:00am at our Green Bay site (1167 Kenwood St, Green Bay - 2 blocks north of Lambeau Field on Oneida St.)

Merry Christmas from our St. Mark family to yours!

You'll never fully understand...

         You cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. (Ecclesiastes 11:5b)

This was the striking verse of the day recommended on my phone this week. I was taken back by its beautiful simplicity. Solomon in all his splendor and wisdom and life experience came to this conclusion.

This verse is a reminder:

• When things go wrong, it is okay to not know why. We're not God.
• No matter how much we know, or discover, or invent, or create - we have limits. We're not God.
• We can't and won't fully understand God. We're not God.

These conclusions, I suppose can be frustrating, scary, or disheartening to some. And yet, as I ponder Christmas this month I'm encouraged. He who is and works beyond our understanding became one of us so that we would understand that he completely knows and loves us. He knows what it is to be a toddler, he knows what it is to get hurt, he knows what it is to be tempted, he knows how much our sins hurt us. Perhaps the most unfathomable thing about God is how he, after becoming one of us gave his life on a cross for us. 

We may not understand the work of God but I'm thankful we can see and know his love through the Christmas story.

Blessed Christmas,

Pastor Eric Hansen

How to Heal a Divided Nation

I don't know about you, but I've been very troubled by what I'm seeing across our nation in the past week.  When demonstrations turn violent and become riots and destroy property and hurt people, that's wrong.  There have been hundreds of hate crimes since the election.  Hate crimes are wrong.  Click on the following link for the story: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hundreds-hate-crimes-reported-election-splc-n683761  

Personally, on Facebook and other social media avenues, I've been shocked to see the hateful comments being used as carelessly as the two leading candidates used their words.  Do we really want to continue that?  

People are asking me how we can heal this nation?  Here are three points to keep in mind in the coming weeks:

1) Be careful what you say.  I am reminded of what it says in Ephesians 4:29, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."  Believe it or not, words have power.  What you say influences people around you.  Let's make sure that what we say benefits those who listen.

2) Pray for our nation and our communities every day.  "I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.  This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:1-4).  I know of a few of our partners who have put "prayer for our nation" on their calendar every day.  That's a great idea!  

So join me in praying for our nation and our nation's current and future leaders. Join me in following Jesus more closely so that wounds will be healed, families will grow stronger and our communities will see what real peace, love and hope looks like.

3) Keep everything in perspective.  Jesus said, "Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" (Matthew 6:27)  The answer is?  Nope.  I can't.  If anything, I actually subtract hours from my life when I worry.  You do too.  So don't worry.  Instead, keep everything in perspective.

At the end of the day, sinful candidates were voted into office by sinful people like you and me. We may not agree with the outcome, but personally, I thank God for an opportunity to vote. There are billions of people around the globe who would love to get the chance to do what we did on November 8.  Lest we forget, regardless of who the president is, all of us answer to Jesus. He is the real King. He is the One to whom I prayed that His will be done in this election. He is the One that I trust, not Trump or any of the other elected officials. People will always let us down at one time or another. Jesus never will.

As I wrote in my blog a couple of weeks ago, "Remember, the greatest good for all people occurred when Jesus died at the hands of a pagan governor named Pontius Pilate. Through Jesus' death and resurrection our sins are forgiven and our eternal home in heaven is guaranteed by faith, no matter who is in charge as governor or emperor or even president. If our all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving God could pull that off, then He can handle bringing good for His people from this election as well." (http://stmarkdepere.blogspot.com/…/…/decisionsdecisions.html)  Jesus is still the only Savior of this world.  Keep that in perspective.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on how we can contribute to healing our nation.

The 300… (Better than the movie)

Picture Thanks to Deviant Art

Have you ever felt the need to pad your prayers? Ever feel there are things you just couldn’t ask God because of their unlikelihood? Today I read a Bible story that reminds us that our God is more powerful than we can think or imagine.

The Lord can do a whole lot with even a very little.

In Judges 7 we find the nation of Israel dealing with an aggressive foe, the Midianites. Israel had their crops destroyed, their cities raided and were left to flee to caves for safety. Then the Lord calls Gideon to rescue his people. Gideon amasses an impressive army of 32,000 soldiers. To this the Lord says, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’” So, those who were afraid could go home and 10,000 are left.

Still the Lord says, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there.” Depending on how the soldiers drank water from the river, some could stay, the majority could go home. Finally, there were only 300 left!!! The Lord brought them from a fighting force of 32,000 to only 300…  The size of their initial force demonstrates the size and power and fear Israel had for the Midianites. But can you guess who won? The 300.

Throughout the Bible the Lord is in the habit of doing amazing things in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Just look at the focal point of the Bible – a humble Jesus dying in our place to give us freedom from sin, death, and the devil. Talk to the Lord always and especially highlight and ask for things that seem impossible. Our Lord makes the impossible routine.

Decisions...Decisions...

I'm not going to tell you for whom to vote in this year's presidential election.  But I am going to offer some biblical advice on decision making so that you can be at peace with the decision you make when you vote on November 8.

In the conversations I've had, many are struggling with their decision because there are questions surrounding the integrity of both candidates.  Which brings up a great question: When I don't know what to do, how do I make the best decision?

Here are a few principles of decision making I've learned from God's Word over the years.

Principle #1 - Pray about it.  This is what God says about prayer and decision making, "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God..." (James 1:5).  Great advice because God is all-knowing and all-powerful.  If we don't know what to do, God always knows what to do.  So we need to listen to Him when faced with difficult decisions.  At times, He makes clear what He wants us to do as we read the Bible.  If we don't know where to look in the Bible, ask a trusted Christian friend or pastor.  The Psalm-writer put it this way, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path" (Psalm 119:105).  At other times, He reveals what He wants us to do through the advice of godly friends.  "Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm" (Proverbs 13:20).  So when we pray, look for God's answers for wisdom and guidance in His Word and through the advice of His people.  Not only that, but when we pray for guidance, let's ask God to keep us focused on His will that all people be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:1-6).

That brings up another very important point.

Principle #2 - Be informed.  That involves listening.  Often times, when it comes to politics, emotions run high and people don't want to listen to each other.  That's a big mistake.  Again, God offers great advice, "Be quick to listen; slow to speak and slow to become angry" (James 1:19).  When faced with a decision regarding candidates, it's wise to be informed and to know where they stand on the important issues.  A good resource to find out where the candidates stand on the issues is this link: http://www.npr.org/2016/10/18/496926243/from-the-economy-to-race-see-where-the-candidates-stand-on-the-big-issues

One of the big issues when it seems that you can't trust the candidates who may become president is to look at who they have as their supporting cast.  What kind of people will they surround themselves with?  This question was addressed well by one of my buddies who is a pastor on the West Coast.  This is what he had to say recently, "As I watch what’s unfolding in the presidential race, I can’t help but think that if I struggle with the morality and speech and lives and lies from both candidates (surprise, surprise, right?!) that I should spend some more time looking at the supporting cast they have chosen, or that they are looking to choose for help and guidance, and to influence our great nation along the way. I think back to the VP debate and saw a major difference between supporting cast members. But one of the most important questions to me in the last debate was the one about appointing a new Supreme Court Justice. I won’t feed you my thoughts directly, just ask you to look back on the answers from both candidates. I believe my Christian friends will receive some help from that question alone in your decision this November.  Practically speaking, “water seeks its own level,” and you can tell a lot about someone by the people they surround themselves with. Examine not just Hillary and Donald, examine their current surroundings and who they are looking at bringing to the national stage (VP, SCOTUS, etc.)"  (Pastor Andy Schwartz).

Principle #3 - Trust the Lord above all.  "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6).  No matter who becomes president, as Christians we are blessed to know that all of us answer to a higher power, God.  He simply asks us to trust Him with this election.  Trust Him with our decisions.  Trust Him with our prayers.  He will bring eternal good for Christians no matter who becomes president.  Remember, the greatest good for all people occurred when Jesus died at the hands of a pagan governor named Pontius Pilate.  Through Jesus' death and resurrection our sins are forgiven and our eternal home in heaven is guaranteed by faith, no matter who is in charge as governor or emperor or even president.  If our all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving God could pull that off, then He can handle bringing good for His people from this election as well.

Peace to all of you in the name of Jesus,
Pastor Chris

Just ask... Prayer Pointers

I've noticed phrases like these pop up in action flicks pretty regularly. The hero usually tries with all their might 3-4 different strategies and nothing seems to work. Then someone in the group says with a defeated sigh, "There's nothing more we can do. All we can do now is pray." From my perspective this is more than a little up-side-down and backwards.

Why do we have such a hard time coming to God in prayer first? Surveys will tell you these are the reasons:

Don’t have time.                        Doubt if it does any good.

Not important, no great needs.   Satan is opposing it.

Don’t know how to pray.            Trying to avoid God.

I have therapist to talk to.           Don’t care enough for others

Perhaps some of these have prevented you from going to God first with an issue. Instead of dwelling on sins Jesus paid for let's remember the privilege and value that prayer really is. Every Christian has the following promises from Jesus.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. -- John 15:7-8

 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. -- Luke 11: 9, 10

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”  -- Mark 10:27

Prayer is an awesome blessing and powerful because it is talking to an awesome God. I encourage you to pray first and then take action on whatever you're facing today.

And at St. Mark we love to pray for people. If you would like to be on our prayer team or be prayed for please email us at: stmark_prayers@hotmail.com