Matthew 2:1-12

For whatever reason the wise men from the Christmas story have really been intriguing me this season. Who are they? Where did they come from? Why do they matter? It just seems odd to me that there would be these three guys coming from a far to see baby Jesus. I think there’s a few things we know for certain about these guys. They weren’t Jewish. They weren’t part of the faith that Jesus was being born into, so when they come to Herod and say “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” we don’t really know how this relates to them, but for some reason they want to meet this king. In the earthly scheme of kingdoms and monarchies Jesus would no dominion over them. That being said, we know they have knowledge of Jewish culture. We get a glimpse of this in the sentence above. They obviously knew something of the Jewish prophecies to know to follow the star and find the “King of the Jews.” They came to worship Jesus. “And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him.” Even though Jesus wasn’t their earthly king they knew enough about Jewish culture to recognize Jesus as someone worth kneeling before.

The story of the wise men reminds me that, as a christian, we need to look outside our faith circle from time to time for wise men. Like the Jews in this story I get so caught up in doing religion or in the business of doing church that I can’t see the forest for the trees. Sometimes the wise men of the world can tell me where our community needs help. Sometimes the wise men of the world worship God’s creation better than I do. Sometimes the wise men of the world can remind me to kneel before Jesus.

Another thing that strikes me about the wise men is that they came so far and had to go through so many Jewish towns and villages and they were all alone. The Jews at this time were begging for their messiah to come and ready to worship him, but it seems these wise men were the only ones looking for him. I think this serves as a good reminder in this season that we need to be looking for Jesus this Christmas. We get so busy this time of year celebrating Christmas that we don’t celebrate Jesus.

Matthew 1:18-25

For the New Testament reader this is the first instance that we have to have faith in something that seems unreal. A virgin pregnant by the Holy Spirit. That's a pretty incredible! Think of that as if you'd never heard of the Holy Spirit before. This intangible, unseen, never heard from, entity that's part of God but separate as well exists (that's a lot to believe in right there) AND came and made a virgin pregnant simply by it's power and God's will. Can this story get any more bizarre? It literally sounds like something from a sci-fi movie. Not only that, but the poor guy who was engaged (at that time they were called husband and wife at this point in the relationship) to this girl gets visited by an angel in a dream and tells him to stand by his girl and that this is God's plan and His doing.

I think we take for granted the impossibleness of this event because as christians we've heard about the Holy Spirit for most of our christian lives and we're numb to the Christmas story because we've heard it so often. Or perhaps we are too fixated on what is under the tree instead of what chose to die on a tree. Regardless, the spectacle that is the immaculate conception can be easily overlooked.

For Joseph there was no Holy Spirit. They hadn't talked about it in Synagogue much because God hadn't really sent it to His people yet. This had to take an enormous amount of faith on Joseph's part. If I were in Joseph's shoes I would doubt if the angel in his dream was real and that Jesus was really conceived by this Holy Spirit thing. Joseph had to believe the angel was real, the Holy Spirit was real, and that it conceived a child in his wife. That's three really big leaps of faith that is asked of Joseph on one night. And what about when Joseph figured it out (I imagine that it wouldn't take too long to figure something was special about Jesus)? How humbled would he have been?

I think for us it kind of works the same way. God get's us on a ledge outside of our comfort zone. An activity, relationship, position, etc. that makes us terribly nervous and asks us to have faith. To believe in more than we think we are capable of or really to believe that we are more capable through Him. It may not be send-an-angel-in-your-dream scale, but it is still something that requires you to have faith in God's plan. When we finally take the step and move forward in faith we're humbled to see what God has done through our actions. Like Joseph we had faith and were humbled.

A Christmas Story-Upcoming Nexus Series

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT:

Here is an overview of what we’re going to talk about at our last Nexus' of the year. Listed below the summary is a “parent cue” to help you dialog with your child about the session. The question is intended not just to be asked by you, but to be responded to by BOTH of you. Use this opportunity to find out what God is teaching your child, and allow your child to see what God is teaching you as well.

A Christmas Story:

Series Overview

Christmas is such a crazy time. Students are busy dreaming about what they want to get, and parents are shopping frantically for what they want to give. We all become consumed with malls and wrapping paper. It’s a Wonderful Life and How the Grinch Stole Christmasplay on TV and Santa Clause poses for pictures with every excited (and screaming) child. At church we tell the story about shepherds, angels and a manger, but so often the significance of the story is lost because it seems like just one more holiday tradition. Or we’ve heard it so much that we don’t hear it anymore. Our upcoming series is going to tell the Christmas Story—but in a slightly different way.

Session One (12/05/10)

Everyone has a vision for their lives. We dream of the type of home we’ll live in, the car we’ll drive, the job we want, the love we desire or the family we’ll have. And even if we wouldn’t dare share those things with someone else, deep within us we hope that life will turn out one way . . . even if we’re at the same time skeptical it won’t. But sometimes the life we envision is different than the one we actually have . . . okay, most of the time. So how do we react when life doesn’t turn out the way we hoped? And more importantly, what do we do with Jesus, because as wonderful as He is, He steps into our lives and makes things messy. He leads us down paths we never thought we would go. He asks us to do things we don’t always want to do. And even with all that, somehow life still turns out even better than we dreamed.

Session One Parent Cue: What are some events in your life that turned out differently than you hoped? Looking back, did things work out better than you expected at the time?

Session Two (12/12/10)

It’s the easiest thing in the world to do, and that’s probably why so many of us are guilty of doing it. God gives us something--a talent, a provision, a relationship--we take it, make big plans for it, then somehow forget all about Him. In the act of serving God, sometimes we completely miss Him. Sometimes our big God becomes very small in our lives. Perhaps that’s why God chose Mary, someone who was very aware of what little she had to offer, to provide the gift that the world so desperately needed. Mary is remembered not only for what she did, but for why she did it--simply to honor God’s request.

Session Two Parent Cue: Have you ever had a moment when you felt like God asked you to do something specific? How did you respond?

Look forward to seeing everybody there!

Matthew 1

The first chapter of Matthew in the Bible was to me, at a time, a terribly boring section of the Bible. It appeared to me simply a list of names that led to Jesus, his family tree, so to speak. There's power in a name though and these names come alive if you know a little about them. It seems every type of person was used in the line that led to Jesus; great kings like David, prostitutes like Rahab, and even people that we don't know too much about. The moral of the story here is if God can use these people to bring His son to the world then he can use anybody to help the world.

We're all incomplete in some way. We may have family issues, lust issues, money issues, or any number of faults, but in the end we still are "issueless" when God sees us thanks to Jesus. So let that be a certain comfort to you today, knowing that the creator of the world values you, in fact, cherishes you and wants you to do great things in Jesus' name.

Final Review: Principal of the Path

On vacation I finally finished the Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley. The book offered many good insights and illustrations of how our attention determines our direction which determines our destination. Really it's a common sense lesson, but Andy Stanley does a fairly good job of keeping the stories funny and relevant. I think the essence of the book is to have the reader look on in their own lives and determine what path their on and where they would like to go. These two observations are the first and sometimes hardest steps when it comes to making a change. I had insights into every area of my life that in some way or another I needed to change my attention-direction-destination. I've come to think of Andy Stanley's messages at being directed a lot at leaders, but this book is applicable to anyone and is a great read for young people as well as they have yet to get on their paths and determine their destinations.

Summer Activities

Here is a run down of the summer activities that we have planned for Nexus; we may have some more informal events, but this is what is set so far. I would encourage all your students to invite their friends to any of these events as each one will serve as a great way to introduce new students to Nexus and Connection Church.

I've made a public google calendar that has all the dates and details on it you can see it at the really long link here: http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=t3c10j95ma426jb2opqcpqaoi0%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York

6/19-Gwinnett Braves (Bobble Head Night)

- The game starts at 7:05pm, but we'll meet at 6:30 at the Publix at the corner of Old Peachtree and 20. Same as last year.

- Cost is $5, so please have students bring that plus whatever spending money is necessary for food and drinks.

- RSVP by 6/13

7/16 Stone Mountain

- We'll meet at Baxley Point at 6pm to drive down to the park

- We'll hang out at Stone Mountain Park and watch the Laser show.

- Have students bring enough money for food & drinks. Entry fee is covered.

- RSVP by 7/11

7/24 Malibu Lock-in

- The time is tricky, it's from 1am to 6am. We'll meet at the Baxley Point Parking lot at 12:30am

- We're going with Lawrenceville First UMC.

- Cost is $25

- All Go Karts, Putt Putt Golf and Bumper Boats are free
- Non-Ticket Games are Free
- Unlimited Sodas and 2 Slices of Pizza

- RSVP by 7/11

The Principal of the Path: Chapter 4

Finally after a long hiatus I've gotten to chapter 4 of the Principal of the Path. I've been reading another book for work, which took priority. This chapter centers around the idea that we often chose the path of least resistance when faced with a decision. "The pie sure would taste good." "I deserve a little treat." We rationalize and excuse small decisions away and the wonder "why didn't things work out?" Stanley breaks down Proverbs 27:12: The prudent see danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it. We all know what a prudent person looks like, they plan. They see things and make changes that will best suit their desired destination. The simple take the path of least resistance. They fail to make the necessary, but hard decisions to get where they would like to go. Stanley has a great example and he says that the prudent see the future as now. That any decision can impact the future they want and they act accordingly seeing that that piece of pie will not help them loose the weight they desire.

I have a friend at work that has lost at least 41lbs. It's been a long road for him. He likes to eat, but more than that he wants to see his grandchildren graduate high school He has a destination and he is staying on the path. I think we all have had moments where we say "I didn't see that coming." I know I have. Let's try and take advice from the Proverb and "take refuge" when we see danger.

Nexus Sunday 5/23

This Sunday marks our final Sunday Nexus for this school year. I appreciate all your support this year as we started to get this ministry going and I'm excited about what we have planned for this summer. This Sunday though I wanted to do something a bit different, so I thought we'd meet at Lake Sims park and have Pizza, play capture the flag, throw the Frisbee and football. We'll meet at the same time as usual from 5:30-7pm. If the weather is poor we'll meet at my house; stay tuned to the website below if the weather is questionable on Sunday. Please have students bring $5 to cover the cost of pizza.

One bit of housekeeping, Ning, the website that hosted our website is no longer allowing free sites, so we'll be canceling our website through them and be using the facebook group page primarily. The url for the facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=102202993976. Please bookmark the site so it's easy to find.

Grace & Peace

--
Andrew von Essen 404.791.5168

The Principle of the Path: Chapter 3

The Great Disconnect. In your life what is it for you? What is the greatest void between your intentions and where you are? Where in your life are you dissatisfied, broken, hungry, confused? When we look back at our lives in these areas we can see where we go wrong right? Certainly if we can't see it in our lives we can see it in the lives of other's around us. This is where Stanley starts to let the rubber meet the road when, towards the end of the chapter, he says "We should break the habit of drawing a circle around individual decisions and events and dismissing them as isolated occurrences."

I know I easily will look at a single event and excuse it as something that is completely isolated. The sad truth is, that over time these "isolated" events compound and hopefully we realize that we're on a path. Stanley has a good point earlier in the chapter about being lost. It's that we're typically lost before we realize we're lost. We're on a road that is leading to an undesirable destination.

I don't really know what questions to ask of this chapter. I think the best exercise would be to look back at where you were a few years ago and ask yourself if where you are now is where you wanted to be. In some areas of our lives we'll be happy with where we are. Some areas we won't be. For me, I'm totally in love with my wife and I'm happy to say l love being married to her. She's amazing! On the flip side, my relationship with God could be better. I'd wanted to be a better guitar player by now. The list goes on.

The Principle of the Path: Chapter 2

Chapter 2 is called Why Bad Things Happen to Smart People and I'm sure that many of us have whispered this question under our breath before. Andy Stanley has an amazing ability to make the very simple very profound. He also allows the reader to bring the obvious to light in a way that no one else can and these traits are displayed very well in this chapter. "There is no fix for being lost" is the first statement of the chapter that really grabs my attention (especially since I'm going to be watching Lost later tonight). When we're lost the only thing that's going to get us to where we want to be is to know the path and change our direction. Stanley goes on to point out that, like being lost, most of our human problems cannot be fixed, but a change in direction is needed to resolve the issue.

Eventually we arrive at the principle of the path, which is "Direction--not intention--determines our destination." I've known this to be true, and I'm sure that you did too, but I'm not sure that we've grasped the potential of this statement. I know I haven't. Our intentions mean nothing...take a deep breath with me and say it out loud. Our intentions mean nothing. I get so wrapped up with what I would like to do, skills I would like to have, relationships I would like to be deeper that I end up not getting anywhere. If everything is a step toward somewhere don't we have to know where somewhere is? If we don't know where somewhere is, then we're not getting anywhere.

Stanley points out that any principle, this one included, can be leveraged to our advantage (and our disadvantage). I have a feeling that as I get deeper in this book I'm going to find that discipline is going to become a trait I wish I had more of. I already know a specific area in my life that I think this book is speaking to me about and it's difficult to look back and notice how small decisions spread over a large span of time have crippled me in this area. The encouraging thing is that with time I can turn around on the path and head in the direction of where I want to land. So can you.

I think if each of us takes a deeper look at our lives we'll see how our direction, our decisions, have landed us in a destination that we didn't want to be in. I'm sure there are areas of our lives that we are very comfortable with and we can do the same with those. As Andy puts it "To get from where we don't want to be to where we do want to be requires two things: time and a change of direction. There isn't a quick fix."

The Principle of the Path

So tonight I sat down and started to read a book. Not something I do very often, but something I should do. Perhaps you've heard of the phrase "Leaders are readers," and being the leader of a student ministry I figured it was a good time to start reading. I was given the book The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley about a year ago from my wife. I'm not sure what was going through her head when she picked it out, but I'm guessing she was thinking I was lost and I needed help finding my way.

Tonight I've made my way through the introduction and the first chapter and he's laid the framework for what a principle is. It is not a law because it cannot be broken. It is something that exists that applies to all of us. He used the example of Archimedes' principle or the principle of the harvest. Stanley goes as far as to say that this principle, the principle of the path, will spare us regret without explaining or detailing the principle itself. A life without regret is something that I would think all of us would like.

After recounting a story about traveling down a dangerous road that ended in a swamp, Stanley declares "that's where the road led and that was the road we chose." My guess is that this statement is going to be critical to the principle of the path. So tonight I'm left to wonder "what road am I on and where is it going? Did I choose it? Did I choose it by not choosing another?

Lovesick

This week at Nexus we start our Lovesick series. There’s something pretty amazing about being in love, isn’t there? The butterflies in your stomach. The dreamy gazes. No wonder so many of us are so in love with being in love. But if you look around—in the media, at school, in life—we’ve taken what God created and twisted it, morphed it and configured it into something it was never meant to be—an obsession. When romantic relationships become an obsession, balance goes out the window. We miss out on opportunities and experiences we might otherwise have had. And sometimes we even forget who we are. There’s got to be healthier way to do this. There’s got to be another way than being so lovesick.

Special Nexus Parent Night

For the past three weeks we've been telling our students how and why we should fight for a relationship with our parents. As part of the this series we've got a special session, this week 1/31/10, for parents called, never stop fighting for a relationship with your child. We've opened this up to all the parents because it's a message that's always relevant.

For parents of middle school and high school students, please bring your students with you. We'll sing some worship songs together and then they'll leave with our volunteers during the talk. For those of you with students who are not old enough to come to Nexus, we won't have childcare available, but we'd still love to have you there if you can make it.

Nexus takes place at Baxley Point, 1495 Buford Hwy, Suwanee, GA 30024 from 5:30pm-7:00pm. We look forward to seeing you there.