Episode 81 Show Notes
Worshipping the King Born on Christmas Day
From the Show
David is pouring out his heart to the God he loves because he knows God loves him more than he loves God. God is a good father. The Psalmist is pouring his heart out to God in lament and complaint not because he doesn’t think God is good or all powerful but precisely because he does believe God is good and all powerful. “My God, if you are good and all powerful, since you are good and all powerful, why will you not come to my rescue?”
Right, have you ever felt that? If you have felt that it’s not because you are questioning whether God is sovereign or God is good it’s because you know that he’s good and you know that he’s sovereign and yet your experience seems to contradict that and so you bring those complaints, those questions, that confusion, that sense of conflict— “I don’t understand how you can be like this and yet I’m experiencing dark lament.” But that’s not grumbling. The Sons of Korah wrote a lament to communicate pain, pain that God hears, pain that recognizes that the world isn’t as it should be, as it will be when Christ returns but it’s pain that ultimately casts itself on the mercy of God.— Michael Horton
Questions in this Episode
1. Christmas today seems to be so caught up in consumerism today. How should we as Christians celebrate Christmas without getting caught up in the materialism of the season?
2. I struggle with being content. Philippians 2:14 says that I should do all things without grumbling or disputing. Yet, in the Psalms, David is often grumbling and disputing with God about his situation? How should I understand both David’s grumbling and Paul’s command to not grumble?
3. I know that the Bible teaches that we should honor our parents. But I’m really struggling with this. I never had a good relationship with my Dad and to be honest he wasn’t around most of my life and isn’t very involved in my life now. How can I honor my dad if he isn’t even around?
4. Isaiah 6:9 cannot be referring to Jesus when he says, ‘Everlasting Father.’ Is this a contradiction?
5. Growing up in church, I was taught that Mark 8:34-38, when he calls his disciples to take up their cross, was about the call to discipleship but I'm not so sure because it seems impossible to do. How should we apply this passage today?
6. The Bible tells us to not be attached to things of this world, I'm having a hard time enjoying life as a result, because I'm fearful I'll get too attached to this world. How can I enjoy life and live happily while abiding by the passage?
Resources
How to Honor Your Parent Who Wasn't There
How and Why Mary Is God's Mother
Jesus' Birth Gives Us Re-Birth
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